Tattoo | Ryan Blaney

Chapter 4 | accidents

McKayla's POV:

||2 weeks later||

"This is so boring," I whispered to myself. I looked back at the clock. The professor rattled on with the his boring lecture. The class was finally dismissed right on time, everyone quickly gathered their things and left. "What to do now?" I asked myself. I walked out of the building and walked all the way back to my dorm.

"Hey McKayla." My roommate Jenna Gray greets. "Are you going to Nicole's party tonight?" She asks rummaging through her closet.

"Umm, I don't know. I just kinda wanna chill in the dorm for the rest of the day. It's been a long week." I explained.

"Understood, well if you change your mind let me know." She smiles walking out of the room. As I plopped onto my bed as my phone rings.

"Why?" I groaned getting back up. I slipped my phone out of the side pocket and looked at the caller ID. "Hey, Bubba, what's up?" I answered.

"Ryan is in the hospital." He says.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I don't know. He was on his way to see you because he couldn't wait any longer to give you an explanation. So, he drove down there, and about twenty minutes from where you are, he got in a wreck." He said in almost one whole breath. "I don't know how bad it is." He adds. "Chase, Austin, Ty, Dylan, and I are on our way down to California right now." He adds.

"Okay, when you guys gonna be here?" I asked.

"We are landing in about twenty to thirty minutes roughly. Can you please go check on him?" Bubba asked.

"Fine." I gave in. "What hospital?" I ask.

"South Bryan Hospital." He replies.

"I'll be over there as soon as I can," I reply. I hang up and slide my phone into my back pocket. I quickly grabbed my license, car keys, and sunglasses. I rushed outside to the car and speeded away towards the hospital. "Why are you so worried about him?" I asked out loud. I had a sick feeling in my stomach when I heard Ryan out of all people was in the hospital.

"Come on!" I yelled frustrated from backed up traffic.

||20 minutes later||

"Name?" The receptionist asked as I rushed up to the front desk.

"I'm here for Ryan Blaney," I replied.

"Room 323." She smiles. I quickly thanked her and went to the elevators. Once I made my way up to level 3, I started searching for Ryan's room number frantically.

"You're gonna have to take it easy the next couple of days. You'll need to take this week off of racing Mr. Blaney." I hear the doctor tell him as I walked in. "I'm guessing family?" The doctor asks me.

"I'm a family friend, I guess you could say," I replied sliding the glass door shut behind me.

"Well, Mr. Blaney's accident wasn't serious. He just has some scrapes, bruises, and a mild concussion. So, I urge him not to race this weekend with his substantial injuries." The doctor explains. I nod as the doctor continued. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask one of our nurses, or ask me." He waves walking out.

"Thank you." I waved back.

"You probably would be the last person that I would see here," Ryan said looking down at his hands.

"Well, Bubba urged me to come and check on you," I replied pulling up a chair. "So now I'm here," I added. "Why did you even bother driving down here?" I asked rudely. I really didn't mean it to come out like that, but it came off rather rudely.

"To give you an explanation for my actions." He replies.

"So, four years later you wanna finally give me an explanation?" I questioned.

"I would've told you sooner, but Chase wouldn't tell me where you went, or what you were doing. He said you changed your number, and moved away. So, there was no way." He says.

"Exactly, that was the point. I moved away and changed my number to get away from you. I needed a fresh start, Ryan. I was tired of getting abused and beaten up almost every single freaking day." I said still trying to stay calm.

"I know that now. I can now understand why. Please calm down." He almost said in a whisper. I rolled my eyes.

"No, you don't know Ryan! You drank your damn life away! Why would I listen to you? For all, I know you can still be a damn addict for crying out loud!" I raised my voice.

"I gave that all up for you!" Ryan yelled making me flinch. Ryan's eyes looked up, and I looked behind me to see Chase and Bubba in the doorway with Austin and Dylan behind them.

"Let him explain," Chase says.

"Why are you all the sudden defending him?" I asked.

"Because he's changed. Trust me on this one." Chase replies. He gives me a quick look before closing the door again, leaving Ryan and I alone again.

"You got three minutes until I'm about to leave," I warned Ryan sitting back in the chair, holding my arms across my chest uncomfortably.

"I umm was going through a difficult time during back then. You know I was a really reserved person. I kept the stuff that went on at home to myself. I didn't even feel comfortable sharing it with my best friends, not even you." Ryan pauses. "My parents were the cause of my behavior. My parents would be fighting every night. My dad would come home drunk as hell every single night, verbally abusing my mom. With all that, with all my insecurities... I don't know, it just became too much for me to handle. Back then I felt sad and empty for years. For sometime alcohol would work to take that pain away. Sure, I would do some things that I regretted later, but I wouldn't remember it the next day. But the day I lost you, the drinking's effect stopped. I stopped ever since I lost the best thing that has ever happened to me, you. I've been sober for about four years now." Ryan explained.

'Why didn't he tell me all this?' I mentally asked myself.

"McKayla, I care about you more than you could ever imagine. I'm not asking you to forgive me. I'm not trying to convince you to commit to me, respect me, or love me again. I just wanna say I'm sorry for all the pain I caused you. I never meant it. I hope we can at least be friends again. I need my best friend back. I miss that" He finishes in tears.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Was all I could say at that moment.

"I just felt like I would've been judged, and you would've left me. I guess." He replies.

"Ryan, we've known each other since we were little. I wished you would be trusted me more with this." I say. "I thought you knew me better than to judge. I would've never done that."

"I know." He sighed. "Mac, I know this will be a long shot. But can you give me another chance?" Ryan says.

"Ryan I-"