First Time | Protector 3.1 | Wattys2017

Chapter 24

*small trigger warning*

Chapter 24

Jerome

       It has been over a week since I broke up with Nolan and it was getting way too awkward in the apartment with Ryder ignoring me and constantly glaring at me. Mae was still talking to me, at least. Well, she tried. Ryder usually interrupted and told her to stop talking to me.

       And it was getting really annoying when Ryder was forcing the only friend I had to ignore me.

       Well, there was always April, but she was usually with Travis, and Mae actually lived with me so I did see her every day.

       But today, I really wasn't in the mood for Ryder to keep glaring at me every single time he saw me, so once he did it again, I finally snapped. "Would you stop looking at me like that?" I asked.

       "Well, sorry for being mad at you," Ryder said.

       "What I did has nothing to do with you," I said.

       "Nothing to do with me?" Ryder repeated. "You broke up my younger brother. My dad told me that he has been crying in his room for days and he isn't even concentrating in school anymore. They haven't even been back for two weeks and he's failing a class that he was getting a high grade in."

       "How is that even possible?" I asked.

       "Because he got a zero on a quiz and a test," Ryder said. "He's heartbroken."

       "Well, you can't expect every single person to stay with their very first boyfriend or girlfriend like you and Mae," I said.

       "I don't think that," Ryder said. "And I'm only pissed at you because it came out of nowhere and you didn't give him a reason. That's what's making him cry all day. That's what's making him fail his classes."

       I didn't say anything else as I got up from the couch and walked to the front door. I grabbed one of my hoodies hanging on the coat rack and stared at it for a bit. Nolan still had my favorite one.

       I hoped he still wore it.

       I pulled my hoodie on before slipping on a pair of my shoes. Ryder didn't even ask where I was going. He just walked into his bedroom  and slammed the door shut.

       "If you think that's bad, wait until Gene sees you," Mae spoke up from her spot at the dining room table. "Or Tulip."

       "Yeah, I'm surprised Gene hasn't shown up at the apartment yet to kill me," I said.

       "He's probably going to do it soon," Mae said. "I was on Twitter today. I saw a lot of tweets directed towards you. A lot of your followers are worried. They said that the last time you vlogged, you looked really sad and you weren't acting like yourself. Some are even asking if you and Nolan broke up. You going to tell them?" I shrugged. "You still never told me why you broke up with Nolan."

       "Look, I don't want to talk about it, alright?" I asked. "And I really have somewhere to be."

       "Fine, but I'll be here if you need to talk to someone," Mae said. "I'll just have to make sure I lock Ryder in the bathroom so he can't stop me from talking to you."

       I gave Mae a small smile before leaving the apartment with my keys. After locking the door, I left the building and went to the parking lot to get into my car. Once it was started up, I pulled out of the parking lot and drove to my parents' new house.