Chain of Hearts (BWWM)

California

"Asia!"

At the sound of the familiar voice, I whipped my head around only to have a pair of cerulean blue eyes staring at me.

My brows lifted in surprise.

"Ryan?"

I stopped walking and allowed him to catch up to me. It had been two months since the entire ordeal and I hadn't seen him at all. He reached me and I pursed my lips together as he opened his arms for a hug.

"I don't think that's-."

Regardless of what I was going to say he pulled me into an embrace that I couldn't help but return. When I stepped away from him, I looked up at him and sighed. "How've you been, Ry?" I asked and he smiled gently at me.

"I should be asking you that. How've you been?"

"I've seen better days." He nodded in agreement and there was an awkward silence. "Ryan that kiss-."

He waved me off. "Don't worry about that. That shouldn't have happened."

Thank God he saw it in the same way. It was too weird kissing Ryan.

At one point he was going to be my brother in law and the entire time I was with Ethan I treated him as such.

Kissing him? Yeah, it didn't feel right at all.

"I'm glad you see it that way too."

"I'm not going to lie to you - I wanted to do it. I just didn't expect it to feel like that you know?" He continued. "It just didn't feel..."

"Right?" I offered and he nodded in agreement.

He had no scars left from the scuffle with Ethan although I had to wonder just how badly he had been wounded.

"I'm sorry by the way."

His eyebrows drew together in confusion. "For what?"

"The whole thing with Ethan. I shouldn't have gone there and that ruined you and Monica's relationship and it made you and Ethan fight-."

He shushed me before shaking his head. "I should've known what I was doing trying to go for Ethan's girl."

'Ethan's girl'.

Was I always going to be attached to him?

"Hey do you wanna grab some lunch?" I tilted my head towards him in warning. "It's platonic, Asia."

Weighing out the pro's and cons, I realised that lunch with Ryan wouldn't be so bad. I needed to be in someone else's company because I was so used to being on my own. Whether I was couped up in my room or going for walks on my own - I hardly saw anybody.

Anybody that wasn't my dad, that was.

Throughout all of this, he had been my rock. He was there for me every day, every night and catered to all my needs. He was understanding even though I had received the lecture of a lifetime one evening during dinner. It had been enlightening but it had also been incredibly long winded.

"I am kind of hungry." I admonished, rubbing my stomach.

Breaking out into a grin, Ryan looped our arms before leading us to a small bistro that I recognised. I'd been to it a few times so I knew it was a good place to go.

***

"He's trying to change, you know."

Lifting my head from the menu, I narrowed my eyes at him. I knew who he was talking about. The last person that I wanted to talk about.