A Tragic Hero

Chapter 23

Ryder jolted awake at the sound of a steady beeping heart monitor playing in his ears. He quickly gazed ahead and spotted Jake's sleeping form. The boy hadn't moved an inch, still sleeping soundly.
He read the clock that was placed atop of Jake's gurney.
11:27pm. When had he fallen asleep?
He began easing himself off from his hard fold out chair, freezing up when he felt a weight pressing down on his left shoulder.
He slowly turned his eyes to see Sky sound asleep on his arm, inhaling and exhaling with ease. She was leaning heavily on him, her pink cheek placed directly on his now numb arm, her mouth slightly parted.
He could care less if his arm had no feeling in it.
He remembered now. Sky had shared with him her soul wrenching story of her past. She had actually trusted in him that he would listen and stay by her side through it all. And he had, obviously. Then, she had cried in his embrace. He had held her until they had both, somehow, drifted off into a greatly needed sleep.
Ryder couldn't take his eyes off of Sky's silent form. She was stunning, the moon light shining in through Jake's cracked open shades shadowing half her face. Her usually worried expressing was relaxed for once, no signs of unease or fear written on her at all. Her soft cheek brushed against his arm each time she inhaled, sending a buzz through him that reached to his very heart. He simply could not look away from her beauty.
So, he just looked on, watching as she took in deep, easy, peaceful breaths.
"Lord, help me, I'm falling hard,"He began to whisper a prayer, breathing out a heavy sigh, being extra careful not to arouse Sky from her serene slumber.
"I've never felt this way before. You know all things God and I know you've allowed me to show up in Sky's life and comfort her through her time of trials but...but is there something more to this? To us? I want to do this the right way if that's the case, your way Father, but...I'm gonna definitely need your guidance then. I'm basically the only true friend Sky has now, and I don't want to some how mess that up by moving things along too quickly. My heart is yearning for more, but whatever your will is Lord, let it be so."
Ryder found himself peering back down at Sky as he muttered his final words, closing his prayer.
He would never want to hurt her or frighten her, so he would have to do this right. With God's almighty help, he was certain he could. And hopefully, when he finally made it past the roaring river, Sky would be standing firmly right next to him.
Vibration in his right pocket indicated that someone had just sent him a text. He snapped out of his hypnotized stare and slowly reached into his pocket, getting out his phone.
"Well goodness me, it's 11 o'clock at night and you two close friends still aren't home!"
Ryder chuckled as he read his mother's text message.
He was about to text her back when another message came through.
"Yes, my charming brother. Where exactly are you two love birds?" This text was from Wendy.
So, this was a group chat. This would obviously lead to trouble. He answered back honestly though, preparing for the worst.
"Me and Sky are still at the hospital. She shared with me some things and then we somehow fell asleep. We'll be home soon, okay."
He hoped they would let him off easy.
"Great job, Ryder! You got the miss wonderful Sky to trust you, really trust you!" Wendy replied cheerfully.
"I agree, good job! Keep it up, and soon, I may just have myself a much wanted daughter in law!" Ella wrote back seconds later.
What was it with these two? Did they really just enjoy making him squirm? He was beginning to believe so.
"I didn't do anything, she just decided to open-"
"It doesn't matter how it happened. All that matters is that Sky was willing to share it with you. This is a great sign Ryder!"
Wendy's message appeared faster than he could finish his. He was about to change his response when Ella text something to him.
"Now son,"she wrote,"you are in a vital place now of borderline friendship into something much more wonderful than friendship."
He could practically see the wide grins that were now definitely splitting onto both of their faces. Why did he even respond?
"Amen, amen," Wendy text in a flash.
"What you have to do now to guarantee you have a real claim on her heart here is put on a little...gentlemen charm, slightly but not obviously test your boundaries."
Ryder frowned, knowing exactly what road she was headed down.
Oh brother.
"I don't need to test my-"
"Listen to your mother, she's just trying to help you!" Wendy scolded, making him stop his response. It's like she could read his mind or something!
"Thank you Wendy." Ella typed swiftly, then continued.
"First, start with your eye contact. Make sure when she is speaking, you are always looking right at her, not off to the side or at your fingers. This makes us women feel like a man is really paying attention to us, which is rare in this generation."
Well, he could check that off his list. Not that he was actually keeping a list.
Right?
"Secondly, you need to make some type of direct contact with her. Light touches, that's what I'm talking about."
"Yes, yes, that is a good one," Wendy added. She had probably nodded to herself when she clicked send.
"Now darling, you need to start small. A light touch on the shoulder or the classic random hold of her hand."
These women were crazy. How was he related to these two nuts?
"Thirdly, use your most assuring voice and compliment the woman! Compliments go a long, long way. She could be feeling unsure or worried about something and then recall something you had said about her that morning, and I can bet you a billion big bucks, she will smile."
"Once again, you are 100% correct," Wendy agreed with no hesitation.  Ryder was getting tired of their chatter. Also, he was wondering to himself how in the entire universe above they could type so fast! Must be one of those female super powers. There was simply no other way to explain it.
"Lastly, my soon to be not so lonely son, chivalry is key. Opening doors, pulling out chairs, waiting for the woman to sit before you even think about doing so yourself. Darling, this makes all women melt inside. Even the tough ones like me."
Ryder glanced up from his phone, wondering what to do now.
"Mother, you are truly a genius."
Wendy.
"Yes, darling. I really do know how to accomplish a few things."
Ella.
"Ryder is totally gonna bag her now."
Wendy.
"I hope so! I don't usually give my advise free of charge."
Ella.
"You can do this Ryder! I know you can! Go to her now and show her exactly what you can be for her!"
Wendy.
"Lead her on Ryder. Show her your love. She needs it in order to move on from whatever is trying to hold her back."
Ella.
"Ryder, you just need to stare her right in the eyes, and tell her you-"
Ryder watched in relief as his phone shut down. He let go of the power button, feeling now that his face was slightly heated. Praise the Lord God almighty for the power button.
When his flush finally left his cheeks, he sighed and once again, took another satisfying look at Sky.
He should wake her up now, should drive her to his mother's house and let her get some proper rest on an actual mattress with an actual pillow. Sadly, but not really, his limbs just would not cooperate.
Sky suddenly shifts in her sleep, allowing a curl to escape its place in her loose bun to fall across her shadowed face. Ryder continues to stare at her as she mumbles something then became silent. The urge to reach out and tuck the misplaced curl behind Sky's ear hit him like a tidal wave, becoming almost completely unbearable for him.
It was definitely time to go.
"Sky?"
He gave her a light nudge with his shoulder, hoping to peacefully arouse her.
Her awakening was anything but peaceful.
Sky's eyes cracked opened, squinting at first as she began to focus, then widening when she realized where she was and who specifically she was leaning heavily on.
"Ryder!"
She pushed off of him with a sudden jerk, the force of her impact on the back of her chair sending it toppling backwards.
His hand was reaching out for her like a whip. He caught her around her waist just before she could going crashing to the floor. The chair finally slammed onto the ground behind her, a wave of silence filling the air.
Sky weighed nothing to him, her face close and very alluring. Her shocked expression melted though as she gazed up into his eyes. Then, her laughter over took the eire silence with one sweep.
It was music to his ears, sending his heart into overdrive.
"Well...that was embarrassing,"Sky whispered, continuing to giggle as a grin crept onto his face.
"Yah, pretty embarrassing. For you at least. It was actually pretty amusing for me."
"Not funny."
Ryder knew then and there that Sky had really turned the corner. And now, knowing this, he simply could not stop the fit of laughter that escaped from him.