"I can go…" Tyler's voice broke the silence, "I need to see Mercy for something anyway."
"Oh, yeah. Thanks, Tyler," Ryder shook his head, trying to clear the confusion that was squirming around him. He hadn't seen his brother in years, only seen pictures - that's why he recognised Flynn.
"Hey, Ry, can I talk to you for a minute?" Tyler stood at the door and motioned to the porch outside. Ry nodded his head and told Flynn to make himself comfortable on the couch. He followed Ty outside.
"Are you good?" Tyler asked concerned. "Like, who is that guy? You've been acting weird all day and now this guy shows up…"
"Ty, it's all good," Ryder assured his friend. "He - Flynn's my brother."
"Brother?" Ty tipped his head. "You never said anything about having any siblings."
"I..I don't talk about him much."
"Ok, well, if you're sure you're alright…"
"I am," Ryder assured him again. Tyler left and Ryder walked back inside to find his brother pacing the small length of the living room. "What part of 'make yourself comfortable' don't you understand?"
"I'm sorry," Flynn apologized, "It just…"
"Why are you here?" Ryder repeated his earlier question.
"Grandma Joy passed away," Flynn started.
"Oh," Ryder sighed. He hadn't been very close with their mother's mother, mainly because Ryder had only seen her a few times before he was 8, and then Flynn moved in with her when everything happened and it 'wasn't safe' to visit them.
"That's why I was coming here - to tell you that, but…" Flynn trailed off.
"What?" I questioned.
"I stopped at this diner on the way here, in Greendale," Flynn sat down beside his brother and breathed out. "At first I didn't recognise them-"
"Recognise who?"
"Let me talk," Flynn shook his head. "The Jaguars. I didn't notice them at first, but then I heard them talking about a guy named Ryder, who they know lives in Riverdale."
"What?!" It was Ryder's turn to get up and pace. "But it's been 8 years!"
"I guess they still think we will turn them in or something, even though it's been so long, and we haven't in that time. I don't know." Flynn shook his head again, frowning.
"What do we do?" Ryder asked. "I can't stay here. They'll find me."
"You have to leave. We have to leave."
"Can't we just call the police? If they get in prison then it'll all be over."
"Yeah, but even if one of them get away - which is highly possible - they will hunt us down and probably kill us. They did that to Uncle Gert and our parents."
"Your right," Ryder sat down and covered his head with his hands. "How long do you think we have until they find us? How long until we have to leave?"
"They mentioned staying the night in Greendale, and the drive from there to here is about 5 hours so probably around 9am tomorrow we should leave if we want to be gone before they get here."
"Ok. I'll make sure I'm packed by then. Where will we go though?"
"I've got a friend who lives in Toledo. He said we can stay with him for awhile, until we find a place of our own."
Ryder nodded his head in understanding. Boy, this was getting complicated. There was a knock on the door.
"I'll get it," Flynn got up to open the door. A soft voice floated through the door.
"Oh, is, uh, Ryder here?" Jb's familiar and usually comforting voice reached Ryder's ears. Though this time, it just filled him with worry and a fierce sense of protectiveness.
Flynn's voice held humour when he replied, "I think it's for you bro."
...oOo…
I stood at the door of Ryder trailer and knocked tentatively. Ryder had been acting very odd all day and I wanted to make sure he was alright. He never acted like he was, and it scared me a bit.
The door was opened by this older guy, someone I had never seen before. "Oh, is, uh, Ryder here?" I asked him.
The guy smirked in a friendly way, saying over his shoulder, "I think it for you bro."
I looked around the guy into the trailer and I saw Ryder walking towards the door. "What are you doing here?" Ryder demanded, looking around me outside.
"I came to see if you were alright," I was confused. "You were acting so weird today…"
"You have to go," Ryder's face was stern.
"What's going on?" I asked him. I gestured to the stranger "Who's this?"
"It's not safe- you're not safe here," he looked out and saw the car out the front. "You drove here?"
"Alice did," I told him, even more confused.
"Good," he grabbed my elbow in a gentle but firm grip and started down the stairs. "You'll be safe on the way back at least."
I stood where I was, causing Ryder to turn and look at me. "I'm not going until I get some answers," I told him. "What's going on with you, and who is this guy? And why is it not safe here?"
"I can't tell you," Ryder looked desperate. "I'm sorry, but I'm doing it to protect you."
"Just tell me," I pleaded with him. "Trust me!"
"I do trust you," his face saddened. "Just, trust me okay? This is to protect you, and Caddy. I can't let anything happened to my two favourite girls, can I?" He gave a tight smile.
"Ryder," I looked into his eyes, desperate. He leant down and kissed me. This kiss wasn't passionate, tentative either, but tender and sweet, and held a feeling of goodbye. He pulled back and looked into my eyes and confirmed my suspicions by softly whispering the word.
"Goodbye."
Then he walked me to the car and opened the door for me. "Ryder," I begged. "Ryder, please!"
"I love you," was his last words to me before he turned his back and walked back to his trailer. His expression was one of great hardship, as if it was just as hard for him as it was for me, but I doubt that. If he felt hurt as I did doing this, then he knew he shouldn't have done it.
Author's note: Hey! So, that just happened. Sorry! Can't promise anything just yet though, so enjoy the Jyder breakup! Have and a great start of Winter or Summer (envy you Americans!)
Btw, this story just hit 10000 views, so thanks you guys! I should update soon, so stay tuned for whats next! And incase any of you were wondering, the 'thing' my friend was running away from me for is yes, the breakup. :)
Xx G
