Chapter Nineteen â Official
I wake up in a good mood.
Besides the fact that Wes is making breakfast (and he's thankfully not singing this time), the kiss from yesterday is still fresh in my mind.
I told Amber after school and she flipped out. Asking me if I was really done with Sean, and how hot the kiss was, and what would I rate it on a scale of one to ten (it was a ten by the way).
She was surprised to hear that I dumped Seanâ even if we weren't really datingâ but it's not like my feelings for him were completely gone. Feelings don't just vanish into thin air, but I noticed that our relationship was more of a friendship in the first place. I think I didn't see it before because I was blinded by how good he looks, but I think we were always more friends than anything else.
Plus, it's not like we were madly in love with each other or anything. It was just a mutual crush that ended up not working out. We're in high school. I'm absolutely sure that he'll find another girl in like a week.
I still didn't want to jump into something with Ryder the day after I broke it off though. It seemed a little disrespectful.
As for my relationship with Ryder. . . we haven't even talked about it yet. After his weird exit yesterday, we haven't had a chance to talk. He texted me goodnight, which was a tradition he withheld even after he came back, but I saw the text too late to reply.
So after eating my breakfast and driving to school I figured we would talk about it there, which was pretty unromantic, but whatever.
I arrived at school a little early and to my surprise, he was already there. As soon as our gazes met in the parking lot, his expression melted into a hot, possessive one. There was a softness to it though, like he was incredibly happy about something.
His eyes stayed on mine as he walked toward me, until I felt like I would burn under the heat of his gaze. As soon as he stood in front me, he tilted my head back and kissed me, like he couldn't stand another minute where his mouth wasn't on mine. Our lips moved together, soft and slow, before I pulled away. Although the kiss was quickâno more than ten secondsâ I still felt the tingles travel down to my toes.
"Hi," he whispers.
Don't you think you should have started with that first?
"Hey," I reply softly. "Shouldn't we discuss what we are to each other before we start making out?"
The combination of his husky voice and the sweet meaning behind his words, made his reply completely swoon-worthy. "Angel, I've been yours since the day I met you."
Every part of me wanted to jump him right in the school parking lot, but I instead settled for giving him another kiss.
"I'm not seeing Sean anymore. I was trying to tell you that when you kissed me yesterday."
His face lit up and I don't think I've ever seen him this happy, but then something in him shifts. "Before you say anything else, you should know something."
I frown. "What's wrong?"
He winces. "It's about Sean."
Five minutes later, I'm storming down the hall in anger. "Ryder, I can't believe you did that!"
After Ryder had told me what he did, I immediately went to find Sean, wanting to see the condition he was in. I found him by his locker with a bruised cheek, and even though I hoped that was it, I seriously doubted it.
And I was right.
Sean's stomach and back had several bruises on them, and it took me a minute to realize that they weren't random. Every place that I had a bruise on my body, Sean had one to match. Plus a few extra, as if the bruises he already had weren't enough.
I was furious at Ryder for doing this. Was he insane?
When I finally made it back to the parking lot, that's what I asked him. "Are you insane?!"
"Maybe. I can't help myself when it comes to you. You make me this way."
"Well try, Ryder, because this is ridiculous! Getting hurt is a part of the game. You can't hurt him because of that, it's not his fault!"
"I'm mad because he knew what he was getting you into and he still put you in harm's way." He sighs. "I'm sorry, okay? I just hate seeing you hurt."
"I appreciate the apology, Ryder, but I can't accept it right now. It's not even me you need to apologize to."
"You don't understand. He let you get hurt. I had to. You're everythiâ" he cut himself off.
I take a deep breath. "I feel like you're only sorry because I'm mad at you about it. If I didn't care, you'd probably be as happy as ever right now."
"Damn right I would be happy! It's bad enough that you're injured, but then he had his hands all over you at lunch. I should've killed him right there just for touching you."
"Well, in that case, you should hurt me too then."
"What?"
"I agreed to play paintball with him, Ryder, and I knew that it was going to hurt me. I also let him touch me at lunch. So, you should be punishing me too."
"Don't be ridiculous, Emma. I could never hurt you. The thought wouldn't even cross my mind."
"You're saying that now."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"How am I supposed to feel safe around you when you say and do things like that?"
He froze, looking stricken. "You don't feel safe around me?"
His expression was so hurt that I had to stop myself from wrapping my arms around him. His hand lifted and rubbed at the skin above his heart, like it was hurting him.
"You're mad at him for doing all these things, but it takes two to tango. One day you might realize that and turn your anger on me." Assault is a crime. It worried me that he saw nothing wrong with doing it.
"How could you think that?"
"Because I know how a relationship with a possessive guy can be." It's not all rainbows and sunshine. And this I knew first hand, unfortunately.
"That's what you've been thinking about me? How can you not see that I'm crazy about you? Nothing will ever change that."
"Prove it. Apologize to Sean and swear to me that you will never hurt anyone I care about ever again. It doesn't count if you don't mean it."
He looked me in the eyes until I could see his sincerity and said, "Emma, I swear that I won't hurt anyone you care about ever again. It kills me that you don't feel safe around me because I would never, ever do anything to hurt you. I'll spend the rest of my life showing you that if I have to, but I'm sorry that I ever made you feel that way in the first place."
This time I do wrap my arms around him. "I've never felt threatened by you. I was just upset, Ryder. I still am, but I know that you won't hurt me. I'm sorry that I hurt you by saying that. You mean a lot to me too."
He sagged against me in relief, like that was all he ever needed to hear. "Thank you. I needed that."
I pulled away from him. "You still need to apologize to Sean."
"Anything for you."
"And you have to mean it, Ryder."
"I will. For you."
I rolled my eyes at him. "We haven't even been together officially yet and we already got into a fight."
"That's because you're perfect for me. I need somebody to put me in my place when I step out of line. You do that just fine."
He nuzzled his nose against mine. "So are you officially mine now?"
"Yes."
"Good."
And then he was kissing me again.
â Â Â Â Â â¿ Â Â Â Â â
Don't worry the story isn't over yet!
Emma still doesn't even know that Ryder is a werewolf, lol.
There's still a lot more backstory and drama to come.
Vote if you enjoyed! â¥