Must’ve Been One of Them Dust Devils （23）

When Ryker rounded the corner toward his room, he noticed Tanya, one of the RA's, was standing outside his door with her phone in her hand.

That's not good.

"Hey, Tan. What's going on?" he asked cautiously, as he approached the door and dropped two of his bags onto the floor while reaching into his pocket for his key.

"Something…happened in there," she told him. "There was a lot of yelling, a lot of banging, and JT won't open the do or. I was gonna call campus police…"

"So, do you think you can hold off on that?" Ryker asked, beginning to panic. "Can I talk to him first before you do that? Please?"

"Ryk, I legally have to report any disturbances. You know that..."

"Yeah, but you don't even know what happened. Let me…let me deal with it, OK? Please? I can handle him."

She rolled her eyes, then nodded. "Check in with me in 15 minutes or I'm calling."

"You got it," he called to her as she began to walk away. "You're cool as fuck, Tanya. Love you!" He stuck the key in the lock and turned the doorknob, flabbergasted by the scene before him. "Shit."

JT's dresser was completely smashed, all the drawers having been pulled out and annihilated. His laptop was in several pieces on the floor, and his desk had been knocked over, all of its contents scattered throughout the room.

All of Ryker's things remained untouched.

There was no sign of JT, but the bathroom door was closed. He turned the knob to open it, and, finding it was locked, knocked lightly. "Baby? Can you let me in please?"

A few seconds later, Ryker heard a click and was able to open the door. He entered the small bathroom, where shards of glass lay in the sink from the mirror having been smashed. JT sat on the floor next to the toilet, his knees bent and his head buried in his arms on top of them.

He looked up, his eyes puffy and red, as Ryker knelt down onto the floor beside him. "Careful. I think there's some glass down here."

"I'm OK," Ryker replied, wrapping his arms around JT, who instantly collapsed into them and broke down, his entire body shaking with the force of his sobs. "I'm here, baby. I'm right here."

Ryker allowed his boyfriend to cry for a bit, then remembered that he needed to check back in with Tanya. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"I fucked up. Everything is fucked up. I ruined everything, just like I always do."

"They're just things, Banner. Things can be replaced. Are you OK?"

He shook his head.

"Did something happen with Audrey?"

He nodded.

"Is she OK, JT? She's not hurt, is she?"

Again, he shook his head.

He proceeded to tearfully tell Ryker about the fight with Audrey, about her talking to Evan again, and about how he beat the shit out of him. "This is it. I'm done. My career is over. I might as well pack my shit now."

"Nah, you messed up. It happens, but it'll be OK. Things happen and…"

"I'm never gonna change!" JT cried, rubbing his face. "And, like, I feel so fucking stupid. Here I thought I was making all this progress, thought I was getting better, thought I was healing. But I'm not. I'm just fucking… broken . I'm beyond broken and I'm always gonna be. I'm damaged goods, Ryk. You're crazy if you stick around."

Ryker took his hand and squeezed it. "Then, I guess I'm crazy, because I'm not going anywhere. I love you, all of you, even the broken parts. You understand that?"

"Ryk," JT whimpered, as Ryker leaned in and kissed his forehead. "I'm sorry."

"I know that, baby. Come on, let's try to get some of this cleaned up. For now…"

They both paused as they heard loud rapping on their door, followed by, "University Police. Open up!"

"Fuck," Ryker muttered, standing up and pulling JT to his feet, who immediately collapsed forward onto him. "She said she'd wait for me to check in. Come on. It's gonna be OK. Let's just go talk to them. We have to."

The two exited the bathroom, climbing over the mess. JT had a seat on his bed and Ryker opened the door to find two officers standing there, one holding a piece of paper, with Tanya behind them.

"Evening, gentlemen," Ryker said, pulling the door open so they could come in, then shooting a look at Tanya. "What the fuck, Tan?" he whispered. "You said…"

"Ryk, I didn't call them. I swear. I was waiting for you when they showed up. They're here to arrest him for some off-campus assault."

Shit.

"Jacob Tyler DiMara?" one of the officers asked, as they walked into the room and around the debris on the floor. JT raised his hand. "What, uh, what happened in here, man?"

JT shrugged. "Must've been one of them dust devils," he responded without missing a beat. "I'm guessing the fucker busted on in and just started tearing shit up."

Ryker looked over at JT, who winked, and had to press his lips together to keep from laughing at this situation that was anything but funny.

No, this simple motherfucker did not just tell the police it was a damn dust devil.

God, I love him so much.

When JT realized that neither officer was amused, he took a deep breath and continued. "I, uh, lost my temper. I understand that this is vandalism and I fully intend to cooperate with you and to pay for everything I've destroyed."

"I'm glad to hear that, Jacob. However, that's not why we're here, though we'll certainly note this and report it to the department of student housing. Unfortunately, you're being charged with an assault that took place not too far from here about an hour ago. We're working in conjunction with the State College Police Department and we have a warrant here for your arrest. We're gonna need you to stand up, OK?"

JT did as he was told. "Can we, like, forgo the bracelets? I'm not a threat. I promise."

"Unfortunately, for our own safety, we cannot do that. We're gonna need you to turn around and put your hands behind your back."

He glanced at Ryker, whose bottom lip began to quiver as he watched them put the handcuffs on his boyfriend. "It's OK, Ryk."

As the officers Mirandized JT, he rolled his eyes and mouthed the words along with them, having memorized them from hearing them so many times throughout his life.

"Who do you want me to call?" Ryker asked, as the officers escorted JT out of the room. He was thankful that most students hadn't returned from break yet so there wouldn't be too many witnesses.

"Call Ty!" JT shouted back. "Get his number from Aud. I love you, Nerd."

?? ?

"Fuck, that felt so good, Rook," Hayes moaned, sitting up off the bed after the killer back and neck massage to which his husband had just treated him. "You have magic fuckin' hands, you know that?"

"So I've been told. Wait here, OK? We're not done." Ryan said, kissing him on the cheek and disappearing to their bathroom.

"Shit. Alright," Hayes said, grabbing a bottle of water from the nightstand and chugging it as he heard Ryan begin running the water to fill their four-person Jacuzzi.

Things had somewhat returned back to normal for Hayes in terms of his issue. The combination of psychodynamic therapy and yoga had helped him reduce his stress levels to the point where he could, with some serious concentration and relaxation, get hard again. After what he and Ryan had dubbed the ‘Family Weekend Boner Debacle,' he'd vowed to never touch another one of those pills again unless it got to a point where it was medically necessary.

It was New Year's Day, the arena was closed, and for the first time since they could remember, they were alone and had absolutely nothing to do. Having ordered some food and watched a couple movies, Ryan had suggested a massage and a soak in the hot tub to help them both keep this unusually stress-free evening going for as long as they could.

As much as they loved the business, they couldn't deny anymore that they were both in over their heads. The amount of time they'd spent there had really taken a toll on their mental health and their marriage, though they'd continued to fight wildly for one another through it all, just as they had since they were kids.

Knowing the amount of good that Ryler Arena did for the community, and knowing how it'd been Hayes's dream, neither of them were willing to even consider abandoning it. However, they were looking for someone with whom to become partners so that they could at least enjoy some of their retirement without the constant stress of dealing with every aspect of the business themselves.

Ryan appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, completely naked and beckoned his husband to join him, which he willingly did. As he entered, the lights were off and about 15 candles illuminated the dark room as a layer of black rose petals floated on top of the water. Ryan turned the jets on and they climbed inside, leaning back momentarily and just enjoying the warmth of the water and the noise of the bubbles. Hayes, remembering that his phone was still in the bedroom, thought briefly about going to get it, but talked himself out of it.

" It's OK to be unavailable sometimes," he remembered his therapist telling him. "Sometimes, you just need to live in your moment."

He sighed, then floated across the Jacuzzi and leaned in to kiss his husband, who spread his legs and turned Hayes around so his back was lying flat against his chest, his arms quickly wrapping around the front of him. "I love you so much, Rook."

"Samesies," Ryan replied, as the two just lay there with their eyes closed, soaking in all the peace of this moment.

But, in true Tyler Hayes fashion, his brain had other plans.

He couldn't help but ruminate on something that had come up at his most recent therapy session, something about which he hadn't even told Ryan.

He'd been discussing JT, no surprise there, as JT was the topic of most of Hayes's therapy sessions, and he'd somehow spiraled into the story of how he initially thought JT was his son. After having given his therapist the rundown on his and Ryan's complicated relationship with Amara, he said something that shocked even himself.

"I'm not sayin' she lied, but, like, I always wonder if maybe she did."

"What do you mean? About the paternity test?"

"Yeah."

"Why would you think she lied?"

"I don't know, man. I was goin' through a lot with my recovery. And there's somethin' she said to me the night I came to her house, right before I entered rehab, and, like, it never sat right with me, you know?"

"What'd she say?"

"She said, ‘Tyler, you know I wouldn't fuck up your career. You're too young. I would never.' And, like, why would she say that if he wasn't…mine?"

"You know, there are ways to find out the truth, if you truly want to. A couple toothbrushes and you can have your answer in about a week."

"I know that. I just…I don't know if I'm prepared for the stress that would put on Rook, or on JT, you know?"

"And I understand that. I do. But what about the stress it's putting on you, Hayes? Doesn't that matter, too?"

"Rook?" Hayes asked, snapping Ryan back to the present as he'd begun to nod off a bit. "Can I ask you somethin'?"

"You just did."

"Seriously."

"Of course."

"If you found out JT was actually my kid, would it change shit between us?"

Ryan held his breath, then exhaled dramatically. "That is…not what I was expecting you to ask me right now."

"Sorry. If twenty plus years has taught you anything, it's that I'm just chock full of fuckin' surprises, eh?"

"That you are, Hayes. That you are."

"So, would it?"

Ryan sighed, having known this day would come at some point. "Tyler, come on. You ever get a really good look at that kid's eyes?"

"Yep."

"You ever heard the mouth on that kid?"

Hayes smirked. "Sure have."

"Do you love him?"

"More than anything in this fuckin' world, besides you."

"Then…you already know. You already know , Tyler."

Hayes nodded, tears forming in his eyes.

"And hell no. It doesn't change a damn thing. If anything, it makes me love him that much more."

"Why would she have lied to me?"

"Because Hayes? Mar was broken, too. Just like you, just like me, just like the rest of the world. She wanted her life with Jake, and she wanted you to have your recovery and your life with me. It wasn't malicious. Was it fucked up, maybe? Yeah. But there were no ill intentions. Amara McDonough didn't have a mean bone in her body. She was a broken woman who was desperately trying to heal.

"And if I knew her like I think I knew her, she probably never even took a test at all. It was most likely something she did just so you wouldn't have that weight on your shoulders. She…God, she really loved you, Hayes. That was always my biggest issue with her. I knew she'd never feel about me the way she felt about you, and I hated it. For a long time. But, Hayes, Amara would have done anything to protect you."

"I know. So, do I tell him?"

"When the time is right, I think that'd probably be the fair thing to do, for both of you."

"How will I know when it's right, Rook?"

"He'll let you know." Ryan reached his hands up to Hayes's hair and ran his fingers through it. "He's good like that."

Instead of having sex, the two stayed in the hot tub, wrapped in each other's arms until they looked like two wrinkled ass prunes and the water had run lukewarm.

Hayes couldn't describe it, but having that conversation with his husband had brought him a newfound sense of internal peace. He dried off, completed his nightly moisturizing routine, then headed back into the bedroom, fully prepared to have one of the best, most relaxing nights of sleep he'd had in a very long time.

But all of that went to shit as soon as he checked his phone and saw that there were five missed calls and a single text message from Ryker McCreery.

R: Ty, it's Ryker. JT's been arrested for assault. Please call me as soon as you can.