Ryder’s point of view:
It was obvious that Jake will not be coming any time soon when Lea called him. I could hear the slur in his voice when he answered the call and with the music playing in the background, he was at a party and already too drunk to understand what Lea was trying to tell him.
Even though I wanted to maintain some distance from Lea like I have been doing for a few days now, I knew that I would have to let her tend to my wounds.
I understood why being so close to her felt so wrong but at the same time, felt so right. I immediately realized that I needed to get away before it got too late.
I just can’t get too close to Lea. Last time I got this close to a girl, I was fucked up. That girl was my first and last girlfriend. She fucking cheated on me and screwed me over for good. I loved her but I guess, she never really had the same feelings for me because if she did, she would have never cheated on me. I was neve
Ryder’s point of view: My mood promptly turned sour when I saw Tom along with two other guys whom I recognized seeing at the racetracks waiting outside. How stupid can Tom be that he decided to try his luck again tonight? Wasn’t that fight from earlier enough? Maybe he fell for my punches? I tried my best to forget the pain shooting up my leg when I walked towards him. I stopped when I reached him and stood with my back straight to face him. Another lightning ripped heaven apart before another roll of thunders fiercer than the one before tore the ghostly silence into pieces. The storm was finally here. Large, heavy, ragged black clouds hung over our heads. The storm pierced through the growing tension and thrummed with the desire to say aloud whatever hung in the air between Tom and me. “Please, be nice.” Lea begged as she held onto my forearms, preventing me from advancing towards T
Ryder’s point of view:Lea’s eyes shifted to something behind me. Her eyes widened. Her entire body went paralyzed with fear. Before I could ask her what was wrong, she quickly turned me around.“Ryder, watch out!” Lea shouted.My own eyes widened in utter disbelief when a baseball bat was hurled at me.Seeing how fast it was coming my way, I swiftly turned back around, covered Lea’s head and shielded her.I winced and squeezed my eyes tightly shut when the baseball bat hit the back of my left arm.It broke in half before splintering into fragments.I swiftly turned back around to check who threw that bat.I clenched my jaw when I saw no one in sight.“Ryder, l-let’s get inside.” Lea tried to pull me inside but I stayed put.“I know you’re hiding. Come out.” I shouted.I kept my eyes on the nearby bush to check for any
Ryder’s point of view:Despite the rain which was pouring down on us, I felt like I was suddenly splashed with cold yet hot water. My hold on the man loosened. I let go of him completely before standing up but before I could stand up, I was forcefully hit at the back of my head with something hard. I flinched.I quickly wrapped my hands around the back of my head and cried out in pain when I felt my ears ring. Everything turned deaf for a split second before I started hearing the rain and the man’s uncontrollable laughter.“Ryder…” I heard Lea screaming my name.I turned to glance in the direction of her voice to find a man pulling her out of the house by the back of her hair.The sudden fear that overtook her was starkly visible on her face.Streams of tears flowed faster than my heartbeat from her eyes.Tears of pain and fear ran down her cheeks.Feeling disoriented and dizzy, I
Ryder’s point of view: When I woke up, I found myself lying on the floor. The moment I moved, my head pinched with pain. I stopped moving. I closed my eyes tightly shut and waited till the pain dissipated. I tried to sit up only to realize that my hands and feet were tied up with ropes. I pushed myself up and leaned my back against the cold wall. I felt something trail down the back of my neck and the side of my head. I instantly knew that it was blood. I looked around but could barely see anything. It was dark and only the beam of the moon penetrating through the window served as my light from where I was. I shook my head slightly to prevent the blood from getting into my eyes. I did not want to be blinded any further than I was already. I coughed and winced slightly when I tasted the metallic taste in my mouth. The side of my lips stung. I gulped to try and get rid of that taste but to no avail. I held my breath when
Ryder’s point of view:“The fuck is wrong with you, man. That’s your daughter.” I said through gritted teeth.I felt disgusted to look at his shitty face.He was not worthy of being called a father.“She is not my fucking daughter.” Thomas retaliated furiously.Lea calmed down slightly when Thomas placed the chair back in place.“Y-You can’t be my f-father.” Lea mumbled quietly.Thomas stilled entirely. I watched his expression change on the spot. His face went pale in astonishment. The face that was red with anger just a while ago was suddenly as white as a sheet.He slowly turned around to look at Lea.Unlike earlier, Lea did not flinch in fear when her father glanced at her.She stared right back into his eyes with confidence.It was dreading to watch him approach Lea as a predator would his prey. Lea gulped back the tears that had fi
Ryder’s point of view:“What the actual fuck are you -”His head jerked backwards when the piece of glass slit and penetrated his throat halfway with a sickening crack.The next few words he was trying to say got stuck in his throat.He did not have time to react.He could not step away on time.His eyes widened in disbelief before watering in pain.Blood gushed out as rapidly as water exploding out a broken dam.He instinctively caught his throat with his hands.Blood seeped through his trembling fingers.He appeared troubled when he pulled his hands away from his throat.As much as I wanted to stare at him while he suffocated in tremor and pain, I searched for another piece of glass lying around on the ground behind me. When I found another one, I sliced through the rope tied up around my ankles before standing up. I held the glass in my right hand.Thomas’s
Lea’s point of view: My heart dropped to my stomach when I heard his demand. Ryder’s body went rigid. I heard a deep rumble reverberated in his chest as he tightened his grip around me and held me close. I felt safe being in his arms like this. I would not want to ever let go of him. “Dare you dare even try that!” Ryder’s voice was tight when he spoke. “I don’t think you are in a position to refuse me, kid.” The man’s voice raised an octave before I heard his half-suppressed snigger. “I don’t remember giving you the right to judge me.” Ryder refuted. “Huh, you don’t look right in the head, kid.” “You’re right but with bastards like you, this is exactly how I should be.” “I dare you to say that again.” “Why? Are you deaf now?” “You piece of shit -” I felt a gush of air hitting my back and a loud swoosh of air was heard before I heard a thud. I tightened my arms around the back of
Lea’s point of view: The tension filling up the entire space within the room was overpowering than before. Everyone could feel it. The other men surrounding us within a circle shifted awkwardly on their feet while glancing at their companions standing beside them but remained quiet. It was clear that they were scared for their leader. Ryder’s fists balled at his sides, the veins in his arms protruding and throbbing from the rising tension. The tiny hairs on my body raised, goose bumps littering my skin. A strange feeling of anticipation flooded my system. I knew that Ryder was not a guy who would just go down without a fight but I was worried for him. My heart swelled when I realized that despite being badly injured, he was determined to fight for me. I gasped when the man threw a fist directly at Ryder’s face. Ryder’s head jerked to the right with the punch. He held his chin before clenching his jaw in anger.
Lea’s point of view:After I wore the knee-length black dress Aubrey and Shelly chose for me, I applied some light make-up.I let my hair down, wore my high-heels and walked out before locking my bedroom door.I squeezed my eyes shut for a second when I got out. The music was overwhelmingly deafening.The music was muffled while I was in the room with the closed door but now, it was time to face the real deal, my first high-school party which was organized by Greg, Shelly’s friend but it was being held at Ryder’s place due to some housing issues at Greg’s house.Wondering whether Ryder was still in his room, I peeked through his slightly ajar door to notice some movement. I smiled and sauntered inside as if I owned the place.I was greeted with his signature smirk and shirtless figure, and like always, my heart raced. It still got to me every time he would cast me a simple look.His eyes
Lea’s point of view:The racetrack area was all hustle and bustle. When Ryder told me about his illegal racing matches, I was repugnant. I couldn’t accept that he was into such dangerous and violent sports but seeing his passion for it, I grew a liking for it too.The moment Ryder left to go get ready for his race along with the guys; I leaned against Jake’s car beside Aubrey and Shelly.I crossed my arms over my chest before sighing.Thinking back to this past week, I smiled when I thought of my mother. We spent some quality time together, cooking, watching movies and even listening to bedtime stories like we used to do back in the days.My mom was actually quite pleased with my decision of making her stay here. She thought that it was best to start anew in this new town as she did not want to go back to the bitter memories she had made with her husband in the past.She also was not as anxious as she origi
Lea’s point of view:“- I was so relieved when I saw the police paramedics rush in to get me out of that room -”“I’m so sorry, mom.” I choked back my tears and wrapped my arms around her.A minute of silence passed by before she pulled me close to her chest and kissed my temple lovingly the way she would always do back in the days.She swept the tears rolling down my cheeks and shook her head slowly.“I’m sorry for leaving you, Lea. I should have never left you alone with him. I’m the one who should apologize.”“No, mom… I always hoped that you would come back to get me but I killed that hope when you never returned like you had promised… I should have never stopped hoping -”“You never stopped hoping, Lea and this -” She lifted her chain off my chest and smiled, deep in thought. “- right here, proves it.” Sh
Lea’s point of view: The moment Ryder drove into his driveway, he slowed down when we noticed Jason’s police jeep parked right in front of the house and a woman sitting down on the front steps of the patio. I frowned faintly in confusion when I got out of Ryder’s car and glanced at Ryder to find his eyebrows furrowed deep in confusion too. I guessed Jason did not inform Ryder about him coming over to his place at this time of the day. I squinted to get a better view of the woman who had her hair covering the side of her face when she abruptly glanced up in my direction. My eyes widened in disbelief as I quickly took in a short and quick breath through my mouth in bewilderment. Different kind of emotions hit me at once, stopping me in my tracks when I recognized the woman whose eyes welled up with tears the second she saw me staring at her. “Mom?” I whispered in a gasping manner. I hesitantly stepped back when s
Lea’s point of view:“You three… Detention!” The principal’s order from earlier flashed into my mind when I walked down the hallway towards the detention room.Jake had humphed childishly and Connor had slumped defeatedly in his seat while I had simply gulped down nervously when the principal’s angry gaze trailed over us from behind his table.When we had left his office, Connor shifted uncomfortably while scratching his chest which had patches of dried up food.“I badly need a shower.” Connor had said before making his way towards the gym.“This taste good… I wonder what sauce this is.” I had almost gagged when Jake had licked his index finger.I got yanked back when I was about to push open the detention door.I squeezed my eyes shut and opened my mouth to scream bloody murder when someone covered my mouth, muffling my scream.I jumped slight
Lea’s point of view:I gasped in horror when the cup of hot coffee accidentally flew out of Jake’s hands and exploded right on Connor’s head.Connor screwed up his face and shot out of his seat while yelping in pain as he tried shaking the hot coffee off his head and stopping it from sliding down his neck and body. “You fucking stupid – Shit, damn it!” Connor yelled and seized Jake’s collar angrily but ended up pushing him away from him.I squeezed my eyes shut before glancing away when he unexpectedly took off his shirt.I heard the girls having lunch from around our table squealed in delight before giggling and whispering among themselves.I cried out in surprise when I felt myself being lifted up from my chair and then everything went upside down.I opened my eyes to find myself slung upside down over Ryder’s right shoulder.I held myself up by pressing
Ryder’s point of view:I picked the birthday gifts Lea received from the girls and the guys after they left for the night. It was already nearing two o’clock in the morning yet I did not feel like calling it a night.I slowly opened Lea’s bedroom door to keep her gifts on her study table. Teddy’s ears perked up in alert when he heard me entering the room but he went back to his nap when he saw me.I glanced at Lea to find her already in a deep slumber.After leaving the gifts on her table, I quietly tiptoed out of the room but the cold wind blowing through the opened windows stopped me halfway.I walked towards Lea’s sleeping figure after shutting the windows and closing the curtains.I lifted the comforters and covered her shoulders well when she shivered in cold. She immediately caught onto the edge of the comforter, fisted her hands tightly onto the soft sheets before turning to the right whi
Lea’s point of view: I glanced at Ryder with a frown when he parked the car on an unfamiliar street which was still bustling with people. It was already nine o’clock and we were still far from home. It seemed like in this town, a completely different atmosphere reigns at night, yet I realized later on that the busy street never slept until later at night when we ended up spending two whole hours there. There was always going and coming of people, police cars patrolling the area and the restaurants and street snacks vendors remained open till late at night. I sighed in delight when a delicious smell of food wafted in the air as we neared a food truck selling Mexican tacos which tasted amazingly luscious. We couldn’t stop ourselves from eating a late night dinner when we tasted those tacos. It was already nearing midnight when we reached home. I was sleepy but I did not show it when Ryder pulled me into the kitchen and o
Lea’s point of view: “Ryder, stop!” I seized his right arm to stop him from advancing towards the boy. I thought the boy would return back to his place behind us quietly seeing Ryder’s death glare but he did something unexpected. He leaned forward towards me and draped an arm presumptuously over my shoulders to taunt Ryder. Right when Ryder took a threatening step towards him in anger, I pushed my two plushies into Ryder’s arms, halting him and grasped the boy’s hand and threw his arm off my shoulders. “In your dreams, buddy.” Ryder smirked in pride and crossed his arms over his chest and the two plushies to watch the scene being unfolded when I gave him a I-got-this look when I remembered some self-defense techniques Aubrey taught me. I raised an eyebrow when the boy shrugged his shoulders at me. He appeared unaffected by the insult. “You’ll definitely be in my dreams tonight, naked.” He smirked smugly and poi