It's Not Perfect

Chapter 21

My mouth hit the floor and my breath caught in my lungs.

What the hell had I walked in on?! Ryder was standing in the middle of the room, looking pissed beyond all reason, with a tall brunette bimbo planted in front of him. And she was kissing him, in front of every other fighter as they watched in just as much confusion as me. They were all quiet. I didn't know what Ryder and this girl were arguing about but it didn't really matter. Nothing else mattered except for the fact that Ryder had his mouth against someone else's. And he wasn't making any attempt to push her away. He wasn't kissing her back which was a good sign, I think, but he wasn't trying to end it. What did that mean?

And why did I have the sudden urge to throw up?

The door slammed shut behind me and I jumped as every single pair of eyes swung towards me. Even Ryder's and the girl in front of him.

Across the room I saw Maria and Brooklyn rush to their feet, their eyes locked on me just as everyone else in the room was. Ryder's face fell upon seeing me and I saw him jump away from the girl who was glaring at me, she even had the audacity to roll her eyes as the blood drained from my face. Everyone in the room was holding their breaths, looking at me with pity. And all I could do was stand there, my pulse racing beyond what would be considered humanly possible.

"Emma." Ryder breathed, looking at the girl once more before turning back to me, "Wait this isn't what you think-"

But I didn't want to hear the rest.

I turned around and ran from the room, carrying me as fast as my feet could take me. I didn't want to hear excuses or stories, I didn't want to even think about what I had just witnessed. I didn't want to feel this sudden pain in my chest as my heart shattered. All I wanted was one night that I could spend with Ryder without any complications. I just wanted to let it all go.

But Fate hated me and she always would.

The warm southern air hit me like a brick wall as I exited the building, my hair suddenly seeming too heavy. I pushed away from the doors and took off towards Brooklyn's car, the keys digging into my skin as I gripped them between my hands.

"Emma. Emma!" Ryder called from behind me as I weaved in and out of cars, trying to find my way to Brooklyn's car. I didn't listen to him, I didn't want to listen. He had ruined everything, every bit of self confidence I had regained in these last few months was gone. Eradicated.

"Emma stop!" Ryder jumped in front of me when he finally reached me, his hair winded and his face flushed. Ten minutes ago that would have made me weak in the knees, now all it did was cause more pain. Because I knew at one point he cared, he actually cared about me and my well being. I don't know what changed between earlier today and thirty seconds ago but something between us snapped. We weren't connected anymore, we were two separate people now.

"Just leave me alone." I begged, feeling my heart strain in my chest. It hurt, his rejection and having to watch him kiss another woman was physically hurting me.

"No." Ryder shook his head rapidly, "You don't even know what happened-"

"It doesn't matter, Ryder. I should have known you'd go right back to your old life as soon as you got what you wanted from me. You were forced to claim me, you didn't even want to. And I'm not your girlfriend, so you can be with whoever you want." I rushed out, stepping around him and starting off towards Brooklyn's car once again. I just wanted to hide under my covers, hide from life. Hide from Ryder.

"Emma that's not what happened! I wasn't sleeping with her!" Ryder matched my pace easily since he was both taller and more fit that I was, "You just walked in at a bad time. I swear nothing was going on-"