Chapter 210: The Sound of Reconnection (Part 3)

“I miss you too,” I replied, wiping a tear from my cheek.

I couldn’t hold it back any longer. The sadness and misery and that feeling of loss and regret and emptiness that had been building up inside me finally broke free. “I miss what we had. I miss us,” I confessed, wiping away the stream of tears that had begun to spill from my eyes.

Ryder quickly set his guitar aside, coming over to the sofa I was sitting on. He rested a hand on my shoulder, rubbing it reassuringly as he said, "Don't cry."

"I can't help it!" I replied, the tears relentless.

"God, you're gonna make me cry," he murmured, sounding mildly embarrassed.

I wiped my eyes and looked up at him and saw it was true. His eyes were red and I could see he was doing his best to fight them back.

He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself before taking a seat on the sofa beside me.

Neither of us sat comfortably. We were both perched on the edge, as if waiting for the room around us to start collapsing at any moment.

He took a