• “Yeah, Annie was on her way over to see Ryder late one evening and some drunk came out and hit her.”

    “She was a really sweet girl,” Carrie said with sad eyes. Meeka’s looked a little glassy. The realization of this made my heart pound and everything come into focus. That’s why he was so afraid of getting attached to me! It all makes sense now! I wanted to cry and I wanted to get up and go yell at Ryder but I was frozen to the stop. I looked at Carrie and Meeka.

    “I can’t believe that,” I said weakly.

    “It’s sad but that’s in the past dear. We are glad you’re with Ryder,” Carrie said with a pat to my hand. I nodded but felt sad and anger. Meeka nodded then laid a hand on my hand.

    “It wasn’t just Ryder who lost someone that day, it was me too. Annie was my best friend. Please, Trinity, please, don’t break his heart.” A tear slipped from her brown eye as she fought for control. For once in my life I felt I had to or else I’d loose myself. I nodded not trusting myself to speak. She smiled.

    The evening went by. We watched a movie with their family. Ryder seemed so happy but every time I looked at him, I could only think about Annie. What was she like? Was she pretty? Did he truly love her? Would he ever love me just as much? I wasn’t jealous, just upset. Why didn’t he tell me about her? The truth? Did he just not want to talk about it?

    We said goodbye to his family and barely made it off their property before the cameras had found out how we got in without going to the front door. We ran and got into the car and managed to get away and lose them. Ryder whistled and held my hand while driving. I wanted to say something. Something about Annie. I had all these questions. I needed to ask.

    “Why didn’t you tell me she was in a car accident?” I asked boldly, even surprising myself. The car jolted to a stop, my eyes wide I looked at him. He was also surprised.

    He looked at me and suddenly he knew how I found out. He looked down at his legs.

    “Because, I’m getting over it. I’ll always love her but…I don’t want to be stuck in guilt and depression anymore,” Ryder clarified. A horn honked behind us and we both jumped.

    “I guess I shouldn’t have stopped in the middle of the road,” Ryder muttered. He pushed on the gas and we started forward.

    It was silent for a minute or two. “She was on her way over to my house. I was…I was planning on proposing to her,” Ryder’s words quaked at the end. I stared at the dashboard. He was so in love with her. How could I ever compete with that? I didn’t want to say anything at all. It was to hard. So I kept quiet until we arrived back where I parked my car. The cameras weren’t there thank god. Maybe they had given up. Yeah…sure. I got out of the car quickly. Ryder didn’t want me. It was as simple as that. He would never get over Annie.

    “Hey! Trinity, wait!” Ryder jumped out of the car and I heard the door slam. I felt a lump rise in my throat.

    “What?” I said even though my voice wavered a little.

    Ryder stepped one foot onto the side walk and sighed, looking at me. He looked so handsome in his nice jeans and shirt. His hair slicked back. He had a dirt smudge on his forehead and I had a sudden urge to laugh. Must have been when he fell through the floor at the theater.

    “I just don’t know…” I mumbled and started to pace back and forth on the side walk beside my car. Ryder watched with soft eyes. I rubbed my forehead with a frown. “Maybe…maybe my dad was right…” I thought of what dad said about how I was better then him. Was I? I pressed my fingers together and tangled them. Then untangled them. I mean…look at the house he was living in? Wait Trinity…your getting ahead of yourself. He’s a person just like you. And you’re falling in love with him…right? Yes. I think I already was. But how can I be positively sure? I stopped pacing, touched my head and closed my eyes. My father was getting to me already. I need to get my feelings straight for him. I opened my eyes and felt them mist over. I looked at Ryder and his smile faded.

    “Trinity…don’t you dare,” he warned knowing what was going through my head.

    “Only for a while…please. I need to get things straight.”

    “If it’s because I didn’t tell you, please let me explain!” He pleaded as he stepped up onto the side walk. I shook my head. Why did he have to make this hard? I just wanted to think!

    “I’m still not over Annie. It even hurts to say her name but I’m getting over her,” Ryder said stepping up in front of me. I put my hands out not wanting him any closer. He was going to cloud my mind again.

    “Listen, I just want to get things straight. It’s not about Annie and it’s not completely about you.” I looked up at him and almost gave in to his every need. His eyes were sad and lost. I saw the little boy again. His thick jaw clenched and he nodded. His face took on a hard expression. Regret came on so quickly I almost doubled over and puked.

    “Fine. Come get me when you change your mind,” Ryder said roughly and turned on his heel and went to his car. He slammed the car door and took off. Tears seeped from my eyes. I heard the clicking of a camera and my hands fisted.

    “Trinity Adams! Can you tell us what that was all about? Is the romantic theme between you and Ryder over?” I turned and there stood reporters flashing lights as they took pictures. They stood, their eyes wide, their cameras ready for anything I would say. Like buzzards.

    “None of your d*mn f*cking business,” I said angrily and ran to my car. I needed to get away from them!