Alone // Jacky Vincent & Ryan Seaman

Chapter 16

A/N: this story will be in third person point of view from this point forward, simply because my writing style has changed over the past few years and i prefer third person now, sorry if theres any confusion!!

----

It was all set. He had his bags packed up again, fitting everything into a black duffle bag and a backpack. It'd only been two days since they made the plan, but he figured the sooner the better. He was nervous. Like, probably more nervous he had ever been, but appropriately so. He was about to sneak out and travel across the country. But he tried to pull it together, shaking off the jitters in his stomach enough to take a deep breath and twist the doorknob. The house was dead silent, as a suburban house with a sleeping baby should be at two in the morning. That was why they planned for that hour, after all. Everyone was asleep, and by the time someone checked on him Saturday morning, he'd be long gone. Only the plan looked a lot easier in writing, Ryan thought as he made the journey down the staircase to the first floor. Contrary to the average set of stairs, this one didn't have that one step. You know, the one step that creaks every time you step on it without fail. It was actually a fairly silent trip to the front door. He had no trouble with keeping quiet, but he didn't realize until he twisted the lock on the door that noise wasn't the only thing he should be worrying about. He was seconds away from freedom, hand on the second doorknob, when he heard the softest whisper of a voice from behind him.

"Hey!" Lydia hissed from the doorway of the kitchen, walking closer.

Ryan's chest was pounding, and he would have made a run for it, but he was suddenly frozen, absolutely terrified. He'd always been a decent person; tried to do the right thing and follow rules. This was by far the worst thing he'd ever done, probably. Well, had he gone through with it, it would have been.

It was dark, the only light coming from a dim one from the kitchen, but his eyes were adjusting.

Lydia didn't look mad or anything, more shocked- confused, maybe. She was hesitant, pausing before she spoke again. She'd clearly been asleep already, judging by her tired eyes and the blonde, tangled mess tied in a bun on the top of her head.

"Where are you going?" She finally asked in the same whisper, careful not to wake her family.

Ryan was quiet- unsure if he would even speak if he was able. Lydia could tell though. She knew where he was going- the bags gave it away from the first second she saw him. She understood.

And so it made sense when suddenly he was crying.

She'd known him less than a week, and up until that point she merely saw him as some melodramatic teenage boy who didn't know how good he had it. She almost disliked him up until then, but in that moment, she couldn't help but sympathize with him. She realized all the shit he was going through, and she understood.

So it didn't take more than a moments hesitation to put her arms around him, rubbing circles on his back and trying to comfort him with soft shushing and careful words.

She led him back upstairs and he followed, abandoning his bags at the door. They ended up sitting on her bedroom floor, just sitting for a few minutes so that Ryan could catch his breath. It didn't take very long, due to the fact that he found Lydia's room very comforting, for some reason. Her room was light shades of pink, and she had one of those furry bean bag chairs. A portion of one of her walls was covered in photos, most likely of herself and friends, Ryan assumed. He looked around as his breathing steadied, until his eyes landed back on Lydia where she was sitting, leaning against her bed with thick framed glasses perched on her nose. She must wear contacts, Ryan noted, but then he remembered she was waiting for him to speak and took another breath.