𝚍𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚢 | 𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚘𝚕𝚏 [1]

talking

—

Austin laid back flat on Ryder's bed. The two having skipped school, due to wanting Ryder to rest. Austin knew his mom wouldn't mind him skipping, as this was only the second time he's done it, both times being good reasons.

He would just have to come up with an excuse for why. And while he knew he shouldn't lie to his mom, he could just mention how he was taking care of Ryder because she wasn't feeling well, he had already lied about why he spent the night at her house.

"You should talk to her."

Her head shook, the movement ruffling his shirt as she had her head laying on his chest.

"She probably lied for your own good." Austin tried again, rubbing his hand over her tattooed arm.

Ryder let out a sigh, "I know she did. I'm not mad at her, unfortunately enough, I could never be mad at her. But that doesn't mean I can't be upset."

"Of course, you can be upset. I never want to invalidate your feelings, but your mom is probably thinking you hate her right about now."

"I don't."

He left it at that, or at least he wanted to. It didn't take long for him to take notice of the wetness seeping through his shirt.

He closed his eyes in pity, wrapping his arms around her waist and sitting up straight, adjusting the girl so she was sat straddling his lap.

Ryder tucked her face in the crook of his neck, his scent both calming her down and making her heart race. It didn't help that his hands went under her shirt and were now rubbing small circles on her bare skin.

The two were quiet for a moment, simply emojifying each others presence. Neither wanting to break the comfortable silence.

"Thank you."

Her words were whispered, mumbled, but he heard them clearly because of how close she was. They also came out a bit hesitant, making him want to laugh.

"You don't say that much, do you?"

"No, so you should appreciate it." She said, pulling away from him with a smile. It was faint, but he knew that it was there.

"You don't have to thank me, i told you from the start that i was going to be there for you, didn't i?"

She nodded, "You did. Even when I told you leave me alone."

He smiled at the memory, "Yeah, you were unreasonably mean to me, and i would like an apology."

"I'm sorry." She giggled (ew), "I really am, but I had a good reason."

"You did have good reason. And if you think about it this way, we probably wouldn't be where we are right now if you were nice to me."

"I guess." The blonde shrugged, lifting her hand to his face.

His eyes watched her every facial movement with adoration. (wink wink)

Ryder was more focused of the dimple that sat on his cheek, her thumb filling the dent as she smiled.

He didn't know why she was smiling, but he loved to see it, especially after the awful night she had.

"Ryder?"

Her smile had fallen, a frown replacing it as she heard her mothers voice.

"You seriously need to talk to her." He whispered, though he knew that didn't do much because of Romona's hearing, "This is the fifth time she's walked by, Ryder."

"Fine." She groaned, tilting her head back while thinking of how the conversation might go.

She thought she could've heard Austin's heart rate increase, but she didn't know why. She didn't have time to question it either, because soon enough, she was out of his lap and walking to the door.

"You should go see your mom." She told him, "I'll speak with mine."

"Deal. I'll go let mine know that todays a self care day, and i'll come by later to see how everything went, yeah?"

"Okay." She nodded, lifting her hand to bring his face down for a kiss, Austin wasting no time in following her.

The door is soon being opened and Austin's is standing on the other side of it.

"I lo- i'll see you later." He nodded, sending Romona a polite smile and a silent 'good luck' before making his way down stairs to leave.

Romona was going to bring up what Austin was going to say, but decided that she shouldn't try having boy talk
with her upset daughter at the moment.

Maybe later.

•••

"Ryder—"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I thought i was doing what was best for you." Romona admitted.

Ryder squinted, "And you thought telling me that dad was a human, was best for me?"

"I was fully convinced that you were not going to be a werewolf, Ryder. I did not want to scare you with the idea that you could be."

"Mom—"

"No one would want Peter Hale to be their father, Ryder. Especially after everything he has done, you have to understand why I lied to you."

Tears trickled down both of their faces.

"I get it, ma. Trust me, I do." She sniffled, "It's just a little bit inconvenient now that he's dead and there's no one to help me learn.

Ryder could see the woman wince at the words, she only thought it was because of the constant reminded that the father of her first born was deceased, so she didn't question it.

"I can help you learn. I may not know a lot about full transformations, but I get the idea. It is better me than Derek."

Her left eyebrow raised in agreement, "Yeah."

"I believe that Austin would not mind helping as well." Romona smiled, "He seems very fond of you."

"Yeah, I'm very fond of him too." She chuckled, "Why do you talk like that?"

"Ryder, I believe that you forget that I was silent for nearly ten years of my life. Give me a break."

"I understand that, but you should start using contractions, it'll make your life a thousand times easier."

"Oh, i am sure it will."