Playing for Rya

37. Arrow Heart

Song: Say Something by Christina Aguilera and A Great Big World; Cover by KHS, Victoria Justice and Max.

RYA'S POV

Rya woke up Tuesday morning with a dull pounding in her head and an upset stomach.

A quick glance about the room told her that she was alone and she winced as the daylight that penetrated the drawn curtains in Wills bedroom caused her to squint.

Slowly, she reached for her phone on the bedside dresser to check the time. It was 10:17 am which gave her more than enough time to get home and prepare for her afternoon shift.

Also on the dresser was a tray containing a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and toast along with two tablets of Advil and a note that simply read: Eat!

She gulped down the pills and groaned as she sank back onto the bed, completely submerging herself under the covers. 

She felt marginally better by the time she got out of bed an hour later especially after she had taken tiny, tentative bites of the food Will had left for her. A few minutes and a hot shower later had her feeling much more settled and ready to face the day.

Her head felt clearer than it had been in recent days and her shoulders felt lighter, like a burden had been lifted of of her.

She and Will hadn't said much to each other after her drunken confession the night before. She remembered him soothing her and putting her to bed but not much else after that.

She felt as though she still had a lot to say to him, beginning with an apology for leading him on, because however much she hated to admit it, she had always known that there was room for only one man in her heart and that place had been taken by Derek a long time ago, a fact she had refused to acknowledge at the time she'd agreed to date Will.

Her ride home was a deliberative one. She felt more at peace now that she'd blurted out her position to Will and although both her relationships were over and done with, she felt as though everything was going to be okay. She had her life to look forward to, a career she loved, a family she could lean on and great friends whose company she enjoyed. Her life was full and she needed to focus on all the good things rather than the hurt and the pain and the disappointment that she had allowed herself to wallow in these past few days.

Eventually her heart would heal, the hurt would fade and she would be able to fall in love again, and maybe it would take time, maybe it wouldn't be the heart thumping, earth-shattering, all-consuming adrenaline infused craziness that was the love she had shared with Derek, but as long as she was happy and content, she would be fine with it.

She would have to be. And until that time came, all she wanted to do was focus on being the strong, independent, focused woman she had always identified as.

And she had the perfect idea on where to begin. She would have to relinquish all access she currently had to him. That included all of the key cards she had in her possession that gave her leeway into his life. The key to his apartment, to the office he occupied in the hospital and even her barn membership card. She wasn't going to hold onto anything that would remind her of him or tempt her into doing anything she would later regret.

After determining that all she needed from home was a change of clothes, she left her Uber idling once they reached her apartment building, while she rushed in to take care of her needs.

She returned in no time, after changing out of the clothes she'd worn the previous day and running a comb through her hair, which she had left to air dry after her shower at Wills place.