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The next time Ryland visited the set, Colt had an idea.
In all seriousness, despite Jody’s reprimands, he thought it was a great idea. He planned it down to the last detail. Ryder had a bunch of scenes to film that day which meant he’d try his bullshit with Ryland whenever he got the chance. Colt didn’t have any stunts to do that day since Ryder was supposed to be filming monologues and shit, so it was the perfect day to enact his plan.
Ryland and Jody weren’t convinced it was a good idea.
“Are you sure this is absolutely necessary?” Jody questioned. “I mean, seriously, Colt, I thought we were over this.”
“You’re over it. I’m not.”
Ryland rolled his eyes. “That happened months ago! And you got back at him for sending Jean-Claude to… you know. Why keep messing with him now?”
“Because you weren’t there the last few months to see him come up to me and ask is your pretty brother still single? It’s fucking infuriating, Ry!”
Ryland shut up, his face flushing in embarrassment. Jody huffed.
“And what is your plan exactly?” she said, crossing her arms.
Colt slipped into one of Ryland’s science pun t-shirts, tossing his fox cardigan over it. “We swap places for today. Gimme your glasses.”
“This is ridiculous,” Ryland complained, but handed his glasses over anyway.
“We swap places because that idiot can’t tell us apart, and because I lowkey think this whole thing isn’t a bit anymore, and I just… mess with him a bit.”
“Could you do this on any other day? As much as I’d love to see this, there are a lot of important scenes being filmed today and I can’t have Ryder being distracted even more than usual,” Jody said. She glanced at Ryland for him to back her up only to find him zipping up Colt’s stunt jacket. “There’s no way you’re going along with this. I thought you were better than this.”
“Well, I was against it at first, but now that I’m thinking about it…” Ryland smiled. “It sounds fun.”
Colt clapped his shoulder. “Attaboy, Ry!”
“Oh my God, you two are insane.”
“There aren’t any stunts scheduled for me today, so just hang out and about. Lean on the monitor or something,” Colt said, slipping Ryland’s glasses on the tip of his nose. “And watch the master at work.”
“I’m excited now. Does this mean Jean-Claude will be there?”
“Of course all you care about is the dog,” Jody groaned. “Whatever. Do what you want, just don’t mess with him during takes. That’s all I ask.”
Colt sobered. “I promise you’ll get your perfect shots today.”
She nodded. “Good.”
The twins shared a look, grinning. Today was going to be great.
Colt had given him a few tips on how to act like him, as if Ryland hadn’t been watching his brother be cool for like over a decade now. The only thing he was missing was the suave way Colt said things. He still retained part of what Colt called his “nerdiness.”
Other than that, he noticed what Colt was talking about as soon as they walked on the set. Ryland, being dressed as his brother, barely got acknowledgement from Tom Ryder before he was all over “Ryland.”
The real Ryland was genuinely taken aback. It may have been because he was distracted by Jean-Claude last time, but he didn’t remember Ryder being so… touchy. The twins weren’t on set for more than five minutes before Ryder was strutting up to them with his signature wolfish smirk, slinging his arm around Colt (dressed as him) and tugging him into his side.
“There’s my favorite twin! Oof, are those new glasses? Lookin’ good,” the man drawled, sticking his face in Colt’s space.
And Colt just glanced at Ryland, pretending to be all nervous and jolly but Ryland could see through it. His gaze stunk of I told you so and it was hilarious.
“They’re the same glasses…” Colt said.
Ryder laughed obnoxiously loud, the arm around Colt’s middle tightening as he pulled him closer. “This guy! Oh, I’ve missed you, truly. No offense, Colt.”
Ryland wrapped his arm around Jody as they walked. She played into it, smiling up at him and holding his hand. Colt was a genius to remember his sunglasses, or else this whole thing would’ve fallen apart as soon as Ryder walked up to them. Ryland could school his face, but not his eyes.
“None taken,” Ryland replied with a small smile, making sure his voice was a bit lower to match Colt’s.
“So, Ry, I’ve been having a bit of trouble recently that I think you can help me with,” Ryder said.
“And what’s that?” Colt questioned.
Ryder huffed dramatically. “Jean-Claude is so sad. I mean, it’s a struggle for me to get him to eat! I think he’s been missing you so much that he’s going crazy.”
“Uh huh…”
“And Colt’s no replacement for you no matter how much he says he is. Would you be able to pay him a visit tonight at my place? Just to make him happy?”
Jody snickered into Ryland’s arm, whispering to him, “oh, this is gonna be good.”
He smiled at her as he heard Colt play dumb.
“Oh, uh, I mean I don’t see why not. I’ve missed him, too. He’s one of the most well-trained dogs I’ve ever seen. I meant to ask you how you got him to learn French,” Colt rambled, perfectly in character.
As Jody tugged the real Ryland away, he couldn’t hold in the giggles of seeing Ryder eating up the attention, completely unaware of the twins swapping places. Hell, he looked utterly delighted to drag Colt with him, talking with that weird tone—a mix of suggestive and informative.
“Yeah, I think Colt’s right. I dunno if he’s joking anymore,” Jody observed. “I’ve never seen him look like that before. He’s… infatuated. Oh God, I’m so sorry, Ryland.”
“At least I’m not the one with him right now,” Ryland replied with an uncontrollable smile. “Colt’s gonna have a field day.”
He followed Jody around the set as she ensured everything was ready—from the pyro techs to the stunt crew, to the extras getting their makeup done (which looked so cool)—he wondered how she got anything done when having to manage so many different departments. Jody got comfortable in her chair, megaphone at the ready as the crew set up the scene. From what he heard yesterday, they were filming a scene where Ryder’s character was flirting with the main female lead (ironically enough), but she is not interested at all and keeps diverting his advances.
Ryland was excited to see the dialogue of the scene, especially how it pertains to Ryder’s current infatuation. He remembered the last time he visited Colt on set, Ryder was constantly giving him winks and thumbs ups and “seductive” smirks. He couldn’t wait to see how Ryder was going to act this time around.
Thankfully for Colt’s sanity, Ryder was flanked by the makeup crew which allowed him to escape. He ran over to Ryland and Jody, grinning wildly.
“Oh my God, it’s so bad,” he said. “He’s like genuinely gone. I don’t know how it’s not weird for him because we’re identical, so liking you is like indirectly liking me, but holy shit. I feel like I need to take a shower now—he was so touchy.”
Ryland patted his back. “Sorry but not sorry. This was your idea.”
“You’re just going to let him do all of that?” Jody questioned with a raised brow.
“Of course not. I just need the right moment to attack.”
“Do I even want to know what that means?”
“Probably not, babe.”
Jody looked up at Ryland. “Are you sure you're okay with this?”
“Oh yeah,” he snickered. “I’m positive.”
She sighed, raising her megaphone and pausing. “Just keep it off the takes, please.”
“Yes ma’am,” the twins said.
“Alright, let’s get set!” she said into the megaphone.
The twins stood with Jody by the monitor, watching Ryder receive last second makeup touches. The man’s eyes searched the set, landing on Colt. He smirked and winked, waving at him. Colt did a small wave, sighing.
“It’s gonna be a long day.”
“Yup.”
Colt managed to keep it together throughout the takes despite Ryder’s behavior pissing him off. He felt sorry for anyone that managed to become the apple of his eye, because if this was how he acted, he would’ve filed a damn restraining order.
First it was the greeting, inviting him to his place again without any sort of shame. Then it was the fingers digging into Colt’s waist. Then it was the winking and smirking before a take. Then it was the performance of the scene, where Colt could tell the words were half-assedly directed towards the lovely female lead.
“But you can’t leave me here, not now. Not when Serena was right.” Ryder delivered his lines half looking at the wonderful actress and half staring at Colt (fake Ryland). The next line he said looking directly at Colt. “We’re meant to be. It was written in the stars, my love! It’s always been you!”
Colt didn’t listen to what the lovely actress quoted back because his anger was bubbling. It’s not like he didn’t want Ryland to find happiness with another person. It was the fact that Ryder was not the right person, and he was a complete dick, and he didn’t have the right to think it was okay to be so touchy with Colt’s younger brother. The behavior screamed cocky and selfish, like Ryder owned anything and everything around him with a single glance. It may be the case for some other people, but not Ryland.
Colt remembered back when Ryland first visited set and met Ryder. Everything Ryder was doing now was amped up by a dozen compared to what he was doing back then. He offered the swap because for one, he knew Ryder was going to be all over Ryland, and he didn’t deserve that. And two, because it’s about time Ryder learned that not everything (and everyone) bent to his will simply because he flashed a “sexy” grin at them.
That, and Colt couldn’t stop thinking about if he didn’t swap with Ryland today, and how he probably wouldn’t have been able to control his fists if Ryder laid a finger on his brother. But Colt could handle it. In fact, he was betting on the fact that Ryder was a bastard that couldn’t keep his damn hands to himself. It just made his plan all the more fun.
He had given Ryland one of his bluetooth earbuds, putting the other one in his ear. He started a phone call so that Ryland could hear him. Knowing Ryder, he’d stick close enough to Colt to where Ryland would be able to listen in on whatever one-sided conversation they were having.
A couple of takes later, Colt found himself being tugged along again away from his brother and Jody, who gave him good luck smiles and waves.
“Did you see all of that out there? Was that the best thing you’ve ever seen or what?”
Good God, this guy had no clue that Ryland didn’t give a fuck about the acting. He cared about the stunts. But Ryder would never know that since he didn’t have the fucking heart to ask and, I dunno, actually get to know someone other than himself. He hoped Ryland was listening to this shit. Who was he kidding, Ryland was too deep in this plan to not be intrigued by Ryder’s words.
“It was okay,” Colt shrugged, once again baffled by Ryder’s lack of self-arwareness and personal space.
“Okay?” he balked.
“I like watching stunts. They’re so cool.”
Colt was giddy on the inside, seeing Ryder look down at his feet thoughtfully. It was well known on any set Ryder was part of that he didn’t do his own stunts. He refused to. But maybe, just maybe, with “Ryland” wanting to watch the stunts, he’d get a little taste of Colt’s medicine.
“You mean you like watching your brother work,” Ryder corrected. “Which, I mean, that’s totally cool, I mean—shit, he’s too good at his job sometimes, you know?”
Well, that was new. Ryder giving Colt a compliment? Shit. He really was whipped, wasn’t he, trying to make it sound like he appreciates Colt to get on Ryland’s good side.
“Hey, Ryder!” Dan called from a few yards away, a tablet in his left hand and his phone raised to his ear in his right. “Jody needs to talk to you!”
Ryder huffed. He pulled Colt (Ryland) close to his side, fingers once again digging into Colt’s hip. “Don’t go anywhere!”
“Fuck off,” Colt muttered as Ryder ran back towards Jody and the real Ryland, who was chortling over the line.
“He’s really like this with people he likes? That’s kinda cringe.”
Colt couldn’t wait to reveal their big secret and see the horror and confusion on Ryder’s face realizing he was such an ass that he couldn’t even bother to try and tell the twins apart.
Dan jogged up to him with a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, he’s being an even bigger dick today, but he’s been nonstop asking your brother when you are coming to visit again. I’m scared he actually likes you.”
Colt smirked. “Dan.”
The man raised a brow. “What?”
“It’s me.”
“I know, you’re Ryland.”
The real Ryland continued to chuckle in the earpiece. Colt joined in, taking Ryland’s glasses off once he made sure Ryder wasn’t anywhere in sight. Dan’s lips turned up in a knowing grin.
“God damn, you’re good,” Dan cackled, clapping Colt’s outstretched hand. “You’ve got something planned. Where’s the real one?”
“Playing me. Over there.” Colt slipped Ryland’s glasses back on and pointed at his twin, who was standing stoically beside Jody as she lectured Ryder on the scene. Ryland caught his eye and flashed his nerdy smile.
“This is priceless. Oh my God, this is amazing. Have I ever told you I love you?”
“A couple of times.”
“Well, I love you, bro. What’s the big showdown now? You gonna get Jean-Claude to… again?”
“Maybe. Dude, we weren’t even on set for five minutes and he already invited me back to his place.”
Dan scoffed, glaring at Ryder from afar. “Prick. You’re a good man for swapping places. Poor Ryland doesn’t deserve that.”
“Hey, what about me?”
“You don’t either, but you can also be a bit… pretentious, too.”
“So I should be subjected to Ryder’s icky behavior?”
Dan sighed. “Nobody should. Come on, tell me. What’ve you got planned to get back at him?”
“At the end of the night, there’s gonna be this big—”
He was cut off by the real pretentious, pompous asshole coming back and sliding up to Colt’s side again like he belonged there.
“Excuse us, Dan, we’ve got some catching up to do,” Ryder drawled with a smirk sent Colt’s way. “So, what were we talking about? Oh, stunts, right! Not to say I put your brother out of a job, but I like doing my own stunts every now and then, you know?”
Colt glanced over his shoulder, mouthing save me, to Dan who just shrugged in response. Fair. Colt did bring this upon himself for coming up with the plan in the first place. Didn’t mean he liked to be paraded around by Ryder, as if he were showing the set he had a claim on Colt’s brother.
Fucker.
The day felt like trying to wade through the ocean on a stormy day. He thought he’d be in a calm point where Ryder was busy doing his job for once and keeping his mouth shut only to be pulled back into the rough tides a second later. Luckily, when Colt was standing beside “Colt” Ryder behaved himself a little more. He wasn’t as touchy, and if he was, it was on the shoulders or arms. Colt cringed internally a few times when Ryder subtly commented on his arms.
“Woah, what’s a scientist got these guns for?” Ryder chuckled before going back to being in front of the camera.
Colt seethed. “I’m going crazy.”
“Yeah, I think you’ve proved your point. Ryder’s an asshole, I get it now. We can swap back if you want,” Ryland offered. Look at him: his sweet, kindhearted brother trying to make him feel better. No, Colt wanted to be mad. It’d give him good reason to enact his plan later.
“It’s okay. I’ll stick the rest of the day out.”
Jody leaned back in her chair to glower at him. “I hate to say it, but Ryder’s actually doing better with this new arrangement. Seems like he wants to show off even more than usual.”
The twins looked at each other and chortled. God, this guy was suck a fucking chud.
“I think my kids would say something like Tom Ryder is chopped for real for real,” Ryland said.
“The fuck does that mean?” Colt laughed.
“Chopped? From what I understand, it means like ugly, unattractive, unfit.”
“Tell your kids I’ll come visit again soon. They deserve it.”
Thankfully, Ryder was busy for most of the remainder of the afternoon leading into the night. Jody said the shoot would wrap up near six PM. Colt counted the hours on his watch, enduring rounds of googly eyes, winks, and smirks from across set. When it hit 5:30, Ryder’s assistant could be seen near the makeup trailer holding Jean-Claude’s leash.
Beside him, Ryland gasped.
“Jean-Claude!” he said, staring with endearment as the dog walked around. “He’s even cuter than I remember…”
“Focus, Ry,” Colt muttered. “It’s almost game time.”
“Right.”
“After this take,” Jody reminded. The twins nodded. “Alright, guys, let’s get everything reset and ready to go! One more time!”
“One more time!” someone shouted, and the set was in chaos again.
With the sun still setting, the rays of light were messing with Jody’s ability to see the monitor properly, so she had someone construct a pop up canopy. She sat near the back where the light wasn’t in the way, Colt and Ryland right behind her.
“This is so cool,” Ryland said as he watched the set come back together. “Truly, I mean… the teamwork required for all of this is crazy. I dunno how everyone deals with each other without yelling.”
“Oh, there’s lots of yelling, darling,” Jody said. “It is a bit of a tamer day today than in the past. I wonder if that has to do with anything.”
Colt pointedly ignored her gaze, rocking back and forth on his heels. He glanced at his feet, where he wore Ryland’s converse. They were ancient. Colt didn’t even know how old they were, but Ryland was in desperate need of an upgrade. Maybe he’d send him a new pair of shoes—same color and kind.
“Ry, I love you, but these shoes have got to go.”
“But I like them. And they still work.”
“Dude, the sole is in the process of coming off.”
“I’ll get new ones when the sole comes off!”
Jody shushed them as everyone took their places. “Action!”
Colt watched his fellow stuntmen be flung around by their cables, a great fight taking place with all of the other extras and main actors and actresses. It was a cyberpunk-esque vibe, with neon lights illuminating the set in bright color and the costumes looking sleek and futuristic. Best part about it, in Colt’s opinion, was the rainy setting. There was a lot you could do with rain in a fight scene, and Jody had a whole bunch of cameras catching around twenty different angles. He could only imagine how much fun the people in post were gonna have with this.
Ryder walked through the fight as if it weren’t happening at all, keeping up his character’s nonchalant demeanor as he approached the big bad guy. He pretended to stab the big bad, the actor shouting out before crumpling to the ground.
“Cut, cut! Perfect! Cut the rain, please!” Jody exclaimed. She watched the monitor back. “Oh yeah, this lighting is perfect. Perfect perfect perfect.”
“Now can I have fun?” Colt said.
“Of course, dear. Make it hurt.”
“With pleasure.”
Predictably, Ryder waltzed over, shaking his head to get some of the water out. He extended his arms as if saying look at me, I’m so cool, aren’t I and Colt wanted to throttle him.
“How’d that look, Jo?” he asked with a broad smile as he approached.
“Great, darling, it was great. We’ll go ahead and wrap up for today, alright?”
“Awesome.” Ryder leaned on one of the support beams, which happened to put him right beside Colt (fake Ryland). Colt could feel his breaths puffing against his shoulder as the man leaned closer. “Are we still on to go see Jean-Claude—”
“Hey! Step off from my brother, Ryder,” Ryland (fake Colt) said as he stood in front of Colt. “You’ve hogged him enough today. We’re going home.”
“Ah, what? Come on. I barely get to see my favorite of you two and you’re cutting me off?” Ryder complained, wrapping his arm around Colt’s shoulder. “At least let us get some drinks! I wanna take Ry here down to my favorite bar by the pier!”
“Too bad, Ryland’s coming with me.” Ryland grabbed Colt’s arm and tugged him to stand behind him. A swell of pride filled Colt’s chest. Good job, Ry. “And you’ll be seeing no more of him.”
“The overprotective big brother bit is a little old, don’t you think, Seavers? Ryland’s a grown up, he can make his own decisions! Come on, let’s go grab a drink. On me, of course,” Ryder persisted with his signature cocky smirk.
Colt stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Ryland. “I’m good. Frankly, your behavior is… gross.”
He watched Ryder’s expression falter for a moment, confusion entering his eyes as he glanced between the twins.
“Gross?” he chuckled. “N-No, I’m not gross, I’m—I’m just an affectionate guy!”
“Maybe a little too much,” Colt said, reaching to take off Ryland’s glasses, handing them back to him. In return, Ryland gave him back his sunglasses. He had to blink a few times to readjust his eyes. “Jeez, dude, that prescription is shit. How bad is your eyesight?”
“Not as bad as yours. At least I wear my prescription. You need to see an eye doctor, get some contacts,” Ryland quipped back as he pushed his glasses back to their rightful position.
Ryder spluttered at the exchange. “Wait wait what, uh—” he chuckled nervously “—wha…what’s going on here? What was that?”
Colt put his sunglasses on top of his head. “What was what?”
“That. Why’d you just switch glasses?”
Ryland glanced at Colt, a grin forming. “What? You really can’t tell us apart?”
“I thought you—” Ryder pointed at Colt, frustration evident in his eyes. “What?”
“Seems like your little crush on my brother is… just like you. A fake,” Colt said with a shrug. “I mean, I dunno if it’s just because I’ve grown up with Ry, but I can tell us apart even if he’s not wearing his glasses. The fact that you can’t and you’re all… touchy feely is kinda weird, man. Non-consentual touching is a big no no.”
He felt Jody’s hand press against his back, her face hiding in his shoulder blades as she laughed. He felt his own smile forming, watching the realization hit Ryder like a freight train.
“You swapped places?” he exclaimed. He glanced between them again as if it’d change the outcome of the day. “Since when?”
“Since this morning,” Ryland supplied. He stood up straighter. “And I’m frankly, like Colt said, a bit grossed out by your behavior. You have no qualms for personal space, or thought of consent to touch another person, which is rude and weird.”
Colt stayed silent as his brother’s voice grew in confidence. Hell yeah, Ry! Get his ass!
“And using your dog to try and–and, what’s the phrase? Get in my pants? I dunno—” Ryland waved his arms around, face flushing with embarrassment as his voice had garnered the attention of a few of the passing crew members “—point is that you’re such a… a dick! You don’t care about your dog, you only care about what you like, and you don’t even make an effort to get to know someone! That’s like, how relationships work, man! Maybe if you learned to be less selfish and a waste of carbon, you could find someone who likes you for you!”
Jody and Colt’s jaws dropped. Dan was recording a few feet away, his jaw also dropped from behind the camera. Ryder stared at Ryland with wide eyes and a gaping mouth, like he was a fish trying to gobble up food.
“I’m likeable!” Ryder argued. He glanced around, seeing the multiple sets of eyes on him and started blabbering. “I-I have money, good looks, a fuck ton of cool cars and a beautiful flatscreen TV, which you could’ve gotten to see, you know!”
“I don’t care about a TV or all of those things you just listed! Maybe next time you become obsessed with someone, one-sided by the way, you should make a bit of an effort to know what they like! Maybe then, you’d find someone to babysit Jean-Claude at your house!” Ryland shot back. “Hell, I’m like, two seconds from stealing him from you because clearly you just like to have him around as a show pony!”
As if on cue, Jean-Claude made an appearance. He sat in front of Ryland, looking up at him like he hung the moon and stars. Ryland glanced down and shook his head. Colt snickered as Ryland picked up the dog, who was more than happy to go with him. He licked Ryland’s cheek.
“In fact, I am taking him under the pretenses of animal neglect and assholery!”
“Don’t be like that, Ry—give me my dog back!” Ryder exclaimed, reaching for Ryland as he walked away.
Colt stepped in, eyes firm. “I’ll talk to him about Jean-Claude, but keep your hands to yourself, and preferably away from my brother.”
“What was even the point of all of that, Colt? Swapping places? What the fuck, dude?”
“What do you mean what the fuck, dude?” he mocked. “You’ve basically done nothing but harass my brother since you met him, all under the guise of some silly crush! You kept grabbing him, kept invading his personal space, kept talking all about yourself and never realizing that you were making him uncomfortable! Yeah, I’m overprotective but it’s because of bitches like you that I have to do shit like this! Don’t you realize how much of a pompous prick you were being? How much Ryland hates people like you who are so selfish and cocky?”
Ryder scoffed before sobering. “He hates that?”
“Yes! Why do you think I kept stepping in? He was looking to me for help because, bless him, he’s too nice to make enemies of anyone! He didn’t want to hurt your feelings, because that’s the kind of man my brother is!” Colt exclaimed. “And it’s people like you that want to take advantage of that. So you’ll probably never see my brother again, I’ll make sure of that. Maybe it’ll make you do a little bit of inward thinking, you know? About your character?”
Colt left Ryder standing there, absolutely gobsmacked, and jogged after his brother who was nearly off the set by now. He had put Jean-Claude down at some point but the dog didn’t run to his owner. He trotted by Ryland’s side protectively. Colt made a mental note to buy him whatever kind of bones he liked. As he grew closer, he could hear Ryland muttering to himself.
“...flatscreen TV. Such a… ugh!” Ryland growled. “So frustrating! Such an asshole!”
“Didn’t I tell you that from day one?” Colt quipped as he fell into step beside him.
“I know you did but he’s… somehow even worse than what you described!”
“Aren’t you glad we did this today?”
“Yes. And for future reference, I’d prefer it if you invite me to a set that doesn’t have him running around on it.”
Colt smiled wide, clapping his brother’s shoulder. “Good job, Ry. That was awesome. A waste of carbon? I love to see that phrase returning.”
“It was the first thing that came to mind,” Ryland huffed, wiping his face with his hands, jostling his glasses. He gazed at the setting sun. “It was kind of a good comeback, wasn’t it?”
“Oh yeah, you tore into him! It was so good! Dan got it on film!”
“No way!”
“That video is gonna go triple platinum on this set, I hope you know. It’ll be just like The Betrayal.”
Ryland cackled, leaning into Colt’s side as he laughed, too.
“Thanks for this, Colt. It was fun messing with him,” Ryland said. “And to be clear, I never entertained the idea of a relationship with that asshole. I just didn’t know how to tell him off.”
“Well, I’m glad you found your tongue at the end of the day. You know what this calls for?”
“A celebratory pizza and cocktail?”
Colt ruffled Ryland’s hair. “That’s my boy.”
As they exited set, Colt sent a quick text to Jody detailing their next whereabouts as he got out his truck keys. That was when he remembered.
“Ry.”
Ryland paused from where he was halfway in the truck. “Yeah?”
“Jean-Claude can’t come.”
“What? Bull!”
“That’s kidnapping.”
“I rightfully temporarily declared myself guardian! Ryder’s clearly unfit to take care of him!”
Colt sighed, seeing Jean-Claude looking at Ryland longingly. Fuck. He agreed completely with Ryland but they also couldn’t just take a dog—who were they kidding, yes they could. Jean-Claude loved Ryland and, as much as Ryder liked to be dramatic, he was right when he said Jean-Claude missed Colt’s twin. The dog would see Colt and run at him only to whine when his scent didn’t match Ryland.
“Jean-Claude, viens," Colt said with a nod to the dog.
“Yes!” Ryland whispered with a pump of his fist.
The pizza and liquor they had that night was even better than the last time they had pizza together, knowing that they showed Ryder who not to fuck with and how much of an asshole he was. Colt was immensely proud of his brother for sticking up for himself, and for stealing Jean-Claude, and Jody and Dan sat around the table reminiscing over the night’s events with flushed cheeks and laughter. Dan even showed them the video he took, causing Ryland to hide behind his hands while everyone cheered him on.
God, he loved his family. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.