T W E N T Y—T H R E E
EVENING WAS ROLLING around, and the sun was starting to go down to the point that the sky had a slight orange tint to it. It was gorgeous, really. I didn't think I'd ever get tired of seeing the sun set at night.
We decided now was as good a time as any to get out of the water and get something to eat after we dried some. After all, we hadn't eaten since eleven this morning.
I checked the time on my phone after I'd gotten dressed—I'd remembered to charge it earlier while I was showering—to see that it was just after seven. "Where do you want to go to eat? It's seven, already."
"We could always eat at my house," Tyler suggested.
Ryder laughed—a sound I was still getting used to. "Yeah right, like you could cook anything without burning down the house. I'll cook at mine."
"Hey!" He protested. "I can cook!"
I snorted as Jay shook his head with a horrified expression. He was practically shivering at the thought of Tyler in front of a stove.
"If I do recall," Cyrus cut in, "the last time you tried to cook for my mom, she actually forbid you from ever cooking again, whether you were at her house or not."
"Okay," Tyler muttered. He puffed out his lower lip in a pout. "So, maybe I'm not the best—" there were murmurs of agreement, to which he glared at all of us, "but it's the thought that counts."
"That's true," I agreed. I hooked an arm around his waist in a side hug with a grin. "You're still not cooking, though."
"Fine," he muttered as I pulled away. After a moment, he asked, "Can Dakota come?"
Ryder shrugged and tried to hide his smile at Tyler's lovesick attitude. "I suppose."
Tyler grinned and pulled out his phone, speeding up with it against his ear and a hand against the other one as he walked ahead to block out noise.
I glanced over at the sound of a phone ringing and saw Cyrus answer after checking the caller ID. With the glowing smile he showed at seeing who the caller was and the fact he pulled Jay aside with him to take it on speaker, I assumed it was his mother.
There was a bit of silence after that of me and Ryder walking side-by-side, but it wasn't awkward, surprisingly. I glanced over to see him already watching me from the corner of his eye. He raised an eyebrow.
"Can I talk to you?" I asked after a moment, my hand instinctively reaching up to my necklace.
"I don't see why you have to ask," he responded simply, eyes shifting to my hand on my necklace. It was only for a second, but it was enough to make me quickly let go. "It doesn't matter the response, you'll still say what was on your mind."
Though the response sounded rude, I don't think he meant it that way. At least, I hoped not.
"Thank you," I finally said, blowing a strand of hair from the front of my face. It drifted back a few seconds later.
"For what?" He asked, startling us both by reaching out and tucking the strand securely behind my ear. His eyes widened in surprise and confusion at his own actions. I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it. He blanked out his expression and clenched his jaw, tucking his hands in his pockets.
We were silent another few seconds before I answered his question. "You covered for me, even though you didn't need to. So, uh, thanks."
He nodded what I assumed was a silent 'you're welcome' before facing forward again.
"Why?" I blurted out.
He furrowed his eyebrows. "Why, what?"
I felt my cheeks flush from the embarrassment of stuttering. I glanced down and bit my lip to focus on losing the blush. "I meant, why did you cover for me? I was being an asshole and deserved everything that guy said to me. Wait—" I glanced up at Ryder with suspicion. "How did you even know about the guy? Didn't you pick me up when I was asleep?"
He nodded and stared ahead. "I did, but I was there when you first got there. I was outside before I heard arguing. I thought maybe it was an arguing couple, at first, but then I walked over and saw the two of you."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I was pissed." He shrugged. "I still didn't like you at the time, so I figured it'd be nice see someone put you in you're place for being a bitch."
At the time.
"Oh," I muttered irritably, pushing aside the relief at the implication that he may finally be accepting me. I noticed Jay and Cyrus were off the phone and making their way over to Tyler after seeing I was having a discussion with Ryder.
"Don't get me wrong," Ryder said, a twinge of irritation lacing his voice as he spoke. "If he'd laid a hand on you, I would've handed his ass to him in a matter of seconds. No man should ever put his hands on a woman."
I thought abut making a sarcastic comment about that being sexist just to mess with him, but decided against it. I had a feeling there was a reason behind his irritation.
Taking a chance at this whole trust thing, I softly asked, "Why do I get the feeling that you've seen a man hitting a woman?"
He was silent for a moment, staring forward with what was meant to be a blank expression, but I could see the anger bubbling beneath the surface. I noticed his fist clenched at his side and reached over, brushing my hand against his knuckle.
He flinched and looked over at me in surprise, then at his hand, and back up at me. I gave him an encouraging half smile and he relaxed his clenched fist. I pulled mine away before the situation became too uncomfortable and awkward.
He clenched his jaw for a moment before releasing it with a deep breath. He spoke, to my surprise, but stared ahead. "I hate to admit that you're right," he said. "I had this . . . friend, as a kid. I grew up with her, since our parents had been friends from high school." He closed his eyes for a moment to compose himself before opening them again so he could see where he was walking. "She had this boyfriend—they'd been dating for years, so it was so surprising when—"
I smiled reassuringly at him when he abruptly stopped. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me. I'll understand."
"No, its not that. It's just—"
"You loved her."
He glanced over in surprise and slowed to a stop. He let his expression fall to acceptance as he questioned, "It's that obvious?"
I nodded for us to keep walking and waited for him to follow, which didn't take long. I shrugged. "How could it not be? You've known her your entire life, it doesn't take much to guess you'd be protective over her. Besides, I could see it in your eyes when you mentioned her."
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I do—or, did, I guess. She moved to Chicago a few years ago and we lost touch. I knew she never felt the same way, but at least she cared and trusted me enough to get out of the relationship she was in."
"Did he hit her?"
He nodded. "In front of all of us—me and the guys. They were afraid to do anything because he was two years older than us, while Selena was only one."
"That's a pretty name."
He smiled. "It is, isn't it?" He shook his head to focus his thoughts. "Anyways, I tried to fight back for her, but I was a lot smaller than him at the time. One hit was all I got in after he hit her before I was on the ground all bruised and bloody. She broke up with him immediately and he stormed off." He clenched his jaw and fists again, then took another deep breath and relaxed them. "After that, I started working out, making myself strong enough to defend her. I guess that's when people started noticing me. They weren't afraid of me until he came after us again a few months later, when I beat the shit out of him."
"How old were you?" I asked, completely invested in the story. It was nice to learn a bit about Ryder's own life. It made me see him in a new light.
"Fourteen," he answered. "He was sixteen. I'd just turned fifteen a few months later when he came back and learned his damn lesson. He hasn't spoken to her again, as far as I know."
"I'm sorry you had to go through all that," I said. "I'm glad she's okay, and that somebody put him in his place." I paused as he nodded, my curiosity getting the best of me. "What was she like? Selena, I mean."
Ryder smiled the most genuine smile I'd ever seen from him as he stared off in the distance. "Amazing," he breathed. "She was just . . . angelic. She had this long, straight black hair, and I remember being the only one allowed to play with it. And her eyes, god her eyes . . . They were the brightest shade of blue I'd ever seen."
I smiled sadly at him. "Do you miss her?"
A look of sadness crossed his face and he looked down, whispering, "Every second."
I debated whether to hug him or not, but decided it best not to. Instead, we walked in content silence until Tyler and Cyrus called for us to catch up to them.
In all honesty, I was surprised Ryder confided in me. He'd had no reason to whatsoever. The only thing resembling an obligation to trust me would be for the respect of Cyrus, Jay, and Tyler.
I got ready to run, but paused as Ryder's hand caught my arm gently. "Hey, Skye?"
I looked back at him curiously. I was trying to hide the surprise of him willingly touching me. "Yeah?"
I locked eyes with him, and in that moment, I saw more raw emotion there than I'd ever thought possible—happiness from knowing her, sadness from missing her, how much he loved her, how much he hated the guy who hit her . . . He didn't have to say a word for me to see the gratefulness for letting him talk to me, as well as the anxiety that I might tell somebody about his not-so-touch interior.
I smiled at him. "It'll stay between us." Then, I added, "And anything you want to talk about, at any point."
He nodded, holding my arm a moment longer while we stared at each other, before he finally let go and we jogged up to the others.