2019-05-23 - We're Not Kids Anymore

After he'd escorted Erin back to her suite, Byron ate his lavishly prepared pasta dinner alone. He had a lot on his mind as it were, so perhaps this was for the best. Once the meal was done, he tidied up the kitchen before pouring himself a glass of Chardonnay at the bar. Dimming the living room lights, he takes his glass with him to his bedroom.

Rather than flicking the main light switch here, he crossed the darkened room to turn on the nightstand lamp instead, settling himself down at the edge of his bed. The glass of wine that he was nursing is placed next to the lamp, this is soon joined by the shiny gold Rolex that he'd removed from his wrist. He'll return it to his watch drawer in the walk-in later. Leaning slightly back, one leg lifts to cross over the other and he begins to undo the laces on his boots, before lowering both feet to the ground to kick them off.

This is when he reaches into his pocket to retrieve his phone, flipping through his most recent text messages. There was one conversation in particular that he'd received right before Erin arrived and it's something that he'd been thinking on since reading it.

(TXT to Byron) Geoff: Hey buddy I know it's been like over a decade since I last told you this, but really I want you to know it's still true man.
(TXT to Byron) Geoff: If you hurt Lily or make her cry, I will break you.
(TXT to Geoff) Byron: I'll make sure to keep that in mind, but thanks for the reminder!
(TXT to Byron) Geoff: Right? I had to give you the reminder, but I'll treat you to a beer sometime.

His response to Geoff made light of it all. A no questions asked type of thing. He remember Geoff telling him those exact same words when they were kids, but that was different. So much time had passed since then. Since the day that Lilith withdrew from all of them into herself. He knew the reasons why she'd done so now, but it did keep them apart. They were both 14 when he really last spoke to her until now. Now, they were such different people, weren't they? Having lived their own lives. He can still remember her clearly as that 14 year girl he was falling for, who then stepped completely out of his life.

Did Geoff really think they could start up again just like that or was Byron reading too deeply into his message? This, in turn, makes him reach for his glass to quickly gulp down nearly half its content. They were just kids then, right? And what did kids know? Rising to stand, he lifts his sweater up, shrugging it off of his lean athletic frame. He then goes for the kill, finishing off the rest of that wine, before hitting the shower.

All he knows is that no matter what happens now, Byron has no intentions of hurting Lily.