Ryder the Love Expert | Protector 2.1

Chapter 48

Chapter 48

       I hated how fast spring break was going by. Before I knew it, it was the last day Mae was spending with me before she had to go back home. I was really going to miss her, but we would see each other sometime soon. Hopefully. There weren't anymore breaks from school where one of us could visit the other.

       Then again, I got out of school before she did, so maybe I could sneak down there to visit her.

       "I really can't wait until I move back," Mae said. "So I can see you every day."

       "I can't wait for you to move back," I said. "And for Jerome to move here. I'll need some help taking care of April and he seems to have everything planned out."

       "Yeah, he really can't stand her," Mae said. "And he hasn't even met her in person, so that says something. Hey, would you be up to the three of us, me, you and Jerome, getting an apartment together close to the college?"

       "Yeah, why not?"

       Mae looked at me and smiled. "I really can't wait to move back here," she said before leaning towards me and pressing her lips on mine.

       There was a sudden knock on the door, so we pulled away from each other right as Alan walked in. "There's food on the table for brunch," he said. "Bacon included."

       "Come on, Mae, I said. "Let's go eat that delicious food."

       We got up of my bed and went downstairs to the kitchen. Everyone was there, except for Nolan. Lately, he has been skipping out on meals, saying that he wasn't hungry. Everyone tried talking to him; me, Alan, Orchid, Mom, Dad, and even Tulip. He didn't want to talk to anyone.

       "No Nolan?" Dad asked once Alan sat down at the table.

       "He said he's not hungry," Alan said.

       I couldn't take it anymore. "I'm going to go talk to him," I said before heading back up the stairs and to Nolan and Alan's room. The door was closed, but I was still able to hear the quiet sobs coming from inside.

       When I slowly opened the door, Nolan looked at me and wiped his tears away. "I'm not crying, I swear," he said. "I'm just....just...."

       I sat down beside him. "Nolan, you can't keep shutting yourself out from all of us. We all know something is going on, so why won't you tell anyone?"

       "Mom and Dad will hate me," he said.

       "What?" I asked. "Mom and Dad would never hate you. They would never hate any of us, no matter what we do. Remember what Dad told us he had to go through starting when he was ten? Because of that, he made a vow to never get mad at a single thing we do. They're going to love us no matter what, Nolan."

       "You don't know that," Nolan said. "You're the perfect son. You can make dozens of mistakes and they'll still love you. It will be different for me."

      "Trust me, I'm not perfect," I said. "And of course they'll still love me if I make mistakes. They'll love me no matter what, just like they'll love you no matter what. Look, you don't have to tell everyone what's going on, but can you at least tell me? I'm really worried about you, Nolan. If never seen you like this before."

       "Promise you won't tell anyone?" Nolan asked. "I'm not ready for everyone to know yet."

       "Of course, I promise," I said. "As long as you try to go back to your regular self. Give them all a reason not to worry about you. So, what's up?"