Dedicated to sociaIcxsuaIty
"I'm in love with you."
He whispers the words as if relieved to tell me
I'm frozen on spot, basking in the words and how they feel. They feel warm. Everything about him feels warm.
God dammit, Ryder Flynn, what have you done to me?
He opens his eyes, staring into mine.
"It's okay, you don't have to say anything. You just needed to know. Kehlani, I've been in love with you since... Forever, really. You asked me why I cared so much and that's that. I can't sit here anymore, because I love you too much to do so." He exclaimed.
My head is whirling.
Feeling emotion like never before. Whereas his touch leaves me breathless, gives me the warm feeling, his words strike my heart with fire, burning, it beating faster than any adrenaline rush. Cue the tears streaming my face. He looks at me confused, and brushes away my tears with his thumbs.
"Kitten?" He asks softly.
"Ryder! Kehlani!" A panicked Sam calls out. We both turn. He runs over. "Aunt Carol is in the hospital. Some disease." He says quickly.
"We don't have an aunt Carol." I say.
"Karen's sister." He says.
"Oh, to hell with that. I'm not going. Fuck that." I say with a snort.
"Okay, that's fine, but someone has to stay with you, because, well..." He trails off. I get it after three seconds. I roll my eyes. They are right, I probably would run off.
"I'll stay." Ryder says calmly. My entire body heats up at the thought of us being alone in a house.
"Alright. We're gonna be gone for a couple of weeks. Behave. I gotta go now. I love you, sis." He says, coming forward and kissing my head. Panic strikes me. Weeks. I'll be gone. I fight back tears.
"Okay, I love you too." I whisper, giving him a hug. He releases me and runs back in the building.
At least that's the last thing I'll personally say to him. Of course, it wouldn't be the overall last. I'm sure I'll be allowed to write from time to time. Maybe call using an untraceable phone.
I didn't realize Ryder was leading me to his truck. He opens the door and I step in without a word.
"I want to see Charlotte before they leave." I say quietly as he gets in. he starts the truck and nods.
"I figured as much." He replies. The ride is perfectly silent. Neither of us say anything. For the first time in my life, I have nothing, yet everything to say at the same time. I want to tell him. To tell him everything. Pour my heart out and cry in his arms while he tells me sweet things.
But I know I can't.
I just wish...
He stops in front of the house, and I waste no time throwing myself out and running in. I go in my room, and grab the necklace, and put a Polaroid picture from this morning in it and then walk to Char's room. Karen is zipping up her coat.
"Hey... Is it okay if me and her go on a walk really quick?" I ask. Karen purses her lips. "Please." I say desperately. She rolls her eyes and nods. Charlotte grabs my hand eagerly. "Pick her up from the walk." I say and walk out. When we get on the road, we walk for a little bit, me biting my lip.
"Did you want to talk about somefing?" Charlotte asks, giving me a toothy smile. I look back and see we're pretty far from the house. I lower to my knees so I'm eye level with her.
"I gotta explain something to you." I whisper to her. She nods, her smile faltering. "Your the only one I can trust this with that won't try to stop me, so I need, need you to keep this a secret, okay?" I ask, looking her in the eye.
"Pinky promise." She says, holding out her hand. I lock pinkies with her.
"This is very, very, very important. You have to keep it a secret." I tell her. She nods. "When.. When you get home, I won't be here. I won't be at school, or the park, or the town, okay? I don't know where I'll be... I just want you to know, that I'm sorry that the first few days I was here, I'm sorry I was so mean to you." I tell her, tears dropping. Her eyes water.
"It's okay, sissy." She whispers, her voice breaking. I bite my bottom lip to keep from sobbing.
"And I want you to just know that I'll be okay, wherever I am. Maybe, from time to time, I'll write you, okay? You'll probably forget all about me.. But that's okay. That's why I got you this." I tell her, and put the necklace on her. She opens the heart to reveal the picture from the morning, us smiling. A car comes and stops behind her, and Karen beeps once.
"But.. I don't want you to go." She says, her voice breaking again, a loud sob escaping her lips. I pull her to me, hugging her and she winds her arms around my neck, holding tightly. "I don't want you to go." She says again.
"I know, baby, I don't wanna go, too. I have to." I tell her, tears streaming harder. Dad and Sam watch with confusion from both of the cars they're in. Karen gets out and starts walking towards us. I press a kiss to her forehead before Karen pulls her away. I stand.
"No! No! Kehls! Kehls!" She yells, struggling against her mother's hold.
"I love you." I say.
"I love you too! Please!" She calls out, just before she's forced into the car. She gets strapped in her car seat, but turns to the window, banging on it and screaming my name. I close my eyes. Karen drives away.
"Love you sis!" Sam calls out, passing by. I watch the car as it goes. When they're gone, I sink to the ground and cry. Just... Cry. Sobs wracking my body, my figure scrunched together awkwardly. I probably look so pathetic right now.
"Kehlani? Kehlani!" Ryder calls out, panicked. I hear footsteps run over. "Kitten, it's only a couple of weeks." Ryder says softly.
But it isn't.
I don't stop crying. After a minute, he picks me up and carries me home. He lays me on my bed, and rubs my back until I'm drained of tears. When done, and about to fall asleep, he stands and starts walking to the door.
"Ryder?"
"Yeah?" He whispers.
"Stay with me?" I ask. I don't have to say anything else before he slips under the blanket and hugs me fiercely to himself. I love the selfishness in this hold. So strong, warm, and needy. I hold him right back.
The best thing about it?
It goes all night.
.
.
.
"Kehlani? Can we talk?" Ryder asks, three days prior to my leaving.
Laney looks up from her tray. She's been wallowing since Sam left. I was too. Me and Ryder were kind of... Quiet towards each other. He just kind of made sure I was there from afar. I nod and stand up with him. He leads me to the painting I did of myself, the unused hall, and he instantly traps me to the wall.
"Yeah, you really do like the wall thing." I say. His lips twitch.
"Stop ignoring me, please." He says. He leans forward and presses a lingering kiss to my cheek. My entire face heats up at the contact. I swear, one of these days he's going to make me spontaneously bust.
"I'm sorry." I say honestly.
"Please.. Can we just.. I don't know, ditch and to talk about this somewhere?" He asks. I nod. He takes my hand and leads me out of the building sneakily and we get in his truck- I didn't want to drive today- and he pulls out quickly.
The ride is silent, and when he simply pulls into our houses' driveway. He shuts the car off, and doesn't makes move to get out, so neither do I.
"I'm going to get straight to the point here." He says, warning. I nod.
"Kehlani, I'm in love with you, and I know you hate Andrew, and I know hat you say your relationship is by force, so don't fuck with me and try to tell me it's not an abusive relationship." He says. He takes a deep breath. "I want you to leave him." He says. My head whips over to meet his eyes. He waits a few seconds before continuing.
"And I want you to choose me instead."
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So you see that the chapters are short.
That's because this, my friend, is the final chapter chapter. Now comes the short chapters where the finale unrolls on a black carpet and shit goes the fuck down.
It's crazy.
As of today, in maybe an hour or so, TGGR will be a completed novel!
This... is crazy.
First off, I'd like to say- again- thank you all so much for reading my story even though I think it's trash. All the reads I've gotten is so incredible. And to think I started this book... NOT EVEN TWO MONTHS AGO! Wanna know the weird thing?
I started this book a month and two weeks ago.
Damn boi. To think it took me writing the time it took for this book to complete.
Anyways, again, thanks so much, I love you all, really, even if you don't comment a lot (Qualified), or vote when I ask you to. You still read my story, and that's enough for me.
And writing this has been so incredible.. Great, now I'm crying... But it really has! I know I need to go under massive constructive soon to autocorrect's wrongs so people will understand, but still.
Thanks so much for this incredible experience.
XoXo
-Elisia