LOGINRyker's POV
Vanessa kept following me around since the party yesterday.
Honestly, she had been hovering so much that I was beginning to suspect she thought I was some kind of fragile glass ornament that would shatter if she looked away for more than five seconds.
She had even wanted to sleep in my dorm last night.
I practically begged her to go home.
Not because I didn't appreciate her.
Ryker's POVI was rereading my favorite book and lying half-lazily on the bed.At least, I was pretending to read.The words had stopped making sense a long time ago.A full bottle of flavored tequila sat on my nightstand, nearly empty, and my head felt light enough to float away. The pages blurred together whenever I tried to focus, but for some reason I kept turning them anyway.My roommates were out doing whatever people did on weekends.Good.I wanted to be alone.Or at least I thought I did.Images of Leo drifted through my mind like ghosts.I laughed.A strange, hollow laugh."He was definitely way too good for me," I said out loud.The room didn't answer."Thank God I didn't fall in love
Leo's POV“Never in my life had I ever seen this amount of reckless behavior.If I expected this from anyone else, certainly not you three!"My mom's voice echoed through the room while the doctor attended to us.I sat on the edge of a chair, trying and failing to wipe the smirk off my face.I had broken Warren's nose.The doctor had already stopped the bleeding and wrapped a bandage around it, but the image of Warren clutching his face in horror after I punched him was permanently burned into my memory.And honestly?It made me feel a little better.Not much.Nothing could make today better.But a little.Warren sat across from me looking absolutely miserable.His nose was swollen.His e
Ryker's POVVanessa kept following me around since the party yesterday.Honestly, she had been hovering so much that I was beginning to suspect she thought I was some kind of fragile glass ornament that would shatter if she looked away for more than five seconds.She had even wanted to sleep in my dorm last night.I practically begged her to go home.Not because I didn't appreciate her.I did.More than she would ever know.But I was fine.At least, I thought I was.Or maybe I just wanted to be left alone long enough to convince myself that I was.The dorm was unusually quiet for a Saturday morning.Most people were either sleeping in or already making plans for the weekend.The sunlight filtered through the windows and stretched across the floor.&
Leo's POVI woke up to what I assumed was Ryan and Warren screaming their throats off in excitement."Husband-to-be! Husband-to-be! Husband-to-be!"They kept chanting it at the top of their lungs like a pair of deranged cheerleaders.I groaned and rolled over, ignoring them.That only made them laugh harder."Husband-to-be is grumpy!" Ryan shouted."Husband-to-be needs his beauty sleep!" Warren added.I ignored them and dragged myself out of bed.My head felt like it had been split open.I had barely slept.The migraine pounding behind my eyes was vicious, but no pain was worse than the one waiting for me downstairs.Today was my wedding day.The realization settled in my chest like a stone.Ry
Leo's POVIf I thought I felt terrible before, this was a completely new discovery.My soul was broken.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the journal.Every time I tried to think of anything else, my mind dragged me back to those water-stained pages and the words written inside them.Words that weren't angry.Words that weren't accusing.Words that should have been.Instead, they were kind.Hopeful.
Leo’s POVThe poolside was alive in a way that felt almost violent.Music thumped through the air like a second heartbeat, bass vibrating through glass bottles and bare feet. Lights strung around the mansion flickered gold and blue, casting shifting halos over bodies packed shoulder to shoulder. Students spilled across every surface of the place, laughing too loudly, shouting names too carelessly, drowning the night in noise that didn’t belong to me.Some were already in the pool, splashing like the water owed them something. Others leaned over the edge with drinks in hand, cheering whenever someone jumped in fully clothed. A few couples kissed like the world was watching, and others just screamed for attention because they could.It was my birthday.It felt like somebody else’s punishment.I stood near the far corner of the terrace, half-shadowed, a brandy glass warm in my hand. The bottle beside me was nearly empty. I didn’t remember finishing most of it, only the steady dulling of
Ryker’s POVI woke to the smell of alcohol.For a second, I thought I had slept in the wrong room, until I looked properly and saw Oliver and Chris sprawled across Oliver’s bed like two casualties of war.
Ryker's POVI made my way back to my room with my whole chest aching for him.The campus path was nearly empty now, lit only by scattered lamps and the distant glow of dorm windows. My footsteps sounded louder than usual, almos
Leonardo's POVCatherine was fast asleep beside me, her breathing soft and even, one hand resting across the sheets where my body had been moments ago.I stared at the ceiling.Sleep would not come.
Ryker's POVStudents were still crowding the hallway near the school cafeteria, all of them buzzing like bees around sugar. Some sat on the floor with wrapped gifts in their laps.Some leaned against the walls pretending not to care wh







