8. Ryder
RYDER
“You OK?” I asked Rosalie as I went into her room. I didn’t like that Ethan had come to talk to her in her bedroom. I worried about her. She’d been through so damn much already. Ethan may have been a great guy and all, but the shit they did to her five years ago still didn’t sit well with me.
“I don’t know.” She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “How do I fix this?”
“Oh, Red.” I hugged her against me. She clung to me, crying softly.
“I don’t know what to do. How do I stop loving someone?”
My heart broke for her. I had no idea what had gone down in here, but it had caused her to get all up in her feelings.
“I don’t think you can stop loving someone unless you really want to stop loving them, and even then, I’m sure you can’t fully get rid of it.”
She shook in my arms as she cried.
I held her tighter.
The door opened, and Anson came into the room. Immediately, he took her from me and held her as he sat on her other side on the bed.
I didn’t move. I watched, taking in how she nestled against him like she was the perfect fit and meant to be there. And she really was, but that didn’t stop the ache in my chest when I wished for her to fit against me, too.
“Ryder, can you go check on Ellis?” Anson murmured.
“Yeah, man. Call me if you need me.”
He said nothing, all his attention back on her. I left the room and went back to the living room, where Ellis was playing with her dolls and singing softly. I smiled at that. Maybe if she grew out of her love of ballet, she’d be like Rosalie and singing for millions of people.
There was a knock on the door, and I ruffled Ellis’s hair, making her giggle, before I went to answer it.
I couldn’t even comprehend what happened because it happened so fast.
One minute I was opening the door, and the next I was lying on the floor, covered in blood as Ellis screamed bloody murder. My ears rang. My head ached. My chest felt like I’d been laid on my ass by a bus.
I blinked rapidly, trying to stay conscious as I kicked the door closed. I touched my chest and pulled my hands away to see so much damn blood.
Klaus and Evan got to me first, before Anson swept in and grabbed Ellis and took her out of the room as she continued to cry and call out for me.
“Hey, hey, stay with me,” Evan said, holding me in his arms. “Ryder. Hey.”
“Fuck,” I choked out. “A-Am I fucking shot?”
“Put pressure on it,” Klaus said, falling to his knees beside me and putting a cloth against my chest.
“Am I shot?” I repeated, my head dizzy and nausea rolling through me.
“Yeah,” Evan said, an edge of worry in his voice. “Klaus—”
“I know. I got it,” Klaus said tightly, pulling his phone out. I heard him rattling off information, so I assumed he’d called an ambulance.
Anson came in and went to his knees next to me as Klaus moved away to speak to 9-1-1.
He held my hand tightly.
“Hey,” he said, his voice thick.
“Rosalie. E-Ellis,” I said, wincing at the pain that was now ebbing across my chest and back. It was hard to pull in air.
“They’re OK. Rosalie has Ellis. They’re safe. Just try to be calm,” Anson said, his voice rough as he held my hand.
“H-How bad is it?”
“It’s… It’s OK, man,” Evan said, clearly fucking lying to me. “I think it hit your shoulder. Your chest. Might have been a spray, like fucking shotgun shit. Just breathe. Concentrate on remaining calm. Help is coming.”
“Calm?” I laughed bitterly, tasting blood in my mouth. “I-I was fucking shot.”
“Did you see who did it?” Anson asked.
“No.” I shook my head and winced at the pain. “I-I didn’t see anyone. There-There was a package. I think it exploded. I-I heard a loud pop. My ears are ringing.”
“Klaus, there’s a package outside the door,” Evan called out. “Tell the cops.”
“We need to move you away from the door,” Anson said. “In case whatever it was explodes again or there’s more.”
“G-Get Rosalie out. T-Take her to the roof. Please,” I begged softly. “Take Ellis.”
“Evan.” Anson looked at him.
“On it.” Evan left my side, and I let out a shaky breath as Klaus took his place, off the phone now.
Klaus and Anson lifted me and moved me away from the door. I let out a soft cry at the pain, knowing I was covered in blood. I could feel it pouring out of me. There was a red streak on the floor from me.
“E-Ellis. She saw. Please. Is she-she OK?” I choked out. The pain was growing, and it was getting harder to breathe. All I kept thinking about was how I’d leave this world without Rosalie knowing how I felt.
“She’s good, man,” Anson said tightly. “She was just scared.”
“S-She was playing. I-It could have been her. W-What if sh-she’d answered the door?” Tears rolled down my cheeks at the horror of that.
“She wouldn’t have,” Klaus said softly. “She knows not to answer the door.”
“But what if—”
“She didn’t, man. She’s OK. She’s OK. I promise.” Anson kissed my knuckles.
“I’m tired,” I whispered, my lashes fluttering.
“Stay awake,” Klaus commanded. “I don’t know how bad this shit is. We need you to fight it, OK?” He pressed a new cloth to my chest. It was over my heart. I could feel the burning pain spreading.
“O-OK,” I rasped, my body shaking as my vision grew hazy.
“Fuck, man. How much longer?” Anson said, a note of desperation in his voice.
“Any minute,” Klaus murmured.
But any minute felt like an eternity as I lay there in my own blood with Anson holding my hand, while Klaus kept pressure on my chest.
“Anson,” I said thickly. “T-Tell Rosalie that I-I…”
“Shh,” Anson murmured. “Focus on breathing. You’re going to be OK.”
“Hurts… to breathe.”
“I know,” Anson said, his voice cracking. “I just need you to keep doing it.”
My lashes fluttered again as I continued to struggle to stay awake. Something wasn’t right. Sure, I’d been shot, but I felt completely out of it.
Maybe it was the blood loss. I’d never lost this much to know.
God, Rosalie… fuck.
“I love you,” I mumbled, my tongue heavy. “I love you, Red.”
And that was it. I couldn’t fight it any longer. The darkness rolled in, and the pain left.