“Can't play today, Ry. I have a friend over.”
“What does that make me?” She asked as her smiled faded into a pout.
I rolled my eyes. “Annoying, as usual.”
She stomped her foot on the porch. “Ty, I'll tell!” She threatened.
“Fine, go ahead!” I yelled.
Cole laughed behind me.
“You're friends with a girl?” He asked, as a few clues must’ve finally given away her gender.
“No, Ryder is barely a girl and she isn’t my friend. She is a nuisance that my parents make me play with.”
Ryder gave me a brief look, her eyes glossing over with tears, before she took off running from my porch crying. I’ve made Ryder cry numerous times before. Yet, this time I was gutted with guilt.
I hadn’t meant what I’d said. I did have fun playing with Ryder, even if she did annoy me every chance she got.
I was just too embarrassed to admit to Cole that I was friends with a girl, and because of that I’d hurt the one person who trusted me most. Who I trusted the most.
That was the first time I ever hurt Ryder, but little did I know then, it wouldn’t be the last.
The next day, and every day after, I swore to make it up to her. I waited for that knock on my front door each day and I'd open it up and see Ryder standing on the other side. I’d grin as I spotted her rocking back and forth on the heels of her sneakers, that obnoxious smile on her face.
As we got older, our friendship grew with us. I remember when one of us had a bad day we’d make a promise to sneak out after dark and meet up in her treehouse. Then we’d stay up to watch the stars, and talk.
It was our sanctuary away from life, and anything that existed outside the two of us.
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So why is it, at twenty-four years old, the sight of that treehouse hurts so much?
Now, as I stand here in my old room peering out into her backyard where the old treehouse stands, I am suddenly reminded of all my past mistakes.
Suddenly, I'm reminded of Ryder.
Chapter 2
Ryder
I looked out my window, instinctively, as I packed my bags for my trip. The sun should’ve made me hopeful for a great day a head, instead, I was dreading it from the moment I woke up.
*************************
I didn’t start public school until I was twelve-years old. My parents insisted on home schooling me prior to that.
They assumed I got all the socializing I needed from the neighbor boy, who happened to be their friend’s son and my best friend.
I think my dad changed his mind when Tyler started bringing his buddies around more. Somewhere, along the way, having a girl around wasn’t so embarrassing anymore. In fact, over time, each of them had slowly starting to accept my presence and I’d built friendships with each of them.
Soon after, my dad decided I needed to make some female friends of my own, and finally agreed to enroll me in public school.
Once I started going to school with all of them, it was never just the two of us anymore. Instead, we all hung out between classes together and then some of us would meet up after school.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit how thankful I was that Tyler never invited them to the treehouse. It was a reminder that no matter what was going on in life, we’d always have each other to fall back on. No matter who else entered our circle, we were still the start and end point of it all.
The treehouse was a place that reminded me of that. A place where we could talk about our parents, school, life, fights, friends, and then one day… even girls.
I remember the summer I turned fourteen, I was finally starting high school that September. I’d be back to school with Tyler and the rest of the guys, after a long year without them.
Our parents were having a barbeque to finalize the end of summer, and we’d been sitting in my treehouse for the last hour.
He was teasing me relentlessly all summer about how unready I was to be in high school, and around older boys. I didn't know it then, but that day changed our friendship forever.
“I am too ready; I even had my first kiss today.” I bragged in attempt to seem more mature.
“What? Prove it!” Tyler demanded, and I shot him a glare.
He knew just how sheltered I truly was. I’d only just started public school two years ago, and other than the friends I shared with Tyler, I didn’t have many of my own.
When it came to boys, everything I knew was stuff Tyler had taught me himself, and he knew for a fact he hadn't taught me anything about kissing.
“How?” I asked stubbornly.
He eyed me as if he knew I was lying.
Ironically, I was.
“Kiss me.” He stated, casually.
I paused for a moment, considering the few scraps of knowledge I had about kissing. “Eww, Ty. No.”
Tyler rolled his eyes. “It's just a kiss, Ry.”
I sighed, unwilling to admit that I’d lied. “Fine.”
I leaned in, and he closed his eyes. I paused briefly, considering it for a moment.
Considering kissing my best friend.
It wasn’t like I’d never thought about it. Tyler was an easy boy to have a crush on. He cared about me, we liked all the same things, he made me laugh, and we spent most of our free time together. Not to mention the fact that, even I couldn't deny how attractive my best friend was.
