Tyed - Chapter 57: Chapter 57

It must be half an hour later that they're sitting in a park, holding coffees, of which Tyler has barely touched his own, and the conversation feels a bit lighter, easier to handle. Well, not really- none of it is super fun- but it's not Kevin, which Tyler is thankful for.
"It could be much worse," Kali is saying. "I got used to how things were, so- so it's better, I think. I just don't keep much for myself."
"Our foster system is garbage," Nancy sighs. "It doesn't sound easy, that's for sure."
Kali smiles sadly. "I can only compare with what I had before. In that light, I would call it good."
Her eyes land on Tyler. "How is Trey? And your mother?"
Tyler sighs. "Trey's okay," he nods, "generally doing alright. He lives in assisted living on his own now, and my mum and stepdad still live in Gem Varily in the same house." He decides not to mention his dad. Not yet. Just because the thought cuts deep, another loss he's sustained.
"Stepdad?"
"Yeah. They got married pretty quickly when I was- I wanna say sixteen or seventeen? I don't remember. Saxon is fine, he's just kind of boring and he's not really interested in others, I guess. I assume my mum married him for money reasons, but I never asked."
Kali nods, and Nancy looks at him pointedly; Tyler assumes it's the lack of mentioning his dad. The words she mouths confirm that- aren't you going to tell her?. Kali looks to her and back to Tyler, and Tyler sighs.
"Okay, fine," he says, "my dad is getting out of prison."
Nancy blinks. "I was talking about the fucking sugar daddy thing, but-"
"Wait." Tyler doesn't blame Kali for struggling to take all that in at once. She probably took psychic damage from that exchange. "Your dad is..."
"Getting out of prison. Kind of. He's like, dying, so he gets out in his last week or two."
"Oh, that's... awful," Kali remarks. "I forgot how old he was. Since- well, yeah. He's awful. Awful. Glad he's dying."
Tyler's so thankful someone else gets him and she wasn't about to give him the whole but he's your father speech, so much so that he almost misses the fact that she almost said something, some since that followed discussion of how old he was, and it chills him to realise she probably knows. She probably put two and two together and she probably knows.
He's going to have to beg her not to tell Nancy, beg her not to make him lose a friend. Like glee over a dying father, the lack of disgust about being a creature of incest probably isn't common outside of Darkfilly Copse and its survivors.
"But- backing up," Kali looks to Nancy, "what did you say?"
Nancy grins at Tyler, oblivious to horror he's just realised Kali probably knows of. "Tell her, Tyler."
He supposes it's preferable to further discussion of his father. Most things are. "So, uh." He finds himself rubbing the back of his neck and lowers his hand. "I wouldn't say sugar daddy-"
"Yes you would."
She probably thinks it's funny, it's more just annoying, but Tyler lets it slide. "Anyway, I met a guy. Yes, he is rich and I did originally go looking for financial help but I do really like him."
Nancy looks at him over her coffee with a mischievous grin. "So that's how we're framing it, huh? Making sure it's clear how much you like-like him?"
Tyler kicks her under the table.
"Well that's- honestly, good," Kali says, looking still a little shaken. "I- sorry. It's a lot to take in at once, is all." Accepting Kevin is gone and doesn't fill that part of Tyler's life anymore. That's probably what she's not saying: "What's his name?"
"Colby," Tyler says, with a soft smile; and from there it's easy to talk about him, with some nudging from Nancy. Obviously, for Kali's sake- or maybe his own, for not wanting to seem like a slut to his childhood best friend- he avoids the overtly sexual parts of it. Nancy implies them anyway and he continues to kick her under the table with less restraint and less attempts to hide it.
"Tyler's barely ever home anymore," Nancy says with a grin. "Barely ever at the home he got all the rent paid for."
"Colby's house is nice and I wanna be there. Sue me," Tyler rolls his eyes at her.
"Or you wanna be with him," Nancy grins, until turning to Kali and noticing what Tyler does right before whatever his witty retort was going to be. She looks oddly nervous, is all Tyler knows how to put it. Nancy raises an eyebrow at her, far more gentle as she asks, "you good?"
Kali nods. She had the gentle upset vibe that usually Tyler only picked up on after knowing her for so long; it's even more refined than it was when she was eleven, that hiding of her emotions. "It's fine. I'm still living with my foster parents," she says. She looks up at them like that's the end of her sentence, so Tyler extrapolates.
"You don't want to be, I suppose," Tyler says, leaning back in his chair. He's aware of this game, ingrained fawn, don't ever ask for anything even if you're dying, even if it's safe. Even if the people you feared are a long way away. "Doesn't sound like they're wonderful and flawless."
Kali shrugs. "I think they're good people," she says; jury's out on whether she means it or just thinks she's supposed to mean it. "I suppose I'd like to live alone. I can't afford my own apartment, and I don't- I don't know many people who need to move out. I'm not sure how to..."
When she trails off, Nancy's thoughts aren't far from Tyler's. "Do we have a spare room?"
"You don't have to..." Kali begins. And sure, maybe she wanted a solution, and wasn't asking for them specifically; Tyler can imagine her desperation.
He gives Nancy a look, and wonders if he's making a mistake to suggest, "you could maybe steal my room."
"And you-" Nancy's more shocked than Tyler expected her to be- "you're just going to move in with Colby, is that your plan?"
"I'm there all the time anyway," Tyler shrugs, feeling the bad idea creeping up on him. Imagine that; imagine going to Colby and asking for that.
"How long have you been dating this guy?" Kali asks, shaking her head as she does. Not a question for her, but a plea for him to realise his own stupidity.
"Three weeks, I think," Tyler answers anyway, like it's no big deal, "but fine. Do you wanna just- stay at our house for a few days, maybe? To get out of there?"
Kali shakes her head slowly. "I was just going to ask for help looking for roommates. I appreciate how much you want to help me, though."
Tyler shrugs. "Wanna stay over anyway? I dunno, Kali, I just miss you. I dunno what it's gonna be like nowadays, since we've been through so much, but I guess I want to see."
Kali's soft smile says a lot. "I wanna see, too," she says. "There's a lot I've never done, but I've heard about. I'm not allowed to watch a lot of things, or play a lot of games. And I guess I want to know how you've changed. Honestly," she giggles a little bit, "it doesn't seem like much, except you're a lot happier."
Even with Kevin gone, says the sudden fall of her face after those words.
But when he looks at Nancy Tyler sees the way she's looking at Kali, and thinks there's hope; thinks things are looking up even if so much has been lost, even if there's so much darkness there is light, tangible hope for the future.
Tangible losses might be coming, but at least Tyler might be the only person who's going to crash and burn.
"Thank you," Tyler says, "I hope you're happier soon, too."
Kali says she needs to go home briefly before she can come over, but seems prepared to do so tonight. Tyler looks back towards the building of Kali's work- of his stepfather's, where Scarlett is.
"Yeah," Tyler mutters, "and I have to make a phone call."
"Is this phone call a good decision?" Nancy says immediately, and Tyler curses her for knowing him so well.
"My mum," he says, "not Colby."
Nancy's expression says that's not the reassurance he thinks that is, and Kali furrows her brow as she asks, "...Carol?"
Tyler has no idea how to suggest to her to shut her mouth in front of Nancy; he's not even certain what she's thinking, what the question in her tone is. "Yes," he says, perhaps a little too pained, "she's not so bad these days, I guess."
He turns before he can try to read Kali's expression and is relieved to hear her say, "that's good" and nothing else.
Tyler gives his goodbyes and Nancy agrees to walk her to the station while Tyler makes that call. Which, admittedly, he doesn't want to make. He'd like to not have to deal with Scarlett ever again, really. He hasn't quite figured out her deal, figured out where she was lying and stretching the truth and where she was being honest. He knows she might be trying to chase him out, and now he knows that she knows Saxon somehow.
"Hello?" Carol answers the phone like she doesn't know who's calling.
"Hi, Mum," Tyler says, dry anger evident in his voice. Tyler hears a clattering sound, a dish dropped but not quite broken.
"Sorry, Tyler, you've got to forgive me for being distracted. Are you alright?" she asks, and Tyler can almost sense the string that's holding her up by a thread; she's trying to hold something together. He wonders if he should feel bad that he might just be about to cut that string.
"I'm fine," he says, not even sure what there is to be angry about. Although he can't say he enjoys being left out of what might be a very important loop. "I wanna know why Scarlett, my boyfriend's ex-"
He hears the clattering again, louder, and he thinks maybe she smashed a dish for real this time. It causes him to hesitate, but not to stop. "-was looking for Saxon."
Carol is quiet for a long moment, and Tyler holds his breath for an answer. "Okay, first question," she says, reflecting Tyler's anger back suddenly, "how do you know that?"
"I was in the right place at the right time, for unrelated reasons. Which I'd love to talk about, but it seems like we're keeping secrets from one another for no fucking reason, so-"
"Don't act like this is something you had any right to know," Carol snaps, betraying a lot all at once.
"Well, I don't know what this is, but considering it involves my boyfriend's ex who's trying to get him back, I think-"
"She's what?" Carol gasps, and Tyler gets the feeling that's a big strike. He just wishes he knew why. "Where did you hear that?"
"She told me. She basically yelled at me to back off because she wants him back," Tyler admits freely. "Would you like to tell me why you care?"
There is a long, angry silence. Being on the receiving end of anger, it can make sense to call it frosty, to call someone cold, because anger can cause someone to leave you out in the snow to freeze. But anger, when you feel it, it burns you up inside, it keeps you going. It's like love, in that way. Intense and burning and self-destructive.
"I'm going to start in a place that makes sense," Carol finally says, "as soon as I find one."
Tyler examines his nails, just as Nancy's coming back. She makes a questioning face and he shakes his head, but when she tries to speak he holds a finger up, unwilling to miss a word of this explanation.
"...Saxon has known Scarlett a long time," she finally says. "Since she was a child, really. Their families are friends, y'know, both well-off and traditional sorts. That's how they know each other."
She pauses. "That's not it," Tyler tells his mother, certain of it. "Why'd you care if she was trying to get Colby back otherwise?"
She sighs a sigh of frustration. "I'm sure there's a good explanation," she mutters under her breath, "I'm sure you misunderstood."
"You're not answering my question."
"Fine." Something clatters again. "Do you know why I married Saxon, Tyler? Have I explained it to you?"
Tyler scoffs. "No. He showed up like two years ago fully-formed as our stepdad. You never explained who he was or how you met him or even when, you just like- got married. I kind of assumed you just married him because he had a nice job or whatever."
There's a moment of silence during which Tyler cringes at his own honesty; and then Carol sighs. "You're half right," she admits. "We're not in love. Do we- do we have to have this conversation over the phone?"
"I'm in the city right now, Mum. Is this conversation so important that we need to have it in person?"
"Parts of it are," she admits, "but- alright. I'll stick to what isn't. Saxon and I met at a support group, for ex-Christians. His parents, as I said, they're kinda rich- he's got a sizeable inheritance. But they wanna keep the line going. So there's a small amount for their childless kids, but most of it's only going to their kids who have kids. Do you see what I'm saying?"
"But you don't have kids with him," Tyler says flatly. "So he's not getting the money."
"His parents think I'm pregnant," Carol says, "that's the trick. You know our cousins in Solville, right? Well, Lizzie's pregnant, and we promised her a little bit of the cut if we can pretend her baby's mine, just with a few pictures here and there."
Tyler bites his tongue on asking why they didn't just have another kid. That's not something most people can just do, not something you should ever really just do. "Honestly, it's kind of funny that you married Saxon for money," Tyler admits. "Why does he work if his parents are rich?"
"It's inheritance, dear. He only gets it when they die. But yes, we're married for money. We're friends, plus keeping the home clean in exchange for not having to work suits me just fine."
"What was your plan for pretending to have kids going to be if our cousin didn't happen to get pregnant? You gonna try to pass me or Trey off as two years old?"
Carol laughs a little. "We made it look like we were trying, a faked miscarriage here and there until we figured this plan out. No, dear, they don't know you guys exist. Although, of course, you'll get a cut too when it gets to us, I promise."
"That's not my concern," Tyler sighs. "I asked about Scarlett, remember? I still want to know how this comes into all of this. So she knows Saxon, is that all? If so, why'd you tell me all this now?"
"Well, for one, I don't think you need to concern yourself with her interfering. Her parents are much the same as Saxon's. They're stricter, in fact- she has three sisters and the one who came out as a lesbian was disowned. But, regardless, for her the same rules apply. I believe Saxon's parents got the idea from hers, although I can't remember. She will not get a significant inheritance if she isn't traditionally married and having children. What she told me is that her interest in Colby was largely for that reason- he got her pregnant, so she married him."
"And then their child died and they got divorced. So why's she chasing after him still?"
Carol is silent for a moment. "She told me that her and Colby weren't together anymore," she says, "but not that they got divorced, until very recently. She most likely hasn't told her parents about the divorce. I would be surprised if they knew Altan was... deceased."
"And you're certain," Tyler says after a long moment, "that she's not genuinely going after Colby again? You think it has to do with her lying to her parents?"
"If she's speaking to him again, most likely I would bet it's because they've begun to catch on." He can hear the strain in her voice, wonders what it means. "That's what it is."
"Even when she's threatening me in front of his office? You think it's just an act to her?"
Why does his mum sound so strained when she says, "she wouldn't want to explain the reason," Tyler wonders?
"Even to Colby? Because if she asked him I bet he'd just pretend."
"Well, I don't think she was sure he would," Carol suggests, and why does she seem to know Scarlett and her intentions so well? "And it's not so much in her nature, I think. Being brought up with so much about image, do you blame her for keeping an image?"
Tyler's eyes narrow. "I thought her and Saxon were childhood friends, but it seems like you know her better than her ex-husband does. What aren't you telling me, Mum?"
"Look, Tyler, like I said- there's a lot I wanna say in person, if I've gotta say it. I don't think over the phone is the right time-"
"Oh, my god." The dots connect. Tyler wants to scream. "I've gotta go, love you, talk to you later-"
He hangs up before he can hear his mum's response. Nancy's staring at him, confused, and he holds his head in his hands, wondering just generally- what the fuck.
Yeah, there's a reason she clarified she doesn't love Saxon, a reason she wanted to have this conversation in person. A reason she cared that Scarlett didn't really want Colby back and a reason she knew her so well.
"What happened?" Nancy asks, not privy to the conversation, but about to hear its consequences loud and clear.
Tyler pinches the bridge of his nose. "I'm pretty sure Scarlett fucking dated my mum."