Chapter 4

Bryan stretched as he rose from the library chair. He had stayed back to read, and the clock on the wall now read 8:00 PM. His friend, Valerie, had gone home an hour ago.

He slung his backpack over his shoulder, smiling as his mind replayed Derek's voice. "How cute". Two words. That was all it took to ruin him. He walked out of the library still smiling, still too lost in his thoughts to pay much attention to where he was going.

The campus was mostly empty at this hour. Street lamps cast pools of orange light along the path to his apartment building. Bryan shoved his hands in his pockets and let his mind drift back to Derek's warm brown eyes.

He didn't see the three figures step out from behind the oak tree.

They cut him off, blocking his path. Bryan stopped walking, the smile instantly vanishing from his face. He tried to step around them, pretending they weren't there for him, but one of them grabbed his backpack and yanked him back.

"I see the nerd got rid of his glasses," one of them laughed.

Bryan swallowed. He knew that voice. It belonged to Marcus, one of Ryder's hanger-ons.

"You talked big this morning about buying new sneakers for Ryder," Marcus said, pulling out his phone. He shoved the screen into Bryan's face. It was a photo of the exact shoes Ryder had been wearing that morning. The ones Bryan had ruined with his iced coffee.

Bryan's eyes nearly popped out of his skull when he saw the price.

"Thirty thousand dollars," Marcus said, pulling the phone back. "We need the exact amount."

"I… I don't have that kind of money," Bryan stammered.

Marcus exchanged a look with his two friends. "Then we take what you do have. Search him."

Bryan took a step back. Before he could run, one of the guys grabbed his arm. Bryan struggled, but a fist slammed into his cheek, sending pain exploding behind his eyes. His knees slammed against the pavement, and his backpack was ripped violently from his shoulders.

They were about to search him when something whistled through the air.

A stone. It hit one of the guys square in the back of the head.

He yelped and spun around. “What the fuck?!”

A figure stood at the edge of the streetlight, dressed completely in black, their face hidden beneath a hoodie and mask, both hands shoved casually into their pockets.

“Who the fuck are you?” Marcus demanded as he stepped forward aggressively.

The stranger didn’t answer.

Instead, he tilted his head slightly, almost like he was inviting Marcus to make the first move.

Marcus took the bait.

He swung hard, but the stranger caught his arm effortlessly, twisted sharply, and a sick crack split through the night. Marcus screamed and staggered backward, clutching his elbow. The other two rushed in. The stranger took them apart like he was dismantling a cheap toy...a punch here, a kick there, fluid and efficient. Within seconds, all three were on the ground, groaning.

The stranger dusted off his hands and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Bryan called out, scrambling to his feet. "Please wait!”

The stranger didn't stop. He disappeared into the darkness between the street lamps.

Bryan stood there, heart hammering. He looked down at the ground where the stranger had been standing, catching sight of something glinting in the light. He bent and picked it up.

An ID card.

He turned it over.

Derek Whitmore.

Bryan's breath caught. His eyes snapped to the photo, then toward the darkness where the stranger had vanished, then back to the ID again. A smile tugged at Bryan's lips despite the throbbing in his cheek.

"Derek," he whispered. "He saved me. Twice in one day."

He wiped the ID clean on his shirt, then tucked it safely into his pocket. He gathered his things and hurried home.

….

Later that night, Bryan lay in bed, freshly showered, the bruise on his cheek already darkening. He held Derek's ID above his face, studying every detail. The sharp jaw, the confident smile, those warm brown eyes.

"What if… what if … he's not into men?" Bryan whispered to the ceiling. "What if I tell him how I feel and he laughs? Or worse...what if he's disgusted?"

He had no answers.

He pressed the ID to his chest, closed his eyes, lost in his disturbing thoughts.

*****

City Hospital ~

Serene opened her eyes to soft morning light filtering through the blinds.

The first thing she saw was Ryder.

He was slumped awkwardly in the plastic chair beside her bed, head tilted back, mouth slightly open. Dark circles bruised the skin under his eyes and his ash-blonde hair was a mess. His beautiful lips...the ones she used to tease him about, saying he looked too pretty to be real...were dry and split in two places.

He had fallen asleep probably waiting for her to wake up.

Serene smiled gently as she reached out with a thin, trembling hand and brushed the hair from his forehead.

Ryder jerked awake instantly, his eyes finding hers, and the tension in his shoulders melted.

"You're awake," he said, voice rough with sleep. He scooted his chair even closer and took her hand.

Serene nodded. “You came.”

Ryder frowned slightly, like the idea of being anywhere else was ridiculous.

“Where else would I be?”

“Uni,” she murmured as she studied his face carefully. “The nurse said you might not come. She said you told her you had school work.”

Ryder looked away just for a second. "I was busy then."

"Busy fighting?" Serene tried to sit up. She winced as pain stabbed her side. Ryder was on his feet instantly, hands hovering around her.

"Easy. Let me help you." He adjusted her pillows and gently eased her upright. She was so light now he could feel every bone in her shoulders.

Once she was settled, Serene reached up and touched his face. Her fingers traced the fresh split in his lip, then the bruise on his jaw.

"You got into a fight," she said. It wasn't a question.

Ryder forced a laugh. "I fell off my bike. You know how clumsy I am."

"Liar."

"I'm..."

"You're a terrible liar, Ryder. Always have been." She pulled her hand back slowly and turned her gaze toward the window instead. Outside, the sky was pale blue, almost white in the early morning light. “You’re hurting yourself for me, aren’t you?” she whispered. “That’s why you keep coming here with new bruises every week.”

Ryder's throat tightened. He opened his mouth to deny it, but the words wouldn't come. Not to her. He could lie to everyone else—to his father, to the whole world. But he had never been able to lie to her.

"Serene…"

"It's my fault," she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek. "If I wasn't sick, you wouldn't have to..."

"Heyyy!." Ryder's voice cracked. He sat on the edge of her bed and took both her hands in his. They were cold and Frail. He held them like they were made of glass. "Listen to me. None of this is your fault. Do you hear me?"

"Then why do you keep getting hurt?" Her voice broke.

"Serene. I… it’s just… "

Serene's tears fell faster. She pulled one hand free and pressed it over her mouth to muffle a sob.

Ryder pulled her into his arms gently and carefully like holding a bird with a broken wing. She buried her face in his chest and cried. He rested his chin on top of her head and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she gasped between sobs. "I'm sorry I'm such a burden."

"You are not a burden." His voice was fierce, even as his own eyes burned. "You are the only reason I'm still standing. Do you understand me? The ONLY reason."

She looked up at him, her face wet and swollen. "Promise me you'll stop fighting."

Ryder couldn't promise that. They both knew it. That was what is keeping her alive. His part-time job to pay for rent and food, but the medical bills were a monster he couldn't outrun.

He kissed the top of her head instead. "I promise I'll never let anything happen to you.”

It wasn't what she asked for. But it was the truth.

Nurse Mira chose that moment to walk in. She stopped in the doorway, taking in the scene; Ryder holding his sister, the morning light making everything look soft and sad.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said softly. "But you've been here since yesterday, Ryder.  Don’t you have class?"

Ryder inhaled softly and laid Serene back gently against her pillows. He tucked the blanket around her thin shoulders.

"I'll be back," he said.

"You always say that," Serene whispered.

"And I always come back. Don't I?"

She nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Don't get into any more fights."

Ryder gave a small smile. He didn't say yes. He didn't say no. He just kissed her forehead and stood up.

Nurse Mira followed him into the hallway.

Ryder pulled out his phone and transferred money to her account. "That should cover the next few days. Get her anything she needs. Please."

Mira glanced at the amount and sighed. "Ryder"

He put his phone away. "Just… keep her alive. That's all I ask."

He walked down the corridor without waiting for a reply. His back still throbbed from his father's lashes. His split lip still stung, and his knuckles were raw. But he didn't slow down.

Serene was alive. That was enough.