No Such Thing

Chapter 14

Playlist:
Postcards From Italy - Beirut
little darling - Lewis Watson
Running - No Doubt

My childhood home looked like a pumpkin swallowed it and spit it right back out. My mother never let a season go to waste without decorating. It was on a huge plot of land with a vast field in the back where a barn used to be. The tire swing I used to spend hours hanging upside down from was still holding on to the ancient tree in the front yard. "Very festive. I like it." I roll my eyes at Ryder as I climb out of the cab and he goes around to the trunk to get our bags. When I walk up the steps of my porch I hesitate before ringing the doorbell. I haven't come back home, let alone the state of Colorado, in three years. Not since.. And I hadn't even mentioned a word about Ryder to my parents. This was a horrible idea. Before I can turn around the door flies open and my mother has me in a chokehold. "Oh Stella, honey bear. I'm so happy to see you. Are you okay? Have you been sleeping? Have you been taking your medication? Oh sweetie. Men are shit, you know. Except your father and your brother. But the rest are a nightmare. I missed you so much." "Hi to you too, mom. And about that I-" My attempt at easing her into the introduction of my surprise guest was interrupted by him fumbling behind me trying to carry everything. "Oh what a gentleman. You didn't have to do that. How much do we owe you for the ride?" I stifled the chuckle that escaped me at the fact that my mother thought Ryder was a cab driver. "No, mom he's not- Mom, this is Ryder, my uh.. Uh.." "Boyfriend. I'm her boyfriend. It's very nice to finally meet you Mrs. Mason, I've heard plenty about you." My mother's eyes bulged out of what I couldn't make out to be embarrassment or shock. "Sorry I wasn't aware that, well.. Stella can I talk to you for a minute, honey." Fuck. She pulls me around to the side of the house and I already know what's coming. "I was gonna tell you." "Stella Roxanne Mason. I cannot believe that after all you went through you'd be in a relationship already." "It's been three years. I'm fine." "You also said you were fine when that bastard was toying around with you." "This isn't the same thing. I'm not the same little girl anymore. I've changed and this guy is completely different." "No drugs?" "No drugs. I'm clean. He's clean. Doesn't even smoke." "Smoke what?" "Anything! Just get to know him. You know how I am now. I don't even give guys the time of day." "That's what scares me the most, Stella. The second you're vulnerable I know no matter what you say you're susceptible to manipulation." "Not anymore just trust me. Okay?" "Alright. But fill me in because obviously you didn't inform him that you were keeping me clueless." "Ryder Wells, billionaire parents, we met at a club, he pretty much lives with me, enjoys Chinese food and we have the same taste in music." "Okay let's go back out there before we create suspicion." I can't blame my mother with me having randomly left the state and moving to the other side of the country without warning. Her constant check-ins and financial support for the first year were expected, especially after forcing me to see a therapist in order to be allowed to stay in New York. I was almost positive she would put me in rehab or a psych ward, but I guess she was understanding as hell when it came to having your world come crashing down.

*Ryder's POV*

We were all sitting at a long table on Stella's deck. The view was insane with the sun setting behind the forest trees at the end of their acre of land. Stella's mom could pass for Kate Hudson's twin. Her dad was clean shaven and dressed in business attire. He didn't look as much of the teddy bear she described him as but was very welcoming nonetheless. She hadn't told me about her younger brother, Louis. I didn't hold it against her because I can tell she's been very stressed about me coming here and it probably slipped her mind. He was ten and looked so much like her. Those same sad blue eyes. I had my hand resting on Stella's thigh while him and I had an ongoing staring contest. We had gone through the typical interrogative parental questionnaire and with every question I could see Stella's nose twitch out of the corner of my eye. Every time she seemed uncomfortable or irritated I squeezed her leg to remind her she has someone to lean on. When everyone was finished she got up to help her mom wash dishes and her dad proceeded to show me his high school football trophies. This was all so new to me. My parents were always glued to their phones and never sat down for a meal together.

*Stella's POV*

"That's fucking ridiculous." "After last time? Yeah last time was fucking ridiculous." "Stop talking about that, this isn't the same thing. I'm not a child you can't make him sleep in the other room." "In my damn house I can." "It makes no sense we practically live together!" "I don't wanna hear it." "Ugh!" I throw the plate I was washing back in the sink and storm out into my old bedroom, slamming the door. It's more... pink than I remember. There were posters of The Spice Girls and *Nsync everywhere you looked. I crashed into my bed and stared at the furry pink telephone on my nightstand. Wow I was a real fucking loser. There was a light knock at my door. "What the fuck do you want?" "Babe.." I got up and opened the door. "Sorry." He did that thing where he pushed his hair back and kinda shook it so it would look all fluffy and perfectly tousled like it always did. "Whoa..." He did a tour around my room with a look of shock and awe on his face. Picking up an old picture of me from the summer after high school he asked, "Is this your hot evil twin or something?" I rolled my eyes and snatched the frame out of his hand and put it faced down on my dresser. "Yeah, I ate her and absorbed all her powers." "What's got you so angry?" "It's stupid." "Tell me." "It's not important." "Stel.." He grabbed my waist and pulled me close. I pouted. "She won't let you sleep in my bed." "You're twenty-two years old.. Aren't you a little old for that rule?" "Pretty fucking much." He leaned in and pressed his lips to my ear. "Just sneak in later and try not to shout as loud as you do at home." His hands slid under my shirt very slowly as he kept his mouth on my ear and- "Sis can you fix my controller, I think the battery ran out." My spine almost tore out of my body with the way I jumped away from Ryder at the sound of my brother barging into my room. Ryder who I had shoved against my dresser with Hulk-like force was rubbing his elbow from the impact. "Louis, you gotta learn how to knock, buddy." "Sorry.. Why are your cheeks so red?" I cover my face and Ryder is snickering in the corner. I shoot him a glare and my mother enters. "Great. It's a party!" My mom shoots me a glare after that venomous sarcasm. "I was just coming in to show Ryder to his room." "Oh okay I'll follow your lead then." I return the glare to my mother and she rolls her eyes as she exits. Louis is pulling my hand toward his room and Ryder smacks my ass before he goes the other direction following my mother. He turns to wink at me and I flip him off. "I saw that." My brother looks at me with his arms crossed as I take the controller from his hand. A ten-year-old judging me. Nice. "You saw nothing."

I sneak down the hall and tap on the guest room door. Impatient as I am, I open it and peek in to see that Ryder was the edge of the bed. I close it behind me and put my finger to my lips indicating he has to stay quiet. We're both like stupid little kids. I point at the window on the opposite side of the room and he looks at me like I'm out of my mind. Padding over to it, I shove the glass up and climb out, signaling him to join me. When he complies and shuts it after getting out, I pull the keys to my dad's Mustang out of my back pocket and jingle them in the air proudly. "You didn't." "I fucking did." We try to muffle our mischievous giggling as we tiptoe over to the car and make our escape.