Only the Beginning

Chapter 9

"Then one night he came, again when my brother wasn't around, and kissed me."

He took another gulp almost finishing the bottle. "Were your parents home?"

"No."

He grabbed one of the two bottles he had given me and opened it.

"I kissed him back, obviously. I thought everything I had wished for was coming true. But like almost every relationship, it was complicated."

Half the bottle gone.

"He said that we should stay quiet for some time and I agreed just because I wanted to make him happy. So we did. He'd play video games with Jason and when Jason was called to take out the garbage or do the dishes, he'd sneak up stairs and see me."

He tilted his head back and took another gulp from the bottle and I knew then it was just a matter of time before he was fully intoxicated.

"Ryder, I think you should slow it down."

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and grabbed the third bottle. "I'm fine, just continue."

Though I was slightly worried with his behavior, I continued. "One afternoon I asked him what we were and we some how ended up arguing. He stormed off and left. The next night he threw a party and texted me asking me to come over as if nothing had even happened but I declined. I made up some bullshit lie about Jason being there and it being too risky."

I stopped for a second, trying to figure out how to explain the rest. Here's where it really got complicated, here's where everything started to break.

"I wanted to just stay in that njght but Dylan called and insisted we go out to Livvy Land Park. Later on that night I decided I wanted to go to the party and so I asked... a random stranger to drive me over."

Realizing I was referring to him, he smiled. "Random stranger?"

"Yes," I smiled, "And so this random stranger drove me over there and I ended up catching Asher with another girl. All my feelings for him turned into hatred and so we ended."

"That's it?" He asked.

"That's it."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're hiding something?"

"There's nothing to be hidden." I looked down at my fiddling fingers.

I had cut out a whole bit of our story and surprisingly it wasn't so hard, it was as if I had become numb to that part. As if it didn't even happened.

I liked that.

"Okay then, I forgive you." He said.

"Good."

"Good."

There was silence but it was so heavily laced with awkward tension that I just wanted to jump in a hole and never come back up.

He sat there and stared at me, his eyes not fully focused, but I was ready to start another staring contest.

"You're drunk, you need to go and sleep it off, I'll get-" I started as I picked up the empty bottles.

"Did you love him?" He cut me off.

I stopped and met his eyes. "What?"

"You heard me."

"I-I had just turned 16, I didn't even know what-"

"Did you love him, Carmen?"

"No." I said not really knowing if it was a lie or not.

He smiled a half smile but I couldn't quite tell if it was because he was drunk or because of my response.

~*~.~*~.

Ryder eventually crashed upstairs after an hour of convincing.

I didn't leave right away though, I went downstairs and cleaned up a bit. I originally planned to clean up Ryder and I's mess only but I ended up cleaning other things too.

It was weird, really, considering this wasn't my own home but I guess I was saving the Byers the trouble.

Besides, I told myself, I was only wiping down the counters.

I finished cleaning and picked up my things, ready to head out, but then I remembered I left my phone on Ryder's nightstand.

Groaning, I ran back up to his room and grabbed it but right as I was leaving his room, I caught a glimpse of something out the window that caused me to stop dead in my tracks.

A car pulling into the driveway.

The first thing that popped into my mind was the back door. But where was it? I had no idea.

Fuck it, I was screwed.

Or maybe I still had time. With the way Ryder's place was built if I could get out here now before they got to the walkway, they wouldn't see me.

I could make it look like I was coming out their neighbor's house.

Placing my phone in my pocket, I quickly ran downstairs and grabbed my bag and headed straight for the door.

But before my hand even reached the door knob, it swung open.

Shit.

~*~.

(A/N): HEYYYY!!

So I'm at my city's public library right now and I've never been so depressed in my life.

Why you ask?

Because I lost my library card.

Why? Why would this happen to me? I've been a good human... kinda.

Question(s): Why do you think Ryder was so interested in knowing about Asher and Carmen? What do you think about Asher and Carmen? Who do you think Carmen has run into?

Don't forget to vote, comment and share with your ex boyfriends. ;)

~ M.