Sweet Caroline {Ryan Blaney} ✔️

twenty-one

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Ryan raised his fist up to knock on the red front door but before he could, the door swung open -- greeted by Lydia. Ryan blinked a few times in surprise -- he had been expecting Caroline to answer the door.

"Caroline passed out on the way home so she's sleeping in her room," Lydia explained as she stepped aside. "So you're stuck with me until she wakes up."

Ryan gave her a sideways look. Admittedly, a wave of excitement had washed over him at the thought of getting to spend a little time alone with Lydia. "More like you're stuck with me." He joked, glancing around at her house. It was cozy, bright photos hung on the walls with artwork hung on a huge bulletin board. Her house looked like it was filled with a million happy memories.

A dull ache radiated through Ryan's body, quickly turning into a sharp pain in his chest. He turned away so Lydia couldn't see the tears welling in his eyes at the thought of everything that he had missed that these walls had witnessed. He had always tried to keep himself focused on how much time he had left with Caroline but right now, all he could think about was the time he had been robbed of.

The feeling overwhelmed him -- mostly because he had no control over it, the time had passed and there was no way he could ever get it back. It felt like the air had been sucked out of his lungs and the air he breathed in was frigid air that burned your throat.

"Hey." Lydia placed her hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Ryan blinked the tears away, doing his best to muster up a smile. "Yeah." He forced a grin, suddenly remembering the pizza he had in his hands. "Where should I put this?"

Lydia frowned, Ryan could tell that she didn't believe his answer. He felt guilty -- he had told her that he didn't hold it against her and he didn't but this feeling? He was having a hard time shaking it. "I'll take it." Ryan handed the pizza box to her, watching as she disappeared towards what he had assumed to be the kitchen.

Once she was out of his sight, he turned towards the wall of photos. He studied them recognizing most of them as ones that Lydia had already sent to him. But one caught him off guard.

The picture of him, Lydia and Caroline in front of his car was displayed in the middle of all of the other photos, a little larger than the rest.

"Eventually, I'd love to get a better picture of us three," Lydia spoke from behind him. "I hope you don't mind that I printed that one out."

Ryan turned to her, unable to mask his emotions. "It means a lot." He choked out. Seeing the photo of them hung up gave Ryan a sense of permanence and he didn't realize how much he needed to feel that until this moment.

"Ryan." Lydia stepped towards him. "What's going through your mind right now?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "It just really hit me that I lost so much time with Caroline." He murmured, bracing himself for Lydia's reaction.

Lydia nodded slowly. There was a pause before she slipped her hand into his, "Follow me."

He followed her into an open room with an overstuffed couch. Lydia sat down, motioning for him to do the same. She pulled her laptop off the coffee table. "I know that this won't come close to giving you the time back but..." Her voice trailed off for a moment as she logged onto her computer. "This is the best I can do."