Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Gossip Girl. However, Stryker does belong to me.
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Stryker dropped his hand from the button. He really wasn't expecting to see her. He thought she would be in school or away with Eleanor. The door began to close and Stryker reached out quickly to stop it. He didn't want to miss a moment of the awkward staring. She looked down at the floor, breaking the gaze. She cleared her throat; it was obvious that she wasn't sure what to say next. Maybe Stryker should say something first. Unfortunately, he could not think of anything comforting to say.
"Blair… I…" Stryker started. He wasn't sure what to say either. "I missed you."
She looked up at him again. This time, tears flooded her chocolate brown eyes. "Well, I didn't miss you." She wiped the tears from her cheeks and stormed off.
Stryker sighed. He ran his hand over the back of his neck. That didn't go as he had planned. He wondered if he should go after her. She would probably hate him even more if he did. The doors of the elevator began to close again. For a moment, Stryker thought it was best to just leave. But, he had nowhere to go. He certainly couldn't go back to California. He held an arm out to stop the doors from closing. When they reopened, Stryker stepped out into the foyer of his home. It looked the same as he had left it. Even the pink Hydrangeas on the center table by the stairs were the same.
Stryker stopped at the bottom of the staircase. He wanted to go up, but he couldn't make his legs move. They simply refused to move. He hated to see his sister in any kind of pain, emotional or physical. He hated that he was the cause of that pain. He should have just left when he had the chance. No, there was absolutely no turning back now. Stryker groaned and ascended the staircase. He was here to stay. Blair needed to accept that. He walked past Blair's room. Stryker leaned against her door. Inside, he could hear her muffled sobs. Hearing that made him feel worse. His heart tightened as he stepped away from the door. He continued down the hall until he got to his own bedroom. He opened the double doors.
Everything was as he had left it. He dropped his bags on the ground and closed the doors. He kicked off his shoes and fell face first onto the bed. Nothing was going his way. Stryker pulled himself up and looked around his former bedroom. His walls were a pale blue. The color was inspired by a pair of blue pumps his mother designed and named after him shortly after his tenth birthday. Stryker remembered that he and Blair were disappointed when Eleanor announced that for their birthday, she had named two pairs of shoes in her line after each of them. What a stupid gift for a ten year old boy. Eleanor was clueless when it came to her children. Well, she and Blair got along fine. Eleanor had trouble relating to her son.
Stryker rolled off his bed and approached the window. The dark brown drapes were covering the floor to ceiling windows. Stryker pulled the drapes open and allowed the sunlight to enter his bedroom. He gazed out the window. His view over looked Central Park. It was breath taking. He knew that some people would kill of a lifestyle like his own. Sometimes he wondered if he would kill to get away from this lifestyle. The posh parties, the fancy Sunday brunches, only the best schools and education; his life was very privileged. It is true, you know, money can't buy happiness. Stryker was living proof of that. If these people who longed for his so-called "privileged" life knew what really went on behind the closed doors of many Upper East Side penthouses, they would go running back to their mediocre lives. Sure, they had wealth and power, but, they were always being watched. People fed off of the scandal of the Upper East Side's elite. That's why websites like Manhattan's very own Gossip Girl were so frequently visited. Everyone knew each other's business because of this mystery columnist. Stryker had seen the drama that Gossip Girl had created over the years for Blair and her friends. Hell, he had even been the focal point of Gossip Girl's daily dish more than once.
Stryker looked down at his stomach when he heard a growl. The family didn't have a dog. That had to have been his stomach. Stryker remembered that he hadn't eaten a thing all day. Well, there was that frappachino in Houston. Did that really count as food? He wondered. When he determined that the specialty coffee had more calories than a Big Mac, he decided it was indeed a meal. Regardless, Stryker needed something to eat. He walked to his bedroom door and opened it. Stryker looked both ways down the hall. He didn't really want to be seen by anyone and he figured that Blair didn't want to see him either. He snuck past her closed doors and rushed downstairs. He kind of figured that Blair wouldn't be caught dead in the kitchen. Although, she was having an emotional day; maybe she would be in the kitchen. Stryker silently hoped that there was cookie dough in the refrigerator for her if she needed it.
Stryker sighed a sigh of relief when he entered the empty kitchen. It would have been awkward if he ran into his sister there. Stryker wondered if she had ever gotten over her… problem. He shook the thoughts from his mind. The pain really got to him. Stryker noticed a banana sitting on the counter. He picked the banana up and walked over to the pantry in search of peanut butter. He pulled the peanut butter off the shelf and jumped up on the counter. He pulled open a drawer and retrieved a spoon. Stryker opened the peanut butter and peeled the banana. As he spread the peanut butter over the banana, he wished that he could think of something to say to his sister. He wanted things to go back to the way that they once were. They used to be so close. Nate ruined that. If he hadn't broken her heart the way that he did, then Stryker would have never pulled… Stryker shook the thoughts from his mind. He didn't want to think of that. It only made him feel worse. Maybe coming back to New York would change him. Maybe things would be better this time. Stryker could only hope.