Sharing A Floor With a Vampire, Werewolf and Demon

Sharing A Floor With A Vampire, Werewolf and Demon / Part 37

"Do you think you ever stayed with Nathan because you wanted to avoid the feeling of loneliness?" Ryder said in between a bite of dinner.

"Are fucking kidding me?" I fumed. "That is the most insulting notion you have ever insinuated. That's low, even for you."

"Your answer wasn't a no," he said, poking around at his plate.

"How dare you." I growled. "I opened up to you before, with the truth, and this is how you treat me. Is that what you really think?"

He couldn't actually think that those were reasons I stayed... had it come off that way? Was a part of it truth... was I scared to be alone? It couldn't be, because no one ever gave me the chance to be alone. Everyone was constantly in my face, even when I shut the door.

I immediately stormed off and went to the front door, and jumped to find a werewolf stationed at the front entrance. 

"Why the fuck is there a werewolf right at the door?" I growled at Ryder. "I thought you laid off with the tense security."

"Because I knew this was going to be your reaction," he coolly replied. "I'm trying to help you."

"Please enlighten me with how you are helping. More specifically, how you thought it would be appropriate to tighten the perimeters on your house so I couldn't leave when I have every right to do so."

"I'm teaching you to not run when you get angry," he replied.

I snorted; of course Ryder thought that he had the right to "teach" me a lesson.

"Please sit down and finish dinner," Ryder said. "I don't want people to think I starved you."

"You really have some nerve," I growled.

"Every time you have a problem, I've noticed that you run from it. I can promise you running is not the answer. I'm just trying to help you gain a thicker skin."

"What are you, my therapist?" I snapped. "I didn't have anything left to say to you, wanting to get a fresh of breath air shouldn't be a crime."

"Rather than being angry all the time, I would rather understand where you are coming from." Ryder said. "Defend yourself, rather than letting me get the best of you."

"Why?"

"It's called communicating," Ryder chuckled. "Clearly you aren't the best at it."

I crossed my arms as I sat down, and gave him a nasty look.

"I can tell when I am unwanted," Ryder smiled. "Please eat, I'll come back later and give you some time to cool off. I challenge you for your own good, I hope you know that."

I waited a few moments until Ryder was in his room. I needed something to soften his blow, something to help me forget that this situation at hand wasn't in fact normal. Every time Nathan was mentioned, I was sent back into a whirlwind of emotions and bad thoughts. I opened a cabinet, and found exactly what I needed to take that edge off. Liquor.

How dare he make such accusations and make me feel worse about an already shitty situation – I hated how he always had to make a point. I took a large sip as the liquid burned my throat. Perhaps drinking this straight wouldn't be ideal, but this was the fastest way to take the edge off. He always managed to get under my skin right when I was about to think he was okay. Challenge me? Why did I need to be challenged? I took another big chug of whatever I had my hands on and let it burn my throat.

Would my experience living on that floor had changed so drastically if I had made different choices on that first day? What if it had been Gabe that I had taken up on his offer first... perhaps I would be with the sexy, flirtatious one... or would it have been the boy with the emerald green eyes? Why did I ever think Damien and I were so close? I laughed at my pathetic nature to be drawn to him. We barely knew one another and I was still holding on to something that was held together by a string. Another drink. I had been dealt nothing but challenges since moving to this god forsaken town, so why did I need to be challenged further? Werewolves, vampires and demons, and he thought I needed to address more. Another drink. He was just so infuriating. It was clearly all a part of his game. I was supposed to dislike this family with a passion, false, I did. I had witnessed the shit they did... examples like... perhaps I was drawing a blank right now, but they weren't great. No, especially not Ryder. He brought me here, he's keeping me here as bait, bait that finally felt at peace. Bait that finally after all these months felt a little at ease, and not on edge. Another drink. And maybe, maybe after everything I wasn't even scared, not even a little bit - I was just simply lonely.