Supernova Souls - Ryan Upchurch

-21-

Long caramel blonde hair that went down just past her shoulders, dark blue ocean eyes with long lashes that framed them beautifully, dressed up in the expensive clothes and jewelry Ryan had bought her like she was on a date.

In all her glory, there she sat, in his passenger seat with her head on rested his shoulder, eyes stuck on him like glue.

Staying late at work my motherfucking ass.

Delilah glanced over at Ryan while she took a sip of her sweet tea, confused. She didn't have a clue about the situation unfolding right in front of her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothin'." He mumbled. "I'm fine."

She raised one of her eyebrows and looked over in the same direction he had seconds ago in attempt to figure out what he'd seen that ruined his mood.

At first, she didn't notice anything wrong, but after a few moments of silence she saw it.

Black Sabbath. Sitting in that slanted spot with the setting sun shining on the glittery black paint, with two people inside the cab-only one of which she recognized.

"Chase's here?"

"And Riley." He hissed. His tone was sour, almost venomous. His eyes never broke away from that piece of shit truck that held the man he considered a friend and the girl he'd been dating for years inside the cab.

Her eyes widened. "That's who that girl is?" She hadn't necessarily been around Riley enough to memorize her looks, but she had seen Chase enough to know him when she saw him, even if it took a second for it to click in her brain.

"Mmhm." He hummed, picking up his sweet tea. The condensation on the outside of the cup pressed against his palms then disappeared, only leaving behind a cold feeling on his skin. "You-"

Right as he was about to speak, Riley smiled up at Chase and kissed him on the lips-and not an innocent little peck, no, it was nothing like that..

He looked down at his lap at the dirt stained jeans and plopped his drink back down into the cup holder. Staring at the grass and dirt stains the ranch had left behind on his pants was simply something to watch besides the scene unfolding in front of him.

"Let's go." Delilah said. "I know for a fact neither of us wanna see that shit." She quickly buckled her seatbelt and looked over at Ryan to make sure he had his on, then threw her truck into reverse and tediously backed out of the ridiculously small, slanted parking spot.

He nodded. His mind was overflowing with every little bullshit lie she'd told him that he believed. He reprimanded himself for ever dating her.

You knew what she did, you knew how she was- she had done this to every damn boy she'd dated, but your dumbass thought you could change her, didn't you? How stupid can you be, boy? That little voice in his head screamed at him and questioned what in the world would ever make him think she'd change her ways just for him.

Ryan rested his elbow on the center console and held his face in his palm while he screamed internally back at his mind, fighting a silent battle he wasn't sure he'd win. His other hand rested in his lap, disregarded because of its current uselessness to him.

He sighed heavily. "Fuck." He whispered.

"It ain't your fault." Delilah said, voice barely above a whisper as if she was scared of angering him more. She was looking at him out of her peripheral vision, going back and forth between looking at him and the winding backroad that led to Ghost Ranch.

"It's not just that, Lilah, this isn't the first time she's done this shit." His aggravated tone quieted hers and she shut up and glanced at him for a quick moment in hopes he'd explain further.

"This is the second time." He raised his head from his palm and adjusted how he was sitting, straightening his posture against the seat. "And that's only on me, every fuckin' boyfriend shes had she's cheated on, she's always been like that."

Her eyes widened, but she didn't say a word. "I guess I was stupid for thinkin' I was different."

How stupid was she?

Didn't she know who the fuck he was?

How special he was, how smart, how sweet he was? Shit, even how funny he was? Was she blind? Delilah thought. She must've been blind or stupid, most likely both.

Her foot gently pressed down the gas pedal farther down and the truck hummed louder, the speedometer's numbers going up fairly quick. "You ain't dumb. She was, honestly."

Ryan snorted playfully. "Well.. you ain't necessarily wrong on that count."

She was happy his somber mood was slowly returning to its former lighthearted, happy state. She laughed too and he smirked at her, a playful, happy glint in his blue eyes.

The truck followed the thin road with ease, yellow headlights shining onto the cracked pavement below it while the tires hummed in unison with the cranked up radio and the engine. The two people in the cab sung along with the radio and the truck that was also seemingly singing it's own mechanical song, and before they knew it, the long, tall fence that lined Ghost Ranch begun to show in the dim light the headlights gave off.

Some of the cattle raised their heads at the truck as it passed by, and others didn't care, nonetheless, his cattle were all adorable.

Ryan hummed along to the music, head swaying slightly to the beat.

He was abruptly thrown from his own world though barely seconds later by Delilah slamming on the brakes. The truck shuddered and the tires squealed on the pavement as it came to a complete stop. "Wha- why'd ya stop?"

"There's a puppy on the road." She huffed through labored breaths. "A little bitty one."

"A- what?"

She didn't give him time to finish whatever it was he was going to stay, but she instead swung open the door and hopped out of the warmth of the cab. Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and pointer finger, an exasperated sigh falling from his lips. "Shit." He got out of the truck too and followed her.

She was knelt down on the asphalt with a young German Shepherd puppy curled up in her arms, whimpering softly as if the little dog was begging not to be let go. Delilah looked up at Ryan with the cutest, most irresistible puppy dog eyes she could muster up.

"We can't leave him here, he's just a baby."

The puppy shivered in her arms and tucked his little wet black nose into her arm, searching for more warmth. He held his ears close to his head and whined.

"But I don't have enough room at my place for him." Delilah added, and petted his soft black fur that lined his back.

"Well.. Waylon and MJ could use a baby brother, and I've got the room for another dog, so.. why not?"

She smiled up at Ryan and stood with the little dog in her arms, and walked over to him. "You wanna hold him and I drive?"

"Yeah." He said. He held his arms out and took the sweet little pup in his arms. The dog curled up on his chest and pressed his nose into Ryan's neck, little shivers coming from his tiny body.

Ryan kissed the top of the puppy's head and held him close, and got back in the truck with Delilah. They drove in a peaceful silence, the only noise being the little sounds the pup made and the radio playing softly.

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Authors note

I got my internet fixed! And, while it was down I got two more chapters written in advance already. Hopefully it doesn't give up the ghost on me again.