Page 79 of Belong With Me

Chapter Twenty - Seven

Sienna

Was that a set of cymbals crashing close by? Or did one of the Larsens play the drums, and this morning was the first time I was actually hearing them play? There was a pounding in my head that just wouldn’t quit.

When I opened my eyes, it felt like a spotlight was aimed right at me. Blinking rapidly, I realized that it wasn’t a spotlight at all. Just the light from the sun streaming through the windows. Sitting up made my head throb. I really must have overdone it with the wine last night.

My eyes spotted a glass of water and a couple of tablets sitting on the bedside table. Quickly, I reached for them and swallowed the pills with a large gulp of the water. After a couple of minutes of trying to ignore everything that was wrong with me, I decided it was time to get up. I swung my legs out of bed and battled with the fogginess in my mind, and the nausea creeping up from my stomach as it protested my movements. I was in immediate need of a shower and a coffee. Though even the thought of consuming something made my stomach roll.

After washing every inch of myself, and proudly not giving in to my need to be sick, I slipped into jeans and a lightweight sweater. Leaving the bedroom after swiping my phone and tucking it into my back pocket, I followed the scent of what could only be fried bacon and made my way down to the kitchen. Peering around the corner, I spotted Ryder and Savannah, chatting away about something in hushed voices.

I was torn between saying hello, so they knew I was there and not wanting to intrude on whatever they were discussing, since their faces were a combination of concern and deep thought. In the end, I didn’t need to decide, as I felt someone’s presence behind me.

“Hey there, sleepy head.”

Forcing a smile to my face that I hoped looked somewhat put together, I turned a little and spotted a smiling Kenzie. “Good morning.”

“How are you feeling?”

“A little hungover if I’m being totally honest. But I couldn’t stay away when there was the scent of bacon calling my name.” I knew I needed to eat, if only to have something to help the painkillers take effect.

“So why are you standing out here then?”

“It looked like your siblings were in the middle of something and I didn’t want to interrupt them. I’ve only been here for like twenty seconds, so don’t worry, I wasn’t eavesdropping or anything.” My word vomit sat awkwardly between us. Could she tell I was being overly defensive?

Smiling at me, she linked her arm with mine and dragged me into the kitchen. “Look who I found coming down the stairs,” she sang loudly, and I winced inwardly a little at her volume.

The siblings both looked up at me, Van grinned widely. “Hey there.”

Smiling at her, I replied, “Hey.”

My eyes found Ryder who looked, for lack of a better word, tired. We stared at each other, not saying anything. At least not with words. I could see he was wondering how I was feeling. There was something else there too, I just couldn’t tell what. It was something I hadn’t seen from him before. Was that a concern? Yes. Yes, it was. Had I said something last night that I couldn’t remember? From the way his eyes flicked back down to the bench top and the way his lips tightened, I couldn’t imagine it was anything good.

“Anyway, we have chores to get done outside, why don’t you sit here and enjoy some brunch?” Van exited the chair she had been sitting at and offered it to me, before walking past and accompanying Kenzie outside.

There was no conversation between the two of us. Just silence. He pushed the bacon around the pan and popped the toaster down. As I sat, I placed my cell on the bench so I didn’t actually put my weight on it and possibly break it. I couldn’t stand it anymore. “Is something wrong?”

His eyes flicked up to mine again and he shook his head a little. “Nah.”

The lawyer in me had a built-in lie radar, and right now it was going off like a hurricane warning. It was the first time I had ever gotten this feeling from him, and it immediately set me on edge. It seemed that he had shut down completely and was just running on the bare minimum of communication.

Just what had happened between last night and now, to have a completely different man standing before me? I wasn’t having it. Not if he was acting this way because of something I might have done. He looked down at the coffee mug in his hands and skimmed a thumb over it before shaking his head.

“What’s going on? Don’t tell me it’s nothing, because I can tell something isn’t right between us. You’re different this morning.” Taking a deep breath, I continued, “Did I do something last night? Did I say something that upset you? Ryder, tell me, it’s obviously getting to you.”

“You don’t remember last night?”

“Bits and pieces,” I confessed, “but I think I had a little too much to drink.”

The toaster popped and he quickly slathered some butter on top. Then he took the bacon from the frypan, put it on a few pieces of paper towel for a minute, and eventually set it on the toast and slid the plate over to me. Cutlery quickly followed, as did a glass of some sort of fruit juice. But still, he said nothing. Not as he leaned against the countertop, those bicep muscles rippling in the short-sleeved T-shirt he was wearing. He was definitely tense; I could see it in the way he was standing there.

I didn’t dare pick up the cutlery as I kept my eyes locked on him. Instead, I rose from the chair, walked around the bench, crossed my arms over my chest and set my mouth into a firm line.

His head turned to follow my movements, and I saw the slightest quirk at the corner of his mouth, but it was gone so quickly I couldn’t be certain it had actually happened. As we faced off, I couldn’t help the sexual tension that built. It was like a living thing between us. Something I’d never experienced before, and I highly doubted would ever feel again with anyone else. It continued to grow between us, waiting to be unleashed.

I saw the moment he felt it too. His eyes closed, and his hands clenched the edge of the kitchen counter. When they opened again, I saw what he was trying to hide. Pain.

Without thinking, I dropped my arms and closed the space between us, then threw my arms around his waist. When he didn’t make an attempt to encircle me in return, I understood. I was the reason he was in pain. I just didn’t know why.

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