Too Much To Hide || EDITING

c.36

      Tyler's visit has added to James' toy collection. Being the typical uncle, he's brought a large bag full of soft toys, cars, whatever might appease a one and a half year old boy. Adrian reluctantly left for work and abandoned Tyler and I to play with James, with the occasional visit from Portia.

      The three of us sit on a wide, cushioned interactive mat Tyler got for James, with little wheels and flaps revealing fluffy animals to keep him occupied.

      "Adrian told me about tomorrow."

      I tense up a little on the subject but, finding it useless, I sigh and fiddle with the hem of my t-shirt.

      "Yeah, he didn't take it well."

      "He called me that night, when he was drunk," Tyler lowers his voice and crosses his legs on the mat.

      My attention piques. "He did? What did he say?"

      Tyler purses his lips in thought and fixes his gaze on the coffee table near us. It's obvious that he's filtering through the conversation, picking out what he can tell me and throwing the rest away in a secret box between him and Adrian. As much as I'd like to know the whole conversation, I guess I'm going to have to respect their privacy.

      His sudden snort brings me back to now. "The first thing he said was—Mom is Lucifer's daughter. And we're the angelic generation of Satan."

      My own snort stops the bubble of laughter building up in my chest. 

      "I'm guessing he was already wasted," I snicker.

      Tyler scoffs. "The lad kept taking vodka shots as we spoke, I swear he gagged once."

      "So I was right!"

      Tyler raises an eyebrow at me.

      "When he got home, he called it spicy water." I laugh as I explain.

      "Spicy water," Tyler chuckles and shakes his head, running a hand through his hazel hair.

      "What else did he say?" I ask curiously, hoping my tone would tempt him to spill more.

      "After his shots, he just... cried."

      I suck in a sharp breath through my teeth. Adrian cried?

      "He wasn't like that when he got home," I mutter, suddenly wishing I didn't hear that.

      "The only thing coming out of his mouth was your name. He wouldn't talk about anything else." Tyler sighs.

      Guilt kicks at my conscience and I chew my lip. "He didn't call the whole day. I figured he was just angry that I agreed to what Cynthia had to offer." 

      Tyler wears a wistful smile and pats my shoulder kindly. "He knew you didn't have a choice. Well, it took him a while to come to that conclusion but when he did, he just got mad at himself for leaving so suddenly."

      "It wasn't his fault," I whisper. I'm on the brink of tears and since I am, my throat is squeezing down a hard lump.

      "But it wasn't yours either, Liz. You get that, right?" 

      I know Tyler speaks the truth but when I look back at how things turned out; me coming with Adrian when I could have refused and just given him the baby—why didn't I just do that? I curse my own tenacity, rubbing my runny nose with my wrist.