Page 161 of Severed Heart

“Yeah well, as it seems,we’re all fullof surprises,” he snaps with contempt before Ezekiel’s eyes slowly float back down to me. “Tatie, how? I mean—”

“Tyler got me an at-home nurse to detox here,” I say, reaching for Tyler’s hand as it lands on my shoulder. Ezekiel eyes the contact, but I don’t release it, holding each of their hands.

“I’m in therapy now if you can believe it. Every day.” I bulge my eyes as I squeeze his hand. “I came here today to make you a promise. That I will never drink again, Ezekiel. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long, and it may be far too late for this apology, but I swear to you I will never take another sip.”

Shock registers everywhere in his face as he tilts his head, still a bit disbelieving.

“You don’t have to ... promise me, Tatie, but it’s, fuck, it’s good to hear,” he winces, his hangover visibly increasing as he takes his hand back to unbutton and roll the sleeves of his linen shirt up his forearms. “But,” he shakes his head a little, his expression sincere. “I’m proud of you ... which is not something I can fucking say about anyone else at the moment.”

“Don’t let our shit take this from her,” Tyler snaps, “she’s been bursting at the fucking seams to tell you.”

Ezekiel shakes his head sarcastically. “I’m gone for mere months, and where the fuck do I land?” he sighs, “in an alternate reality.”

“You can’t control people, T, or their emotions,” Tyler states with an edge. “That’s what I’ve learned the hard way over time and why I don’t dopersonal.You and I need to have a conversation. I owe you an apology that I truly want to give along with an explanation,” he sighs, “but it’s clear you’re not going to hear it today. So, I’ll be waiting for you when you’re ready to talk, but,” Tyler grips me around my middle before pulling me off the table. Squealing in surprise, he hoists me to his side, propping me next to him and smiling down at me.

“She’s having a good day that she worked really fucking hard to get to, and neither of us nor our shit needs to ruin it for her. So how about you let her clear the doorway before you take a swing at me? Or better yet, when you decide you’ll hear me out, give me a call.”

Ezekiel stands suddenly, wrath clear on his face.

“Don’t hold your fucking breath for that call,” he snaps. “I won’t be dialing it, and you think I haven’t fucking known you’ve been in love with her since you were seventeen?” He scoffs. “You’reall fucking delusional, but don’t think for one second I’ll be viewing you as some stand-instepdaddy.” Ezekiel tilts his head menacingly. “Or maybe that’s why your thinking is fucking warped right now, and you believe you have some right to call the shots on this.”

Ezekiel’s comment sucks all oxygen from the space as Tyler releases me. I feel the dangerous tension start to fill the room before Tyler speaks, his warning lethal in delivery. “You get one,onefucking below-the-belt shot, andthatwas it.One,” he spits with a venom I’ve never heard, “or maybe I stop answering your callsaltogether.”

“You say that as if it would be a bad thing,” Ezekiel snaps back instantly. “And you have some fucking audacity thinking that’s a threat for me.”

“Careful, asshole,” Tyler warns, the anger rolling off both men palpable. “You’ve already written offtwoof your brothers. Do you want to go forthree?”

“Do Ihavebrothers left?” Ezekiel scoffs. “Seems to me that they’ve all decided to start substituting their dicks for their goddamned brains.”

Tyler turns to me, a fire lit in his eyes. “Go grab whatever you need to from the bedroom, okay?”

“I can wait,” I whisper, the violence rolling off him, sparking a dangerous air in the room. The air surrounding Ezekiel alone enough to stifle me.

Tyler shakes his head, his expression reassuring even as his body starts to coil. “You said you wanted to get some things?”

I nod, fear filtering in as both men look upon one another as if ready to draw blood.

“Please don’t fight,” I whisper to Tyler before addressing my nephew. “Ezekiel, please try to see reason. I know you are hurt, and I understand, but please try.”

“I can’t right now, Tatie,” he utters, an equally dangerous edge in his timbre, “and you know well why. Stay out of this.”

“Go,” Tyler urges, facing off with Ezekiel, chin lifted. “Grab what you want. I’ll load it up in a little bit.”

Ten long minutes later, Tyler and Ezekiel are practically screaming in the living room, and I wince at the sound of their blistering back-and-forth.

“... you destroyed my fucking trust! Why in the fuck should I listen to a word you say?” Ezekiel argues.

“... sending them away when we’ve just started to set things in motion? We’ve been separated for fuckingyearsalready, Tobias!”

“And you don’t think it’s just punishment?”

“Yes,” Tyler responds as I dig into the back of my closet for the first time in decades. “I do. Honestly, I do, T, but then again, you have no fucking idea what fielding the shit that’s gone down this summer has been like! No fucking clue because I’ve protected you from it! I’ve literally killed myself, and so has Dom, as well as every inked bird to keep you from the brunt of the weight of it! ... Look, I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now, and it’s warranted. I’m not denying that, but it’s your reaction now,this behavior,is exactly why you weren’t fucking told or trusted with it!”

“Don’t you dare fucking preach to me about morality. Are you fucking my aunt?”

I wince at Ezekiel’s blunt question as Tyler instantly explodes with his reply. “That’s not and will never be your goddamned business!”

“No,” Ezekiel counters, “because you don’t do personal, right brother?”