The Bad and The Broken

Chapter 34

Why does he all of the sudden want to hang out and be friends with him? Don't get me wrong, Ryder is a great guy. But he just randomly decides to be friends with him? He hasn't tried to do this before... It makes me a little suspicious.

"I told him you may need help around the house. You know, with all of those chores you have..." Jesse trails.

I roll my eyes. He just doesn't want me home alone with Jim, not that it matters anyways. Even if I said no, he'd be locked in my room. That's not healthy. He's a teenage boy, he needs to go out and have fun.

That's when an idea comes to me; if he isn't home, there's less of a chance he could get hurt, and I would know he's safe.

I reach in my bag, about to grab a notebook and pen, but Ryder hands his phone to me instead.

"I thought you had work..." I type, remembering that that's why we couldn't do the project today.

He reads it, and smiles a little.

"My boss called and told me that I don't need to come in after all," he replies, scratching the back of his neck.

That still doesn't explain why he wants to hang out with Jesse...

When he dropped his hand, I noticed slight bruising on his knuckles, and a small split.

I wonder what happened.

He gives me back the phone, and I type my answer.

"Okay. Go ahead."

I hand it back, and Ryder smiles.

"Great. Thanks Dawn," Ryder says.

"Are you sure?" Jesse asks, giving me a concerned look.

I nod, and hold out my arms for a hug.

He hugs me and whispers an I love you.

We let go, and I start my walk to the house.

Jesse's POV

I walk with Ryder to his car, and give Dawn one last look.

I'm a little confused. Why did she say yes? What about father? What would he do if he sees I'm not there?

I mentally roll my eyes.

He doesn't even known I exist, which sometimes I'm okay with, but others I'm not. Like when he's hitting Dawn. I just wish he knew I were there, so he could hit me instead. Well, even if he did, Dawn wouldn't let him.

I smile to myself. My sister is something else.

Ryder gets in his car, and I do the same.

"So, what'd you want to talk about?" I ask, remembering what he told me in the hall.

Before we walked out of the building, Ryder said he wanted to hang out so we could talk.

He chuckles.

"Well you like to get straight to the point," he says, pulling out of the parking lot.

"To answer your question," he says, quickly glancing at me, "I wanted to know more about your sister."

I furrow my eyebrows.

"That is literally your homework. Why do you need my help?"

He laughs, and looks at me, then back at the road.