Fallen For A Player

Chapter 25 - Happy Never After

Ryan's POV:

"I'm really sorry. You know what? We can meet tomorrow, I've got stuff to finish today." I told her as I fished out the keys from my pocket and inserted it into the main door.

"What stuff?" Jen asked as she unknowingly exhaled. It was something I noticed her do whenever a cold wind would smack her face.

"Homework." I almost rolled my eyes at my own pathetic excuse. Seriously, homework? I walked into my house and took off my coat, glad to finally be away from that ridiculous blizzard.

"Ryan, you've been canceling out meetups for almost a week now." She said, and I could tell that she was trying to remain calm but her voice wavered the slightest bit in the end. It has been a week since I have been avoiding her, postponing our meetings and giving her lame excuses. She probably has realized that something was wrong. She looked at me differently now, every time I see her in school from afar, her eyes begging me to tell her what was bothering me. She talked to me differently, as if she was trying her best to avoid anything that would upset me and it sucked to let her feel this way but I wasn't running away from her, I was running away from having to do what I dreaded; breaking her heart, leaving her, again. I don't want to do it. I can't.

"Doing what?" I tried to be oblivious. I clenched my jaw.

"Cancelling our meetups, that's what." There was that involuntary blow to the wind again.

"I'm sorry, I just got a lot to do. But I'll meet you tomorrow." I said as I sat on the high stool in the kitchen. Mary was leaning over at the counter, her hands crossed over her chest and her eyes watching me, both angry and sad.

"Promise?" Jen asked over the phone, sounding hopeful.

I looked at Mary and then back at my hands which were clenched in a fist. "Promise."

"I'll see you tomorrow then. I love you." She said.

"I love you too." I said as I hung up the phone and gave out a sigh as I sat before Mary. The way she was looking at me now, I knew there was something she wanted to say.

"So, what have you decided?" Mary asked and leaned on the fridge.

"What I decide every year." I looked at my aunt. "I can't leave Dad. He's my family." I watched her as a proud smile formed on her lips. She placed her hand on my shoulder and said "That's good." Her voice was delicate yet slightly strained, as if all the years of dealing with us and our problems had finally caught up to her.  

"I see Jen gave you a tough one this time." 

I scoffed. "Yeah." You have no idea.

"What are you going to do? About Jen, I mean." She looked at me and I could tell that she was worried for her, for what she will have to go through. 

"I have to tell her." Only now did it dawned on me that I would have to end what we had and the thought of talking to her about it petrified me.

"She'll be broken. What if she doesn't understand?" I looked up at her and asked, every possible outcome of this conversation played at the back of my head.

"She will understand." She placed her hand on my head and looked at me. "It might take time, but she will." 

I didn't give her a reply, I didn't feel like giving one. Thoughts burned into my mind, Jen's reaction, her answers, her tears, it was terrifying. What if she thinks this was all an act? What if she thinks that I was playing with her feelings the whole time?

"You know I've never seen you this distressed. It's beautiful what this girl did to you." I looked at her.

"She turned you from an insensitive, foolish guy to a tender, admiring man and you didn't even realize it." She said with a smile, a smile filled with pride and grief.