Thanks to The Boots

Chapter Ten

I keep my gaze out the window became more tears follow. I try to keep my sniffling quiet, but Ryder hears me.

"I understand that your sad and all, but it's not the worse the situation could be."

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from lashing out. I don't want to fight him again. But I can't help let one insult slip past, "You're right, my mom could love my siblings more and be in prison."

Ryder's knuckles whiten as his grip on the steering wheel tightens. "Or I could make you sleep in the parking garage where there's mice and no light."

"Oh, you're right. I should be thanking you for blessing me with the opportunity to be kidnapped by you! Because it's so great to be with you and you're just filled with rainbows and unicorns! You're right, I'm so sorry."

"I bet you if Helen kept you, you'd be in some sort of cell right now."

I roll my eyes, "You think that you're above everyone else because you're just so kind, but you aren't! Today, you almost killed Ethan. Maybe you did, who knows? You are just as evil as your older brother."

This hits him hard, and he pulls over to look me in the eye. "I am nothing like my older brother. Don't you ever say that ever again."

"You can't tell me what to do. I'm not like you I don't follow orders!"

He's still ticked off from the older brother comment, so he continues to yell at me, "If you think I follow orders, why would I let you call your mom? Why wouldn't you be tied up in the back? Why would I have kissed you?!"

"Because that's who you are! You're a player! You take girls and make them think they have a chance, then you dump them!" I pause before I add, "Even your brother knows it."

Ryder gets so mad he gets out of the car.

I jump when he slams the door, so hard I'm concerned he broke it. I stare at his empty seat with wide eyes. Maybe I went too far. I probably should've stopped and not said the brother thing...

My thoughts get cut off by my door flying open. I see Ryder, madder than I've ever seen him and I've seen him pretty mad. He hastily reaches over me and unbuckles my seatbelt.

Scared, I grab onto whatever I can to fight to keep myself in my seat. This doesn't do much because he's so much stronger than me. I mean he almost killed a guy with his bare hands today.

He picks me up, then practically throws me down. I fall to the ground, and curl up into a fetal position on the ground. Tears that I don't want to come out, come out. Ryder picks me up off the ground and pins me against his car.

When he sees my tears, he calms down, but that's gone in a second.

"Please don't kill me," I whisper, my voice sounds so weak, I hold back a cringe.

"Kill you?" he laughs bitterly. "No, I couldn't do that."

My heart fills with relief.

Until he adds, "Helen wants you alive. For now."

I try to find something to say but there really isn't anything to say, honestly.

"My brother is the scum of the earth. And if you don't believe me, let me remind you. Earlier today, at the fight, who's hand dangled near you're-" he stops himself. "He wouldn't have stopped if it would make me mad. He's done it before."

Finally I find my voice, "He's done it before?"

Ryder nods, slowly. "I may be a bad person, but I am not him."

"Ryder, I-I'm sorry. I didn't know."

He holds a hand up, "And my mom, the one who you love to keep mentioning, is in jail for drugs that he hid in her home."

I hold a hand up to my mouth, more surprised than ever. "Ryder, I take everything I said back."

"Well, the funny things with words is, you can't take back what you said. You can apologize, but you still said it."

"I didn't know, I knew I shouldn't say those things but I still didn't know."

His eyes are looking at me, but are far away. "She still loves me, I think. But just loves him more," he says softly.

I absentmindedly run a hand across his cheek. He flinches at the touch, then leans into it.

He brushes a piece of hair out of my face. Then before I know it, we're both leaning in. Our lips touch, softly at first. Like we're both scared the other will shatter if we are too aggressive.

Then I slip my fingers into his hair, and gently pull him closer to me. His hands leave the side of the car and find my waist. He wraps his arms around me, and pulls me closer. We continue pulling each other closer, craving each other's warmth.

We break apart for air, and he leans his forehead against mine. "We need to get you some dinner and to bed. You've got finals tomorrow," he smiles.

I laugh, "Don't you have finals too?"

"Well, technically."

I smile and place a light kiss on his lips. "Let's get me some dinner!"

Ryder takes me to a Waffle House. We eat dinner there, then he takes me back to his place. I fall asleep in the car ride to his house.

I wake up when I feel bouncing. I look around, then notice Ryder's carrying me.

"You love to carry me when I'm asleep," I say, wiggling because I figure he's going to put me down.

He holds me still and doesn't respond to my statement.

"Hello, anybody home?" I wave a hand in front of his face.

He looks down at me and nods, "Yeah, sorry what were you saying?"

I squint at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. "Never mind, everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about my mom."

I feel my cheeks heat up and I kind of jump out of his arms, so I'm walking on my own. "I really, really am sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't-"

"It's fine," he cuts me off coldly.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. Listen, just lets just forget everything that happened today. In the ring, locker room, inside the car, outside the car, just forget it."

I stand in front of him and stop walking. We're inside his apartment building and are walking down the hall to his unit. "Did I say something in my sleep?"

"No, I did things I shouldn't have. Drop it and forget it."

"Oh, things that a lapdog shouldn't?"

He brushes past me and says, "Exactly."

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Author's Note

Chapter Ten!! Yay!!

Hmm, Ryder is acting strange. Also the truth about his mother's arrest.

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-Anna