Hawk's Eye

Chapter 22

The next day at the stables, she felt distant from Tony. She still had a lot on her mind about Ryder's surprise visit. Tony seemed to notice something was up. On the way to the stalls, he was quiet. But once the horses were in the crossties, he stopped her and held her hand.

"What's been going on with you lately? It's like you're not even here," he said. She tried to smile at him like nothing was wrong, but he saw right through her charade. He kissed her hand and wrapped his arms around her. "What wrong babe?" he said softly. She kissed him lightly and shook her head.

"It's not important. I just... I got an unexpected visit from Ryder last night," she explained. Tony sighed and rolled his eyes.

"What did he want?" he asked. Kyndall shrugged and shook her head.

"Me... but it doesn't matter. I think he took the hint," she said. She sighed as he rested his forehead against hers.

"I'll go get our tack," he smiled. She nodded and grabbed a brush. She focused all of her energy on brushing Jasper.

"You know, I was thinking, maybe I haven't seen your new boyfriend because he doesn't exist. Mallory told me where I could find you," she heard a voice say from behind her. She turned to see Ryder walking up with his hands in his pockets. She glared at him and crossed her arms.

"His name is Tony... and you really should go," she said before she turned back to Jasper. Ryder slipped his arms around waist and held her tightly to him. She tried to push him away but he only held her tighter.

"Get off of me Ryder," she said. He leaned close to her ear.

"Remember when I used to hold you like this? You never complained then," he whispered. He kissed her cheek as she struggled against him. She tried to use her self-defense skills, but he had her pinned so that she couldn't do anything.

"Stop!" she yelled. She felt trapped. Tears welled up in her eyes. She felt just as trapped as she had almost two years ago with Declan. She struggled against him but he had her arms pinned. She cried as he held her. "Let me go!" she yelled.

"Hey!" a voice yelled from behind them. Tony pulled Ryder off of Kyndall. Kyndall was hysteric. Tony glared at Ryder while Ryder did the same.

"Who are you?" Ryder asked.

"Tony... and I'm guessing you're Ryder," Tony glared. Tony turned his attention to Kyndall. She calmed down a bit but she was still in tears. Kyndall glared at Ryder through her tears.

"How could you Ryder! You know what happened! Why would you do that to me!" she yelled at him. A look of realization crossed Ryder's face. He thought about what he just did to her; the memories he brought back.

"I-I... I'm sorry Kyndall. I just... I wasn't thinking clearly. I just... I have to go," he stuttered. Kyndall closed her eyes and leaned against Tony. He held her comfortingly. He was a bit curious about what had her so traumatized, but he only wanted to calm her down at the moment. Once she seemed to be calmer, he put the tack and horses back.

"Maybe we should skip out on riding today. We could go to my dorm and watch a movie instead if you wanted. I could show you around the campus," he offered. She nodded and wiped the remaining tears from her face. Tony kissed her gently and gave her hand a squeeze. She smiled sadly and followed him to his black Ford truck. They drove to the campus. Tony gave her a quick drive-through tour on the way to his dorm. He parked and they got out. He held her hand and started to walk them away from the dorm.

"I'm going to give you the tour first," he smiled. He led her around the campus showing her his different classes and the different buildings. Eventually, Kyndall was smiling again. The campus had a small park area beside his dorm. Tony strolled alongside Kyndall in the park.