Ryder:got the part
Ryder:leaving for Latvia(!) tomorrow afternoon
Ryder:miss you
I stared at it until the screen went dark again, heart pounding.
When I picked the phone up in a daze the messages were still there, one after another, in big, clear letters.
Ryder was leaving.
Ryder missed me.
Dad was right. Dad wasright, of course he was.
Ryder told me he loved me. Ryder came back here because it was home, because he needed home, and he’d stayed with me becauseIwas his home, or part of it at least.
I’d given him a key to the cabin because I wanted so badly for him to stay but I’d been too afraid to ask for what I wanted and now I was going to lose him all over again.
Tomorrow afternoon.
It was eight o’clock now.
I looked up at the clock hanging above the fridge and counted on my fingers, coming to a decision as I got to fifteen.
Dad jumped back as I stood all of a sudden, the non-slip feet on the chair squealing as they dragged across the tiles.
“Can I, uh…” I began, voice thick, something between terror and excitement sticking in my throat. “Could I get a raincheck on that movie? I have… I’ve got somewhere I need to be.”
I knew my dad was proud of me, but I’d never seen him look it more than he did right now.
“Want me to drive?” he asked.
A sound that couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be a laugh or a sob burst out of me in reply.
I shook my head.
“No. No, you’re right, and this is something I have to do on my own.”
Dad nodded, one corner of his mouth turning up into a smile. “You’re a good boy, Ward,” he said. “Call me once you get to LA.”
27
Ryder
“How are you not packed yet?”Allison asked, passing me one of two iced coffees she’d arrived with so we could make the trip to the airport together.
I’d managed to fold exactly one t-shirt and tuck it into my suitcase.
I hadn’t heard back from Ward last night, not after a quickmiss you tootext.
Then complete radio silence.
A glance at my watch told me that’d been almost fifteen hours ago now, so it was a little late to expect more.
“I…”
I’d wanted to come up with an excuse, say something funny, or at least change the subject. When I took a breath to respond, that was exactly what I’d intended to do.
