Forgotten [#Wattys2015]

Chapter 10; Another Love

"Ryan! I wasn't expecting to see you here!" I said sniffling and wiping my eyes.

He gave a little laugh in response. "I see." He paused and his eyes scanned my eyes. "Are...are you crying?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"No. Wait! I mean...ugh!" He always did that, always tricking me.

"What happened? You can tell me anything," he said squatting down next to me. He was struggling to keep his balance so he put his hand on my leg. We gazed at each other for what felt like forever until I broke the silence.

I took a deep breath before saying anything. "He's dropping the case."

Another moment of silence.

He stuttered a little before finally saying, "I'm sorry. Maybe I can have my dad help. He is the chief of-"

"No. I mean- it's over. There's nothing we can do. I give up. Maybe...maybe Dad's not meant to be found. Or maybe he doesn't want to be found." My voice faded out.

"I doubt that that's it. Your Dad loved you so much. I mean, you guys were always together and well..." I could tell he didn't know what else to say. I kept looking down, trying to hide my continuously flowing tears.

He put his soft, warm hands on the side of my face. I looked up at him, into his eyes as he said, "It's going to be okay."

"How do you know?"

"Because," he started. "Who wouldn't want to come back for you. Who wouldn't love you?" We stared directly at each other. As I looked into his eyes, we both learned something. Ryan and I were still in love. I didn't just learned it either. That was a secret that I'd been hiding deep inside me since we broke up. I never wanted to lose Ryan or let him go.

And as Ryan looked at me and slowly pulled away his hand, I also felt him moving closer to me very slowly. Before I knew it, Ryan's lips were pressing against mine. He was slowly putting his arms around my back and my arms were around his neck. The swing was slowly swaying back and forth as I leaned towards the ground. Almost everything was silent.

After what I thought was the longest kiss I'd ever have, I pulled away. "What about Rebecca?" I hesitantly asked.

"Don't worry about her," he responded. "I'll take care of it. All you have to worry about is us." He leaned in again but I pushed away.

"Are you saying that you'll break up with that evil witch?"

He took a second to answer. Then he finally said, "Yeah. Anything to be with you." I bent down this time and kissed him, wrapping my arms around his neck once again.

Ryan and I stayed at the park for a while before he walked me home. During the walk home, Ryan kept his arm around my shoulders occasionally kissing the side of my head. I noticed how he kept ignoring constant text messages from Rebecca as if he were trying to hide them.

When we opened the front door to the house, Ryan stood outside unsure of whether he was allowed inside or not. I gestured for him to come inside and stepped into the house, smiling at me.

I put my keys on the table and turned around to see Ryan standing directly behind me. He had a sneaky smirk on his face and leaned in to kiss me. I had never felt so happy to be with Ryan in my whole life. I'd never felt this much happiness with anyone but my father.

But all my happiness was about to come to a horrible ending.

As Ryan and I locked lips in the entrance of the house, I heard quiet talking coming from Dad's office down the hall. I gently pushed Ryan away and put my finger to my lips, telling him to shush. I slowly began to walk down the hallway toward my father's office, with Ryan following but keeping his distance. I stood outside the doorway, trying not to be seen.

Inside, I heard the voice of Mom and Detective Maxwell.

"Harvey," Mom pleaded. "Please. I...I just can't. I can't do it anymore. Please, leave."

"Now we both know that you don't want me to leave. That you want me. You want me here."

"Harvey. I want you to leave." Mom sounded serious. Then, her tone changed. She sounded like she was struggling. "Harvey. Harvey! Get off of me!" She screamed. I turned and looked into the room to see Detective Maxwell pushing himself against Mom.

"Mom!" I yelled. She turned to look at me, her eyes were full of tears and fear.