Page 42 of Butterfly
Tyler, Liam, and Jack are staring at me with different degrees of seriousness. Tyler frowns like a general about to have a difficult conversation with his men. Liam is fiddling with the collar of his shirt as if the thing is trying to strangle him. Jack is the only one who’s smiling, but the smile holds a sad note.
“What’s the matter?” I like to cut to the chase.
“First time Sienna has brought a date,” Tyler starts, sounding as astonished as I am.
“And?” I ask when he doesn’t add anything else, although I’m intrigued. She has never received flowers and never brought a boyfriend to meet her friends. Why?
“Well…” Liam takes a sip of wine and shifts on the chair. “We’re both surprised and worried.”
“Worried?” I prop my elbow on the table.
Liam nods. “We were wondering why you?”
Jack rolls his eyes. “Why him? She likes him, obviously.”
“I’m still debating that,” I whisper.
“We care about her.” Tyler waves a hand around to encompass the table. “She’s our friend, a sister to me. Now, don’t get me wrong. She isn’t bloody easy to deal with. She’s stubborn and proud to the point of stupidity, and there are things she doesn’t want to talk about. No matter how much I press her. We don’t want to see her hurt.”
Hurt? I shove a shoulder forwards. “What are you—”
“Wait.” Jack holds up a hand and glances at the stairs. “We mean well, Alex. Really.”
“I don’t understand. I would never hurt her,” I grit out.
My tone doesn’t discourage Jack. “You must’ve realised that Sienna is…her past is a heavy one.” He touches his wrist and raises his brow. “She has issues, and since she never talks about how she’s doing, we fear that a…er…romantic relationship, with someone as famous as you are, might be too much for her to handle. She’s quiet, reserved, and not exactly a people person. Just by being seen with you, she might receive unwanted attention.”
Yeah, I get that. “Do you know what happened to her?” I ask, lowering my voice. A part of me is aware that asking about Sienna behind her back is a shitty thing to do, but if I want to avoid hurting her, and since she doesn’t talk to me, I need to know what upsets her.
“She doesn’t talk much about her past,” Liam says after glancing at the stairs. “She was shipped to a boarding school by her last foster parents, and she didn’t see them much. Her foster father died when she was fifteen, and from that moment, she didn’t see her foster mother at all. When she turned eighteen, she became fully independent, as in completely on her own. She worked three jobs to stay afloat while studying hard at university. That’s a lot of pressure for a teenager.”
“Bottom line, we’re worried you’ll break her heart and that she’ll slit her wrist again.” Tyler twirls his glass, making the wine slosh around. “I’m sure you understand.”
“I have no intention of breaking her heart.” I can’t deny the note of fear creeping into my voice though.
“I’m going to be blunt,” Tyler says as if he’s usually subtle. “We want you to treat her with the care she needs and deserves because I don’t want to receive that call.” He leans closer, determination burning in his gaze. “If you aren’t up to the task, you’d better break up with her now.”
“I think everything is going to be fine.” Jack nods, grinning. “But Sienna probably didn’t talk to you about her issues, so here we are, telling you about them, just in case.” His smile drops. “That sounds awful, like we’re gossiping behind Sienna’s back, but you know what I mean.”
I trace the rim of my glass. Yes, she didn’t talk to me, not really. “I understand your wish to protect her.”
“I’ve known Sienna since she was thirteen.” Tyler exhales as if tired. “I don’t know everything about her, but I know enough to understand she’s easy prey.”
“Easy prey?” I scowl. “I’m not a predator.”
Tyler shrugs. “I don’t know you, and the tabloids say you already have a girlfriend. Or more than one.”
“Tabloids are rubbish.” I’m growing tired of saying it.
Liam clears his throat. “What we’re trying to say”—he glares at Tyler—“it’s that for Sienna to bring you here, she must be interested in you.”
“Which is understandable.” Jack chuckles. “A famous movie star, wanting to spend time with her? I guess a lot of people would be happy. Hell, if my girlfriend cheated on me with you, I’d apologise.” He laughs, but only Liam joins him. “Yeah, well. Sienna is fragile. She isn’t just some girl. If you hurt her, we’re worried she might get depressed again and do something desperate. The fact she doesn’t open up to us about her issues makes us even more worried. We can’t rely on her confiding in us, and she’s rather good at hiding her emotions. She thinks she doesn’t need help.”
“We want the best for her,” Liam chimes in, his voice cracking.
Tyler puts down his glass without having sipped it since we started talking. “If she tries to kill herself because you treated her like shit, you’ll have to deal with me.”
“I’m sure Alex won’t let things become that bad,” Jack says, nodding. “He’s a great guy.”