The Players (TP4)

34 - It happened again

Ryan

"Wherever he is he's with her now." Jack ended his call.

They had just finished their run. Ryan hadn't slept but a few hours. He was pissed at Adam and upset he couldn't help Lana.

"You lied about Peter."

"Not really, if Kristi was home, she would have seen it all, then she'd tell Megan and Peter would know, too."

"Are you going to tell Maddie?"

Jack sighed. "Maddie knows, but not that you knew."

"I knew at first, but then Lana told me they hadn't had sex. I assumed Adam was holding off, because he had some morals. When I figured out he and Lana were, I assumed again he dumped the other one. I didn't know he was sleeping with both of them."

"None of this is your fault. Lana really told you she wasn't sleeping with Adam."

"Yeah. I told you we were friends."

He omitted she was drunk.

"The girls will make sure Lana's all right." Jack assured him.

"I can't tell Heidi. She'll blame me. Shit!"

"I have to go home, but just the fact you care proves you're not the jerk everyone thinks you are."

"Thanks a lot." He knew Jack meant it as a compliment.

With the whole day stretched in front of him, he was restless. After showering, he went for his coffee. He tried working, but went out to the pool. Would Lana avoid the pool? She loved it.

He was almost asleep on the lounge when Will showed up.

He sat up straight. "How is she?"

"Mad!"

"At him or me?"

"Both but mostly you. Did you know?"

"At the beginning, but I thought he dumped the other one. If I had known, I would have said something. She deserved better especially after her ex."

"I need to stop seeing Cassie, don't I?"

"Yup, unless she breaks up with Cole."

"He's a year rounder. I'm not."

Ryan nodded. It was the problem. Summer kids leave come Labor Day.

"Sorry kid. You want to swim."

"Yeah. She'll probably be mad I'm over here, but I don't care. You didn't cheat on her. You never would."

"No, but we will never be more than friends, if we're even that now."

He couldn't even explore if he had feelings for her, because the two things she wanted, he wasn't willing to give. It didn't mattered because she hated him.

He jumped in the pool and let himself hit the bottom. As his body floated back up his head fell forward and he did the dead man's float until he needed a breath. He felt hopeless in the same way he did when Isobel took advantage of him and smeared his good name. Neither were worse than after Christina. Only once had Ryan been in love. Whatever he thought he was with Isobel wasn't really love.

He was twenty and had been dating Christina for over a year. They met in the dorms during his sophomore year. She was a freshman and lived the floor below him. One day she knocked on the door to complain about the noise - loud music and heavy feet. One look at her and he would have thrown his speakers out the window had she asked. He was contrite and the next time he saw her at a party he never left her side. They became an item and were rarely apart except for classes. She came to visit him in Boston over Christmas break and his mother loved her. They survived a summer apart with only a few visits. He was young and head over heels.