Robbers

fourteen

// fourteen //

There wasn't time for Ella and Ryan to talk anything over that evening. The sun had sunk low in the sky by the time she pulled into the Hunter's driveway, and Ella had promised her mom she would be back before dinner and needed to get going. No matter how badly Ella wanted to talk to him, there wasn't enough time.

So when Ella pulled up behind the grey station wagon, she put the gear into park but didn't turn off the engine. Ryan paused with one hand already on the door handle, beginning cautiously, "I thought you had to get going."

"I do," Ella answered, her hands clenched together in her lap. She took a deep breath, inspecting her fingers when she spoke next because she was too nervous to look him in the eye. "Will you meet me tomorrow? After school?"

Ryan sighed heavily, and it was clear he knew exactly what Ella wanted to talk about. But his answer was already spilling out, telling her automatically, "Yeah, we can meet up. Want me to drive you home? We can stop somewhere."

"Okay," Ella said hastily. "But - you have to promise not to do anything until then. You know what I mean."

He shook his head and let out a scoff under his breath, replying with a slight eye roll, "Wasn't planning on it. Can I go now?"

There was no time to worry if she was smothering him, because Ryan's hand was back on the handle again and the sun was already sinking past the rooftops of the houses around them. "Wait," Ella blurted when Ryan made to tug open the door, ignoring the way he rolled his eyes for the second time. The skin under his right eye was still a violent purple, and she wondered if it had hurt. "I wanted to ask one more thing."

"Alright, fine. Get it out, then."

Ella's voice had softened, her tone less firm and her eyes fixed on Ryan as though she was ready to gauge his reaction. "Why was your mom worried that you wouldn't come home?"

Ryan exhaled, the breath escaping from his lungs in a rush of air. He was looking down at his hands now, the silver house key clutched so hard in his right hand that the knuckles had blanched white. Ella watched as he swallowed hard, his jaw line flexing forward when he ran his tongue over his bottom lip. He told her flatly, "My dad can be an ass, that's why."

She wanted to ask him what that meant, but Ryan had already pushed open the passenger side door and slid out off the cracked leather seat. He bent down to meet her gaze, his right hand resting on the car door as he stood in the driveway. "See you tomorrow, Ella. Thanks for the ride."

Ella had nodded, but she couldn't be sure if he'd seen. Ryan had slammed the car door shut, his boots scuffing across the pavement as he trudged up to the front door. Ella fixed her gaze on his retreating back and wondered if he'd gotten into a fight with his dad earlier that afternoon. It would explain why his mom was so worried Ryan wouldn't want to come back home with her.

Ella would have to ask him tomorrow. She shifted into reverse and twisted in the seat to look out the rear window, backing out of the driveway and into the road.

For now, Ella just had to worry about getting home in time.

~*~

Ryan and Ella ended up going to a coffee shop down the road after school ended. Ella had tried to convince him just to talk things over on the drive home - she'd been worried he really didn't want to go anywhere with her - but Ryan had insisted, because he was apparently sick of talking for too long in vehicles. Ella couldn't blame him.

It was a bitterly cold afternoon, but the sun was still shining brightly despite how significantly the temperature had dropped overnight. Ella was bundled in a thick coat even long after they had sat down in the coffee shop, blinking against the bright sun rays filtering through the bamboo shades hanging on the window to her right. They were seated at a small two-person table, nestled in the corner of the room far from the bustling line of people at the counter.