Page 64 of Restoring Faith
He stands slightly annoyed until he looks at Leland. We all shoot a look at Leland, who has a fiery look in his eyes.
“Hey, everyone. Leland …” Taylor’s voice is weary, realizing no one knew he was coming.
Silence. We continue to sit wide-eyed.
“There is an empty seat next to Leland.” Victor points.
“Oh, yeah, sure.” He takes a seat next to Leland, who turns away, refusing to look at him.
The awkwardness is seeping around. No one is talking.
“So, this is weird!” Lawson calls everyone out.
“Very weird,” I have to add. I couldn’t help myself.
“You two stop,” Massey whispers.
“What?” I shrug. She should know me better.
“Now that everyone is here.” Victor is still standing.
“Are you sure about that? No one else to pop out of the magician’s hat?” I tease.
“Nope, important people are here.” He smiles at me.
The tension in the room is suffocating. Mr. Withers coughs and reaches over and scoops a large spoonful of Alfredo onto his plate. He continues with the herb-crusted chicken and sautéed asparagus. We all sit dumbfounded, watching the radiating tension between Leland and Taylor.
“Maybe I should leave?” Taylor says.
“No,” Victor and I say together.
“Yes,” Leland says at the same time.
I can see Leland internally fighting, and although I want to be on his side, I really want this to work out for them. He loves Taylor and always has. Taylor, clearly, still loves him.
I grab my brother’s attention. “You two go talk outside and squash this once and for all. Leland, he’s staying. Figure a way to accept it.” I motion to the back door for them to have a space to talk. Leland looks at me like he will feed me to the sharks. “You went on about if Lawson and I wanted better and wanted to move away to better our lives, you’d support us. Taylor did that to better his life, and now you are punishing him for it? How much of a contradicting ass can you be?”
“Excellent point, Collins. And I’ll add to that - we are good now. Look, Collins caught a good one, and I finally got my head out of my ass. Got an out-of-this-world catch of a woman.” Lawson nudges Massey, who would completely fall apart if it wasn’t for Lawson holding her up. “You’ve been miserable all this time,” Lawson continues. “Seriously, you deserve to be happy.”
“Go talk it out and come back so we can finally hear what Victor has to say,” I beg, gently. Maybe a softer touch might encourage him along.
Leland grumbles while standing, knocking his chair backward. I try to offer a smile at Taylor while Taylor follows Leland outside. Usually, I’m not this persistent. I just remember how happy my brother was when they were together. As soon as the door shuts behind them, Lawson and I scurry over to hide under the open window from the living room.
“Collins! Leave them be,” Victor whisper yells toward us.
“Shhh! Hush!” I hold my finger over my lips. Lawson is next to me, waving his arms at them to keep it down.
I giggle as Victor throws his hands up in surrender. Listening to Leland breaks my heart, but this was a needed conversation. They both need to reconnect and salvage what they can of their relationship or gain closure.
“Okay, out with it,” Leland demands.
“Seriously!” Taylor shuffles around the deck. “We didn’t get to finish our date because of what happened to Collins. You haven’t given me one fucking chance to make things right.”
“It’s been a few years, Taylor.”
“And I’ve been trying to get ahold of you the entire time I was gone. I called, texted, and I even tried to visit you. Nothing!” Taylor retorts.
“I don’t know what was I supposed to say?” Leland grumbles. I can imagine his big arms covering his chest in defense. He’s always been the kind of person who doesn’t let many people into his circle. So, for Taylor to get as close as he did, it must have really hurt Leland.