Why am I the One?

Chapter 15 - I Know You Feel Like You Are Breaking Down

There was even more tension on the bus now that Rachel had joined. Ryder was leaving for her tour tonight after the show and things were still weird between her and Nate. The bus was so cramped, so they never had any time to talk alone. Finally she decided to try and talk to him about it in their dressing room before the show.

"So are we going to actually talk without yelling at each other before I leave for a month or what?" She asked.

"Well when you come at me with a little attitude it's not really a good start." Nate said.

"Nate I didn't have an attitude, I was just asking. You've been spending so much time hanging out with Rachel and we haven't really talked." She said softly.

"I haven't seen Rachel in almost a year. I'm sorry if we've been catching up." He said. "She is a pretty close friend." 

This pushed Ryder over the edge.

"Yeah? What about me? You know, the girl you've been talking about marrying. Or better yet, the girl you want to have your baby? Remember her? Remember how she leaves in 4 hours and will be gone for an entire month? Remember how she is taking the red eye, will have barely anytime to rest and then has to do press? Remember how you have spent zero time with her since Rachel got here?!" She said. She was trying really hard not to raise her voice too much.

"Oh my God, Ryder you are acting like a child. It's not like I'm never going to see you again. It's a mini tour. We will both be so busy we won't have time to think! This is just-" He stopped mid sentence and his jaw dropped. "Oh shit. You're totally jealous of Rachel!" He said.

"Of course I'm jealous of Rachel, Nate. Who wouldn't be! She is gorgeous, super nice, successful and you worship the ground she walks on. You guys hang out and are always talking lately and if you aren't with her you're talking about her. You just spent the last two days you had with your girlfriend with some old crush and now your girlfriend is leaving for a month. And you let her flirt with you right in front of me! You even had the nerve to flirt back!" She yelled.

"I'm done talking about Rachel." Nate said. "I'll talk to you about when you stop acting like a teenage girl and start acting like a grown up." He said, heading for the door.

"Fine Nate, and I'll start acting like a grown up when you start acting like a good boyfriend!" She yelled at him. He walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

Ryder didn't let the fight get to her. Instead, she used her anger and put it into her live show. She got really into it tonight and it was probably her best show yet. The crowd went nuts. 

Every night that she had been on tour with them, since day one, she had walked off stage, set her guitar down, and kissed Nate, whispering "good luck!" in his ear. Every. Night. Tonight she finished her set, walked off stage, set her guitar down and walked right past Nate. After the fight they'd had, tonight she wanted him have the worst luck. She gave her brother a hug, she didn't even have time to stay for their set. She had to catch her flight. She walked out the back door of the venue where her car was waiting, her stuff already packed away in the trunk. 

Nate's performance tonight wasn't his best, but it wasn't his worst. He was feeling a lot of emotions and he didn't really know how he should be feeling. It made him so mad that Ryder had said those things but in the back of his mind, she did have a point. He was a stubborn man, and he would never confess to anyone when he was wrong. When their set wrapped, they all headed back to the dressing room, Nate was surprised to see all of Ryder's stuff was gone. Even Ryder.

"Where's Ryder?" He asked.

"Dude. She left. Remember? She had that flight right after her set. She left as soon as she finished." Jack said.

"Yeah she's probably boarding her plane right now." Andrew said, gathering up all of his stuff.

Nate was a little upset that he didn't even get to say goodbye to her. It was a mix of being sad and mad. Rachel walked into the dressing room.

"Great show tonight guys. Seriously." Rachel said.

"Thanks sis. Does that mean drinks are on you?" Jack said smiling.

"Absolutely! I mean, you guys have a day off tomorrow? Let's do it like the old days and drink way too much."

"Actually we do have a show tomorrow." Jack said.

"Well. Having something important to do never stopped us from drinking too much before so I'm sticking with that idea." She laughed.

"I'm in. I want to drink way too much tonight." Nate said.

Andrew and Jack were both shocked to hear him say that, but assumed it was because Ryder had left and he didn't get to say goodbye, so they shrugged it off.

Ryder got on her flight, tried to sleep on the plane, but failed, and landed a couple hours later. She turned her phone back on and there were no texts from Nate at all. She at least expected an angry one, but nothing.

She did have one text. From Jack.

"Great show tonight. You left that crowd wanting more! Good luck on your tour! See you again in a month!" 

She smiled and put her phone in her pocket.

Jack couldn't believe how perfectly everything was going for him. All he had to do was throw out the baby thing and it was like a bomb. Now not only were they fighting, but they were in two different time zones and they were angry with each other. It was only a matter of time. 

Only a matter of time, before the shit really hit the fan.