We head into the media room and she sinks down onto a plush couch in the center of the room.
“Do you need to call your mom and let her know where you are?” I ask.
“She doesn’t care. Trust me.”
There’s something in her tone that lets me know what kind of relationship she must have with her mother. Suddenly, all of the times that she’s mentioned moving around or the fact that she never wants to introduce me to them makes sense.
“You don’t like your mom all that much do you?” I ask gently.
“Trust me, there’s not much to like.”
When I just stare at her, she continues.
“She uses people. She’s lazy and manipulative and she uses her looks to get what she wants. I’m not even sure that she wants me or that she ever wanted me. Sometimes I think I was a mistake or that she had me to try to get a payday. She’s never even told me that she loves me. Ever. We’ve never had a house and for as long as I can remember, we’ve moved from house to house and boyfriend to boyfriend. None of them last very long and then we move again. I’m just sick of getting dragged after her and going from town to town and school to school.”
She deflates after she finishes and I can see how much this hurts her. I vow to myself to love her so much that she forgets about her awful mother.
“What movie did you want to watch?” I ask as I go over to look through the choices, trying to change the subject into something happier.
“You can pick.” She says as she kicks off her heels and tucks her feet underneath her. I get lost in watching her get comfortable, shifting until she’s curled into the cushions. I turn back to the movies and pick some romantic comedy that I think she’ll like. I put it on before hitting the lights and heading over to her. I sink down next to her so that we’re touching and I can wrap my arm around her. She smiles at me as she nuzzles closer before turning back to the screen.
We watch the movie in silence and as the credits roll, I turn to her only to find her sound asleep on my shoulder. I gaze down at her, trying to memorize the lines of her face and how peaceful she looks. My arm fell asleep about an hour ago but seeing her so relaxed makes the pins and needles in my arm worth it. I would do anything for this girl and it’s time that I manned up and told her how I feel about her. I slide us down onto the couch so that she’s laying on top of me and I toss a blanket over us before I wrap my arms around her. Tomorrow, I decide. Tomorrow I’ll tell Auden how much I love her.
Chapter 8
Auden
* * *
I wake up to feeling my cheek smooshed against a hard chest and I realize that I’m sprawled out on top of Ryker. The last thing that I remember is that we were watching a movie. I was so warm and comfortable pressed up against him that I must have dozed off. I hope I didn’t drool on him and I lift my head off his chest to check, only to see Ryker is wide awake and looking down at me.
“Hi.” I say.
“Morning.” He says as he smiles up at me.
I realize that I’m still laying sprawled out on top of him and I go to get off of him but I’m stopped by Ryker’s arms wrapped around my waist. He holds me to him and I look down at him questioningly.
“I need to tell you something.”
Immediately, I’m on the defensive. What did I do? What is he going to tell me? Did I say or do something in my sleep last night? Cause we were fine for the rest of the night. I thought we had a good time. I know I did.
“I love you, Auden.”
I freeze.
I was not expecting that. He loves me? Ryker loves me? Holy shit!
“I love you too!” I practically scream as I fall down onto him and crush my lips against his. He wastes no time in returning my kiss and sliding his tongue into my mouth to duel with mine. We make out on the couch for I don’t even know how long before finally, we have to come up for air.
“Say it again” He demands.
“I love you. I love you, Ryker.” I say, placing a soft kiss against his lips.
“God, I’ve waited weeks to say that to you.”
“Me too.” I say with a giggle as he rolls me under him.
He’s about to kiss me again when my stomach rumbles and I can’t help but laugh with him as he pulls back and stands. He pulls me to my feet and leads me through his huge house and into the kitchen. There’s a lady standing at the stove already and she turns when we enter. She seems shocked to see me there, but she recovers quickly.
“Morning, Estelle.” Ryker says to the woman as he pulls a bar stool out from the counter for me. He helps me up into the chair before he pulls out the one next to mine and sits down.
“Good morning, Mr. Holden. Would you like breakfast?” She replies.
Ryker turns to me and I realize he wants to know what I would like for breakfast.
“Um, pancakes? Or Eggs? Whatever you have is fine.” I say.
Estelle turns back to the stove and flicks on a burner under a pan before she turns to the fridge and begins pulling out ingredients. It feels weird to talk in front of Estelle so I just sit in silence next to Ryker. The food only takes a couple of minutes and soon Estelle places a plate heaping with pancakes and scrambled eggs and toast. We both dig in and I notice Estelle slip silently from the room.
“This is amazing.” I say as I shove another bite into my mouth. I must have really been hungry because I cleaned my plate. Ryker finishes before me and once I take my last bite, he reaches his hand out to help me down from my chair.
“What would you like to do today?” He asks as he leads me down a hallway.
“Well, I should probably go home soon.” I say.
Ryker stops suddenly and I almost collide with him.
“Stay.” He says as he turns back to me.
“I’d love to but I don’t have any other clothes or anything here.” I would say that my mom would be worried if I didn’t come home but let’s be honest, she probably hasn't even noticed that I’m gone.
“You can borrow some of my clothes.” He says before he starts again and pulls me along after him up the stairs and down another hallway.
He didn’t show me the upstairs last night and I try to take it in as he drags me down the hall after him. He takes a sharp right into a room at the end of the hall and I realize a moment later that this must be his bedroom.
It’s a huge room done up in dark colors, with a king-size bed and a dresser. There’s a room off of the left side and Ryker pulls me into it. His closet. It’s about the size of my bedroom at Todd’s house and it’s packed with clothes. He lets go of my hand to grab a shirt off a hanger and hands it to me.
“You can wear this and I’ll grab you some pants too. Did you want to take a shower or anything?” He asks as he heads out of the closet and over to the dresser. He pulls out a pair of sweatpants for me and then he leads me into the other room off of his bedroom. It’s a bathroom that’s even bigger than his closet. There’s a shower and a huge bathtub that looks like I could swim laps in. He grabs me a towel before he shows me how to work the shower. Then he drops a quick kiss on my lips and leaves the room.
I take a shower quickly before I dress in his borrowed clothes. I love that his clothes smell like him and that now I smell like him too. I towel off my hair before walking back into the bedroom. I spot him as soon as I walk into the room. He’s lying on the bed with his hair damp. He must have taken a shower in a different bathroom. He’s dressed similarly to me now, in sweatpants and a t-shirt. While they fit him perfectly, they hang off of my smaller frame.