He wasn’t forthcoming with letting us into his room. It was awkward as all fuck. Ryder kept his eyes on me, but Tyler did the talking.
“Hey, man. You good?” Tyler said, leading to several excruciating seconds of silence.
“Yup, I’m fine. What’s up?” Ryder edged further away from polite.
“Mind if we, uh, come in?” Tyler said.
Tyler rarely got flustered and only got red when he drank. But his ears burned right along with his cheeks under Ryder’s gaze.
Ryder deflated and stepped aside. “Yeah. Come in.”
Their room looked like it was out of a cartoon. One side appeared as if a rowdy teenager had lived there for years. The other was empty with a made bed, an almost-packed suitcase, and a backpack placed on top.
“Did he send you guys up here?” Ryder said, still looking at me, but speaking to Tyler. “It’s not worth it. I’m changing my flight right now,” he held up his phone, “and then I’ll be out of your hair. You guys will have a much better time without me bogging you down.”
“No, man. C’mon. Don’t go. You two just got into it. But you’re brothers. He’s being a little bitch right now, but we all know he’ll be crushed if you leave,” Tyler said with a sensitivity I didn’t know he was capable of. “He loves you.”
Ryder’s face cycled through several emotions, landing on exhausted. “Yeah. I love him too. But sometimes brothers do shitty things to each other.”
“What’s going on with you guys? I’ve never seen you two fight like that,” I said.
Ryder looked at me, then away, and shook his head. “Nothing. Just been a shitty few months. And his attitude isn’t helping.”
“Don’t go, man.” Tyler tried to stay on mission. “You’ll ruin his trip if you do.”
Ryder laughed through his nose. “Oh fucking well, it gets ruined then.”
Trying to recoup, Tyler said, “Maybe you guys just need some time apart? A little space?”
It felt like Tyler was putting a toddler in a time-out. Ryder felt the same way. “Yeah. Like a few states after I fly home.”
“No, man, I mean switching rooms. Have some space away from him?” Tyler said.
The whole interaction made my skin crawl. Ryder stood with folded arms at the foot of his bed while we hovered around him. It was so much. Too much. If it was that bad, then Ryder should just leave.
Ryder said nothing but looked from Tyler back to me. “Does he think that will make a difference?”
“It was Jason’s idea, not Miles’s,” Tyler said. “But he thinks it’ll work. I’ll move in here, and you move into our room. You’re already packed.”
Ryder perked up at that suggestion. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve almost got a new flight already.” He looked at his phone, then at me. “Would you mind rooming with me?”
My ears were on fire, but I kept calm. “Yeah, man. Totally. Wouldn’t mind at all.”
Ryder looked at his phone again. “Fuck it. The only flight isn’t until midnight, with a four-hour layover in Chicago. Yeah, fine, I’ll stay.”
Tyler broke the tension with a deep, dramatic sigh. “Fuck yeah. C’mon, I’ll help you pack and get you moved.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Ryder gave me another glance and said, “Can you tell my brother…” he inhaled, “I’m sorry, and I’ll be down for jet skiing later?”
“Yeah, absolutely.”
It took a second to realize Ryder meant right then. Tyler was gonna take him to our room, and I was no longer needed. So I left with an awkward smile.
Jason and Connor were sitting with Miles, but no one was talking. They stared at me as I walked towards them.
“He’s staying,” I said. “Tyler is moving into your room, and Ryder will bunk with me.”
Miles let out a breath, Connor smiled and nodded, whereas Jason only looked tired.
