The Badboys' Good Lips

9

"Don't care," he cut off my apology, shaking his head and turning toward the building entrance. His strides were nothing short of purposeful as he walked off, and I wordlessly put the broken phone back in my tattered bag to follow quickly.

The elevator ride up was just as tense and when we finally made it to his apartment and were inside, Ryder kicked off his shoes and flexed his fingers. I tracked the movements as I carefully took off my own shoes, crouching on the floor to line them up perfectly next to each other.

Was this going to be where I was punished by him or did he think getting caught by Cole was enough? Was he going to want to talk right now and give me another chance to explain myself? And with the phone destroyed, was he going to get me another tracker?

Speaking of which, I was just now realizing: How did he find me? And so quickly? I didn't have the tracker and Dylan had driven off. Was this all really a test and Ryder truly had been watching me the entire time?

I shivered. It seemed everyone was watching me and it was making my skin crawl.

I shook my head and licked my lips, hugging the tote bag to my chest as I watched Ryder grab himself a water bottle from the fridge. He didn't look at me as he uncapped it, stared down at the contents, and then looked up. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

I blinked. Okay, yes. He's mad. My eyes shifted before I forced myself to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry–"

He screwed the cap back on the bottle and placed it on the island counter behind him. "Don't," he cut me off sharply, huffing. "Don't be sorry. Be better."

"I was listening," my voice sounded so unsteady compared to his, but I felt as such. "I was at the elevators but he grabbed me."

"You didn't fight him off."

Goosebumps raised on my skin. "How did you know that?"

"I assumed." His eyes narrowed. "You just confirmed it."

He has me there. I looked away for a moment, shaking my head. I didn't want to cry again but I felt the moisture brewing. I softened my voice, hearing the tremble. "How did you even find me? I didn't have the phone."

"I guessed," he sounded less than pleased. Disgusted, actually. "I thought to myself: Where is the first place Mae would run away to? And then I remembered your pitiful obsession with your abusive ex-boyfriend."

My vision blurred but I blinked the tears back. "He's never–"

"And then I thought to myself: No. Mae's a little fucked in the head but she wouldn't be that stupid," he clipped, closing the distance between us in a few short strides. He grabbed my chin with his thumb and forefinger and he turned my head to force my eyes to his. "Look at me when I'm talking to you."

My heart jumped, blood pressure rising as I had my head now tilted back. I didn't say anything, letting his words shove me under the surface of guilt and hurt that was starting to overwhelm me. Stupid. The word seemed to stick like glue to the insides of my brain, carving itself there. Stupid.

Ryder's eyes frosted with ice. "I have known you for one week and already know that you cannot be trusted. You're not a child and yet I clearly have to treat you like one."

My voice was small as I tried to push his hand off my face. "I didn't a-ask for... I... I never," but I couldn't get any words out. They lodged in my throat, refusing to become audible because I wanted to shove down the events of today in the sand and never have to unearth them again. So I pushed them away, letting Ryder continue to think the worst of me.