Fighting a New World

3

Ryder's POV

I honestly felt bad.

I woke up this morning to an empty and cold bed.

For a split second I thought I was back and camp and that Jax was in the bathroom and Callum and Liam were off to get breakfast but when I peaked an eye open, that dream washed away.

Jax and Callum were at work and Liam was at his session at Andrew's house, not his office back at camp.

I was the only one who hasn't moved forward yet.

Andrew had asked me what I wanted to do job wise before we graduated but after I told him about the guy at Town Day, he told me not to worry about it for now.

That stupid fucking guy. I wish we had never even gone in there. Everyone else was already starting careers or going to school and I was here, barely being able to go outside without someone else being with me.

Even with someone, going outside made my anxiety worse.

I had Andrew come over yesterday with the excuse of I needed help with the apartment but when he got here we ended up having a session. I had pretty much told him about everything that had happened since we left camp but he mostly just shrugged it off.

'You're going to be stressed and that stress is only going to add to the anxiety,' he had said. 'You went through a trauma that happened to do with a stranger and now you are surrounded by them.'

'Yea I get that but how am I supposed to stop it? I want to get a job and get used to things here. How am I supposed to do that if I can't go outside without a boyfriend attached to my hip?'

Andrew had frowned at that.

'Take things slow, there is no reason to rush. Only go out with people you trust and don't stay longer than you are comfortable with. Keep doing this every day, staying out a little longer every time, and eventually everything will just click.'

'Why is this different than Town Day though? I went to those all the time and was never this anxious.'

'Because this is new. You've never been to this side of town and the guy at the last Town Day only made it worse. I know you are tired of hearing this but it will just take time.'

'How long?'

He didn't have to answer that for me know it was going to be a while.

Now I just had to sit here and play housewife while the others got to live their lives. I honestly felt bad that they had to work their asses off to help make ends meet while I was here, not doing shit.

I felt useless and I honestly hated everything about it.

Callum's POV

"Don't forget to get your tips before you leave," Tanner called out from the kitchen. "Only half though. The rest is mine."

"Thanks for reminding me," I say with a small eye roll. He had calmed down today but it was still a lot.

I did pretty good tip wise today, making about 20 bucks so I'd consider that a win since I only words for a few hours today but we used most of yesterday's tips on food yesterday and I doubted 20 bucks would get us very far for food today.

At least we still had some camp money left over so we could dip into that if we needed to.

I can't help but let out a small sigh as I walked out of the coffee shop, letting the fresh air wash over me as I walked back to the apartment.

"I'm back babe," I called out when I stepped into the apartment. Ryder came running down the hall only a few seconds later before jumping into my arms.