The air inside the warm, bustling house —laughter, the clinking of glasses, the shuffle of chairs on hardwood floors stops suddenly.
"Tanner!?" Tyler calls, immediately moving from his chair to Tanner's across the table.
Tanner's head is now resting on the table, and everyone is startled. Even Tayler hasn't moved a muscle. Grandpa quickly checks on him.
"He's fine," Grandpa says after a moment. "I think it's the wine. He doesn't drink, and that's why it's affected him like this. Some people are just like that."
Everyone looks relieved and surprised at the same time, as if collectively wondering: Just a sip, and he passes out?
"I'll take him to his room," Tyler says, already preparing to lift him.
"He'll wake up anytime soon," Grandpa adds.
"How do you know that?" Aunt Cara asks skeptically.
"I had plenty of friends like him back in college," Grandpa explains.
"But I still think I should take him to his room," Tyler insists. "He can't just sleep on the table."
"Tyler, I don't think that's a good idea," Kyler, one of the cousins, interjects. "If he wakes up alone in his room while we're all down here, won't it feel like we've isolated him?"
Others nod in agreement, supporting her idea.
Tay stands up. "I'll stay with him until he wakes up."
Hearing that, Tyler changes his mind, reluctantly agreeing. "I think Kyler is right. He should just stay here."
But even as he agrees, Tyler's thoughts are racing. I can't believe I'm betraying my sister like this.
But it's not on purpose—I really love Tanner, too. I've been trying to get rid of these feelings, but I can't.
They're just too strong, and they push me to do stupid things! He tries to shake off the memory of what happened in the storeroom.
Everyone resumes eating. Tyler hesitates before returning to his seat.
"Babe, your food is getting cold," Lexy says softly.
Her words prompt a chorus of teasing "aww"s from the table, embarrassing her.
Twenty-one minutes pass, and Tyler is growing increasingly unsettled. He can hardly eat. He desperately wants to check if Tanner is okay but doesn't want to draw attention to himself.
"Ty...ler..." Tanner finally stirs, calling an unexpected name.
Of all people, Tyler wonders, Why is he calling me? But even so, Tyler rushes to him, unable to control himself.
"Hey, are you okay?" Tyler asks gently.
"My... hea...d," Tanner stammers.
"I'll get you some painkillers," Tyler says, starting to walk away, but Tanner grabs his hand.
"I... want..."
"You want what?" Tyler asks confused.
"Hold for me. I... dr..." Tanner struggles to say.
Realizing what Tanner might be referring to, Tyler covers his mouth.
...Earlier in the bathroom, Tyler couldn't shake off the thought that maybe Tanner felt something toward him, especially after what happened in the storeroom.
To test this, Tyler had intentionally held a glass for Lexy to drink from, hoping to provoke a reaction from Tanner.
Now, seeing that it worked, he feels both relieved and guilty.
Realizing Tanner might say something incriminating in his drunken state, Tyler decides to remove him from the room. "I think you need more sleep. Come on, I'll take you to your room."
"I'll help you take him," Tay offers.
But before Tay can touch him, Tanner jerks his hand away. "No... he he..."
"Stop talking nonsense!" Tyler cuts him off, trying to mask the tension. "Come on, I'll help you up."
"Why are you so heavy? Stand up," Tyler mutters as he struggles to lift him.
"Let me help," Uncle Miles offers, but Tanner suddenly stands on his own, albeit unsteadily.
Despite being drunk, Tanner is surprisingly stubborn. "No... I stand," he declares, leaning heavily on Tyler for support.
Their eyes meet briefly. Tanner stares at Tyler with a lazy, unfocused gaze before his eyes drift to Tyler's lips.
Realizing this, Tyler quickly looks away, trying to hide his unease. He gently nudges Tanner to move.
Before they get far, Tanner laughs softly—an uncharacteristic sound. "No," he says, disagreeing with nothing, his voice slurring.
"No what?" Tyler asks, his voice tinged with confusion.
Tanner's voice cracks. "Your family... so together... My family—all betrayers. I sit here... at this table with all of you... I don't... I don't understand how you're like this. So happy. So close!" His words tumble out unchecked.
Ever since they started texting, Tyler noticed that Tanner avoided talking about his family.
Whenever the topic came up, Tanner's mood would shift, and Tyler learned to steer clear of it.
Now, hearing this, Tyler feels a pang of sympathy. Something terrible must have happened.
"What happened to your family?" Tay asks, ignoring Tyler's previous warnings never to ask Tanner about it.
"No...!" Tanner protests loudly.
"Come on, let's go," Tyler says, trying to lead him away, knowing Tanner doesn't want to talk about it.
The pain in Tanner's voice is hard for Tyler to hear, even without knowing the details.
"Wait! Why... do you look... like that?" Tanner asks suddenly, his loud voice drawing the attention of everyone at the table.
"Like how? Stop being stubborn, Tanner, and move," Tyler replies, trying to deflect.
"You want... to know?" Tanner asks cryptically, still slurring.
"Do I want to know what?" Tyler asks, genuinely confused.
Tanner glances around the table, his drunken stubbornness making him cling even more tightly to Tyler.
His behavior is starting to raise eyebrows, especially among Tyler's parents, who know that Tanner and Tyler don't usually get along. And now__
"My family... hah? You want...? Okay, I tell you. You alone. I tell you alone. Don't tell anybody, okay?" Tanner's voice is still too loud, as if he's forgotten the others are there.
If he keeps acting like this, everyone's going to think there's something going on between us, Tyler thinks, his chest tightening at the thought.
So as much as he wants to know Tanner's story, Tyler shakes his head. "No, it's fine if you don't want to talk about it."
Tyler tells himself that he can ask Tanner when they get in his room.
"Come on, let's go."