Hurricane Love

Fourty Two

'Ryker?' My voice came out in a quivering whisper as I turned and saw him standing in the doorway, smirking at me.

'So, what's the deal with this laundry room then?' he joked.

'Oh my god,' I croaked, as I bolted over to him and wrapped my arms around his body, pressing my face into his chest as I shook. He let the door swing shut behind him as he brought his arms around me and held me.

'It's okay,' he said, resting a hand on my head as he kissed the top of it.

'You're real!' I cried, as I gripped onto his shirt tightly.

'You're shit-faced,' he chuckled.

'How are you here?' I asked, looking up at him with my smudged, tear-stained eyes.

'Well, I got off the train at Allerton station; I couldn't go,' he said, brushing his knuckles across my temple as he gazed down at me. 'I took the next train back here and went straight to your house to see you.'

'You went to my house?' I gasped. 'Let me guess, Christine had plenty to say?'

'Yeah, she kind of bit my head off,' he sniggered. 'I practically begged her to tell me where you were but she refused and shut the door in my face but when I left, your dad came out and told me you were here and he even gave me a ride here.'

'No way!' I cried.

'Yeah, he seems a cool guy,' he replied. 'Anyway, I arrived here to find Cassie and Abbie at the front door shouting your bloody name and after answering about a hundred questions from Abbie, she finally told me you'd took off and they couldn't find you anywhere and...well, something told me if you were hiding anywhere, this was the most likely place.'

'I can't believe you're back,' I said. 'But what does this mean? How long are you back for?'

'I'm not leaving again, Amelia,' he said, leaning down to kiss me. I felt tingles throughout my whole body as his lips met mine and I kissed him back ferociously, before breaking away suddenly.

'But wait!' I cried, straightening up to look at him. 'What about Mason? We tried to fix this, we tried to make him change his mind but he is adamant about not letting you come home! If he finds out...'

'If he posts anything about you, I'll break his fucking legs,' Ryker said, stating it simply.

'I'm not worried about that!' I replied. 'I know he won't post them. What about you? What about your mum?'

'It's something I'll deal with,' he sighed.

'No!' I cried. 'He can't find out you're here! We have to keep it a secret.'

'I'm not hiding from him,' he said. 'I still have to go to school; I can't hide. I told you, I'll deal with it.'

'But I don't want you to go to prison,' I said.

'I'm not going anywhere,' he said, kissing me on the forehead. 'Anyway, everybody here has already seen me, so it won't be long before it gets back to him.'

'I can't believe you came back,' I whispered.

'I had to ask myself what the fuck I was doing boarding a train back to a life I hated, leaving someone I love behind,' he said. 'I was leaving my mum behind too and she needs me. I had to get off the train. I had to remind myself of who the fuck I am and I'm not about to let a little bitch like Mason threaten me.'

'But he will stick to his word,' I told him. 'Why don't you take your mum back to Essex with you?'

'I'm not going to Essex, Amelia,' he sighed.