Follow You Follow Me

Chapter IX : Under the Bridge

Her eyes were fixed in one spot and I could see her looking at Cason even though his back was turned away from her.

She was the first girl to ever truly make my stepbrother happy and Carrie had caused everything between them to blow up. Then, she went and told the whole school and now everyone knew why Haven pushed pretty much anyone of the male gender away.

It only reinforced why I hated Carrie.

Carrie's plan to ruin Haven backfired though.

If anything, people felt more sympathetic to her and her dad. Despite it being over five years since half their family died, everyone still wished the two of them condolences. They also did the thing that normally gets done right after someone passes away where they make dinners and other food for the family.

I had always admired Haven.

She was this badass girl with no issue at all speaking her mind and telling people what she thought of them. She always dressed to match her personality and I just wish that I had tried to become her friend so much sooner.

I headed over to her and said, "Wow, we're free."

She nodded softly but didn't reply.

"Where are you going now?" I asked.

"I'm going home," She said, and I didn't need to ask her to explain any further. Her going home meant she was going back to Newcastle upon Tyne in England.

"That's really great," I smiled, trying to hide my sadness.

"I got accepted to my dream school and never would I think of turning it down."

"What's your dream school?" I asked.

"I'd love to stay and chat, Ryan, but I have so much to do. I have so much to pack and send over to England. I'm really sorry," She said before heading away.

I felt like crying but held it in. I heard someone behind me and turned to see her best friend, Mason.

"You have to understand that she's still hurting," He said.

"I know," I replied.

I was shaken out of my memory as the elevator bell dinged.

I stepped out and headed down the hall towards apartment 2514. When I got there, I knocked loudly a few times and was shocked to see a boy open the door.

He was tall, had the right amount of muscle, blonde-brown hair and hazel-green eyes, along with a sort of baby-face. He was dressed in a pair of worn jeans and a light gray pullover jacket with socks on his feet.

All in all, he was hot though.

He leaned on the door and asked, "Can I help you?"

"Is Haven home?" I asked with a smile.

"She's not but I can give her a message. What's your name?"

"I would rather wait for her if that's okay."

"I don't know when she'll be back," He said.

"I would still rather wait for her if that's okay."

He shrugged before opening the door to let me in and saying, "Come on in, I guess."

I took a seat at the counter as the guy insisted on calling her and having her come home. After he hung up, he said, "Oh. I'm Dylan, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you, Dylan. I'm Ryan."

"Ryan is a really cool name, especially for a girl. It sounds all badass."

I laughed and said, "Thanks. I'm probably not badass at all though."

"I'm sure you have your moments. We all do sometimes."

"Probably," I said with another chuckle.

"How do you know Haven, Ryan?"

"We actually went to high school together."

"Oh. Let me guess: you are Ryan Eastwood."

"Is it the model thing?"

"I don't pay enough attention to the celebrity world to know that."

"Then how do you know who I am?"

"Having known Haven for seven years, I've gotten good at spotting when she's not being truthful. In translation, I got her to tell me about everything that happened in high school."

"So, she mentioned me?"

"Yeah, along with your brothers and several other people."

"That's kind of shocking. I would have though she would have buried everything."

He leaned against the other side of the counter and said, "Between you and me: she didn't bury it with me because she knew that I would find out one way or another and sooner or later."

I laughed and for the next ten minutes, we talked. I quickly learned that he was sort of a goofball and a nerd behind his extremely hot exterior.

When we heard the door unlock, however, he darted away to his room.

When Haven stepped into the kitchen and saw me, I noticed her face morph into one of shock which I expected. I stood up and said, "Hey, Haven."