My Savior

-10-

Ryder pays for our tickets, though I insisted that I'd pay for mine.

I made my way towards a huge tank and press my hands against the glass. I watch the colorful fish swim around and chase each other.

"Aren't these fish pretty?" I asked Ryder, but I noticed he's not next to me. I look around for him and my heart shatters when I see him. He's talking with a beautiful blonde girl who's giggling and blushing while fiddling with her short skirt. His hand is pressed above her head while he smirks. I recognize the girl. She's from our school, or my former school, and she was one of the many girls he's slept with. I feel a lump in my throat and tears threatening to escape.

"R-ryder..." I whimper as I slowly back away. He must've heard me because he looks in my direction and frowns. I push through the crowd and make my way towards the beluga whales. I find a bathroom and hide in a stall. I start crying and hold my stomach. I felt hurt, but he wasn't even mine. I wasn't sure that I wanted to go back to the hotel with him and be forced to sleep in the same bed.

I debate whether or not I should call Lydia or my parents and ask them to pick me up, but I don't want to be rude. Maybe I'm just overreacting... he's not even mine.

I wipe away my tears and leave the bathroom. I lean on the railing as I listen to the beluga whales communicating with each other. Someone wraps their arms around my waist and rests their head on my shoulder. I push away from Ryder and start walking towards the penguins.

"Sage, please don't walk away." I ignore him and keep walking. I was hurting inside. I felt like a fool for thinking he actually liked me. I should've known he was just playing me.

He grabs my arm and pulls me into a hug. "I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd care." That hurt. A lot. Of course I would care. I like him more than just a friend!

But he doesn't know that...

I look up at him and frown, trying to hide my feelings. "It's not like you're mine. I know you don't like me."

He furrowed his brows. "You're right. I don't." My heart felt like it had been stabbed. I maintain my composure as he pulls me to an area with no people and pins me against the wall. "Because I love you." He crashes his lips to mine and my stomach does a backflip. He pulls away and all I felt was disappointment. He presses his forehead against mine and takes a deep breath. "Please be mine. I love you, Sage."

I stare at him in awe. "Y-you l-love me?" He nods. I wrap my arms around his torso and couldn't help but smile. I didn't expect him to say that, but I was relieved. "I'll be yours." I stand on my tiptoes and peck his lips. A large grin was plastered on his face. I grabbed his hand and walked us towards the penguins. "Oh my gosh! They're feeding them!" I dashed towards the exhibit and pulled Ryder with me.

"Anxious I see," Ryder chuckles.

"Just a little." He rolls his eyes. I watch the tiny penguins gobble up fish. "They're so cute."

"You're cute." He wraps his arm around my waist.

"I saw that one coming," I giggle. Once I had enough of watching penguins, I led us to the dolphins and back to the beluga whales. We went down to the sharks, never once letting go of each other.

As we approached the sharks, I heard a feminine voice call out Ryder's name. I clench my fist knowing who it is. Ryder stiffened and let go of my hand. He wrapped his arm around my waist as we turned to look at the girl.

"Who's she? You were alone earlier and we were going to-"

"She's my girlfriend. You and I weren't going to do anything. You just thought we were. All we did was catch up, nothing more."