When the Night Comes

by Teegan Loy

He pulled on his pants and buttoned his shirt, stopping when he noticed several buttons were missing. He discarded it and put on my T-shirt. “I’ll return this before you go back to, uh, wherever you came from.”

  “What the hell is going on?” I snapped and grabbed his wrist.

  “Nothing, I thought . . . I really have to go.” He yanked his arm out of my grasp and headed up the stairs.

  “Skye, wait,” I shouted and dashed up after him. He was standing in the middle of the mess in the kitchen.

  “Jesus, Susan would have a fit if she saw this,” he said.

  “Skye, I don’t care about the mess,” I said. “Stay.”

  Such a simple, yet complex word.

  “Why?” he asked.

  His question demanded an answer; one that I didn’t have. Nothing about us was simple. I rubbed my temples.

  “It looks like we tried to kill each other,” I said.

  “Maybe we did,” Skye said.

  I sat down and sighed. I knew I needed to say something but everything I thought sounded stupid.

  Skye sighed and his footsteps echoed out of the room. The back door opened and closed, then opened again.

  “I can’t fucking do this,” Skye shouted, stomping back into the room. “I have no idea what you’re thinking or what you want? Help me out.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  He scowled. “Who’s Joey?”

  “Weird question,” I said. “He’s my roommate. Why?”

  “Are you going back home to him?”

  There was that word again.

  I shrugged. “I have to go back sometime. I may not have a lot of stuff, but what I have is there at the moment.”

  He hung his head, and now we were back to silence.

  “Do you know where Mama keeps all her cleaning stuff? Ashley will freak out if she sees this mess. I don’t feel like answering her questions about what happened.”

  “You don’t seem to want to answer anyone’s questions.”

  “Skye —⁠”

  “Just forget it,” he said as he yanked open a cupboard drawer. An envelope fell out and he chuckled. “You know we hired a maid service to help with general housework, but Susan would always clean before Karen showed up. Eventually Karen told Ashley she didn’t feel right taking money when all she did was come over and have coffee. Ashley refused to quit paying her, so Karen would leave the envelopes all over the house.”

  Skye pulled out a bottle of cleaning solution and disappeared down the hall. He came back carrying a bucket, some rags, and a mop.

  “You should put on your boots before you enter the war zone.”

  “You don’t have to help,” I said.

  Skye turned his back on me and sighed heavily as he filled the bucket with water.

  I didn’t know what to say to him. It was easier to put up defenses and fall back on familiar behavior when things were uncomfortable.

  When I came back with my boots on, Skye was busy scrubbing the wall where the bottle of booze had been smashed. I could see flecks of blood spattered too.

  The pictures we’d knocked off had been placed on the table. I carried them out to the living room to be dealt with later.

  I decided to pick up the larger pieces of glass by hand. I wasn’t paying attention, because I was busy watching Skye. Visions of kissing him floated through my head and I lost my balance, falling to the floor and putting my hand on a piece of glass.

  “Ow,” I yelped when the shard dug into my palm.

  “Jeesh, Ty,” Skye said. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

  I grumbled and held up my hand, watching as several lines of blood ran down my wrist. Skye came back armed with a tweezer, a washcloth, and a stack of Band-Aids.

  “I think you did this on purpose to get out of cleaning,” he scolded.

  “Shut up,” I whined.

  “Quit being a baby.” He snickered and dug into my flesh, pulling several pieces of glass out of my skin.

  “Ouch! You don’t need to shove the tweezers into my bones.”

  Skye rolled his eyes and grabbed my wrist. He continued working, ignoring my whines and curses.

  “I think I got them all, but we should rinse your hand to make sure.”

  He pulled me to my feet and pushed me over to the sink. He stood so close I could feel the heat from his body and the flex of his chest muscles as he moved his fingers over my skin. His breath tickled my neck when he leaned forward to have a closer look. The heat from his touch sent small sparks up my spine, and I felt his semi pressing against my ass.

  “Tyler?”

  “Yeah,” I gasped.

  “I asked if you could feel anything?”

  “Y-yes,” I stammered.

  “The glass, Ty. Where do you feel the glass?”

  Concern dripped from his voice, so I took a deep breath and turned to face him.

  “There’s no more glass,” I whispered and wrapped my arms around him, holding him tightly. He sighed, and we sank to the floor, clinging to each other.

  We stayed like that until my back protested and I had to get up. I kissed his cheek and slowly untangled from him, stretching as I stood.

  “Does your back still give you problems?” he asked.

  “Sometimes.”

  He hugged me again. Eventually we broke apart and managed to finish cleaning the kitchen. When we finished I wasn’t sure what to do. I fiddled with my phone while Skye finished putting the cleaning supplies away.

  “I need to get going,” Skye said.

  “How are you getting home?”

  “I called my dad and told him I couldn’t drive last night.”

  “Oh, that’s good.”

  We stood staring at each other until his phone beeped. I was almost relieved when he left.

  I made some coffee and carried it out to the deck. The sky was dark, filled with angry clouds, and the smell of rain lingered in the air.

  I heard the door slide open and held my breath. In some ways, I wanted it to be Skye, but when a camera clicked, I turned around and was greeted by Lindy’s bright smile.

  She snapped another picture and sat down next to me.

  “You alone?” she asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Do you want to be alone?”

  “I don’t know,” I answered truthfully.

  She sighed and leaned into my shoulder. “You need to decide.”

  “Every time I make a decision, it’s usually the wrong one. I’m scared I’ll make another mistake.”

  “I’m sorry to break it to you, but you’re going to make more mistakes. You have to ask yourself if he’s worth the risk.”

  “It’s not easy.”

  She raised her finger to my mouth. “I wasn’t done, Ty. When I walked into the kitchen this morning, I didn’t see any of the mess. I just saw you and Skye wrapped around each other.”

  Thunder rumbled in the distance and Lindy snuggled into my side.

  “Have you talked to Ashley and Gavin?” I asked.

  “A little. They’re busy tying up some more loose ends with Susan’s affairs. Who knew about all the extra crap that goes along with dying?”

  “Ash is going to kill me.”

  “No, she’s fine. Did you at least invite him back?”

  I snorted.

  “You haven’t even talked, have you?”

  “I don’t know. Some? I’m not very good at the communication thing.”

  She kicked me in the ankle. “I have to go,” she said as thunder boomed and raindrops splattered us. “Make a decision, Ty.”

  She left me with more questions than answers.

  The rain started to fall in earnest, forcing me back inside. My phone buzzed on the table so I checked it. A picture from Lindy popped up. I ran my finger over the screen, staring at the photo. I moved the picture around, enlarging different areas. Even though we were on a hard kitchen floor, we looked comfortable, happy. We seemed to fit together.

  My gaze was drawn to
where his fingers clutched my waist, holding me tightly. It looked like he didn’t want to let me go. But if that were the case, he’d have to want me all the time, not only in the dark of the night.

  Another text from Lindy came through. It was Skye’s phone number. Sometimes the woman scared the shit out of me. I swore she knew what I needed before I figured it out.

  After a long nap and before I could think about it, I called him. He answered on the first ring.

  “Come stay with me at Mama’s for a couple of days,” I said. “Unless you have other plans.”

  “I don’t . . .”

  “Good. We have things to discuss.”

  He was quiet for a few seconds. “Okay, and don’t worry about dinner. I’ll make something.”

  I blew out a long breath.

  “I’ll see you later.” He hung up before I could say anything.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The first morning I woke up pressed against Skye, I thought I was dreaming. When I heard the door open and Lindy yell my name, I flew out of bed and raced upstairs, stammering about it being too early for visitors.

  I tried to hustle her out of the house before she figured out Skye was in my bed, but she proceeded to make coffee. When Skye wandered upstairs, I panicked. I thought he’d have a thousand excuses why he was here. Instead he grabbed a bottle of juice, ruffled my hair, and asked Lindy if she was staying for breakfast. Omelets were on the menu.

  Later that evening, it happened again. Skye and I were pretending to watch TV when Ashley and Gavin burst through the front doors. I rolled off Skye and fell on the floor, desperately trying to wipe his kisses from my mouth.

  Ashley raised her eyebrows, then shook her head before plopping next to Skye and shoving a 3D photo of the baby she was carrying into my hands.

  The days and nights blurred. We spent a lot of time together talking about the past. We steadfastly avoided discussing the future. I wasn’t ready, and I didn’t think he was either.

  I tried to keep my emotions in check because I still didn’t trust him. We’d spent too much time under cover of darkness and it was difficult for me to believe he’d changed.

  I had another meeting with the lawyer and tried to argue about the house, saying Ashley deserved it more. Ashley cut me off and told me she already had a home. The lawyer said Mama would like me to make this my home, but there was nothing in her will that could stop me from selling.

  Things seemed to be falling into place, but I was still wary. I kept waiting for it all to come crashing on my head.

  When we finally ran out of food and it was either go to the grocery store or out to eat, Skye and I decided to head to the diner for breakfast. He held my hand and fiddled with my fingers as he drove. I kept trying to pull away, but he held tight.

  Not many people were eating, so there was plenty of space. The waitress seated us in a booth by a window.

  I couldn’t help staring at Skye as he read the menu. He was so beautiful and I found myself wondering what he saw in me.

  “What?” he asked, fidgeting in his seat.

  I shook my head and went back to my menu but peeked over the edge at him.

  He grinned and rolled his eyes.

  I placed my hand over his and returned his smile. For a few moments, we stared at each other until the waitress cleared her throat, and Skye immediately pulled his hand away from mine so forcefully he knocked over his glass of water. He sprang out of his seat and apologized to the waitress while helping her mop up the mess.

  My world immediately spiraled out of control. Things went white and my ears filled with a loud buzzing noise. All the horrid moments from our past flashed before me. Every time he moved away when someone was near or brushed me off as just a friend when I needed more.

  It took several moments before I could pull it together and order. Throughout breakfast, Skye kept asking me if I was okay. I feigned the onset of a headache, telling him I needed to go back to bed.

  “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Skye asked.

  “I’ll be fine.” I noticed he kept space between us as we paid for the meal. He didn’t reach for me when we were in the car, shielded from people.

  A chill settled in my blood and I was thankful when he said he needed to do some errands. The moment the front door closed, I booked a flight to Chicago. I couldn’t hide in the shadows again, so I packed my things and composed a note.

  Skye,

  The time we spent together has meant more to me than you will ever know, but . . . and there is that fateful word, but . . . I think it always comes down to that. I can’t take the chance that this will end badly. It took me five years to finally move past the first time. If I let myself fall any deeper, I don’t think I’d ever recover. I’m sure it would only be a matter of time before you decide to move on to something better, safer.

  Stay in the house. I’ll change the deed to your name. You deserve it. You actually knew Mama better than me. If I never thanked you properly for being her friend, than please accept this as my heartfelt thanks for being there for her when I was not.

  Tyler

  I left the note on the kitchen table, grabbed my bag, and said a whispered goodbye to Mama.

  The trip back to Chicago wasn’t like my trip to Middleton Lake. No sweet person sat next to me. I was seated next to an asshole, who thought the entire row should be his. Thankfully, I was able to drink myself numb.

  When Joey found me, he hauled me to the car, not saying one word. He even carried my bag into our apartment, leaving me to fend for myself. It took me fifteen minutes to make it to our door, where I tripped and fell to the floor.

  “You gonna enlighten me?” Joey snapped.

  “Good to see you too, honey,” I jeered.

  “Look, you dick, Lindy called and would appreciate a call back. She is one pissed off woman.”

  “Sorry you got sucked into my drama.”

  He grumbled but helped me off the floor and over to the couch where he had several joints waiting for us to smoke.

  “You can talk to me when you’re ready.” He scowled and left the room.

  I chose not to say anything. Instead, I disappeared into a haze of smoke and drink, hitting the club scene. I could’ve had my pick of people, but I didn’t let anyone touch me, and I certainly didn’t go home with anyone. Joey told everyone I was in mourning for Mama.

  One night, or morning, however you want to look at it, some guy hit on me in the restroom. When he tried to kiss me, I punched him in the gut. Luckily Joey was able to smooth over the situation by offering to buy the guy several drinks.

  “We’re out of here,” Joey shouted and dragged me out of the bar.

  He grumbled and swore at me the entire trip back to our apartment. When he closed the door, he shoved me against the wall. I braced for the punch to the face, but it never came.

  “I can’t take this, Ty. You’ve turned into a dick.” Joey cocked his fist but hit the wall instead of me. “Why didn’t you tell me you were back with Skye?”

  “Fuck you, Joey. I need a fucking drink.”

  I stumbled to the makeshift bar, trying to grab for a bottle, but Joey knocked my hand away.

  “You’ve had enough,” he growled and shoved me on the couch.

  “You want to hear the sad reason I left him. I couldn’t handle it. It was too good. Everything I wanted was spread out in front of me, but it would’ve only been a matter of time before he left me again. I can’t go down that road again. I’ll never find my way out.”

  “You’re a fucking coward,” Joey said in a low and steady voice that sent shivers down my spine.

  “The bastard pulled away from me,” I said.

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “We were out for breakfast and I touched his hand in public. He pulled away from me when the waitress . . .” I hung my head.

  “Did you ask him about it?”

  “What the fuck for? It was pretty obvious what it meant.”

  “
Oh, for fuck’s sake. I used to think Skye was the stupidest person on the planet for giving you up, but ya know what? You win the title. I cannot believe you left him for that.”

  “Fuck off,” I roared. “You don’t know anything about my relationship with Skye.”

  “Well, fuck you too,” he shouted, tossing my phone at me. It was open to the picture Lindy had taken of Skye and me on Mama’s kitchen floor. “This is all I need to see. You’re a dumb fuck, Tyler Rask. Grow up and admit you love him. Go home.”

  “Home?”

  “And this came for you.” He shoved a letter in my face.

  Joey had never lectured me before. He’d always stayed in the background, supporting my choices even if he thought they were stupid. This was the first time he’d voiced his opinion.

  My hands were shaking with rage, but I managed to tear open the letter. My mother’s handwriting glared up at me, and I dropped to my knees, crawling into my bedroom.

  Dear Tyler,

  My darling baby boy, this was not the letter I wanted you to be reading. I held out hope you two would be able to find your love again. Personally, I never believed either of you lost it. It’s hard to admit, but I can sometimes be wrong.

  And even though it didn’t work out this time, I beg you not to give up on finding love. You found it once, and I firmly believe you’ll find it again. Please don’t shut down. Be willing to open up and give someone a chance. I know it’s hard for you, but like I said before, don’t give up. Find where you belong. You deserve it, and you are worth it.

  I love you always,

  Mama

  I curled up on my bed and passed out, not moving until the bright sunlight was glaring in my face. I rolled out of bed, staring down at the crumpled letter from Mama again.

  I shook my head and dug through my bag, pulling out the last pair of clean jeans I had. Wasn’t it ironic that I hadn’t unpacked. Maybe this wasn’t my home after all.

  “Fuck.” I stumbled into the bathroom and took a quick shower, washing the grime away from last night’s party.

  When I tried to pull on the jeans, I could barely wiggle into them. It took a few minutes before I realized they were Skye’s jeans. They were a bit long and a little tight, but they’d have to do. I found my wallet, and as I shoved it in my pocket, I felt something bunch up. I pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it.