Sweet Caroline {Ryan Blaney} ✔️

thirteen

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Ryan killed his engine, gazing at the setting sun for a moment -- soaking up his last moment of peace from his amazing day. He felt light and free when he was with Caroline and Lydia, worry-free. But now it was time to face reality and Stacy.

Apprehension coursed through his veins as he approached his house, the weight of his worries settling back onto his chest like a dumbbell, making it hard for Ryan to breathe. He wished that things were different, that he wasn't about to step into the hellfire of Stacy.

Ryan stopped a minute -- taking a moment to stare up at his house. He had bought it after his first full cup season. He had loved the big piece of secluded land that it sat on the most -- a quiet refuge, a place for him to collect himself when the world started going too fast for him to keep up.

But now Ryan found himself dreading coming to his house, it was no longer a refuge. Stacy had torn down everything about the house that had made it home for him -- going so far as to sending his dog to live with his parents because she doesn't like dogs. The house felt foreign and he wasn't sure he could ever make it feel like home again.

"Where have you been?" Stacy stared at her freshly manicured hands, perched on a barstool. "And don't lie to me, Ryan."

Ryan dropped his keys in the glass dish in front of Stacy, "I was at the shop, you know that."

Stacy's eyes snapped up to his, her blue eyes icy, "I said, don't lie."

Ryan furrowed his brow, "What are you talking about?"

Stacy sniffed like she was trying to contain tears, "I stopped by the shop around 9:30 to bring you breakfast and you weren't there. What's her name, Ryan?"

Ryan's heart pounded, knowing that he had been caught in a lie. "Oh," He murmured, chuckling dryly, "I went out to breakfast." He shrugged, "No big deal."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Stacy demanded. She didn't wait for Ryan to respond before shaking her head, "Right. Because you went with whoever your flavor of the month is."

"You know that's not true." Ryan protested. "I'm a grown-ass man, Stacy. If I want to go to IHOP by myself, then I will." He winced inwardly at the lie -- he hated lying but he felt justified because he was protecting Caroline.

"Were you alone, Ryan?" Stacy shot back, souring Ryan's stomach. He didn't say anything, waiting for Stacy to say something, to tip her hand and show him what she exactly knew. He hoped that she was just bluffing, doing her usual song and dance that she did when she tried to get Ryan to admit to cheating.

When Ryan didn't reply to Stacy, she hopped off of the barstool, "I'm going to bed. You can sleep in the guest bedroom." She smirked as she pushed past Ryan.

Ryan watched her retreating figure for a moment. He leaned over, elbows resting on the cool marble that covered the kitchen island. He let out a sigh, reaching up to pull fingers through his hair.

A scary thought flashed through his mind -- that Stacy had followed him to IHOP and saw him get out of the car and hug Caroline and go in with her and Lydia. He tried to shake it off, Stacy was calculating and manipulative but she was impulsive too. If she had seen Ryan with another woman, she wouldn't have been able to hold it in and maintain her calmness -- that's what he was going to tell himself to keep the chicken sandwich he had eaten on the way home in his stomach.