Chapter 42 I Would Do Anything For You
Gracie
I am nervous as I walk into school, hand in hand with Ryland. I am a private person, and this is all new to me. Not only that, but I am also scared that somehow it will get back to my dad. I don’t know how that would happen. No one at this school has anything to do with my dad. I am sure most of them don’t even know who he is. It doesn’t stop me from getting paranoid.
“Hey, brown eyes, are you okay?” Ryland asks, looking at me.
I nod. “Yes, I am a little nervous.”
He reaches in and kisses me softly. “You don’t need to be nervous.”
People are staring. I am trying my best to ignore them. I can imagine what some of them are thinking, especially the other girls. They are all wondering why I am the one to get Ryland when a few of them have tried and failed. The rest will be thinking, what the hell, Gracie has never dated. It is true. A few guts have asked, but I have always told them no. I always thought it would be for the best to stay completely single. It stops people from asking questions, and I won’t need to lie to them. It is something I stuck with and planned on doing so until college, but then Ryland showed up, and everything changed.
I sigh. “Sorry, I can’t help it.”
Ryland lets go of my hand, and instead, he wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into his side, keeping me close to him. “I got you, baby girl.”
I soon find myself relaxing. We have the first two classes together, so at least he will be there, and no one will say anything to me.
“Hey, bitches, wait up.” We hear Lola call from behind us, making us stop in our tracks.
Ryland laughs and shakes his head. “Why does your best friend insist on calling me a bitch?”
I chuckle at his question. It is true, though. “It means she likes you.”
“You girls are strange. Do you know that?” he laughs.
I bat my lashes at him and flash my best smile. “Would you have me any other way?”
Ryland places his hand on my hips and pulls me into his chest. “No, I would not, beautiful.” He says and prods my nose.
“Good!” I grin and kiss him softly.
Lola and Ben soon catch up with us. Lola hugs Ryland and me. Ryland is a little taken aback by it, but he does hug her back. We head to our lockers together, putting everything away that we don’t need until later. We all have the same class. Our first glass is English, a subject I enjoy. It is one of my favourites. It is a good way to start the morning, well, for me, I am sure other students would disagree. The four of us head to the back of the classroom.
Ryland smirks at me from his seat and pats his lap. “You can come and sit here if you want.”
I laugh and roll my eyes, taking the seat next to him instead.
Ryland pouts at me in return. “Fine then, be like that.”
I lean over and kiss his pouty lips. “Don’t pout at me, Mr!” His lips soon turn up in a smile.
We part just in time for the teacher to come in. Ryland rests his hand, keeping it placed there the entire lesson. It is a nice comfort to me. We focus our attention on the front of the class before our teacher lectures us. I listen carefully, doing my work, and the lesson passes quickly.
We exit our English glass, heading to the next one. “Can I steal you away after school? Well, after you go home first. I know you will need to do that,” he sighs at the thought of it.
“Yes, of course you can,” I smile. “I only need to go home for an hour or two, get the house clean, make his dinner and then I can leave. “ I add, sighing too.
Ryland nods, but I know he isn’t happy with me needing to go home to take care of my dad. “Okay. I think you should come and stay with me again tonight.”
“I will see what I can do. Make sure you leave your window open for me.”
Ryland slips his arm around me and kisses the top of my head. “I will always leave my window open for you, Gracie.”
Knowing he always will makes me feel better because it gives me somewhere for me to go if I need to escape from the house, from my dad.
I kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me, brown eyes. I would do anything for you.” He smiles.
The words coming from his lips cause all familiar feelings of protection to soar through me. The way I always do around him. I rest my head on his shoulder and only people away when we arrive at our next class. Geography! Meh! I hate it! I am sure I can get through it. I don’t have much of a choice.