The Blind Girl's Secret

Don't Wait For Me

RYDER POV

I sat across from Ava as she set her handbag on the space beside her. "It's been awhile."

She smiled beautifully and I gazed, stunned. "Yeah, it has. How's everything at school?"

"Well, the boys are the same idiots. The girls miss you so they decided tormenting us is their source of entertainment."

She laughed, shaking her head. "That sounds like them. How about you? What have you been up to?"

"Nothing. Everything is boring without you around."

She smiled, again before smirking. "Well, of course it is. After all, I make everyone's day brighter."

I smiled at her joke before asking. "How about you? Are you planning to come back any time soon?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I've been gone for a whole quarter of school and I'm all healed so I should be back by next week."

"Are you sure you're ready?"

She was silent as she twiddled her thumbs before speaking. "I'm not but I'll get better. Uncle Dave said that I just need to take it day by day. I don't need to force myself if I don't want to go, I could just take classes online but I told him that I need to get out of the house. Hiding in my room isn't going to fix anything."

"Well, we'll be there with you so you've got nothing to worry about."

She raised a brow. "Was that supposed to reassure me?"

I gasped, dramatically. "Well, excuse me for trying to comfort you."

Her laughter rang throughout the restaurant and I smiled at the sound of it. I just can't get tired of hearing that.

"Anyways, you said you wanted to talk to me about something. What was it?" She asked suddenly after calming down.

I froze before leaning back against the chair. "How about we get something to eat first?"

I called the waiter and we ordered what we wanted. As we waited, I was drinking my soda when I started choking at what she said next.

"Do you like me?"

I coughed, choking on the coke that I was gulping down.

She looked concerned as she reached forward but I grabbed her hand as I managed to calm down. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, but why did you ask that?"

She tilted her head. "Because you seem to be stalling and I was curious. Well, do you?"

I pulled my hand back and nervously ran it through my hair. "What would you do if I said yes?"

She leaned forward and folded her hands in front of her. "Depends. Do you like me?"

Ah, fuck it.

"Yes, I do."

She smiled. "Well, that took you forever to admit."

"Is that all you have to say?" I asked, trying not to sound nervous.

She shrugged. "I've rarely dealt with this kind of thing so I'm not sure how to react to it. Hear me out before you say anything. I've never been interested in a relationship before and it's still the same even now."

My heart sunk at her words but continued to listen.

"For so long, all I've ever focused on was training and getting revenge, then after the incident, I was focusing on healing and getting better. I've always liked you as a person but I'm sorry, I'm just not at the right place to be thinking about dating. I said the same thing to Jake. Well, minus the revenge and trai-"

"Wait, wait, hold up. Jake confessed to you? When?" I asked, shocked. When the hell did he confess? Why didn't he say anything?

"It was when I was still at the hospital. He visited me one day when you guys weren't around. We were just chatting about anything and I was glad, since he was able to keep my mind off the bad things. But then he surprised me when he just confessed out of nowhere."

"And then what?"

"Well, I just said thanks for liking me but I've only seen him as a friend. He knew that, of course, but he just wanted to get his feelings out. If you wanna know the rest, go and ask him."

I was silent as I processed her words before sighing. "Well, I didn't expect to hear that but is it mean to say I'm relieved I'm not the only one you rejected?"

She snorts. "That's just being human, isn't it? Anyways, you're not going to avoid me after this, are you? I already bitched at Jake that I'll beat his ass if he ghosts me forever." She raised a brow at me and I laughed.

"Do I even have a choice?"

She scoffed. "Hell no. The moment you decided to pester me with your presence was the moment you sealed your fate. You're stuck with me, whether you like it or not."

I shook my head at her, amused. This is why I like her. She's straightforward, even at times like this. Dammit, Ryder, you must be a masochist.

I groaned. "Shit, I forgot how crazy you were."

She smirked. "It's okay. I'll remind you every single day so you'll never forget."

I grinned. "So, I can't run away?"

She shook her head, firmly. "Nope. Not an option."

I chuckled and we went silent for a moment. Our food arrived minutes ago but we still haven't touched it. Just as I was about to speak, she spoke up.

"Are you disappointed?"

I stared at her face and saw how serious she was. "Honestly... Yeah, a bit. I mean, what guy wouldn't be disappointed and hurt about being rejected by a beautiful girl like you."

She smiled sadly. "Yeah, true but I'll tell you this. If you still like me and I end up feeling the same, you'll definitely know."

"Oh really? Are you going to shout it out to the whole school?"

She shrugged. "Possibly. You'll never know until it happens but don't wait for me."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Don't wait for me to feel the same. Enjoy life, date other girls, go to parties or whatever it is you do these days. Don't waste your time on a girl who's too busy figuring out her own life."

"Don't say that." I firmly said. "Don't say that like as if you're a waste of time because that's one thing you're not and if I want to wait, then I will. It's my decision, no one else's."

She sighed and seemed to roll her eyes. "Okay, whatever, wait for me forever if you want to. You're so exasperating."

I laughed again. "You know, I can never seem to get mad or stay serious with you for long, you make it impossible."

"I told you, I brighten up everyone's day." She said, smiling brightly.

"Okay, shut up and eat before I force it down your throat."

"Ha, you could try." She smiled as she started to eat.

I gazed at her for a moment before sighing. "You're such a handful."

She grinned with her mouth full. "You just realized that now?"

"Gross." I threw her a napkin, laughing. "Don't talk with your mouth full. Are you sure you weren't meant to be a guy? Oh wait, that's an insult to all the decent men out there."

We both burst out laughing and continued talking as we ate. We nearly got kicked out when we got too noisy but either way, we still had fun.

Time went by fast and before I knew it, I was already home after dropping her off. I was laying in bed when her words flashed in my mind.

Don't wait for me.

I smiled and said quietly. "I'd wait for you for however long it takes."

***

AHHHH! THAT LAST LINE GAVE ME CHILLS! IT WAS TOO CHEESY, I HATE IT! DAMMIT! Anyways, it's almost over. I took a long break because well... I got bored and lazy. Sorry. Lol.