Chapter 144 Done

Chapter 144 Done
Skylar's POV

I was still fixing my hair, rushing because I was already running late when I caught the low sound of his voice drifting up from downstairs, threading through my mom's laugh.
I finished faster, rushing down the stairs, some part of me curious about what he was doing here

I found Ryan standing in our front hallway, his hands in his pockets with his signature smug look.
"What are you doing here?" I stopped on the last step, crossing my arms. "Shouldn't you be on your way to school? Away from me, specifically?"
"Good morning to you too." He glanced past me toward mom, who was leaning against the kitchen doorway with her coffee. "I decided to pick you up today."

"Why." I said it flatly. "When did you become my driver?” I scoffed. “ What exactly are you planning to do with me this time?"
"Can't I just pick you up?" He shrugged, all faux innocence, turning toward mom before I could answer. "Aunt Jade, isn't that right? Did I do something wrong, wanting to take my dear childhood friend to school?"

Mom laughed into her mug, shaking her head. "Don't drag me into this."
"See." He looked back at me with a smirk. "Even she thinks you're overreacting."
"She said no such thing." I frowned.
"Pretty sure she did."
I didn't have a good enough argument ready and my mom would've killed me for turning down a ride from Aunt Gemma's son anyway, so I grabbed my bag off the hook by the door and brushed past him toward his car, muttering something under my breath that he pretended not to hear.

\------

The drive started quiet, just the low sound of the radio and the city sliding past the window. I almost let myself relax into it until he broke the silence himself.

"You've been avoiding me," he said, his eyes on the road.
"I haven't been avoiding you. I've been busy."
He raised a brow. "Busy with Elias."
I chuckled in disbelief. "Is that a problem?"
"Didn't say it was a problem." He glanced sideways at me at a red light. "Just an observation."
"Is this why you decided to come pick me up?" I glanced at him. "So you'd complain about Elias?"
He laughed, shaking his head slightly. "I'm not complaining about anything. I'm just taking care of my little sister."

I grabbed the edge of his seat. "I'm not your little sister."
"Could've fooled me." He kept his eyes on the road, though the corner of his mouth stayed lifted. "Somebody's gotta make sure you're not making terrible decisions while nobody's watching."
I clenched my hands. “You know what…whatever.” I growled, turning away. “Arghhhhhh.”
He laughed under his breath, shaking his head again.

He parked in his usual spot near the back, when we pulled into the school lot. He cut the engine but neither of us moved, the quiet settling strangely thick around us.
"Well…." I reached for my bag, mostly just to have something to do with my hands. "I guess this is where you drop me off and pretend today never happened."

I glanced over, only to find him already looking at me, something different in his expression. Slowly, he turned in his seat, leaning toward me.
What's he doing? I'm already late and he's here acting like we had all the time in the world.
He continued leaning closer till we were less than an inch apart, our noses nearly touching.

My breath caught in my throat the moment I saw his eyes drop down to my lips. "Ryan??..." I whispered, pressing my back against the chair, my eyes never leaving his lips which were a breath away now.
He didn't move any further, he just stayed there, his eyes flicking back up to mine.
He suddenly smirked, shaking his head in amusement.
My brows furrowed in confusion.

He reached down, unclipping my seatbelt with a soft click before pulling back with the same infuriating smirk.
"You look really cute when you're nervous," he said, already climbing out of the car before I could find a single word to throw back at him.

I sat there for a second, still very stunned, my face burning, some furious retort building in my throat that arrived a full three seconds too late to matter. "You jerk," I muttered, mostly to myself, glaring at the empty driver's seat.
Despite everything, I felt a smile tugging at my lips anyway. I pressed my lips together, trying to smother it before it could fully form.

"You coming?" His voice came from outside, already several steps ahead.
I blinked, shaking myself out of it, and climbed out after him.

\------

We walked into the main hallway together, Ryan a few steps ahead of me as the usual morning noise swallowed us up. Students crowded around lockers, their voices overlapping beneath the sound of shoes against the polished floor.

I was still half-smiling despite myself when I saw her.
A girl I didn't recognize….pretty, confident, hot, cute…you name it, grinning like she already knew exactly what she wanted, stepped directly into Ryan's path.
He didn't hesitate, his hand found her waist, pulling her in and she went easily, her fingers curling into the front of his shirt as he kissed her right there in the middle of the hallway like there was nobody else around to see it.

I stopped walking. I didn't mean to, my feet simply refused to take another step.
For a second, I just stood there, the strap of my bag pressed into my shoulder, suddenly feeling heavier. Around me, people continued moving, talking and laughing but my attention had narrowed to the two of them.
I tried to move but couldn't, it was like my legs had a mind of its own. Why was I reacting this way, I'd watched him do this a hundred times before. This wasn't new, it wasn't even surprising.

Then his eyes opened…I watched them find me over his shoulder but he didn't stop, he didn't pull back or even slow down. His hand tightened around her waist, and he kept kissing her, his eyes never leaving mine.
My stomach turned but it wasn’t the kiss or the girl…It was the look in his eyes. He knew I was watching but he didn't care and he wanted me to know that.

I looked away, a memory flashing my mind.
I was eight, sitting on the ground in some backyard I couldn't really place anymore with scraped knees and tears running down my face. Ryan had crouched in front of me, wiping the dirt from my palm while promising that I was never going to get hurt again while he was around.

I'd built so much around those little moments without ever admitting it. The way he always showed up when I needed him. I thought of every version of him I'd made up in my head over the years…patient, protective and mine, even when he insisted I was only his sister. Maybe I'd been stupid.

The memory disappeared as quickly as it came and what was left in its place was just this…him kissing someone else, watching me watch him.
The girl finally pulled back with a soft laugh. Her cheeks were flushed as she said something to Ryan that I couldn't hear before turning toward me.
She brushed past me on her way down the hall, her shoulder knocking into mine.
I caught myself before I stumbled.

She didn't try apologizing, didn't even look back.
I clenched my teeth, my hands curling into fists at my sides. No more…I was done.
I wasn't going to stand around waiting for Ryan Wilfred to notice me anymore….