47 RYAN
RYAN
“I need to tell you guys something.”
It’s eight thirty when I drag myself into the kitchen, hair still a mess, ribs still piercing sharp, and my face still looking like shit.
Mom isn’t home. Her car’s gone from the driveway, which probably means she has an early shift. And Bailey hasn’t come downstairs yet either.
I make a sandwich out of pure habit, stare at it for a solid minute, take one bite… and give up. My stomach’s still twisted into knots and food doesn’t stand a fucking chance. Maybe coffee will be better.
I drag the hood from my hoodie onto my hair and walk over to the espresso machine, but then the doorbell rings. That doorbell is way too loud for a Saturday morning.
I frown, pushing the hood back a little.
Who the hell is here this early?
Bailey’s voice echoes from upstairs. “I can’t get it! I’m still in my towel!”
“Didn’t ask you to,” I mutter, rubbing my eyes as I walk over to the door. I pull the door open and everything in me stutters to a stop. Maddy is standing there.
Her hair is tied up in a ponytail, bikini under her wetsuit, which is half pulled off and tied against her hip. She has faint shadows under her eyes, like she didn't sleep much either. My throat goes dry.
“Hey,” she says, voice small but steady.
It takes me a second too long to respond. “…Hey.”
She shifts her weight, arms folding around herself. “I, uh… promised Bailey I’d take her surfing today,” she says quietly. “And I figured I should still keep my promise.”
It takes me a moment to catch up. Oh, yeah. They talked about that at dinner. It’s nice of her to still come. But I have to admit, I kind of hoped she was here for a different reason.
“Oh, yeah. Yeah, that’s nice.” I clear my throat, stepping back from the doorway. “Let me get her.”
Before anything else can be said, thunder crashes down the stairs. Bailey appears in full force. She has her wetsuit on (the one Maddy gifted her), a towel over her shoulder and hair pulled into a tight braid. She spots Maddy and instantly lights up. “Maddy!”
“Hey, Bailey,” Maddy says, softer now, smiling in a way that punches straight through my chest.
Bailey pulls her into a quick hug, then leans back and looks between us with a spark of something suspiciously smug.
Maddy gestures to the wetsuit. “Wow. It looks really good on you.”
Bailey spins once like she’s on a runway. “I know, right? Hot surf dudes won’t know what hit them.”
I give her a look.
She snorts. “Relax, protective psycho.” She leans closer to me and elbows my side lightly. “Pretty sure you’ve punched enough guys for one week.”
Maddy and I share a brief, awkward glance.
Okay, now I am going to kill her.
Bailey claps her hands once. “Okay! Let’s go. Waves are waiting. Bye, big brother.”
She breezes past us toward the door. Maddy lingers half a second behind, gives me a tight smile without meeting my eyes and then turns to follow.
I don’t mean to move, but my hand lifts anyway, brushing lightly against her arm. She stops and looks back over her shoulder. Our eyes meet.
“Have fun,” I say, almost whispering.
Something flickers across her face and her lips part with a small breath. “Thanks Ry.”
She gives me a tiny smile, then turns and walks down the path toward Bailey who is already waiting on the passenger side.
Maddy unlocks the door with her key and they both get it, the door shutting softly after them.
A moment later, the engine starts and they pull away, disappearing out the street.
And I’m left standing in the doorway, but then get myself inside.
I close the door slowly and lean back against it, dragging a hand over my face.
Then my phone vibrates in my pocket and I pull it out.
Study session at H&B. 9:00
We’ve been sitting in the café for about an hour and a half with textbooks open in front of us, coffees slowly going cold between our hands and half-eaten pastries scattered across the table.
Mel and Liam are side by side on the bench, shoulders touching but unusually quiet.
Kiara is across from them, spinning a pen between her fingers instead of writing anything down.
Noah sits next to me, elbows on the table, staring at the same page for so long I’m pretty sure he hasn’t read a single word.
No one is talking. The only sounds are the soft turn of pages, someone shifting in their chair every few minutes—and the low background hum of the espresso machine, cups clinking softly, and the receipt printer spitting out orders in short, steady bursts.
Every now and then, someone glances up. At someone else. At me. And then their eyes drop back down so fast I’m sure it can beat Max Verstappen’s record time.
Mel clears her throat first, her voice careful. “So… we heard Maddy is teaching Bailey to surf this morning.”
I keep my head down, tracing the same sentence in my book for the hundredth time, and nod once. “Yeah.”
“That’s… nice of her, right?” Liam adds quietly.
“Mhm.”
Silence settles again. And out of the corner of my eye, I catch Kiara leaning slightly toward Noah, whispering something under her breath while Liam mouths something across the table, barely moving his lips.
The others pick it up immediately, like they’re having an entire conversation without making a sound, passing looks back and forth, trying way too hard to stay subtle.
I try to focus on my notes, but it’s impossible. And the second I finally look up, they all snap their attention away way too fast. Like middle schoolers who just got caught staring.
I let out a slow breath. “Just say it.”
Their eyes snap toward me, and Kiara doesn’t hesitate. “What the actual hell happened last night? With Jacob. With you. With Maddy?”
A couple people at the next table glance over. I flick my eyes around the room for a second, then lean in a little, lowering my voice.
“Jacob started talking shit,” I say flatly. “I hit him. End of story.”
Mel’s gaze drops to my hand resting on the table, still scraped across the knuckles. “That doesn’t look very ‘end of story,’” she says softly.
“It’s fine,” I shrug. “Looks worse than it is.”
Noah studies my face for a second. “Man… I don’t want to be rude,” he says slowly.
Kiara finishes for him without missing a beat. “You look like shit.”
I don’t answer and she leans back in her chair, arms folding. “Jacob looked worse, though.”
“Good,” I say.
Another silence settles over the table until Liam finally speaks, voice careful. “But what actually happened? After the fight… I mean. When you two went home.”
My chest tightens. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
There’s silence again. And I can feel it starting all over. Kiara glancing at Noah, Liam subtly raising his brows, Mel watching all of it like she’s waiting for someone to say the wrong thing first.
This is insufferable. I’m gonna blurt it out. There’s no point hiding it now anyway.
“I need to tell you guys something.”
Four heads lift at once. Noah’s eyes narrow slightly. “What kind of something?”
“Me and Maddy…” I swallow, keeping my voice low enough that no one else in the café can hear. “We weren’t really dating.”
They all glance at each other, confusion spreading across their faces.
“We faked it.”
Kiara’s jaw literally drops. Mel freezes with her pen mid-sentence. Liam stops chewing mid-bite—which is honestly the most shocking part and Noah raises his eyebrows.
“EXCUSE ME?!” Kiara shouts.
“Shhh,” I hiss automatically, glancing around the café.
“Are you serious?” Mel whisper-shouts.
I nod. “Yeah, we faked the relationship. It wasn’t real.”
“Okay, hold on,” Kiara says, leaning back, then immediately forward again like she physically can’t stay still. “You’re telling me you two pretended to date? For what? Fun? Science?”
I rub a hand over my face. “She wanted to make Jacob jealous. I wanted people to stop setting me up. We thought if we faked it… it would solve both problems.”
They all give me a look that very clearly says what the fuck. Which, honestly, is fair—because saying it out loud like that makes it sound like we’re absolute psychos.
Liam lets out a low whistle. “Damn. I’m kind of impressed.”
Mel shoots him a glare. “Liam.”
“What? The commitment alone—”
“Not the point.”
She turns back to me, her expression softening. “Ryan, why didn’t you tell us?”
“Because it was supposed to be just a couple weeks,” I mutter. “And telling you would’ve made it messy.”
My eyes flick to Noah. He’s been completely still this whole time, just sitting next to me with his arms crossed, and no expression on his face. I’m mentally preparing for him to kill me and personally walk me to the gates of hell.
“Noah?” I say carefully.
He nods once. “So it was fake.”
“Yeah.”
“All of it?”
I hesitate, but what else can I say?
“Yeah. I’m sorry.”
He studies my face for a long second. Then he says quietly, “I don’t believe you.”
“What?”
“I said I don’t believe you.”
“Noah—”
“Maybe it started fake,” he says, his voice tightening, “but don’t sit here and pretend it stayed that way. I’ve known you half my life. I know my little sister. You think I didn’t see the way you looked at her? The way she looked at you?”
My mouth opens, but nothing comes out.
He leans forward slightly. “Tell me it was all fake. Say it to my face.”
I open my mouth, but I can’t. I don’t even want to.
Mel gasps softly. “It wasn’t fake. Not completely.”
Liam nods slowly. “You can’t act like that with someone and fake it.”
Kiara’s eyes soften as she looks at me. And then she says it. “Oh my God.” A small breath. “Ryan… you’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
The words hit like a punch straight to the ribs. “Ye—”
Kiara slaps both hands on the table. “OH MY GOD HE IS.”
“Kiara,” Mel whispers, mortified.
“No, this is huge,” Kiara hisses back. “This is cinematic.”
Liam points at me. “Bro. You have to go tell her.”
I let out a quiet, humourless breath. “I tried.”
Four faces shift at once.
“I told her how I feel,” I add, staring down at the table. “Last night. She said she didn’t feel anything.”
Silence settles over us for a beat.
“I don’t think she meant that,” Mel says softly.
“I think she’s just scared,” Liam adds, leaning back. “After what Jacob did, you can’t really blame her.”
I look up, blinking slightly. Is that really it? Is she just scared I’m going to hurt her like he did? Fuck. That actually makes sense.
Kiara leans forward, eyes sharp. “Okay, but listen. If she’s scared, that doesn’t mean you just give up.”
I look at her, holding my hands up. “What am I supposed to do? Confess again? And again? And again until she files a restraining order?”
“Yes,” Kiara says instantly. “Exactly that.”
“Kiara,” Noah mutters.
“I’m serious,” Kiara insists, softer now. “If it’s real, you don’t walk away just because she’s afraid. You give her time to realize she doesn’t have to be.”
Holy shit. She’s right.
Noah exhales through his nose, shaking his head slightly before looking at me. Then he gives the smallest, crooked half-smile.
“Dude,” he says, voice calm. “I already approved you like… weeks ago. Don’t make me regret that.”
A surprised laugh slips out of me. “Love you, man.”
He huffs. “Yeah, yeah. Go before I change my mind.”
I look around the table, heart beating way too fast. As I push my chair back and stand, Kiara points a finger straight at me. “By the way, I am still angry at you for not telling us—”
“—same,” Noah cuts in, grinning.
“—but first,” Kiara continues dramatically, jabbing her finger toward the door, “GO GET OUR GIRL.”
A laugh escapes me as I grab my keys and phone off the table. Behind me, I hear Liam lean toward Mel and whisper, “This is insanely romantic.”
Mel snorts softly. “Yeah. They’re winning cutest couple of the year.”
“They’re gonna overtake us,” Liam agrees.
I shake my head, and glance back at them. “I’ll see you guys later.”
“GO!” Kiara yells.
I push through the café door, the bell above it chiming too loudly for how fast my heart’s already pounding and I break into a run toward my car.