Remember, I told you

Starting Over

"That's enough!" I yelled laughingly as Linda scooped another plate of mashed potatoes into the Tupperware. "I can't eat all of this!"

"Well then you should have eaten more during dinner, then maybe we wouldn't have any leftovers..." she said giving me a pointed look as she scooped another spoon.

"Fine, fair," I said, pulling the spoon out of Linda's hand and putting it in the sink where James and Ryder were washing the dishes, laughing at us two.

"What are you two looking at," Linda snapped at the boys. "You do realize that you both will be eating the rest." That quickly sobered them up as I began laughing at their fearful faces.

An important thing to note is that while dinners at the Daniels's are always special, the food never is. Linda cannot cook, things are always oversalted or underdone and James can only work the grill, but he usually burns everything to crisp. Simply put, our plate is nearly inedible.

And today's dinner was no different. Just like that, it was easy to slip into old habits, getting comfortable in old patterns. It felt like the morning on the beach, easy with Linda and James, but this time Ryder was there. He didn't say much, and carefully observed to see if I would let anything slip, but as the night went on, he grew more comfortable, laughing and smiling, while I reminded myself that this was only pretend...

"I should head out," I announced, grabbing the salty mashed potatoes and heading to the front door. "Thank you so much for this Linda, James. It was great seeing you again."

"Sure thing honey," Linda said pulling me into a hug.

"Anytime," James grinned, messing up my hair.

I rolled my eyes at him and waved a simple goodbye to Ryder as he said, "Bye Rosie," an unreadable expression in his eyes.

I tried to read his emotions for a moment, before reminding myself that I didn't care, stepping through the door, and shutting it closed. A breath quickly escaped my lips, one that I didn't realize I was holding in. It may have been relief or maybe uneasiness, but for a minute, it felt like just maybe, I had gotten closure.

A chance to relive the past, enjoy it, and now close that chapter, and walk away. It was a small sense of comfort, but one that I was quickly beginning to cherish.

And just then, the silence of the night was interrupted by a lough thumping and ragged yell, "WAIT!"

I turned to see Ryder running down the street towards me, his hair flopping in the wind. The breeze was gentle but strong enough to pull his shirt flush against his chest, as I waited for him to approach and catch his breath.

He stopped a few feet away from me, after a dramatic run and threw me a smirk and simply said, "Hey."

"What are you doing Ryder," I asked confused.

"Walking you home?" He responded as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Why? I am more than capable of walking a few blocks." I said pointedly, a hand on my hip.