Mag-log inRyder’s POVThe clearing by the creek felt like stepping back in time, the same old trees with their gnarled bark and rustling leaves, the gentle murmur of water over smooth rocks amplified in the quiet evening. The sunlight dappled through the canopy in shifting patterns that danced across the grass, warm but cooling fast as shadows lengthened. I spread the blanket on a patch near the water’s edge, the fabric whispering against the blades, and started unpacking the groceries: sandwiches with their crinkling wrappers, chips that popped open with salty air, a couple of drinks beading with condensation. Simple. Normal. A far cry from the chaos we’d both been drowning in, yet charged with everything unsaid.Zach sat across from me, the bouquet of roses resting carefully beside him on the blanket, petals catching the fading light. He looked wary, the lines of exhaustion deeper in the softer glow, but not ready to run. The confusion in his eyes hadn’t faded, but neither had that small flic
Ryder’s POVThe jocks scattered like the cowards they were, muttering curses and shooting dark glances over their shoulders as they disappeared down another aisle, their footsteps fading into the store’s ambient buzz. The supermarket returned to its normal hum with carts squeaking, and a distant page over the intercom but a few curious shoppers lingered, pretending not to stare while clutching their baskets tighter. I turned to Zach, the protective fire still burning hot in my chest, refusing to cool. He looked rattled, hood pulled low, shoulders tense and drawn up like wires about to snap, basket clutched in white-knuckled fingers like a shield against the world. The sight of him like this, after everything we’d been through, twisted something deep and vicious inside me.“You okay?” I asked, voice softer now, rough around the edges. I reached down and started gathering the cans that had fallen during the confrontation, the metal cool and slightly dented against my palms, placing them
Ryder’s POVThe jocks moved like they owned the town, laughing and shoving each other with that same entitled swagger as they cut across toward the supermarket parking lot. I kept my distance, hands shoved deep in my pockets, jaw tight, the bouquet of roses still waiting in the car like an unanswered question I wasn’t ready to face yet. Following them felt right. Necessary. The air grew thicker with the scent of hot asphalt and distant rain as I trailed them, every step stirring dust from the cracked sidewalk.The supermarket was the same tired landmark I remembered, with its faded red signage peeling at the edges, fluorescent lights humming overhead like dying insects, the faint smell of stale bread, overripe produce, and industrial cleaner hitting me the second the automatic doors whooshed open. I grabbed a red plastic basket to blend in, its handle sticky from a thousand hands before mine, eyes scanning the narrow aisles lined with faded labels and half-stocked shelves. That’s when
Ryder’s POVThe drive to our hometown stretched long and familiar, every mile pulling memories from the corners of my mind like threads I’d tried to forget, faded but stubbornly knotted. The tires hummed against the cracked asphalt of the old state highway, the kind of monotonous rhythm that let ghosts slip back in uninvited. I knew the route by heart: the gentle curve past the abandoned orchard where we’d once snuck beers after a game, the weathered billboard advertising the county fair that hadn’t changed in fifteen years. I’d driven variations of it in my head for years after Zach transferred, from family trips to imagining what it would be like to run away, to find him and make things right, the radio static crackling with half-remembered songs from those tense bus rides home after away games.The highway gave way to smaller roads, golden fields of late-summer corn swaying under a heavy sky that threatened rain but never quite delivered. The quiet suburban sprawl felt both comfort
Ryder’s POVThe morning after Zach pushed me away the hospital felt like walking through fog thick enough to choke on. I’d barely slept, the argument with Zach replaying on loop in my head, his sharp words, the way he’d pushed me away harder than ever, the exhaustion and fear in his eyes that he tried so hard to hide. I sat on the edge of my bed in the apartment, elbows on my knees, staring at the floor. The guilt gnawed deep.I was angry with myself. Furious I’d let something happen to him. All the warnings about Damien, the protectiveness I’d tried to show, and still Zach had ended up broken enough to collapse in my arms.Why had he still chosen Damien? After everything I’d told him, after the kiss, the confession, I couldn’t fully understand it.The jealousy I’d felt when he mentioned Damien had been real, but now it mixed with self-loathing. I’d chased him straight into that bastard’s arms. My hesitation. My inability to be fully transparent. It had cost him. And the thought made
Zach’s POVThe supermarket in my hometown hadn’t changed much in the years since I’d left. The fluorescent lights still buzzed overhead like tired insects. The aisles smelled of stale bread, cleaning solution, and the faint sweetness of overripe fruit.I’d only gone in for a few basic groceries, milk, bread, just something to stretch the days at home before I had to face campus again.My mother had offered to go, but I needed the air. And a change in my routine now that my life was no longer so sad and filled with gloom.The basket felt heavy on my arm as I moved down the canned goods aisle, and searched through for the things on my list. The news that Damien had been removed and the accusations dispelled still felt surreal, like something that had happened to someone else.And the fact that it was Ryder who had done that. Stood up for me. There was so much gratitude mixed with questions that only he could answer, but I wasn’t ready to face him. Not yet. Not until I could process the
Zach's POVAfter that night, the quiet peaceful life I had envisioned for myself in college had crumbled to dust. Whispers of that night flooded every nook, cranny and hook.Headsplash, enemies with history.Gigi had given me an earful for my actions. Yeah, maybe I should've left immediately I bump
Zach's POVI was just about to let something cruel slip out from my mouth, something sharp and loud enough to wipe that damn smirk off Ryder’s face, but Ellis grabbed my arm and pulled me aside.“Not worth it,” he muttered under his breath, steering me through the crowd like I was a balloon about t
Zach's POV "Avoid him. Go to class, keep your head down. You are here for school, not high school drama," Gigi had said as she shoved me towards the Business and Leadership Building.“He might not even be in the same class as you are!” She added cheerfully, and that felt like a rush of sweet adren
Zach's pov College. Higher institution. A fresh slate. A new town, and a better place. The halls were white, the scholarship letter in my hands seemed like a breath of much needed air, and the boys....cute.Maybe the universe was finally throwing me a bone, considering that my highschool years wer







