Chapter Thirty-Seven

Theo

I didn’t know what to do. I had gotten the alert that Robbie was being attacked and immediately shifted focus to help. It had been automatic. I feared it always would be. He had handled himself quite nicely, and the guy had actually given up, but old instincts die hard. I had never been one to walk away from a fight, and that guy had just tried to…

I was going to say ‘take what was mine.’ But was Robbie still mine?

We needed to talk, but I was so exhausted and my night was nowhere near close to being over. I had never meant to hurt him. I watched as he cried in the car, and my heart ached to hold him, soothe him. He hadn’t deserved what had just happened—from the guy, from me… I wanted to apologize, to take it all back. But that didn’t change the fact that he didn’t need me anymore. That he would leave sooner or later, and by me leaving first I thought I had solved that problem for us. For me.

He cried for a long time, then started the car and drove back to his hotel. I shifted away once I saw that he was safe in the hotel room.

I have always been somewhat of a voyeur. Not in a sexual way, but before Robbie I had made sure that various people were okay. Chuck and Bob, Kat, even my father to a lesser extent. I sometimes played guardian angel to various people who seemed to need my help: lovers, strangers. Interacting from a distance or with the buffer of technology was safer. I didn’t have to deal with these pesky emotions.

When I felt the couch shake, for a split second I was hopeful that it was Robbie, which immediately prompted my shift from the Interface. The judgment in Kat’s eyes solicited a groan, and I fell back onto the pillow, disoriented. “What time is it?”

“Time for you to stop being an idiot.”

“Love you too, Grandma,” I said, not opening my eyes. When she flicked the tip of my nose, I turned away and farted at her.

“Classy, Teddy. What’s going on with you and Robbie?” she asked, never one to beat around bushes that weren’t attached to cute girls.

“Broke up. He’ll be happier this way,” I said, snagging a throw blanket and pulling it over me, hoping that would send one of those nonverbal messages that people speak so highly of.

“How do you figure?” she pressed, poking my shoulder. God, I love my grandmother, but man is she irritating.

I rolled back over and fixed her with a look. “Listen, he doesn’t need me and is obviously ready to move on. After your little bachelorette party earlier, he went to the seediest gay bar in town with your stripper. So, I’m certain he’s happy now.”

“Is your ego so fragile that you can’t actually have a partner?” she countered.

I glared at her.

“I always knew you were narcissistic, Teddy. You overcompensate by doing a lot for others and rarely asking anything in return. But you go to great lengths to keep everyone at arm’s length so you won’t be hurt. I just thought with Robbie you had grown up a little. Disappointing.”

When I didn’t respond she puffed out a breath, threw her hands up, and walked out, shaking her head.

I wanted to throw something at her, but instead I just slipped back into my vigil and waited.