Chapter 10: Chapter Ten

Kyla's POV

On purpose, I looked behind me to see if there was another girl, maybe her name was Kyla and Ryder was referring to her. Funny right?

Two years or more past since we've spoken. It looked weird, right? How you can be extremely close to someone, and they wake up the next day with no intention of speaking to you. It started slowly, the messages decreased and soon enough, he'd walk past me without so much as a "hello." It was all so disheartening. It brought me down, but I eventually accepted the fact and moved on. My parents thought me my first lesson loss and Ryder just continued from where they left off.

I convinced myself that no one stayed forever. Nothing lasted forever. Riley just proved that once more. I had a little part to play, but she would be aware of this if she cared to listen. If she valued our friendship, to begin with, and if it was as strong as I thought.

Suddenly, Ryder seemed to have an interest in me. The bet began, and now this. Coincidence or not, it was damn weird.

"You're talking to me?" I managed to ask after seconds of silence. His hands were in his pockets, and we gazed at each other. This was the closest we've been in over two years.

"Yes, I'm talking to you." His voice hadn't changed one bit. Still smooth and soothing. My comfort for a while until he decided to leave without an explanation. It was hard not to lash out now that he was close.

"That's new,” I blurted out, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yes, I know you're probably mad at me."

"Probably is a really strong word. Try again,” I lashed out with a scowl. I did try, but my emotions took over.

"I know you're mad at me. Hell, you might even despise me."

"Bingo,” I beamed with a sly grin.

"I don't blame you. What I did was stupid, I acted like a jerk to you."

"Wow…” I said with a chuckle, giving him a few claps.

"Just give me a chance to explain Kyla "

"I find it hard to believe there's an explanation for what you did. If there was one, I've been racking my brain for years trying to figure it out. Wondering why you did what you did, doubting myself and now you want to explain. Then what, we fly off into the rainbow and act as nothing happened. Or maybe you're doing this because of the game. Something related."

His eyes twinkled letting me know I was spot on.

"Right. Of course, you're speaking up now that I'm a part of it. Of course."

"Kyla. That's not it okay. A little bit that's not it. I wanted to talk to you ever since. I just couldn't because..."

"Because..." I trailed off waiting for his excuse.

"Because I fell in love with you,” he confessed leaving me stunned.

"Huh?"

"Yes, Kyla. You saw me like a brother, and I fell for you. It was wrong and stupid. I knew the feelings would always be one-sided. I just couldn't bear the thought of opening up and learning you didn't feel the same way. I couldn't."

I tensed at the words unable to give a response. At a point, I thought about the same thing.

"So I did the cowardly thing. I kept my distance and stayed away. I believed that if I wasn't close to you, the feelings would die. I didn't want to get hurt, I forgot about your feelings. I became selfish and cared only about myself. I ruined our friendship because of it. After I started, I just couldn't stop until I'm sure the feeling would have gone."

I exhaled letting him do the talking. This was just too much to take in. Just too much.

"It's been two years, but I don't know if it worked or not. I heard about the bet at the party, and I just couldn't resist. I had to talk to you. I had to warn you. I know my words doesn't matter to you but for the sake of the friendship, we had Kyla Malik, stay as far away from Richard and Stein as you possibly can. I'm begging you, Kyla."

He clamped his hands together with pleading eyes. Blood had gathered on my lower lip, I bit too hard. My lips parted but no words came out, this was all overwhelming.