The way that he tensed was visible; those words cut deep, each syllable chipping away another piece of his heart, threatening a self control that had never been easy to maintain. A brief thought, a flash of anger in his mind, and all Tyler wanted to do was pick up the glass that had been set in front of him and throw it against the wall...listen to the satisfying sound of it shattering. “I don't want to talk about Caroline,” there was a low tone of warning in his voice. On edge; but that much had been obvious from the moment that she found him in the bar. She doesn't love you. Could there be a more painful thing spoken aloud? Loving someone more than they loved you; needing someone more than they needed you...things had been blown out of proportion. Emotions exploding like dynamite. Sometimes once a line was crossed there was no returning. You couldn't take back the things that you said; there was no guarantee that you could fix the hurt that had been caused. When there was truth to it, when you could really believe what was being said, it made it that much worse.
Instead of creating even more of a scene with a display of violence, Tyler tossed back his drink, eyes closing for only a second as the burn traveled down his throat. Her touch may have been his only saving grace right then. The contact was brief; her hand on his arm, comforting, but not lingering. I'm sorry. Elena from even a day ago would have never said such a thing; at least not without the words dripping with sarcasm. Sorry...for his mom, for his grief, for all of it. His eyebrows knitted; comfort wasn't something that he had ever been good at dealing with, either. Tyler knew, in different ways, and on different levels, his parents had loved him...but they had never been a 'warm' family. Not when his father was around. Caroline was the only person he had ever really let in before; and now that decision was being wielded like a weapon against him. Elena had become his focus; the sole driving force in his life...whether it was to get the flip switched or not. When you put that kind of intensity into someone, you couldn't just turn it off.
“Yeah, me too,” the words were bitter, just solemn. The sentiment was easy to appreciate; but all of the things that he had been told about time healing wounds...it wasn't true. It didn't erase what had been done. It was as fresh now as it had been when Sheriff Forbes showed up at his door with news that he never wanted to hear. He knew another drink was bound to be on the way, along with the food that she had ordered, but nothing sounded appetizing to him right then. Nothing sounded appealing. He had told her before that he wouldn't turn his emotions off despite some of the things that he had been through; that still held true, but he did wish he could cut some of the feelings out. Maybe his heart being ripped out, literally would have been an easier solution. Those thoughts could be dealt with later; she had shown up, despite having a thousand reasons not to...having no obligation to follow up on the text that had been sent.
Turning in his seat, Tyler was facing her more than before, but not completely. Reaching over, his hand came to rest on her wrist, not squeezing hard...but there was just enough pressure to be felt. He wasn't trying to intimidate or scare her, not right then. She was the lone person that wanted to put up with him. That felt as if spending time with him wasn't a complete waste. “I don't want to just sit here. I'll go crazy...and it's not going to be pretty.” It didn't mean that he wanted to just get up and leave; the alcohol hadn't made him numb enough yet.