Or maybe that’s just how Trevor sees him.
“I’ve got to walk Stella real quick first,” he tells Skyler when they’re back in the living area.
Skyler frowns. “Aren’t we taking her with us?”
“Oh.” He hesitates. “Are you sure that’s not too much trouble?”
Skyler takes a step closer. He runs a hand over Trevor’s shoulder blade and down his back, letting it settle casually on his hip. Like this is normal. Like he’s not setting Trevor’s body on fire. “How would that be any trouble at all? We’re walking, she needs to walk. It’ll be great.”
Trevor glances down at Stella, who’s watching them with interest. He wishes she could explain to him what the hell Skyler is trying to do here, because he has no idea. But the simple fact that Skyler likes his dog, that he thinks about her needs, makes him happier than it probably should.
Because this thing they’re doing, whatever it is, it’s not a relationship. It shouldn’t matter that Skyler and Stella have bonded. But it does. It matters. Everything related to Skyler matters to him.
When they get outside, Skyler points them in the direction of the High Line, but it’ll be a bit of a walk before they can get to an entrance, so they stroll leisurely, taking in everything. Trevor’s hat and sunglasses offer him decent protection, but that doesn’t stop him from keeping his eyes peeled for anyone who might recognize them.
Despite his nerves, he does enjoy himself. He runs into a café to grab them coffees, and then as they walk down the street, Trevor admiring the murals on the sides of buildings and Skyler smiling at every stranger they pass, he thinks about how nice it would be if this could be their everyday life.
If only.
There’s one incident where Skyler stops in front of a small outdoor gardening shop to coo over a row of succulents, taking his time trying to pick out the best ones, and Trevor notices a small group of girls standing not too far off watching him. They seem to be trying to place why Skyler looks familiar, and Trevor quickly ducks around the corner into an alleyway with Stella, hiding like a criminal, in case they figure it out.
When Skyler finds him there a few minutes later, confusion etched over his face, Trevor pretends Stella had dragged him off to sniff something. He stubbornly ignores the disbelieving look Skyler gives him and, after peeking around the corner and finding the girls have gone, takes off walking again.
“Did you get what you wanted?” he asks, nodding his head toward the array of plants in tiny ceramic pots that Skyler is now cradling in his arms like they’re babies.
“Yeah, they’re lovely, don’t you think? I wanted to brighten up the apartment a bit.”
“Sounds nice,” Trevor says.
But really, he doesn’t see the point in getting plants for the apartment when they’ll die once he and Skyler leave. They should already be making plans to get back to L.A., but he knows Skyler hasn’t gotten to see his sister yet and is looking forward to it. So he’ll wait until after tonight to bring it up.
Later that evening, Layla texts Skyler and suggests they meet her at a dive bar near the hospital. Trevor’s wary of the idea. He figured they’d hang out with her at the apartment, since she and Skyler live in the same building. But he can tell Skyler’s excited about going out, and he doesn’t want to disappoint him, so he agrees. Layla swears the place is always so dead she has no idea how it even stays open, that it might actually be a front for a drug ring, and all Trevor can do is hope that’s true. The no people part, not the drug ring.
This time when Skyler says they can take Mike with them, though, he doesn’t disagree.
Mike drives them, because even Skyler knows they can’t hop in an Uber together. Layla’s going to meet them there and then get a ride back with them after.
It takes a while to find the place. (Layla’s right; it looks like a total dive from the outside. A neon sign beside the door saysdrinks—only theris burnt out, so it actually saysdinks.) Then Mike has to circle the block looking for a parkingspace. But finally, they walk in, Trevor and Skyler with their hats on and heads down. Luckily, the room is dimly lit and the only person inside is a male bartender who must be in his fifties.
There’s a small bar on one side, three high-top tables along another wall, and two high-backed booths against the third wall. Trevor points toward the booths since they offer the most privacy, and Skyler asks Mike to order them two Jack and Cokes before following Trevor over to one.
Skyler sits down opposite Trevor and, judging by the concerned eyebrows, notices Trevor's rigid posture. He’s trying to relax, he is, but being out like this is a little nerve-wracking. Sure, there’s no one else here right now, but all it takes is one person. One stealthily shot photograph, and his and Skyler’s names will be linked together in ten article headlines by tomorrow morning.
“This is fine, right?” Skyler asks. “You’re good?”
No, he wouldn’t say he’s good right now. But he wants Skyler to enjoy the night with his sister, so he nods. And when Mike comes over with their drinks, he immediately takes a long sip of his, welcoming that first slight burn of the alcohol going down his throat.
Mike sits next to Skyler with a glass of water for himself, and to Trevor’s questioning look, he shrugs and says, “Working.”
Right.
How could he forget Mike’s here as Skyler’s personal bodyguard? Because Skyler is so fucking famous now that he needs a bodyguard just to go out to a bar. Trevor really shouldn’t be here with him.
He nods and takes another longer pull of his drink, not wanting Skyler to pick up again on how he’s wound too tightly. Layla’s not even here yet. He needs to relax. For Skyler’s sake. So he asks Mike how he’s enjoying the impromptu trip to the city, and as Mike answers, Trevor sucks down more than half his drink, and the conversation flows easier from there.
Suddenly, the door opens, and Trevor jerks his head to see who’s coming in, relieved when it’s only Layla. But when she spots them and grins as she rushes over to their booth, his nerves come back full force. He hasn’t seen her in years, and back then she was like a sister to him. What the hell does that make her now?
Because he was never really her brother, and after how badly he hurt her actual brother, he wouldn’t blame her if she hasn’t forgiven him.
