The Beastie and his Princess

Chapter 12

"I-I...." my voice was caught in my throat as I tried to think up a lie to excuse the brutality laid out on my arms. My heart thundered in my chest, and I couldn't look away from those beautiful sea green eyes.

Ryder's orbs held so much shock, fear, denial, hurt, pain, pity, anger, and of course....curiosity.

I swallowed, my throat dry. I didn't know what to do. And apparently, neither did Ryder.

He blinked, shaking his head slightly, as if in a daze. And slowly, he sat himself properly on the couch, releasing me.

I didn't even bother trying to roll my sleeves down; there was no point. Everything I was trying to hide was laid out in plain sight.

"How?"

"What?"

Ryder sighed, giving me a hard glare as he turned to me. "I said," he repeated himself, "How?"

"Well, it's pretty obvious how this happened, isn't it?" I laughed lightly, hoping he would leave it alone if I treated it unimportantly.

If I thought his glare was harsh before, now I was fearing for my life. Though, I knew deep down that he wouldn't dare to hurt me. "I think I know how, Rylie. But the thing is, before I make assumptions that might be ludicrous, I'd rather hear you say it."

I gulped, lifting both my legs up in front of me, wrapping my arms around them as I scooted my knees towards me. "I didn't do any of this to myself," I sighed, hoping that would clear this up. I mean, it basically hinted at the fact that I was being abused, right? Good enough.

"Then tell me, who did?"

My eyes tore away from his probing ones, suddenly finding interest in the bracelet I was currently wearing. "I don't think it matters Ryder," I finally huffed, knowing that none of this was his ordeal. Why throw someone into this mix that probably doesn't even care?

It was quiet for a moment, and I was afraid that he would leave. I wouldn't blame him. Why would he want to deal with this whole load of crap?

My heart plummeted in my chest as I watched him rise from his seat. There I had it.

He didn't care. And even though I wanted to say that it hurt me to watch him walk away, I couldn't. Because I had no right to. He wasn't anything of mine besides an acquaintance. My head fell into my knees just as I realized this, and I was glad I didn't have to watch him leave my house.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt a hand on my cheek. I looked at Ryder, wondering why on Earth he had gotten up, just so that he could get even closer to me.

His hand never left my cheek as he stared at me, his eyes trying their hardest not to look back down at my arms. I looked at him questioningly, wondering why he didn't just walk out while he still had the chance.

"It matters, Rylie."

What? "Why? We've only known each other for a month, you shouldn't care about my personal life, Ryder," I sighed, moving head down to look at my hands.

He huffed and ran his hands through his hair, pacing towards the table then back to me, before plopping back next to me. "Will you stop being so impossible? Please, just tell me."

I pursed my lips, not daring to look at him. "You can already guess, Ryder. It's not that hard. That's it. There's nothing more. I'm fine, no biggie. I-"

"For fu**'s sake Rylie!" He roared, making me flinch at his voice.

"You're not making me want to pour my heart out to you, you know," I whispered.