Safe

-9- The Rules

Hannah "Birdie" Morrison

"So."

My dad sits at the table, the head of the table to be exact. Something that never happens on nights when Ava isn't home. Usually it's a pizza on the couch night, especially now that my mom isn't cooking as much.

"Ryan." He looks at soccer Ryan, stony gaze and all intimidating and I almost snort. "Tell me about yourself."

"Dad." Erin whines quietly.

"Well, I'm captain of the soccer team." Ryan starts and before I can stop myself I blurt "co-captain."

Ryan's eyes meet mine, narrowed. "I'm sure you know about Owen. So yes technically co-captain but Owen's been absent."

"Not by choice." I mumble, not entirely sure why I suddenly feel the need to stand up for Owen. We aren't even friends.

Ryan clears his throat. "I've been accepted into Duke, into their biomedical engineering program." My dad whistles, impressed. "I'm currently cooking at a restaurant on the weekends and some evenings."

"Ambitious. And how long have you been seeing my daughter?" My dad asks and Erin squeaks out a protest that's quickly ignored.

I'm thankful this isn't happening to me and steal a glance at Ty who's munching on his pizza amused by the whole thing. It almost makes me laugh.

"A few weeks." Ryan says, sharing a look with Erin as she nods.

"Fine. A few ground rules then." He says.

"Dad!" Erin whines again.

I can't help but chuckle, glancing over at Ty who shares my amusement.

"You might as well listen to Birdie." My dad says, squashing my laughter out instantly.

"What?" I almost point out that I don't have a boyfriend.

But my dad looks at me and all my protests fade. "Rule number 1: bedroom doors remain open. Rule number 2: no sleepovers. Rule number 3: hands visible at all times. Rule 4: you make my girl cry, you have to answer to me. Rule number 5, and this is the big one, absolutely no sex."

"Dad!" Erin and I say in unison slightly mortified he went there.

"This is embarrassing." Erin mutters, her face flushes red.

Ty laughs beside me and I elbow him in the gut.

"I'm so glad I don't have a boyfriend." I say.

"Follow the rules we won't have an issue. Alright?" My dad asks Ryan but it's not really a question.

"Yes sir." He answers.

"Okay, so now that you've made me lose my appetite dad, can we go finish our movie?" Erin pushes her half eaten pizza to the center of the table as my dad says okay. "Come on Ryan."

We all look to Ryan who crams the remainder of his pizza into his mouth hastily and stands from the table. "Thanks for the food." He mumbles.

We're silent until they're out of the dining room, my dad eating completely unfazed by it all. My eyes drift to Erin's pizza sitting on her plate and after a moment of deliberation I reach across the table and grab it. As I go to take a bite I feel Ty watching me and turn to look at him.

"What?" I say. "She said she wasn't hungry."

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Erin flops on my bed sending my phone falling to the floor with a thud. I cringe, saying a silent prayer that no damage happened but make no move to grab it.

"Dad was ridiculous." She says.

I smile. "What did you expect?"

Her shoulder bumps mine. "About what I got but still. How horrifying."

"Ryan handled it fine." I comment, closing the textbook I had opened and sliding it aside.

Erin lets out a dreamy sigh and I think she's about to start gushing on how perfect Ryan is.

"So what's going on with you? Why did dad include you in the rules?" She asks.

"Beats me."

She rolls onto her back, tilting her head to look at me. "Is something going on with you and Holt?"

"What? Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I blurt, defensive because there isn't anything going on and why does there have to be.

Why can't we just be friends?

"Who else asked?"

I roll my eyes, tossing the pen I was writing with onto my book and watching as it rolls off and clinks to the floor, joining my phone.

"Ty." I mutter.

"Oh really?" Erin's voice is too chipper for my liking. "Is there something going on between you and Ty?"

I scoff. "Uh no."

"Mhmm." She says skeptically.

"Whatever, there isn't."

But I feel heat rush to my cheeks and my heart start to pound a little harder. There isn't anything going on but my thoughts have started to wonder what things would be like if there was.

"I wouldn't blame you if there was. Ty's hot." Erin says.

"You always complain that he's annoying." I argue.

She smiles, sitting up on her elbow, her blond hair piled on her head. Sometimes she looks just like Ava.

"He talks about basketball too much." She shrugs. "But that's probably why you two get along so well."

I laugh through my nose, she isn't wrong.

"I'm just saying Birdie, he's good looking, everyone loves him." She shrugs. "Plus you said he kissed you."

"On the cheek while drunk. Doesn't count." I think.

Erin smiles, a mischievous smile that makes my heart flutter in my chest because maybe that sloppy kiss was more than nothing? Maybe it was something?

Do I even want it to be something?

"Do you think Holt will be jealous if you and Ty become a thing?" Erin asks after a moment. "I mean you guys seem like you've gotten close."

"Why would he?" I ask her.

"Well does he like you?"

I shake my head no. I'm mostly certain that the thought hasn't crossed Holt's mind. He's too busy with his demons.

"No. We're just friends." I say it confidently.

Erin raises her eyebrows skeptically at me. "I'd double check if I were you."

"You think he likes me?" I'm shocked at the possibility.

"I don't know, you know him best." She tells me.

But that's the thing. I don't know Holt. Not really. I know a handle of things about him. Small things. It's not like he's divulged a bunch of personal information about himself to me.

I like Holt, I do. But not like that. Not enough to help him carry his demons. Not because I wouldn't but because I'm not sure I'm strong enough to shoulder what he's hiding.

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So remember that little something I mentioned I was going to work on casually. Well it's almost finished. A short little 5ish chapter thing.

The question is do you want daily updates once it's completed? Want me to wait until the end of Safe? Want to know the name?

There's no real spoilers to Safe either.