Chapter 80: The Misty Forest

I flopped back on Tyler's bed with a dejected sigh.

"He really does care about you, you know," Tyler said suddenly, his voice soft but earnest as he leaned closer to me. "Just because he might not have told those guys about you, I doubt it changes how he feels. He's private about these kinds of things. Ryder keeps his feelings to himself. Besides, his best friend, Ash, wasn't even here tonight. Maybe he's only opened up to him so far."

I considered Tyler's words, nodding slowly. I guess it made sense. Ryder was complex in ways I was still learning to understand. "I suppose that could be true," I admitted.

Perhaps I was being too hard on him, expecting the openness that seemed to come so easily to Tyler.

Tyler smiled gently, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ear. "Try not to look into it too much, okay? Let's just enjoy the time we have together."

I smiled, gratefully. He was right, I suppose. Stressing about Ryder was just eating into my time with Tyler and I had so