Chapter 49 49

Chapter 49 49
  ~RYDER~
    We sat down like we hadn’t just lit a social grenade in the center of the restaurant.
    Tessa was still breathing fast...
    Her fingers clutched the edge of the cloth napkin like she was trying not to tremble. 
    I reached across the table and gently took her hand in mine.
    “You okay?” I asked, voice low.
    She nodded, but her eyes were still fixed on the path Clara had been dragged through just minutes ago. “Yeah. Just… surprised I didn’t throw the whole table at her.”
    A grin tugged at the corner of my mouth. “You did good.”
    “I slapped someone in public.”
    “And she earned every millimeter of that slap.”
    Tessa looked at me then... really looked... and I saw it hit her. 
    The shift. 
    That she didn’t have to shrink anymore. That she wasn’t the girl who used to survive bullies in silence.
    She was the woman who threw wine in their face and held her own.
    A waitress walked to our table...
    “Can I, um… bring you a new glass of wine?”
    Tessa smirked. “Yes. One I don’t plan on weaponizing this time.”
    That got a laugh.
    We ordered food... seared salmon for her, steak for me... and while we waited, I watched the way she relaxed inch by inch. 
    Like a string loosening. 
    Her eyes were brighter. Her posture straighter. She looked like someone who knew her worth and finally had the room to show it.
    “You’re dangerous, you know that?” I said quietly.
    She lifted her brows. “Me?”
    “Yeah. That fire in you. If I’d seen it coming, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
    She gave me a sly look over her wine glass. “Oh, please."
    We both laughed...
    Dinner was slow, easy. 
    The restaurant had gone back to normal, though the occasional sideways glance and whispered chuckle passed around the room like gossip on legs.
    But we didn’t care. 
    We were in our own bubble now... trading bites, brushing fingers, laughing at... nothing.
    I was so much in love... ready to do anything for her.
    For a little while… everything felt normal.
    Just a guy and his girl.
    No gang wars.
    No exes.
    No Marcus looming in the dark.
    Just this.
    Her.
    Us.
    I reached across and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, letting my thumb brush her cheek.
    “You’re perfect, you know that?”
    She rolled her eyes. “Really?”
    “I mean it, sweetie.”
    ~
    The car ride home was quiet.
    Not awkward quiet... just comfortable. Ryder had one hand on my thigh, his thumb drawing lazy circles.
    City lights slid by in gold and silver streaks outside the window, and I leaned my head against his shoulder, wondering how it was possible to feel this safe after a night that wild.
    I wasn’t thinking about Clara...
    Or Marcus.
    Or anything except the warmth of Ryder beside me and the faint scent of his cologne that still clung to his collar.
    When we got back to the mansion, he didn’t say a word... just led me upstairs, fingers intertwined with mine.
    I changed into one of his old shirts... because at this point, it was officially my favorite thing to sleep in.. and we curled up on the bed, the quiet hum of the night wrapping around us.
    His arm was around me... hand resting low on my stomach. 
    His breath, slow and even, brushed the back of my neck.
    I felt loved and... safe.
    And then my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
    I frowned and reached for it.
    Ryder stirred. “Everything okay?”
    My eyes scanned the message.
    CLARA:
    You bitch. You’ll pay for embarrassing me like that. You have no idea who you’re messing with.
    I blinked once. Then showed the screen to Ryder.
    He sat up slowly, took the phone from my hands, and stared at it like it was the stupidest thing he’d seen all week.
    Then, without a word, he started typing.
    I tried to lean over to see what he was writing, but he blocked me with one arm and a devilish smirk.
    “Ryder—”
    He pressed send.
    Then handed the phone back.
    YOU (courtesy of Ryder):
    In your dreams, you psycho. Send another text and I’ll have your number listed under "Unstable Clowns."
    I blinked. Then burst out laughing.
    “You didn’t—”
    “Oh, I absolutely did.”
    I snorted, shoving him gently. “You’re such a menace.”
    “You’re welcome,” he said, pulling me back into his arms. “No one gets to threaten you. Especially not Botox Barbie.”
    I laughed again, settling into his chest, and for a long moment, neither of us spoke.
    Just his fingers tracing soft lines against my back.
    Just my smile, buried in the curve of his collarbone.
    Just us.
    Safe... for now.