CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

RYDER

I wake with a pounding headache and find myself alone in the king-size bed.

I sit up and rub my temples. It’s daylight, and I have to blink a few times to adjust my eyes.

I shove off the covers and swing my legs to the side of the bed. I wait a few seconds as I try to get my vision to stop spinning. Fuck, I drank too much last night.

I’m naked, so I dig through my bag to find a pair of boxers and sweatpants. I open the bedroom door and make my way through the house. I hear Ashlyn’s voice before I see her coming from the kitchen.

I walk in, and she stops as she sees me. To my surprise, I see Jaycent and Becca also present. “Morning,” I say but no one returns it.

Becca’s eyes are red, and Jaycent’s lips are thin. “Can you give us a moment?” Ashlyn asks.

They both nod and silently make their way out of the kitchen, and I turn to face her. She’s looking at me like I did something wrong. Her eyes are narrowed, and her lips are thinned too.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, walking around the bar.

She takes a step back shaking her head. “Ashlyn?”

“I have nothing to say to you,” she finally says.

“What?” I ask. “You just told them to give us a second. So you had planned on saying something,” I say.

“Well, I changed my mind,” she snaps.

She walks past me, and I grab her upper arm, bringing her to a stop. She spins around, fisting her hands down by her side. “What’s wrong?”

“You are what’s wrong!”

“What did I do?” I ask, flinching from her tone. My head hurts so badly.

She yanks her arm free of my hold. “Do you even remember last night?”

“I had a lot to drink …” I trail off, running my hand through my hair.

“I’d say. You could barely stand,” she snaps.

“I pissed you off,” I say, nodding my head.

“Is it that obvious?” she demands.

I hang my head. Fuck, I need some Advil. “What do you want me to do?”

She shakes her head. “Unbelievable.”

“Ashlyn, wait,” I call out as she walks away.

“You know, I’m trying, Ryder. I’m trying to understand why you’re being a prick to everyone. I get that you’re busy with work and you have a lot going on, but what I can’t understand is why you had to get so fucking hammered at your cousin’s wedding that you don’t remember me punching Vicki in the face after she admitted to sleeping with Jaycent in front of your sister,” she snaps, pointing a finger at me. “You were too busy having to concentrate on standing rather than helping me out.”

My eyes widen. “You punched Vicki?”

She lets out a growl and storms off.

ASHLYN

I ended up riding back with Jaycent and Becca. I was so pissed that I didn’t want to be around Ryder. And to be honest, I was more pissed at myself than I was at him. It wasn’t his fault that I got out of hand. And it wasn’t his fault that Vicki had opened her mouth. I was just so pissed and wanted to stick up for Becca. We all knew she wouldn’t do it, so I ended up making an ass of myself.

I stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows with my head against the cool window. It’s late, and Ryder still hasn’t arrived home. I’m not sure when he will. I haven’t spoken to him. We both needed to cool down.

My phone rings, and I pick it up off the coffee table and turn back to face the windows, looking over Manhattan.

It’s a number not saved in my phone, and I frown. It’s half past ten here on a Saturday night. “Hello?” I ask.

“Hey,” comes the soft male voice, and I close my eyes as I feel my chest tighten.

“Bradley,” I whisper his name.

“I won’t keep you,” he says in a rush. “I just … I just wanted to apologize. For everything.” He pauses.

I sigh heavily. “You don’t have to …”

“No, I do. I knew you didn’t love me like I did you.”

“Why do you have to say that?” I ask.

“Because I hid my feelings from you for so long that I don’t know how to anymore,” he says honestly.

“I’m with Ryder, Bradley,” I admit.

After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, he finally says, “I know. I heard you two moved in together. And I’m happy for you.” His voice is rough, and he clears his throat. “I truly am. I hope he’s everything that you deserve, princess.”

“Bradley …” I pause, not really knowing what to say. I look over Manhattan and the lights that make the city glow and let out a sigh. “I miss you,” I say honestly.

“I know,” he says softly. “I miss you too. Take care, princess.” Then he hangs up.

I remove my phone from my ear and turn around to place it back on the coffee table but come to a stop when I see Ryder standing in the living room staring at me with an unreadable look on his face.

I swallow nervously and feel like I’ve once again been caught doing something I wasn’t supposed to. “That was—”

“Bradley,” he interrupts me. “I heard.”

I nod and brace myself for a fight when he sighs heavily. “I don’t want to fight with you.”

“I’m not trying to start one,” I say honestly.

He runs a hand through his hair. “What am I supposed to do?” he asks. “Tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.” He gestures to our apartment and then his hands fall to his sides. “You want me to admit that I’m in way over my head? Yes, I have come to terms that that is the case.”

“No!” I say, shaking my head. “I want you to forgive your dad for something that is out of his control,” I say truthfully. Not caring that he didn’t help me with Vicki last night. She’s the least of our problems.

“See, that is where we disagree. He has every opportunity to fix that. He chooses not to.”

“Did you know that Rosie has left town?” I ask.

He frowns. “Left town? Like she went on a vacation?”

“No. This morning before you woke up, Becca told me that she spoke to her yesterday, and she, Maggie, and Ronald went out of town to hide from your mother. She’s been calling her and threatening her to take Maggie back.”

He drops his head. “No one told me.”

“Did you really need to know that in order to know what your dad is doing, is right?” I ask. “You think everything is black and white, and that’s not the case here.”

“I don’t know what to think anymore,” he admits.

I take a step toward him. “I think you’re mad, and that’s okay, but you have to be mad at the right person.”

He reaches out and touches my cheek with the back of his hand. “Are you still mad at me?”

“I can’t stay angry with you. We both know that,” I say softly.