Page 87 of Cavern of Silence
"Julieta, can I be blunt?"
"I don't know you well, but are you ever not blunt?"
He chuckles. "I see you're good-looking and smart."
I take a sip.
"Last night was bad."
"Yes."
"Ryker doesn't go off the rails like that."
I stay quiet and take another drink.
"He's been through a lot. I'm not sure if he's told you anything."
I put my mug down. "I know his wife died."
Tinker crosses his arms and scratches his biceps. "He didn't handle it too well."
"What do you mean?"
"He—"
"Tink—" Ryker freezes in the middle of the doorway when he sees me.
I cringe again at the sight of his face. And all I want to do is have him wrap me in his arms and tell him that everything is fine between us, that no matter what happened, I only want to be his. Instead, my heart races, and I blurt out, "I'm making breakfast. It'll take about a half hour."
"Thanks."
We stare at each other.
Tinker clears his throat. "Did you need something?"
"I never brought my bag in from the Jeep. I went to get it, and the tire looks low. You have a pump?"
"Yep. I'll help."
"Thanks." Ryker gives me a small smile and leaves with Tinker.
The ache in my chest tightens. I want things to be how they were between us. I can't stand seeing him sad. But his scars are a reminder of violence.
He accepts your scars. They are a reminder of violence and won't ever go away. At least his face will heal.
It's not the same thing. He started the fight.
He was defending you. Stop being a hypocrite.
I find eggs and plantains and begin to cook the Costa Rican breakfast I grew up on.
Vanessa enters the kitchen and helps me. We discuss our situations with the men, and she confides in me that Hunter and she broke up last night.
My stomach drops. I try to convince her whatever happened between them can be fixed, but she doesn't seem to think so and won't go into any detail.
It makes me feel even more of a pull to make things right between Ryker and me. But I still don't know where to start. My track record proves I can't keep a man, and I debate some more about what to do.
Ryker and Tinker come into the room.
