Ryder the Love Expert | Protector 2.1

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

       I slept for over twelve hours. No lie. I woke up to Mae gently shaking me awake, so I rubbed my eyes and looked at her. "What time is it?" I asked tiredly.

       "After three," she said. "I just got back from school."

       "Was I really sleeping for that long?" I asked.

       "Yeah, you seemed really tired," she said. "And my mom is fine with you staying here for a few days. How long, exactly, will you stay here for?"

       I shrugged. "I'll probably start heading back on Saturday, so that gives us today, Thursday, and Friday to hang out."

       Mae smiled and when she leaned down to kiss me, I moved my head. Mae looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. "What's wrong?" she asked.

       I sighed and laid back down on the couch. "Nothing, I just....I'm still kind of upset that you ignored me for two weeks. You could have replied to at least one of my messages, but you didn't, and it hurt a lot."

       "Oh," Mae said. "And I'm guessing staying here isn't enough to make things right?"

       "Not really," I admitted.

       "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" Mae asked.

        I shrugged. "I don't know."

       "Well, I understand," Mae said. "I actually have go out out, anyway. My old dance teammates want to meet up with me at the cafe close to my house. I just wanted to wake you up because you have been sleeping for a while. I'll see you soon." She stood up before leaving the house.

        I sighed again and rubbed my forehead. I thought coming down here would make things right between us, but it didn't. Things still felt shaky between us.

        My cell phone, which was sitting on the coffee table plugged into an extension cord, started ring. I guessed Mae plugged it in while I was sleeping.

       I picked it up, unplugging it from the the charger. It was my dad and I already knew he was going to yell at me. "Hello?" I answered.

       "Oh, nice for you to pick up this time, Ryder," Dad said sarcastically. "Do you not know how worried sick we all have been? I've been trying to call you ever since you hung up on me! Do you have anything to say for yourself?!"

       "Yes," I said. "I just woke up so can you not yell at me?"

       "You don't want me yelling at you?" Dad asked. "My oldest soon, who isn't even eighteen yet, just took off to Quebec without telling me! He's in a whole other country and he drove there!"

       "Dad," I said. "I didn't do it just because I felt like it. Mae was ignoring me for two weeks. I had to make things right between us."

       "Then why didn't you tell us?" Dad asked. "We would have been more understanding."

       "Would you still let me go?" 

       "Don't be ridiculous, of course not," Dad said. "You left in the middle of the week without letting either of your parents know. Your mom is freaking out right now. You think she was stressed when you were drunk? She's ten times as stressed."

       "I almost got Mae pregnant."

       "What?" Dad asked.

       "She had a pregnancy scare," I said. "She told me two weeks ago that there was a chance she could be pregnant and after that, she didn't talk to me. She ignored all of my texts and calls, which made me worried that she actually was, so I had to drove down here."