Grabbing Hold (The Motorcycle Kid #1)

69. Scars, Part Two

Been a VERY long time since I updated last and I'll explain that in an author's note very soon, but to apologize, here's a long, fluffy Rymma chapter to appease your frozen hearts 😭❤

- Mack

It took more than a few minutes for Emma to compose herself after listening to Ryder's tale. At present, she stood, arms wrapped around herself, back facing away from the young man as she let the horrors of his story sink in.

On the ground behind her, Ryder pulled idly at the grass in front of him, surprisingly put-together for someone who had rehashed over a decade of trauma, physical and psychological, less than five minutes earlier. He even laughed at a message on his phone, responding as if he hadn't just been talking about almost choking his father to death.

"Blondie," he called out, rolling on to his back and patting the space beside him. "Come lie down."

Emma watched him warily, confused, and whether or not she was willing to admit it, a little scared.

"Are you okay?" she questioned, baffled at the young man's seeming nonchalance. 

Ryder looked himself over. "I think so," he replied.

"Are you sure?"

He rolled his eyes, sitting up and letting his eyes meet Emma's.

"Emma, I'm fine. A ticking time bomb? Yes. But I'm fine, really. Now come watch the stars with me," he tried to reassure her.

"I...how is it that easy to talk about all this?"

"I'm used to bottling it up. My probation officer calls me Bottleneck for a reason. Sometimes I forget the majority of the rest of the world had a normal childhood and I can't talk about stabbings and black eyes willy nilly."

Ryder shrugged, hopping to his feet and taking Emma's hands in his.

"I'm really okay, Emma. The therapist at the penitentiary center did a good job," he said, rubbing a thumb comfortingly over her fingers. "I'm not going to hurt you, or anybody else."

"Would you really do it if you had the chance?" Emma questioned earnestly. "Would you really kill- would you really kill your own father?"

At that, Ryder couldn't meet her eyes.

"You don't understand," he said softly. "That man ruined my life. He's almost killed my mother more times than I can count. He took away my brother's childhood, he could've killed me. I would've done the world a huge favour by offing him back then."

"And what about you, huh? What would happen to you?"

"Emma-"

"You'd still be angry, Ryder!"

"Why are you yelling at me?" asked Ryder, confused.

"Why would you do that?!" Emma demanded. "Sure, he'd be dead, but what about you, huh?! You think the world would treat you like a hero because you took justice into your own hands?"

"Emma, you're crossing lines here."

"Out of line?! You're the one who wanted to murder your own father!"

"Emma, calm down," Ryder said warningly, gripping her hands in an attempt to help her ground herself. "I know you're scared and really, really confused, but you need to calm down."

"I'm fine," Emma struggled away, wrapping her arms around her body as if to protect herself from the young man a few feet away from her. "Just...just give me a sec."

She didn't see the flash of hurt that framed Ryder's face for a split second. He sighed, swallowing his words, knowing how close Emma was to an anxiety attack.