My tongue feels frozen to the roof of my mouth and my gaze flicks toward Ryder’s stormy one before returning to the woman in front of him.
“Dahlia,” I manage to say, without stuttering in shock.
“Oh, what a lovely name. Do you live around here?”
Now Ryder shifts into motion as he takes hold of his mom by her elbow. “Why don’t we go inside?”
“Oh, stop. I’m talking to your friend.”
I frown, wondering why his mom would put emphasis on the your. Is she thinking that there is more going on than what he’s telling her? Or is her meaning completely escaping me?
Ellen turns back to me. “So . . . Do you live around here?”
“I live above Kix with Ryder,” I finally answer, not ashamed of the fact.
Ryder closes his eyes as his mom gasps.
“But—”
“Mom, let’s go and talk.”
Just what the heck is going on?
The rock in my stomach feels like its growing and I feel it quiver as my nerves are stretched thin. Watching their interaction sets off my warning signals and I can’t fight the feeling of unease washing over me. Something is going on and Ryder is afraid his mom is going to blurt it out—we may not be together but I know Ryder well enough
to know he’s avoiding something.
My eyes fill with tears as Ryder turns his back on me and tries to usher his mom inside Kix. Without another glance in my direction, I might add.
What am I missing?
“Stop!” Ellen pulls her arm free of Ryder’s gasp. “What is going on?”
Is she a mind reader?
“Does she know about Brittany? You know good and well I don’t approve of what’s obviously been going on here and neither does the church.” Ellen’s eyes flash and her mouth is a thin, tight line of anger. Ryder’s eyes search the back of the building and he looks everywhere but at his mom or me.
“Brittany,” I mumble, hoping I’ve heard her wrong. Who’s Brittany? Then I briefly meet Ryder’s gaze, which makes it clear I heard her perfectly well.
“My son is married,” she clarifies, but doesn’t look too happy making that declaration. As though she, maybe, regrets it leaving her mouth.
“Fuckin’ hell,” Ryder curses, looking like he’s about to hurl and all I can hear is the blood rushing through my ears.
Married. Married.
This cannot be happening to me.
I take a step back, and then another, tears stinging my eyes as I search for an escape. I need to be alone. The throbbing in my head is like a knife and I just want it to disappear. I want it to be morning again, before Ryder’s mom came for a visit and destroyed what was left of my life.
Turning blindly, I start to run toward the road and hear Ryder’s footfalls behind me. The sound urges me further, to run faster and farther than I’ve ever run before. He shouts my name and I shake the sound out of my head. I can’t stop . . . won’t!
“Dammit, stop!”
I ignore his shout, but I’m afraid that I’m going to have to stop because I can’t see where I’m going. My tears are falling faster than I can swipe at them. I don’t want to stop and face him—I don’t want to hear more of his lies. My mother was ‘the other woman’ and that isn’t going to be me.
As my steps falter and my body forces me to slow, I finally come to a stop because I’ve no strength left. I hear Ryder panting with exertion behind me. I can’t look at him so I keep my back to him.
“Please come back and let me explain,” he begs.