LOGINRyker’s POV
No.
No, no, no.
That didn’t make any sense.
I walked through the hallway like my body was moving on its own, my mind stuck somewhere else entirely.
Leonardo Rizz is engaged.
The words echoed over and over again, louder each time, like they were trying to force themselves into something real.
But they weren’t.
They couldn’t be.
Ryker’s POVThe closer I got to Ronaldo, the further away he stepped.Like even breathing the same air as me suddenly disgusted him.My chest tightened painfully.“Ronaldo…”He laughed once.The kind that sounded broken around the edges.“I should’ve known,” he muttered, shaking his head slowly.“It’s not what you think,” I replied quickly.“I don’t fucking want to hear it.His voice cracked through the patio sharply enough to make me flinch.Behind me, the helicopter blades had finally gone still, but somehow the silence felt louder now.Ronaldo pointed toward Leo without even looking at him directly.“Just go be with him.”“Ronaldo, please…”
Leo’s POVThe second Ryker told me he was stranded in Denver, I knew I wasn’t going to let him stay there.At first, I thought of simply sending him money,but then another thought crossed my mind, and suddenly sending money felt painfully boring.I wanted to see him.Needed to see him.The urge came so suddenly and violently that it nearly made me laugh at myself.I was seated across from Alaric at the café when Ryker called me. Alaric was halfway through another croissant while staring at me like he still couldn’t believe Leonardo Rizz was willingly sitting with him.Then my phone rang.And everything else stopped mattering immediately.I answered almost before the first ring ended.The panic in his voice made something sharp twist in my chest.He explained everything quickly. Lost ticket. Finals to
Ronaldo’s POVI hated how quiet grief was.People talked about crying and screaming and collapsing to the floor like that was the worst part, but it wasn’t. The worst part was the silence after. The part where everybody had gone to bed and the house stopped moving and suddenly you remembered that someone who used to exist… didn’t anymore.My mom was dead.Even thinking it felt wrong.The reality scraped against my ribs every single time it crossed my mind.I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the untouched glass of water Marilyn had left for me earlier. My room was dim except for the bedside lamp glowing amber against the walls. Outside, Denver looked cold and still.Everything felt different now.The house sounded different.The air felt different.Even breathing felt wrong s
Ryker’s POVFor a moment, I just stood there.The airport moved around me like I wasn’t part of it anymore. People rushed past with luggage, voices overlapped, announcements echoed overhead, and somehow, none of it touched me. I felt… stuck. Like everything had kept going, except me.Then I turned.The glass doors slid open with a soft hiss as I stepped outside, my eyes scanning immediately for the car.Ronaldo’s car.It wasn’t there.My chest dropped.No.No, no, no.I stepped forward, looking left, then right, like it might magically appear if I tried hard enough.Nothing.Of course it was gone.Why wouldn’t it be? He probably assumed we’d boarded already. We had said our goodbye. Chris and Oliver had gone in. Everything looked normal from
Ryker’s POVThe air in Ronaldo’s house changed after the garden, every time I tried to catch his eyes, he looked somewhere else. His hands. His shoes. The chandelier above us. Anywhere but me.He wanted nothing to do with me,that much I could figure out.Now we were in the guest room, the three of us sprawled across the beds they’d prepared, the soft sheets and expensive pillows making everything feel unreal. Like we were actors playing parts in someone else’s life.Chris was mid-story about some professor who accidentally emailed the entire class his grocery list instead of their assignment when the door creaked open.Ronaldo stepped in, Marilyn peeking from behind him.“Hey,” Chris said, instantly sitting up. “Look who decided to grace us with his presence.”Ron
Leo’s POV I don’t think I’ve ever felt more out of place in a room that used to feel like home.Ryan is halfway through a story about some girl he met at a gala, waving his hands around like he’s conducting an orchestra of nonsense. Warren is laughing too loud, adding his own commentary about how “easy” it is to get what you want if you know the right people. Their voices overlap, bounce off the walls, fill the space like thick smoke.And I just… sat there, watching and listening, but I couldn't hear a single thing the where saying.It’s strange. A few months ago, I would’ve been right in the middle of this, laughing, contributing, maybe even topping their stories with something worse. But now… it all sounds hollow. Like empty cans rattling down a staircase.“She started getting too attached,” Ryan says, shrugging. “So I cut her off. You know how it is.”“Had to,” Warren adds. “You can’t let them think they matter more than they should.”They both laugh.I don’t.My fingers tighten s
Ruler’s POVThe first thing that hit me was pain. A deep, splitting migraine that makes my skull throb like someone wedged a heartbeat inside it. I groan and force my eyes open—the light nearly blinding me as I struggle to adjust to it with the constant banging in my head.My eyes land on the beds
(Leonardo’s POV)Ryker had taken three drinks and now he moved like the music had slipped inside him and rewired his entire body. He swayed, loose-limbed and unguarded, eyes half-lidded, mouth soft, hips following the bass instead of his own thoughts.Cute.Dangerously cute.I sat on the low couch
I didn’t go down for dinner.I couldn’t. Just in case my father or mother would be there, seated at the long polished table as if nothing at all had shifted, as if the air in this house were not thick with something literally unspeakable!Blood. There was blood in the cr
I kept my gait steady, unhurried, until I shut the heavy doors behind me.The moment I heard the lock click into place, I heaved. I grabbed into my stomach and my mouth as I took deep breaths through my nose. I was thankful there was really nothing in it to throw up.My stomach unde







