Unsteady

28. Mine

Running circles 'round my mind
Even when it's rainy all you ever do is shine
You on fire, you a star just like Mariah
Man this feel incredible,
I'll turn you into a bride,
You're mine
-Mine
-Bazzi

•••••

"I'm so sorry Riley," Ryder apologised for the fifth time that week.

I sighed and continued to toss the salad I had whipped up. Ryder had grilled some burger patties and we had laid out the ingredients, enough to assemble six chicken burgers.

As soon as we got home from Everton Winston, I had called Violet and told her about everything that had happened that day. Ryder, with my permission, told Kyle and Noah about my mother but nothing else.

I didn't want to leave my friends out of anything that had happened, even if it meant keeping a part of the truth away from them. A part only Ryder would know, a part he was also hiding from them.

It wasn't that I never trusted them, it was just that I didn't feel like it was that relevant for them to know about what had happened in my past. They knew that my siblings and dad were in a car accident and now they knew my mother was in a mental institution, and they knew about Brandon.

The rest was just minor details.

I had invited everyone over so we could just hang out without the pressure of school and finals being held over us. Finals had started on Monday, and it hit me like a truck.

Who even starts a final exam with maths?

I silently cursed whoever set up our final exam timetable and realized if I wanted to pass this year, forget about getting accepted into any university, I would have to pull up my socks and start focusing.

It's a bit too late for that now don't ya think?

Yeah yeah, put a sock in it!

Ryder continued rambling on about how sorry he was, breaking me out of my thought process.

Ever since we got back from Everton Winston, Ryder has been apologising nonstop.

For what reason, you ask?

You'll find out soon enough...

"Ryder, I swear if you say sorry one more time-"

"No Riley! This is all my fault and you can't say anything to make it any better," Ryder brought the knife down a little too hard on the tomatoes he was slicing.

I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. Only Ryder can blame himself for the things that weren't his fault, then want nothing to do with the problems he actually caused.

"Ryder I told you, my mother had a slight breakdown and it set back her treatment. None of this was your fault because you weren't the cause of her breakdown," I said calmly, despite the fact that something told me that lady was definitely not my mother.