Unchartered Waters ✅

Chapter 60: The Visitor

Alex's POV

Monday, December 13 – Charlotte, North Carolina

I hear the knock, and can only wonder who it is. Why are people coming to bug me today? There's still things that I need to get done and accomplish before the end of the month. I was hoping to be further along on this project by now, thank you.

I hear another knock and I know it can't be someone that regularly stops by. Everybody knows you just knock once, and wait because I will damn well answer the door. If I don't immediately, the doorbell – and that would be Finn, will go off to get my attention. A second knock just makes his ass bark louder and I could use without extra noise this morning.

I open the door, and take a deep breath. No wonder there was an extra knock. This was not someone that I regularly spent time with. This was someone that I didn't see myself being near anytime in the future for that matter, either. Oh, and this was someone that certainly surprised me standing here.

"Hey," was all I could manage to say as Ryan and I caught each other's eyes in that moment. I had a million questions running through my mind, and didn't know what to ask first.

"Hey," he replies, keeping it civil I suppose. "I just got back in town from my vacation with Isabelle, and figured I'd stop by before I head out to California. I was going by on my way to the airpo-"

"This isn't on the usual route." I thought we already agreed to have him stop stalking me and my house to see if Chase was here. I thought Chase was supposed to talk to him about that.

"Look, I took a different path than normal wondering if he was here. I haven't seen him since Kaitlyn stopped by and I wanted to make sure he was okay. He hasn't sent much back since then to me."

I almost wanted to be a smart ass and say you didn't deserve to know, you didn't deserve a message back after what you did. I wanted to tell him how things had changed and blah blah blah.

But I held back because let's face it, we have bigger fish to fry right now. The only person who deserves everybody snapping at them is Kaitlyn. Furthermore, I understood the pain that Ryan was feeling without answers, the same feeling I felt in the silence the first couple days after. Oh, and there was the fact he had warned us about what she said prior to what happened.

"You're not the only person he shut out immediately because he didn't reach out to me until a couple days after," I admit, for some odd reason. I know it may cause theories in the mind about how close we are, and the fact he didn't reach out immediately. However, I remembered what he told me in being worried about if it changed things, and his feelings on everything. "So I understand how you're feeling."

"And now?" He questions, obviously hoping the progress had been there since the original meeting. By now, I was openly allowing this man inside of my house because a civil front was probably the best route right now.

"He's handling it pretty well, actually. There are some moments to where he's scared of what he's feeling, unsure about how he should feel, and thinking about it. There was also a couple nightmares," to which I had held him close, assuring him that things were okay. "But each day, I've seen it get easier for him in taking less blame and looking for ways to move past what happened."

"That's great, honestly. I mean, that's all you can hope for actually." I couldn't argue with Ryan there as certainly seeing the progress had been a great thing.

"I was just getting some lunch. He's out in the backyard with Finn and Fletcher." I almost didn't want Ryan to go see him, for some odd jealous reason. But I also knew personal reasons had to be put aside as if Ryan could help that much more, it was everything that was needed.