CHAPTER 3
ANNA’S POV
It had been exactly four days since I started living alone with Ryan and I hadn’t seen him, not even once. It was honestly starting to feel like he disappeared or something. Like he just vanished from the surface of the earth. After that day Mom brought me to his place, and stayed over till the next morning just to help me settle into the apartment and complete my school registration, he never come back. I mean, literally, from the moment she left till now, nothing. No door sounds, no footsteps, no sight of Ryan.
Every morning when I woke up, he wasn’t there. Every night before I went to sleep, still nothing. I even started wondering if he was sleeping at the office or something. I checked the fridge, it remained untouched. His room door? Always closed and probably empty because it looked exactly the same anytime I peeked in. I didn’t want to believe he was purposely avoiding me, but… what else could it be?
I knew Ryan. I’ve known him since I was a little girl. He likes his space. He likes his privacy. Even back then when we were all under the same roof, he’d always keep a distance from me. Not in a bad way, he still protected me, helped me with stuff, stopped bullies in school without even letting me know it was him, but he never got too close. It was always like he was treating me like I was some fragile glass he couldn’t afford to touch too much. Or maybe it was more like electricity. Like I could zap him if he got too close. I always noticed it. I just never had the guts to talk about it.
But now… now I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And it was eating me up inside because I really wanted to see him. I wanted to talk to him. I wanted to hug him. I wonted to apologize for kissing him that day five years ago. God, that kiss. That stupid, desperate, embarrassing kiss. I wanted to fix everything. Make things okay between us again. I wanted us to go back to the way we used to be, at least the version of us where we still shared conversations. Even if he kept his distance from me, he still laughed sometimes, still asked how I was treated me like I was important.
doing, still
During the five years he was away, he never once picked up my calls. Not once. I always waited for the times Mom would be on the phone with him just so I could catch a few seconds of his voice in the background. And anytime she tried to pass the phone to me, he would just end the call. Like he couldn’t even stand the idea of hearing my voice. What hurt the most was that he never even gave me a reason. He just… shut me out.
So yeah, when Mom told me the dorms were full and I had to stay with Ryon, I was secretly excited. I didn’t even care that he might be uncomfortable. I just wanted to be near him again. I thought maybe if we were in the same space, we could fix things. Even if he didn’t forgive me, maybe he could at least talk to me. Look at me. Anything. And yeah, I wanted to attend Nivelle University because of him. I wanted to be close to him. That was the truth. I fought so hard to get into this school because I just wanted to be near him again.
The moment we arrived of his apartment, and he opened the door….
God…
He was in nothing but a towel. I swear I forgot how to breathe. Ryan was no longer the eighteen–year–old boy I remembered. He was taller, broader, more muscular… he looked like a damn man. A full grown, deep–voiced, strong–jawed man. And when he looked at me…
Jesus…
My whole body went stiff. My thighs clenched on instinct. His eyes, his voice, his whole aura just made my chest tight.
+25 BONUS
And then when he gave me that glass of water and our hands touched… I almost dropped the cup. It was like everything inside me melted. I’m not exaggerating. I literally had to hold my breath. I kept telling myself to calm down but my body wouldn’t listen.
And then when he said, “Congratulations,” after Mom told him about my admission, I wanted to cry. Not because of the words but because of the voice. That damn voice. I wanted to bottle it up and just listen to it every night before bed. It had gotten deeper. Rougher. Like velvet mixed with gravel.
But all that high I was feeling just come crashing down the moment Mom said, “And she’ll be staying with you.”
The way Ryan’s face changed. The way his eyes widened. The way he snapped. It was like I saw a demon crawl into him. He was so angry. So shocked. He started arguing with Mom immediately, talking about dorm options, suggesting she get me an apartment closer to compus, literally everything except letting me stoy with him. And I just sat there like an idiot, pretending like I wasn’t dying inside. Pretending like I couldn’t feel the humiliation.
But what hurt the most was when he turned to me and asked me if that was really what I wanted. I could tell he was hoping I’d say no. That I’d help him get out of it. But I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. Because I really wanted to stay. I wanted to be close to him.
So I said yes.
And now… four days later. Four long, lonely, awkward days later… I was in this damn house all alone and I hadn’t seen him. Not even once. He was avoiding me like the plague and it was killing me. I kept thinking maybe he’d show up late at night. So I started staying up. Watching the door. Sitting in the living room till post midnight. But nope. Nothing.
Right now, it was 12:27am. I had waited again, stupidly hoping he’d come home. But there was no sign of him, and I was tired. So I turned off the TV and dragged my legs to my room. My heart felt heavy. My eyes were burning from trying not to cry.
But then, maybe an hour or so later, I woke up feeling super thirsty. I reached for the jar I always kept beside my bed and realized it was empty. With a sleepy groan, I got out of bed, slipped into my nightdress, a thin, black one that stopped mid–thigh. I usually slept naked but wore this whenever I needed to walk around. I didn’t even bother grabbing a robe. There was no one here. Just me.
As I padded barefoot toward the kitchen, rubbing my eyes and yowning, I was thinking about how pathetic I must look right now. But the second I stepped into the kitchen, I heard a loud crash.
The sound of glass shattering on the floor.
And then… a deep, strangled voice.
“Fuck!”
My eyes snapped open and I froze.
It was Ryan.
Sitting on the kitchen stool.
His eyes locked on mine, wide and burning, like he wasn’t sure if I was real… or a dream he wasn’t ready for.
