Everything Changes

Chapter 26: Bad Decisions, Good Intentions?

        The scream escaped me. Without meaning to let it out it escaped. Though this time my brother wasn't here to barge in my room and Ryder couldn't hear me. Thankfully I wasn't ruining their night. Since Ryder spent his trying to make me believe that nothing was my fault. Seeing that side of him. It's my favorite side of him. His caring side. Nope don't think about that. Don't think about that and how good his arms felt around you earlier.

        This isn't working. Stop thinking about him. Just stop! I reached over and turned my lamp off. The urge to get out of my own head was overwhelming and It was time to try and get some sleep even if it tried to evade me.

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        The sound of chirping was loud in my ears, and the sun was harsh against my eyes. My head was slightly pounding from the lack of sleep. As well as the fact that I was stressing about Ryder and for the first time since he's been staying here. I wasn't excited to see him, more scared to see him. What if he knows?

        How do I avoid him? Going downstairs and grabbing something to eat was out of the question. Plus Andrew wasn't home yet. He's my ride. Wait this is stupid. Avoiding him like this? When I am not even sure if I even like him like that. Plus he hasn't done anything wrong. What if he carries a picture around of a girl? That's not my business.

        Before leaving my room. I grabbed my stuff so that when Andrew gets here we can leave. There was a noise coming from downstairs. Indicating that Ryder was already awake. Since my mom was still at work and Andrew's car wasn't outside.

        The stairs creaked as they had last night. Yet for some reason it sounded louder than before. Could he hear each step I took? This is stupid. Stop acting like this. He's your friend. Nothing more. You don't feel that way about him.

        "Hey, morning I hope you don't mind but I made breakfast." Just the sound of his voice made the hair on my arms stand up. No, stop, you don't like him.So why am I just standing there staring at him with my mouth slightly open? I don't want this. "Aria...?"

        "What? Sorry, I'm fine. I kind of went into a daze there...didn't get much sleep." That was a lame excuse. I let out a silent prayer that he would just let it go. "Okay...uhm well I made pancakes." He pointed to a stack sitting on the counter. "Wait. Did you make smiley faces out of chocolate chips?"

        "Yeah, I remember you telling me that your dad made those for you when you were feeling down." I can't believe he remembered that. Yup, I'm screwed. I'm in love with Ryder Bentley. Someone who I knew would never love me back. "Are you sure you're good?" I grabbed a plate of pancakes and nodded my head.

        "Okay. Well I hope they taste good. It's not my first time making them but it's been a little bit. I used to make these with my mom. Minus the chocolate chips. She wasn't as cool as your dad. Cavities. That's what she was worried about. Even when she got sick. She always made sure I was taken care of."

        "She sounded like a wonderful mother." He took a bite. "She was. Now tell me what you think." He was staring at me waiting for me. Hopeful look on his face. Grabbing my fork and taking a huge bite. "Wow, these taste amazing."

        Which wasn't a lie. The sound of my brother's truck pulling up caught my attention. Yes, thank god. If I had to spend another minute looking at his smile and thinking about how sweet he was I was going to go crazy. Where is the bad boy that I heard so much about throughout the years? How was everyone so wrong about him?

        I crammed another few bites into my mouth and jumped up to grab my stuff. "That was amazing, Thank you but I need to get to school early. See ya." Without turning around. I was gone. Running for the truck before my brother can even get out. The only crappy thing was. It was Friday. Which means that school wasn't an option in the next couple of days.