A Gambling Man // Ryan x OC

48

"What are you doing here, Ma?" Ryan asked after recovering from the shock of seeing her. Ryan told Mae that they talk on the phone every now and then but that they haven't physically seen each other in years. 

"Gladys told me that you were coming here for the weekend and I wanted to surprise you," she smiled at him, Mae noticed that her hands slightly twitched and her voice wavered slightly. She was extremely nervous. The lady then turned to Mae, "This must be the girl you told me about. She's even prettier than you said." 

"Yeah she is," Ryan grinned at Mae, "Ma, this is Mae. Darlin, this is my mom, Jen," Ryan introduced. 

"It's so nice to meet you," Mae greeted as she walked up to shake the woman's hand but Jen shook her head and wrapped her arms around the blonde. 

"Jen! I got some more firewood," a deep male voice called out after they heard the backdoor slam open. 

"Who's that?" Ryan asked, Mae could hear the protectiveness in his voice. 

"He's the reason I wanted to surprise you," Jen told Ryan, "But I need you to remain calm and just hear us out, please?" 

Mae watched as Ryan's eyes narrowed at his mother before he walked past them to the next room. Mae and Jen followed after him to see a large man, also in his fifties stacking more wood in the fireplace. 

"Who the hell are you?" Ryan asked the unknown man. They watched as the man quickly stood up to greet them. Mae gasped as she looked at the man's face. It was Ryan's with only a few small differences, the man had brown eyes, a couple of wrinkles and his hair was slightly greying. This had to be his dad or at least a relative. 

"Ryan, sweetheart this is your dad, James," Jen told him as she walked past the younger couple and over to the man. 

Mae observed Ryan as he stared between the two, his fists were clenched and his jaw continuously flexed. She's never really seen him this angry. Ryan scoffed, not saying a word to the two before grabbing Mae's hand and walking up the stairs. He completely ignored his mom calling after him but Mae looked back at the two and gave them a small smile as she followed Ryan up to his room. 

It was a plain room, decorated in blues and greys with a double bed in the middle. Mae assumed that most of the personal belongings were locked in cupboards or stored somewhere else since he rented the house out so much. She watched as he rested his hands on the chair by the desk, his head was hanging low and Mae could hear his deep breaths in an effort to stay calm. 

"What the fuck? What the fuck!" Ryan exclaimed and Mae's heart ached for him. He never knew the man, he was only starting to trust his mom again and now the two blindsided him. She couldn't imagine what he must be feeling but she would be there for him, just like he always was for her. 

Mae watched as he stood up, threw his hat on the table, and ran his hands through his hair. She walked over and took his hands. 

"C'mon just sit for a moment," Mae urged as she dragged him to the bed. He sat down on the end and Mae stepped between his legs and wrapped her arms around him. Ryan wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her chest. 

This wasn't the weekend he was planning. This was supposed to be about the two of them, it was supposed to be the start of the next step in their relationship. He didn't want to see Jen, he wasn't ready yet. Hell, she was too wasted to even show up to either of her parents' funerals and now she was just casually here in their house. He knew that she had been sober for a while now but that didn't excuse every other fucked up thing she's done. Hell, she makes barrel racer girls look like saints. They still had a long way to go before he was ready to face her and then she just showed up here with him. Ryan had never met the man and after he turned fifteen, he never had a want or need to meet him. They might be biologically related but that man was a complete stranger and he hated that a strange man was in this house let alone anywhere near Mae. Jen never had the best taste in men, if her past boyfriends were anything to go by, so Ryan didn't have much hope for this man to be any different. He was just the unlucky bastard that knocked her up. For most of his life, Ryan believed that Jen never talked about him because she could hardly remember him, even his grandparents had no idea who Ryan's father was. He just assumed it was some trucker in a bar bathroom and this could still very much be the case.