At that very moment, the bathroom door opened, and Sam walked out in nothing but a towel. Felix would never forget that look of pain on Ryder’s face. He knew it would haunt him for the rest of his days. Before he could offer any form of explanation, Ryder turned on his heels and left, leaving Felix devastated.
CHAPTER 15
RYDER
“Look at the fucking state of you!”
Ryder jerked awake at the sound of the familiar voice. He had a banging headache, and the daylight was causing him to squint. It was clear he’d fallen asleep on the sofa again. He couldn’t sleep in his bed—it still smelled of Felix—but he also couldn’t bring himself to wash the sheets. His heart had never hurt this much before, but the thought of removing the final scent of Felix from his home was too much to contemplate. But sleeping in that bed where they had shared so much was too painful, so the sofa had been his sanctuary for the last however long it was.
“Get in the shower. You stink.”
Ryder’s vision came into focus. Looking down at him, with a pissed-off look on his face was his brother from another mother, Sebastian.
“How did you get in?” asked Ryder.
“I have a key, remember?”
“What are you doing in New York?”
“Knocking some sense into your sorry arse?”
“Arse? Have you gone native in London?”
“That was a terrible accent. Get up, or do you want me to drag you into the shower?”
Ryder contemplated seeing whether Sebastian would follow through, but the look on his face said he meant business. Ryder might be bigger than him in size, but Sebastian had major alpha energy. He was the sweetest marshmallow of a guy you could ever meet, but if you pissed him off, you’d better run.
He sat up on the sofa and the blood rushed to his head, making him feel dizzy. After a few seconds, he stood up and stumbled slightly, but Sebastian gripped him, steadying his balance. His friend gestured toward the bathroom with his head. It wasn’t unusual for one of his friends to stage an intervention if Ryder went off the grid for too long, but it had been a long time since Sebastian had been the one to do it. Not since before he’d moved to London. The old resentment came hurtling back. Ryder wanted to tell Sebastian to get the fuck out of his apartment, but he knew the others would be nearby. He’d come back with reinforcements, so he may as well get this over with.
After a quick shower, he was feeling semi-normal but still hungover. His beard was a mess, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked like shit, but was that a surprise after Felix had broken his heart? Why did he still love him? It was so fucked up. When he’d caught Brian cheating, any love Ryder had felt disappeared in that moment. Why had the same not happened with Felix? They weren’t even officially in a relationship. He was being ridiculous, but he could wallow in his misery if he wanted. This was history repeating itself. Felix hadn’t just cheated on him, he’d done it with his ex, a guy who’d cheated on him as well. How could he do something like that? He never thought that sweet boy could hurt him this way. He had to stop thinking about it, as it just got him angry again.
“Come on, let’s go,” said Sebastian.
“Go where?”
“Upstairs.”
“Who’s up there?”
“Everyone.”
“No fucking chance.”
“It wasn’t a request, Ryder.”
“Why are you doing this, Sebastian? You don’t need to play the white knight routine with me. You made your choice when you fucked off to London, not giving a shit about the people you left behind.”
Sebastian looked taken aback. Ryder marched over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of wine, which was half full.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Ryder.”
“Are you still here? I’m not going upstairs, so just jump back on your plane and fuck off back to your husband. Or when you sayeveryoneis upstairs, did you all bring your boy toys as well?”
“It’s just us upstairs, Ryder,” said Sebastian, his tone softer. “Your friends. We’re worried about you.”
“I’m fine.”
“You deleted all your social media accounts and turned your phone off for a week. Have you thought about anyone else in all this? What about your mom and sisters? She called me, you know?”
