That One Night

Chapter Twelve - Disappear

"Every time I turn around, you disappear"

Syd's POV:

"God Syd! could you be any more of a fucking imbecile!" Nate shouted. He picked up a vase of flowers and threw it at his apartment wall. It smashes and pieces of glass and dirt scatter around the floor.

"Nate, it was an accident. Calm down?" I reply, tears threatening to spill down my cheeks. I have never seen him like this before.

"An accident?" He parrots my words while shaking his head, "How is embarrassing me in front of my boss a fucking accident?!"

"Nate I didn't mean to, I swear," I defend as I back away from him. I want to leave and I don't feel safe right now.

"You didn't mean to," He says in a sickeningly calm voice as he stalks towards me. I try to back up but he grabs me and slams me into the wall. I swear the drywall cracks from behind me.

Tears start to spill down my cheeks from his anger and the shooting pain in my back. Nate just looks at me with fury in his eyes.

"Remember this when you do something like that again," Nate raises right hand and I close my eyes bracing for the impact of the backhand. Nate works out for a living, his slaps are going to hurt. Except I never feel the slap. I peel my eyes open just as Nate is pushed off of me.

Ryder.

Ryder pushes Nate down to the floor. "Don't ever touch her again!" He shouts.

Nate scrambles to his feet and runs out of the apartment. Ryder comes up to me and cups my cheeks. His big warm hands make my inside twirl in delight.

He wipes my cheeks and says, "Sydney-"

He is cut off by a high pitched ringtone.

What. The. Fuck.

The ringtone continues and Ryder is just frozen looking at me as if he is a movie and someone just hit pause.

*bring bring* The ringtone chimes again.

I blink and Ryder disappears.

***

November 27th, 10:00am

I peel my eyes open. My head is pounding, my feet hurt and I am still in my too tight dress from last night. The last thing I remember is me cuddling up to Ryder when he tried to put me down in the hallway.

In my defence it was a long night and I was cold and he was warm.

Pieces of my dream start coming back to me. Except it was a fragment of my imagination, that event actually happened. Minus Ryder saving me. Nate was mad and took his anger out on me, he never did it again and I was too scared to ask him about it after so we just pretended it never happened. I remember though.

My phone is still ringing and with a deep groan I roll over and locate my phone. It is fully charged which means Ryder plugged it in for me.

I wonder if he is still here? No. No. No boys. I am focusing on myself.

Maeve's contact lights up my screen and I answer.

"Finally you pick up!" Maeve fake whines and I pull my phone away from my ear a bit, the noise hurting my head even more.

"Hey," I grumble back in my morning voice, slowly pulling myself upright and swinging my legs to the side of the bed.

"We are still on for brunch at Pattys at 11 right?" She questions. Shit I totally forgot about that. It is 10 now so I still have some time.