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The journey over to the gym had done nothing to put Tyler’s mind at ease. He was still utterly baffled by what Lilly had done. Tyler wasn’t a quitter, and he never ran away from a problem. He didn’t think Lilly was a quitter either, but maybe he had been wrong about that.
As Tyler had driven over the to the gym, he thought back to his best friend from high school. Cody was a great guy. Truly one of the best. He also happened to be the person who got Tyler into surfing in the first place.
Cody had surfed since he was a young child, barely out of diapers. Coming from a surfing family, it all seemed to come so naturally to Cody. That wasn’t the case for Tyler, but Cody kept encouraging Tyler to practice and improve his skills. And with Cody’s help, Tyler became a great surfer too.
This had made Tyler value hard work and commitment in a way that he carried on with to the present day. Tyler didn’t run away from problems. He thought he had passed this on to Lilly too, but maybe not.
But Tyler’s memories of Cody didn’t stop there. Sadly, Cody had drowned when he was in his early twenties. As much as Cody was a natural born surfer, he was also a rebellious type. Cody didn’t care for rules and safety much. Cody’s death had a profound effect on Tyler. Ever since Cody’s passing, Tyler had become a stickler for rules, structure and consistency.
Again, this was something that he believed he had been imparting on Lilly. But despite it looking like she was taking all this on board, her actions now suggested otherwise.
Fuck. Goes to show you can ever truly know someone.
Tyler felt like a bear with a sore head. It would take a serious amount of lifting weights to make him feel any better. But, if there was any hope of that all, at least he was in the right pace to make it happen.
‘Come on my brother. Let’s lift the frustration away,’ Cyrus said, a friendly smile on his face. ‘I’ve got a perfect new super-set for us to try out.’
Tyler had explained the situation to Cyrus as he had driven over to the gym. Cyrus was a good listener and was always there for his friend - owning a gym was a perfect addition to the package.
The gym was busy. The sight and sound of a bevy of Daddies working up a sweat was enough to get anyone’s competitive juices flowing. And Tyler was no different, even in his distressed state.
‘I just don’t fucking get it,’ Tyler grunted, his biceps bulging as he completed his bicep-curl super set. ‘I thought we were good?’
Cyrus took a moment for beginning his super-set.
‘Man, I don’t know what to say. You both looked happy to me. But I wasn’t there, you know? And, come to think of it, neither were you. There could be way more to this than you know yet.’
Tyler nodded. Maybe Cyrus had a valid point. After all, it had all happened so freakin’ quickly.
‘Thanks dude,’ Tyler said. ‘Now let’s see if you can match my form!’
‘Pffft. Match it? I’ll smash it!’ Cyrus bellowed, his enormous arms beginning to work as he lifted and curled the epically heavy weights. ‘Raaaawr!’
Tyler couldn’t help but applaud as he watched Cyrus lift the weights with a power that only Cyrus had. Tyler was strong, there was no questioning that. But Cyrus was something else…
‘Andthatis how you do it!’ Cyrus laughed, the weights crashing down onto the padded mat beneath him. ‘God damn, I love to lift!’
The two Daddies embraced. Not even their sweaty vests could stop them from having a moment of brotherly love.
‘Woah! Get a room!’ Jack laughed as he approached. He had meant to arrive earlier but had been held up attending to some business at the diner.
Tyler and Cyrus laughed and the three of them high-fived each other. Tyler was still feeling terrible about the situation with Lilly, but at least he was with his bros. That made the pain slightly less bad.
‘Tyler, what gives with Lilly?’ Jack said, gulping down his protein shake. ‘I saw her on the way over here. She looked really upset. I would have stopped but I was on the one-way street by Pleasant Avenue.’
Jack’s words got Tyler’s attention immediately.
Wait, what?
What the hell is going on…
Before Jack could begin his first lift, Tyler had an urgent need to know more.
‘Exactlywhere did you see Lilly, bro?’ Tyler said, urgency in his voice. ‘I need to know. Something’s not fucking right here.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll fill you in later, Jack. For now, just answer Tyler,’ Cyrus said, knowing that Tyler would want to get over to Lilly as fast as he could.
Jack duly gave Tyler the exact location and wished him well.
