boundaries | e.d

T w o

Ryder

After receiving a text that Ethan took Riley for ice-cream, I walked over to the lounge for another drink with more time to spare, signaling for everyone else to join me as I did so. With Natasha saving me a seat on the couch, I got us two drinks and sat beside her.

"Where's Riley?" Jake asked, sitting across from us while everyone else settled down. A few people chuckled while Nat gave me a sly smirk.

"Whats it to you Jake?" I called him out playfully, hanging my arm on Nat's shoulders as I sat back. He shook his head and shot me down, clearing his throat in embarrassment. It was obvious at that recently he developed feelings for my little sister. I didn't mind it though, if there was any guy I'd want to end up with my sister, it'd be him. "I'm not worried. You shouldn't be either."

"Yeah, it's a good thing she's gone. She's a buzzkill." Jerry lit a blunt, leaning forward towards our inner circle.

"Watch it." Jake and I said at the same time. I shot him a stare to let me handle it, then looked back at Jerry who already looked defeated. "She's out with Ethan." I rolled my shoulders in annoyance from everyone's curiosity.

"Are you okay with that?" Natasha looks up at me and the rest of the gang disappears as her eyes meet mine. Her question confused me at first. Why wouldn't I be okay? He's loyal. He's proven himself to me. Otherwise, he wouldn't be one of us.

"He's a kid man," Jake stood up as if he was ready to chase my sister down. I let go of Nat while everyone began to blurt out irrelevant shit. "Whose to say he loses sight of her!" Jake screams as everyone quiets down.

"Enough!" I yell back, glancing at the manager whose losing his patience. I gave him a simple nod of appreciation for always letting us hangout here despite our reputation. "She's my sister and I say what she does and doesn't do. Got it? Now sit the fuck down before someone gets in a fight!"

"There's not much she could do without Ryder, anyway." Mike speaks up, taking the blunt from Jerry. "The girls' afraid of her own shadow."

"Can you guys stop picking on her?" Nat finally speaks up, leaning forward with me. "She's 17 and she's exposed to a lot of shit okay?"

"You're only defending her cause you used to be the same way." Patrick laughs and everyone joins in, embarrassing one of the very few people I care about. She places first beside Riley in a tie. Jake a close second and that's it. Everyone else could go to hell for all I care.

"Go home Pat." I spit, standing up to show my authority. Everyone stops laughing, holding a stiff expression from my sudden harshness.

"Ryder-" Nat tries to calm me but her red face shows he humiliated her.

I turn back to him, more annoyed than before. "I said get the fuck up and go home." He got up and handed the blunt back over to Jerry who originally lit it.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." He mumbles, grabbing his jacket as he heads out the door. I look around for anyone else who has shit to say, then sit back down.

"Riley was never involved in this kinda stuff. Neither was Natasha. I brought them both into this and it's because of that, that they are both sensitive to a lot of it. You all choose to leave your women in the dark, but I keep them on close chains." Natasha flinches at my choice of words, "I meant that," I sigh, not wanting to look weak in front of my men, but choose to praise her anyway. "I like to have them close at all times. That is my choice-"

"So then why is Riley with Ethan?" Jerry chuckles from being high. I take a deep breath and count down from 10, the way Riley taught me to, before choosing to ignore his remark.

"Can't you all just shut the fuck up?" Nat scoffs, putting her arm around my waist.

"Maybe we should all go home." Jake suggests, knowing my patience was wearing thin.

"Yeah, let's get Riley and get some rest." Natasha tries to persuade me while I continue to glare at Jerry. She lightly pulls my chin in her direction with a soft, pleading smile. "Please baby, I'm tired." I cave in as I always do, directing everyone to go back to their flats for the night. They all agree, gathering their things to leave while I walk between Nat and Jake.

"Where'd they go anyway?" Jake asks as we drift from the group. I smile to myself now that it's us three, and smirk at him. "It's just a question asshole." My coldhearted front begins to fade now that I'm alone with who I trust most to be myself around.

"Ice-cream." I nod at the bouncer, leaving the club with Jake following behind us.

"That's so cute." Natasha smiles, skipping a little as we make our way down the pavement.

"That's stupid." Jake shrugs, kicking the rocks. Natasha and I exchange a look, hinting we both know he likes her, then burst out into laughter. "It's dumb! Right?"

"We're laughing at you, idiot! Not with you!" I shove his body as I come down from laughing, with Natasha still cackling beside me.

"Why?" He questioned sincerely as if it wasn't obvious, "It's stupid-"

"You like her," Nat teases like a child while I chuckle beside her, interlocking our fingers. "She's 17 Jake. Maybe you should look for a person that's legal to touch."

"She'll be 18 soon." He shrugs.

"It's her birthday today." Nat laughs while I realize what they're talking about.

"You wanna touch my sister?" I sternly ask, but on the inside I'm not taking it seriously. He swallows the lump in his throat while Nat stifles a giggle, seeing right through me.

"You know I don't look at her like that, man." Jake sighs, "I'm just always gonna care for her."

"While you secretly pray at night for her to fall in love with you-" Nat begins to tease again but I cut the bickering friends off.

"Riley isn't falling in love with anyone." My chest tightens at the thought of her one day leaving me for a better life. She's my sanity ever since I got myself involved with the wrong crowd. I hope she still looks at me the way I look at her, genuinely. If only she knew I did this for her safety and health, that I was still me and it was all a job to keep her alive and well.

Natasha giggles again, and Jake along with myself stare down at her cluelessly. "You think she loves Jake?" My throat runs dry while a smile spreads across his cheeks.

"Nope but I know she likes Ethan-" Jake cuts her off with a huge, obnoxious laugh while I stare at her for further explanation.

"They just met Nat," Jake chuckles. "She can't like a guy she just met."

"He's right." I nod, preparing my sarcasm, "She could only love the man whose been caring for her the past five years. The brothers best friend that always took care of her when-"

"We get it asshole!" Jake shouts as we turn the corner towards Riley's favorite ice-cream shop.

Natasha giggles before speaking up again, "I haven't seen Riley get that choked up and red in the face since, well, I don't know."

"He's too old for her too," I shut it down, knowing deep down I noticed the same thing when they met.

"He's 22, she's 17. He's hot, she's hot." Natasha starts to list off stupid things while I stare at them through the glass. She's genuinely smiling and giggling while he scoops up the remains of her ice-cream. "He makes her smile like that." Natasha whispers in shock. Jake sighs and turns away in disgust while I admire her joy.

"She hasn't smiled like that since mom and dad were alive." I clench my jaw from the rush of emotions and smirk at her happiness. "Come on, let's go join them." I look to Jake who seems hesitant, but he quickly obliges when Riley looks out the window and sees us staring. Ethan loses his smile and stares down at his cup while Riley runs at the open door.