Bad seed don't grow alone.

RYDER’S POV. 

My phone buzzed, and I answered it quickly. I knew it was going to be my cousin—I had been waiting for this call all day.

Her mother called me earlier to report her missing. She said she fled with some boy, whom she clearly disapproved of because he had no interest in education. 

This wasn't the first time she ran away from home. But this was the first time she ran away from home because of a boy — wasn't surprising though. Her father was a bit stricter than my father. 

If he was my father, I wouldn't have dared come out. He would have disowned me in a public meeting — that's if I'm lucky.  Unlike my father, who simply didn't acknowledge my existence. 

Mei Ling was the only family that I could talk to. She was still little when I figured I was gay, and she was the first to know of it.

We were also the bad egg of the family. Everyone knew about it, so the other family members stayed away from us. And since we grew on each other, anytime her mother had issues with her, she called me to knock some sense into her. 

“Ryder?” she called. 

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked, trying to sound calm even though I already knew.

“I… I ran away,” she said. 

I sat down, gripping the phone tighter. “You did what?”

“I know she called you,” she scoffed. 

“I can't hide anything from you, can I?” I laughed. 

“Nope.”

I sighed. “So… who's this boy?”

“The boy I love,” she replied coldly. 

You wouldn't have run away from home if you hated him. 

I sat down on a nearby bench. “Who is he, Mei Ling?”

“He's some boy from school. The one I told you about.”

I nodded. “And I'm pretty sure your mother asked you to forget about him and focus on your studies. I thought you were over him. It's been two years.”

“Are you siding with my mother?” She asked, angrily. 

“You know I'll never do that.”

“I don't understand what her issue is. It’s not like I dropped out of school or anything. My grades are fine. I’m still at the best high school in China.”

I couldn’t help laughing a little. “You’re sixteen. Sixteen, okay? You can’t just run off with a boy. You need to finish school first, or you’ll regret it. Trust me, finishing high school comes first.”

She laughed too. “I want to experience love. Just a little.”

“You think running away is love?” I asked, shaking my head. “You’re thinking about a kiss and maybe holding hands, not the bills, the stress, the reality.”

“But Ryder,” she said, “I really like him. He’s great. He’s Chinese. If I wanted to rebel, I could have dated a foreigner, or—” She paused. “Or I could be… you know… gay.”

I laughed out loud. “That’s… actually a fair point. But still. Go home. Your mother is worried. She just wants the best for you.”

“I don’t want her best,” she said firmly. “Her best isn’t my best. I want freedom. I want to be like you.”

I frowned. “You want to be like me? Free? You don’t even know what that means. You need money, plans, the ability to survive on your own. Making sure your parents are the one that will regret it.”

She hesitated. “What if… what if I’m pregnant for him?”

I froze. “Are you?”

“I thought about it,” she admitted.

“You’re sixteen,” I said, my voice sharper now. “Go back home. Now. I’ll talk to your mother. That’s it. You’re not running off… at least not now.”

“Will you?” she asked nervously.

“Yes. I will. But you have to promise me you’ll stay put.”

“I will… but you need to be fast,” she said. “His parents… they threatened to drag me back home. I want mom to be the one to beg me.”

“Okay,” I said, standing up. “We’ll fix this. Just… calm down, alright?”

“No, she should be the one to calm down,” she said. “It's bad enough I didn't drop out to pursue my idol dream. What more does she want? My life?” 

I laughed. “I got to go. Talk to you later.”

“Bye,” she said and the call ended. 

I shoved my phone in my pocket and started walking. Just as I turned a sharp corner, someone bumped into me. 

“Oh, sorry!” he said quickly.

I looked up to see a guy smiling awkwardly. I was about to walk off when he stopped me.

“Wait… are you Ryder?” he asked.

I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. Who’s asking?”

“I’m Peter,” he said, holding out a hand. “I was Aiden’s roommate. Used to be.”

I stared at him. So this is Aiden's crush. Honestly… Aiden was way hotter than this guy. He could have done better. 

I just smiled politely. “Nice to meet you. Aiden has said nothing about you.”

He laughed. “Aiden doesn't talk much.”

Agree to disagree. 

“Well, see you around,” I said and turned to walk away. 

Peter smiled back. “Hey, um… Aiden and I—we’re hanging out tonight. He wanted to invite you. Thought you might come.”

I laughed, surprised. “You want me to come? With… you guys?”

“Yeah,” Peter said, shrugging. “We’ll just chill, watch some movies, and have fun.”

My lips curled into a mischievous smile. Showing up will only make Aiden explode. And I wouldn't want to miss that opportunity. 

“Alright, I’ll be there. Sounds… interesting.”

“Great! Cool. I’ll text you the details,” Peter said and walked away.