I Appreciate You
I can't believe it. After everything I've done for him he still can't say it. At least not to me. When I heard him tell Calleigh how much he appreciated her it broke my heart. I walked away from the print lab as fast as I could, willing myself not to cry. I ended up in the locker room with Sarah. Sarah Brady is Eric's best friend and has been ever since he started working at the lab.
"Hey Ryan!" she says with her trademark smile. "Hey." I say my voice cracking. "Alright, what's wrong?" I don't know how that woman can tell when something's bothering me, but she's always right. "Nothing's bothering me. I'm fine." She raises her eyebrow and with the look that she's giving me I can tell that she's not buying it. "Ryan, I know you too well. So come on, sit down and talk to me." She sits down on the bench and pats the space next to her.
I sigh knowing I'll never win this arguement, and sit down next to her. Instead of looking at her I stare straight at the floor. She puts her fingers under my chin and forces me to look at her. "Come on sweetie. Tell me what's wrong." "It's me and Eric." Her hand drops back down to her side. She looks at me, worry clouding her eyes. "What do you mean? Is everything okay?" I draw in a shuddering breath, and my hands start shaking. Sarah gently takes my hands in hers and gives me a reassuring smile. "I saw Calleigh kiss Eric and then he told her how much he appreciates her, and how much she's helped him the past year and..." I can't keep going because tears are starting to roll down my face. In a small voice I say, "I think we might be over." I look over at Sarah and she has tears rolling down her face too. "Oh baby. Come here. " she whispers. She pulls on my arm and I lean against her clinging to her and her soothing voice as she rocks me back and forth. "We'll find a way to fix this. I promise." she whispers.
TBC