Mending Ryan Falls ✓

20 | in which she plays truth and dare

"Are you always this weird?" I ask him.

"Nope. Just with you," is his answer.

A flash of lightning is followed by the echoing roar of thunder. Either by a force of nature or by the fault in man-made technology, the lightbulb on the ceiling begins to flicker. I look up at it, then back at Ryan's whose face is suddenly pale as he stares unblinkingly at the light.

As if to make his wildest nightmare come true, it only takes one more flash of light to snub out all those inside, plunging us in thick darkness.

I'm about to speak when I feel someone brush past me. Ryan is already on the go, passing me by without a word as he rushes out of the kitchen, through the living room, and out into the rain that begins to pour. I follow him, navigating through the furniture and making it out just in time to see the first drops of rain fall.

"It's going to rain," I point out.

Ryan looks back at me, a haunted expression on his face. "I'd rather be in the rain than in the dark," he mumbles, his voice drowned out by the roaring sky.

I walk towards him, stopping next to him and looking up at him.

"Do you want to get sick?" I ask him, wondering if he might just be a masochist.

"Do you want to kiss me?" he asks instead.

No matter how many times he does it, his strangeness never fails to disappoint me.

"Can you not be serious for one minute, Ryan?" I demand, curling my hands into fists.

The smile on Ryan's face is playful, his dark hair sticking to his face due to the rain.

"Life is not a joke."

Ryan turns around to stare me straight in my eyes, his grey-eyed gaze penetrating as he pushes his hair back to reveal his hauntingly beautiful face.

"Is that what you believe or what your boyfriend has taught you?"

It always surprises me how quickly Ryan transforms from being the lively, playful guy to a man who can see into my soul. Maybe this is what makes him special. But to me, it only makes him more obnoxious.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demand.

Ryan hesitates. "Is this what he fed into your head? What he brainwashed you into believing? That everything you think ..." He takes a step towards me. "... that everything you do ..." He comes even closer. "... is all wrong because he says so."

I don't blink, not even when Ryan stops a mere foot from me, staring into my eyes with his hypnotizing grey ones. Everything about this man screams perfection, and yet I feel like that is only the surface. That is what he wants me to see, what he wants anyone to see.

"What makes you think he would do that?" I ask.

"Rule number one of abuse, Crystal," Ryan states. "Break the victim down from within. Break them down so that they won't even feel like the victim. They will think that the abuse is well-deserved."

"Victim?" I repeat. "You think I'm a victim?"

"Of abuse, yes," is Ryan's simple answer. His face is serious but calm, a strange combination.

I let out a loud laugh, which is drowned out by the roaring thunder. The rain pours harder now, soaking me to the skin and making my hair stick to my face. I don't shift my gaze from Ryan's face, drops of water rolling down his perfect face, which looks so much more rugged in the semi-darkness. The flashes of lightning illuminate his every feature, throwing his perfection into the spotlight.

"You're delusional," I spit, not wanting to admit how right Ryan actually is.

"No. You are."

My temper begins to rise, and I curl my hands into fists. "Who do you think you are, huh? Just barging into my life and thinking you know me. You don't know anything."

"Except that you're a victim and you don't even know it," he says indifferently.

He turns away from me, but I grab his arm, spinning him back to face me and refusing to let him walk away.

"What makes you say that?" I demand. "What makes you say I'm a victim?"

Ryan smiles, shaking his head and refusing to answer.

"Truth or dare, Ryan?" I ask him, wanting to punch his handsome face so bad. If this stupid game is what it takes to know Ryan's secrets, then be it. If he can use it against me, I can do the same.

Ryan's smile widens, his eyes sparkling in the light reflected in the raindrops.

"That's not how the game works," he says.

"Shut up and choose, asshole," I snap.

Ryan looks positively amused, and partially proud. "Truth," he finally says.

"Tell me. Tell me why, why you think I'm a victim. Tell me what –"

"I know you're a victim because ..."

Ryan leans towards me, a smile on his face that doesn't reach his eyes. His voice is so low I almost can't hear it, and yet I do. Loud and clear.

"Sometimes ... it takes one to know one."

.\.|./.

A/N: Views? Why do you think Ryan got all the groceries? Was he telling the truth or was this his way of helping Crystal without her knowing?

What were you expecting, and where is the story going? You like, you don't like, you ... whatever you feel, let me know. I'm all ears.

Thank you so much for reading <3