It all started with a game

Chapter 18

No one ever fell in love gracefully.
~Connie Brockway

A/N
I hope you enjoy the chapter, it's nothing at long as I hoped but I'll try to update again sooner. Also, can someone please tell me if I'm doing the trigger warnings correctly?

*****slight trigger warning—mentions suicide*****

Chapter 18
Ryder's POV
A week. She hasn't spoken to me in a week.

Against Mateo's better judgment, I had texted her repeatedly and called her a number of times; I even got desperate enough to video chat her. She didn't answer any of them, but I knew she saw them. She saw all of them.

How is she okay with this? How can she go a week without speaking to me and not feel like her heart has been ripped out of her chest? How can she just pretend I never existed? How come she can do all of that, and I can't?

I rubbed my temples. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's pathetic. I'm practically pining over her and she's indifferent. I shouldn't care about the fact that she won't speak to me. I should just let her go. It's what I would have done if it had been anyone else. Why can't I just get her off my mind?

I kicked a stone as hard as possible, the rock flying into the air, taking a chunk out of a tree branch, and then proceeding to hit a dark figure.

The lump let out a harsh yell, their voice like nails on a chalkboard. Despite not being able to see their face, the moonlight being the only thing providing me a bit of information, I recognized the voice instantly.

I groaned, spinning in the opposite direction. I did not have time to deal with this, nor did I have the patience.

She screeched, "Excuse me!"

"Sorry 'bout that." I tried to morph my voice into anything other than my own, hoping that she wouldn't recognize it, but of course she did, after all, how could you not recognize the voice of someone you've tormented since the seventh grade.

She laughed bitterly. "Ryder Adams, I should have known, who else would be stupid enough to hit someone with a rock?"

"It was an accident." I kept walking in the opposite direction but Tanaka managed to catch up to me.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have some girl to hook up with or whatever?" She mocked knowing full well I haven't been with anyone since I told Beatrice I wanted to be exclusive. At least she should know about it, she's been tormenting me about it for the last month telling me I've gone soft. I played it off as a strategy for the game but I'm not quite sure if that's what it really was.

I gritted my teeth. "I'm going home."

"Aw, is the big, tough boy scared of a little tiny girl like me?" She mocked me like she had since we were kids and she'd sit on me until I couldn't breathe.

"Leave me alone, Tanaka."

"Oh but we're just getting to the good part, where your chest gets all puffy and your face gets all red."

I tried to keep myself calm but my patience was about to snap. It was already a thin cord with everything going on, I didn't need Tanaka's help.

"Come on, Adams, don't tell me you're gonna just storm off and drive away. I mean look how well that turned out for your father." She knew it was the one way to get me fired up.

And I always fell for it. "Will you just shut up? I don't have time for this! My girlfriend just got out of the hospital and won't even speak to me, so no, I'm not going to stand here and fight with you like we would in eighth grade," I lied. If she kept bringing up my father I probably would stand here and argue all day.