Tensions on the Line

Tyler paced back and forth across the polished hardwood floor of his home, the city lights glittering through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him. One hand clutched his phone while the other raked through his hair with frustration. His jaw was tight, his chest rising and falling in slow, controlled breaths. But his eyes—dark, dangerous—burned with the heat of something he wasn’t used to: restraint.

The phone rang again, for the third time. He waited until the final second before he answered.

“Jason.”

“Tyler,” came the sharp response. “You called. What’s going on?”

“You know what’s going on.” Tyler’s voice was cold steel. “Why the hell are you warning Emerald about me?”

A beat of silence. Then a low sigh. “Because I know you. Better than anyone. You don’t do relationships. You don’t do commitment. You chew women up and spit them out, and she’s—”

“She’s not like the others,” Tyler cut in, voice rising. “She’s not a fling. You think I’d call you just to argue about someone I wasn’t serious about?”

Jason’s laugh was bitter. “Serious? Tyler, you were with a different girl last week. You don’t even remember her name. And now suddenly Emerald is special? Excuse me if I don’t buy it.”

“I remember her name,” Tyler snapped. “And I never said she meant anything. I was trying to forget Emerald—forget how she looks at me like I’m the villain in some story she hasn’t even read all the way through.”

“You are the villain, Tyler,” Jason said, voice hardening. “At least in her story. And I’m not going to let you drag her into whatever emotional wasteland you live in. She doesn’t deserve that.”

Tyler stopped pacing. His grip on the phone tightened. “You think I don’t know that?” he asked, voice low, shaking. “You think I haven’t spent nights lying awake, cursing myself because the one girl who finally makes me want to change sees me as the enemy?”

“Then stay away from her,” Jason growled. “Be the bigger man for once. If you really care about her, don’t touch her.”

The silence between them was thick, electric.

“I can’t do that,” Tyler said at last. “I tried. God knows I tried. But every time I see her, she cuts through me. I’m already ruined, Jason. She deserves more—but damn it, I want to be that more. For her.”

Jason scoffed. “Now you want redemption? A chance to prove you’re not the heartless bastard you’ve always been?”

Tyler’s voice dropped. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. For the first time in my life.”

Jason inhaled sharply, his tone turning incredulous. “What the hell is wrong with you? She’s not a prize, Tyler. She’s not your salvation. She’s my friend—my best friend aside from you. I won’t let her break because you suddenly decided you want to play the role of Romeo.”

“You think I don’t know what this is about?” Tyler snapped. “You’re not just protecting her. You’re in love with her.”

The accusation landed like a punch in the gut. There was a pause—long, slow, weighty.

Jason’s voice was quieter now, almost like a confession. “That’s not the point.”

“It’s exactly the point,” Tyler shot back. “You’re jealous. You’ve always been the good guy, the knight in shining armor, waiting for her to notice you. But she doesn’t see you that way, does she? She never has.”

“Shut up,” Jason barked. “Don’t you dare turn this into some twisted fantasy where I’m the villain and you’re the lovesick hero. I’ve been there for her. I’ve held her when she cried, stood by her, and I didn’t do it to get her—I did it because I care.”

“Then let her choose,” Tyler said, his voice edged with fire. “Don’t manipulate her with warnings and half-truths. Don’t paint me as the devil just because you’re afraid of what she might feel for me.”

Jason was silent for a moment, then said slowly, “I didn’t have to paint you as anything. Your reputation does the work for me.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Tyler’s voice cracked, raw. “You think I don’t hate who I’ve been? But I’m trying, damn it. And she—she makes me want to be different. Don’t take that from me.”

“I’m not taking anything from you,” Jason said tightly. “I’m protecting her. From you. Because even if you think you’ve changed, Tyler, your past doesn’t disappear because you’ve suddenly decided you’re ready to settle down.”

“And who the hell made you the judge of that?” Tyler asked. “You don’t get to decide who’s worthy of her.”

“I do when it’s you,” Jason growled. “You break things. You destroy people without even realizing it. And Emerald is—she’s everything that’s good and hopeful. She doesn’t deserve to be collateral damage in your little redemption arc.”

Tyler’s throat tightened. “I never wanted to hurt her.”

“But you will,” Jason said simply. “You always do. It’s not your fault, man. It’s who you are.”

Silence again. The tension buzzed between them like a live wire, dangerous and unpredictable.

“I’m not asking for your permission,” Tyler said finally, quietly. “I’m letting you know. I’m going to pursue her.”

Jason laughed, but it wasn’t humor—it was disbelief, betrayal, a hundred things buried under years of friendship. “Then don’t expect me to stand by and watch.”

Tyler closed his eyes. “I didn’t expect you to. But I hoped you would.”

“You’re choosing her over our friendship?” Jason asked. “After everything we’ve been through?”

Tyler’s voice trembled, just a little. “No. I’m choosing her because of our friendship. Because I know how she matters to you. And if she means that much to you… maybe she’s worth becoming someone better for.”

Jason didn’t respond right away. When he finally spoke, his voice was cold. “You don’t get to use me as your justification. You want her? Fine. But don’t come crying to me when it all burns down.”

“I won’t,” Tyler said. “I’ll be too busy making sure it doesn’t.”

There was a sharp click as Jason ended the call.

Tyler stared at the screen. The silence in his condo felt louder than the argument had. The weight of what had just happened settled on his shoulders, heavy and real. He’d just fractured the one friendship that had ever truly mattered. And for what?

A girl.

No.

Not just a girl.

Emerald.

He sank onto the edge of his leather couch, the city lights blurring behind him. Everything felt wrong and right at the same time.

He had never fought for a woman before. Never needed to. But with Emerald, he was willing to lose everything—his pride, his reputation, even Jason—just for a chance.

A chance.

He didn’t know if Emerald would ever see him the way he wanted her to. He didn’t know if she’d believe that he could change. But he was going to try.

And God help anyone who got in his way.

=Sarsi=