A Healed Heart. (A mans love book 1)

In the beginning (cont.)

Chapter 3.

I was sitting on my bed, reading; "A child called it", when my phone rang. It was my mother, she told me that she would be on a business trip to Manila city for the next two months, and that I needed to find a place to stay until then. I was never a big fan of her international trips, because I hated staying in hotels, but obviously she didn't have time to find me a hotel, because she just told me to stay with a friend. She always came to me with these last minute trips. I signed in irritation before I picked up my phone and dialed Kody's number. It rang a few times before he picked up. "Hey Anthony, what's up?" He asked. "Hey Kody, my mom is going out of town for like two months, and I wanted to know if I could stay with you until she comes back." "Well, I would, but my Grandfathers funeral is in two weeks, and we don't have another ticket for you to go to Los Angeles with us" Well, I guess I could find someone else. I said, kind of disappointed. "Well, I could see if Ryan could take you in for a little while, just until we get back from L.A" Kody suggested. I wanted to jump for joy, because I had forgotten all about Ryan, but I kept my cool and tried to act like it didn't make a difference. "Yeah, I guess I could do that." I said. "Okay, I'll call him and see what he says." Kody said before he told me to stay by the phone and hung up.................

I got off of the bus and walked 100 feet to where Ryan's home was. Two stories rose high above me as I went to his door and rang the bell. After a while, a woman looked through the window at me, and opened the door. She had a matted mess of dark hair, bloodshot eyes, thin yellow lips, and a disfigured face. She had a bottle of vodka in one hand, and a cigarette in the other. She squinted at me. "Who the hell are you?" She demanded. "I'm Anthony" I said, trying to make a good impression. "You here for Ryan?" She growled "Kody Anderson is my best friend and he said that Ryan wouldn't mind me staying here for a while until my mom gets back from Manila. Suddenly Ryan came to the door. "Thanks mom." He said sarcastically. His face seemed to light up when he saw me. "Hey Anthony." He said. I was trying my best not to blush, but being around him made that task extremely difficult. "H-hello." I said, feeling my cheeks begin to heat up. He told me to follow him to where I would be sleeping. "Excuse my house." He said. "No worries" I said. But to be honest, I was kind of concerned The house was pretty junky. Clothes, books and shoes were strewn across the hallway and the living room. Ryan showed me what appeared to be the cleanest room in the whole house. It was the guest room, well, if you could call it that. When we reached the living room, Ryan plopped himself down on the couch, and motioned for me to do the same. I slid off my shoes and sat down next to him. Ryan moved really close to me once I sat down, and I felt a little bit uncomfortable, but at the same time, I was excited. "So, why did Kody dump you with me for the week?" He asked rather rudely. I looked at him. "My mom is going on a business trip, and she needed me to find a place to stay until she comes back. I said before Ryan laughed. "What's so funny?" I asked, kind of confused. "So you just decided to drop by and assume I would let you stay a while?" "Uh, no, Kody said he called you, and you said it was okay for me to stay until my mother gets home." "I know," Ryan said, and I wrinkled my brow at him in confusion. "I'm confused, then why would you..." "Just wanted to see what you'd say." Ryan said, flashing a toothy grin that warmed my heart. I felt myself blushing, and I turned to where Ryan couldn't face me. "Ryan chuckled as if he knew that I was blushing. Ryan turned on the television, and I saw that he was watching a fishing channel. "You like fishing?" I asked. "Yeah, my dad used to take me all the time." Ryan answered, seemingly reluctantly. "Oh, and your dad is......" "Dead," Ryan said simply. "Oh," I said, deciding that it was a sensitive subject that was better left alone. "I'm, sorry." "Don't be." Ryan said, before staying silent. There were a few minutes of awkward silence that followed, until Ryan said. "So, how long are you staying?" "Uh, just until my mom gets back. If you want me to stay somewhere else, then that's fine." "No!" Ryan almost shouted, startling me." Ryan sighed. "Sorry, I just, don't want you to go. I never have company." I sat back down. "Sorry," Ryan said. "I just .... don't want you to go." I smiled, which caused Ryan to blush. We stared at each other for a minute, and then Ryan quickly turned his head. I saw that he was trying to refrain from looking at me, and I also saw that he was having an extremely difficult time with that. I looked at him, and flashed a smile. He was so beautiful, and I was glad that he was letting me stay for a while. After a few more minutes of flipping through channels we settled on "Fringe". After about an hour of watching, I yawned slightly, and Ryan faced me as I wiped the tears from my eyes. "Are you tired?" He asked, seeming like he genuinely cared whether or not I was tired. I smiled, and nodded my head slightly. "I uh, don't have an extra bed, but you can use mine." I shook my head. "I'll just sleep on the couch." I suggested. "Why don't you just sleep in the damn doghouse?" Ryan's mother snarled behind me. "Ma, for real?" Ryan asked. His mother just shrugged and staggered away. "I'm so sorry, she's ... " "It's fine." I interrupted. I saw a small smile creep unto Ryan's lips, but then it disappeared, and he flew up. "I'll uh, get you a pillow and some blankets." "Thank you." I said as Ryan turned on his heels and left the room. With Ryan gone, I decided to see what there was to see. I got up and went to the nearby dresser. This was the only thing in the living room that hadn't really been destroyed. I saw candles, and a picture, it was a man that looked a lot like Ryan, except he was in a military uniform. I picked up the picture to see who this mystery man was. Maybe he was a cousin or a brother. On the back, it said; "John Freedle, February 18th 1987, to November 21, 2009." Right below the description, there was a sentence, I looked closer, and someone had scribbled; "I love you dad." I drew a sharp breath as I realized who this man was. "This is Ryan's father." I whispered. I nearly jumped through the roof, when I heard Ryan say. "It's rude to look through someone's personal belongings." I almost let the picture slip through my hand and fall to the floor, but I tightened my grip and replaced it on the dresser. "I'm sorry, I just..." "It's alright." Ryan chuckled as he joined me at the dresser before setting the blankets on the couch. "That was my father." Ryan said, a hint of sadness creeping into his voice. "He was in the army?" I asked. "He was Captain of a platoon in the Marine Corps." Ryan said. "He was a true hero, on and off the battlefield." "wha-what happened to him?" I asked tediously. "He, he was killed in an explosion during an occupation of a city in the Afghan war." "Oh," I said. "I'm so sorry." Ryan smiled weakly, and moved closer to me. I felt my heart leap, and I moved closer to meet him in the middle. Soon, we were so close I could feel his breath on my nose. My heart began to beat so hard, I felt as though it was going to come out of my chest. Suddenly Ryan stopped, and pulled away. "Don't be, it's ancient history." Ryan said as he slammed the picture down and led me to the guest room, where he set up the bed." "If you need to go to the bathroom, it's down the hall, and to the right. If you need anything else, or, if my mom starts harassing you, just call me." I smiled as Ryan wished me a goodnight and went upstairs to his room. I climbed into the couch and wrapped my blanket around me. I shivered, and huddled myself together to keep warm. I knew what would immediately warm me though, and that was the same guy that had almost kissed me just a few minutes ago.