It Ended With A Lie

Chapter 4

Ryder's POV

Song for Novel: "Happier," by Ed Sheeran.

The next few days went by without a peep or sight about Braelyn. I decided to go grocery shopping for my mom on Tuesday, trying to clear my head. I turned down the frozen food aisle, and my eyes landed on a familiar face.

Groaning, I decided to stay where I was, hoping Xavier wouldn't cause me any trouble. I really wasn't in the mood. I grabbed some pizzas, and I tried to push my buggy past him conspicuously. He noticed me. "Ridge?" He asked.

I stopped and turned. "Hey, Xavier," I said.

He didn't look angry. In fact, he just looked surprised. "I didn't know you were back in town."

I scratched the back of my neck. "Yeah, I got back like two weeks ago."

Xavier nodded. "So, I supposed you got the news about Braelyn?" he asked. "You know, about her fiance?"

I laughed, remembering what I had done to her fiance just days before. "Yeah, I even shoved her fiance," I replied.

He laughed, "I've been wanting to do that for years. He's a real jerk, especially when I'm around."

"Yeah," I said, not knowing what else to say. We fell into an awkward silence for a few minutes, looking everywhere but at one another. I wanted to cringe at how awkward this felt, but I decided to hold it back.

Xavier sighed, "I'm not mad at you. I thought I was because you took Braelyn, but when I found out you left, I kind of did some thinking. She was happy with you, and that's all I wanted her to be. No hard feelings?" I looked at him, and I found him with his eyes to the floor. 

He was embarrassed by what he had said, but clearly, he seemed to be the bigger man here. I don't think I would've done the same thing if I was in his shoes.

I was taken off guard by what he had said, but I nodded anyway, deciding it was better to put it all behind us. "No hard feelings," I replied.

He looked up at me, and he forced a smile then left without another word, and I continued my shopping confused.

What just happened?××××××I opened the door and yelled, "I'm home!" I walked into the kitchen and found Braelyn and Lee at the table, drinking from mugs.

Braelyn looked up at me, and it was clear she was not expecting me. Her brown eyes stared at me with surprise mixed with guilt. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and she forced her eyes to the ground. "Um, hi," she said.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked, studying her reaction."We were just discussing the wedding," Lee said, and I looked at her. She looked guilty; she was running her thumb back and forth on the mug, biting her lip. She was always fidgety when she was guilty.

I forced a fake smile. I couldn't believe what I was seeing: my older sister was friends with my ex. "Well, don't let me interrupt," I said then dropped the groceries on the counter. "You can put up the groceries, Lee." I gave her a dirty look then went to my bedroom, slamming the door behind me.

Lee was friends with Braelyn, and she never told me. I got betrayed by my own sister. I plopped myself onto my bed and yanked my shoes off. 

I threw them at my closet then changed into a pair of jogging pants and a hoodie before returning to my bed. A few minutes later my door opened, and Lee poked her head in. "Hey, I can ex-" she said.

"You were friends with Braelyn this whole time and never told me?" I yelled, standing up.Lee stepped into my room, coming face to face with me. 

Sadly, we were the same height, so I couldn't look down on her, which I wanted to do so badly. "Listen, Ridge, just because she's your ex-doesn't mean she has to stay away from us. And for your information, I'm not the only who kept this from you. 

Mom invites her and Jake over every Sunday for dinner before you came back," she said, spilling everything.

I glared, taken back by this secret. "I shouldn't have come back. Clearly, everyone is keeping secrets from me, and it's like I'm the outsider!" I yelled.

Lee crossed her arms, starting to get angry herself. Her eyes bored into mine, and we stand there for a moment just glaring at each other. 

"We wanted you back, and the only reason we kept this from is because we didn't want to hurt you. There, are you happy?" she asked sarcastically.

"It's a little too late for that. You need to get out," I stated flatly.

"Gladly," she said, moving toward the door, "but just remember that this all happened because of you.

 If you weren't such an egotistical little prick four years ago, maybe your life would've turned out different." Lee slammed the door behind her, leaving me speechless.

I clenched my fists before punching the wall. She was right; I did bring this all on myself. I knew that, but I never had the guts to say it out loud. 

Plopping back onto my bed, I angrily shoved my earbuds into my ear then into my phone before starting to play music. I needed to drown out my thoughts; they always made everything worse.