Bittersweet Hero

You Are My Knight

Picture of Ryder

I waited for Ryder in the driveway. Carla and Xavier were gone for work. Someone was walking up the sidewalk. I got up and saw it was Ryder. He walked up to me.

          “Hey. What’d you need to talk about?”

          “Can we, uh, talk inside?” I asked shyly.

          Ryder nodded and I led him up to the door. I opened it and Ryder followed in after me and I went to go sit on the couch. He sat down next to me.

          “So, what’s up?”

          “Remember a couple days ago when we started talking, I received a text and got weirded out?”

          Ryder nods.

          “Well, I’ve been getting more of the messages. I didn’t want to go to my sister because I knew she’d want to run to the police. You’re the last person I could go to.”

          I handed Ryder my phone. He scrolled through the messages. Ryder handed me my phone back. “I’m sorry. Do you have any idea who it might be?”

          “There’s only one person I could think of. And that person is my ex-boyfriend. He was the only one who called me ‘kitty’ or ‘kitty cat’.”

          “Maybe you should go to someone about this.”

          “I can’t. If I did, my ex would beat me to bloody pulp.”

          Sighing, I felt tears sting my eyes. “You should never be treated that way.”

          I couldn’t help myself. By this point, I was so broken I didn’t even care if I burst out crying in front of Ryder. A pair of arms pulled me into an embrace. It was comforting. The smell of cigarettes and fabric softer filled the air around me. His embrace felt so welcoming.

          Ryder ran his hand up and down my back. I let out a sigh and pulled away.

          “Thank you for this.” I whispered.

          “You’re welcome. If you need anything, just let me know.”

          I nod and got up after Ryder. I wiped tears from my eyes and closed the door once Ryder left. Sighing, I went up to my room and slammed the door shut, sliding down it until I hit the floor. Everything was slowly beginning to feel like my fault.

          Sighing, I went over to my bed and laid there until I fell asleep.

The next morning I could hear someone talking. Another voice was responding back. Slowly, I sat up and groggily went downstairs.

          I saw Carla and Ryder. Wait, Ryder? What was he doing here? I looked around and saw no sign of Xavier. Carla let out a small smile and waved me down the rest of the stairs.

          “Where’s Xavier?” I whispered.

          “He had to leave early for work.” She smiled at me.

          Ryder was looking down at the ground. “I see you met my friend.” I said out loud.

          Well, this is awkward. I sat down on the chair next to the couch and Ryder sat down on the couch. Why was he so nervous? Carla left upstairs and I was left alone with Ryder.