You're Not In This Alone

I freeze as I come face to face with Ryan before I remember what he's done and I brace my hands against his chest and shove him away, sliding off the bed and turning to leave the room but he reaches out and grabs my wrist. "Ruby, baby I'm sorry I left last night." I turn back to face him and spit out "Is that all you're sorry for?" His face pales as he slides over to the edge of the bed and stands up before saying "Ruby I promise you nothing happened with that girl at the diner. She's Sarah's friend and I don't like her like that, at all." "But you let her all over you and you were with her while I was waiting for you to call like you said you would and you didn't cause you were too busy with her. And if I hadn't been there would you have even told me honestly where you were this morning instead of being there for me when I fucking need you the most?" "Ruby I..." "How could you abandon me like that? You fucking took off and left me hurt and scared last night, I thought you liked me, I thought you were there for me." "Baby I am there for you and I know I fucked up last night but fuck, I was scared too." I stare at him in disbelief before turning to leave the room again. I make it halfway to the door before he says "I love you Ruby." I stop walking and turn to face him. "What?" "I was going to tell you last night but I panicked and the words wouldn't come out but I honestly do. I love you. And you don't have to say it back, I just wanted you to know." I stand there, my bottom lip trembling as I don't know whether to believe him or not and a soft knock sounds at the door before Pa comes in, breaking the moment. "Sorry, I heard the yelling. Are you ok baby girl?" He asks, looking at me with a slight frown on his face. "I....I don't know" I tell him as I start to cry, pushing past him as I run from the room, going into the bathroom and locking the door before leaning back against it and sliding down to sit on the floor, bringing my knees to my chest as I cry, completely confused. After a minute of silence there's a soft tap on the door and Ryan's voice says "Ruby, please come out and talk to me." I don't respond, a small whimper and a sniffle escaping me and I hear him shift around outside the door before he softly says "I'll sit here as long as it takes. Please don't cry baby, I never meant to make you cry." I feel my tears slowly stop as he keeps talking. "I'm sorry I didn't push Liz away, I know I should have, I honestly don't have any feelings for her besides friendship." I sniffle again before saying "So she means nothing to you?" "No baby nothing at all." "So if I asked you to never speak to her again you would do it?" A few seconds go by before he says "Is that what you want?" "Just answer the question" I snap back and he says "If it's what you really wanted then yeah." "So if I came out of the bathroom right now and asked you to call her and tell her you don't want to see her ever again you'd do it?" "Ruby, that's...." "Ok so you're lying to me then?" "No, I'm not lying baby but that is really extreme." "It shouldn't seem that way if you truly mean what you said, so clearly you don't and if you knew anything about me you would know that I would never do that." "Ruby, fuck, what do you want me to do? I said I was sorry." I drag myself off the floor, anger flooding through me as I unlock the door and open it, coming face to face with him again as I spit out "Saying sorry means fucking nothing to me at this point in my life. Sorry fixes NOTHING, it's just a bullshit word." I shove past him, heading back to my room and as I pass Pa in the hallway I tell him "Make him leave." I walk into my room and slam the door before hearing pa say "You heard her and I told you you could only stay if it was ok with her." "But, how am I meant to fix this? I've fallen so hard for her and I fucked up and..." "Maybe give her some time to cool down Ryan. She's still shaken up over a lot of unfair things that have happened in her life and if you push her she'll eventually break. Just back off and try again later, she really likes you and if she decides to give you another chance don't fuck it up because the next time you hurt my daughter I'll make your life a living hell." A few seconds later the front door closes and I slump back onto my bed, closing my eyes and falling asleep again.

I wake up late that night to my phone buzzing on the bedside table and when I pick it up I see Ryan's name on the screen. I sigh as I hit the answer button, bringing the phone to my ear. "What?" I croak out in a sleep thick voice. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" "Yes" I snap back and he says "I'm sorry I just, I needed to hear your sweet voice." I remain silent, not knowing what to say. "I need to see you Ruby, please." I sigh before saying "Maybe tomorrow after...." "Can I please see you now?" "What?" "I'm down on the street. I'll leave if you want but please, can I see you now?" "Ryan I.....Ok, come up then" I tell him, hanging up and tossing the phone back on the table. I climb out of bed and stumble down the hall to the front door, dad staring out the living room door at me as I pass. I unlock the door and open it to see Ryan coming down the hallway and he walks straight to me, his hands immediately cupping my cheeks softly as he leans in and kisses me gently, being careful of my lip. I pull back, taken by surprise and he says "You look so cute right now." I frown in confusion before he reaches out and smooths my bed hair down. "Can we talk?" He asks and I nod, leading him down the hall into my room, closing the door behind us. I walk over and lay on the bed again, feeling exhausted from the effort of getting up to answer the door. Ryan comes over and sits on the floor beside the bed as he says "So I fucked up a lot here and I know sorry doesn't mean anything but I truly am and you mean so much to me Ruby and I never want to see you cry because of me or anything else ever again. When I told you I loved you earlier I truly meant it, more than I've ever meant anything in my life and I would do anything for you so, here goes..." He pulls his phone from his pocket, scrolling through his contacts before hitting the call button and putting it on speakerphone. "Hey Ry" a high female voice says and I frown at Ryan, confused again. "Hey Liz, look we need to talk about something kinda important." "Yeah anything, what's up?" "I don't like you, not in the way you like me and I really don't think we should hang out anymore." "What? Why?" "I don't want to be your friend anymore." "It's cause of that stupid girl at the diner isn't it? She's a fucking dog Ry, she's so far beneath you, what could you possibly see in someone that ugly?" "Actually she's the most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on and we're done here. Don't come to my apartment anymore" he says before hanging up and slipping his phone back in his pocket. "I stare at him for a moment before saying "Was that just a show for me?" "No baby no show, I'm serious about you and I'll do whatever it takes to make us ok again." I lay there just staring at him for a few minutes before I let out a loud yawn and my eyes slip shut. "I'll go, let you get some sleep." "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" I ask and he reaches out and grabs my hand, saying "Of course" before my eyes drift shut and he hums softly until I pass out again.

Notes

All the Ryan hate from the last chapter made me laugh a lot so thanks to everyone who shared their opinion : )