CHAPTER 4 - RACHEL

I look over to Ryan as he is driving to Ellie's house. He dropped off Ava and Bailey at their separate houses and told them Adrien will pick them up shortly. Ellie lives about two towns away from the school. I have dated Ryan long enough to know when he is not in a good place. Today is one of those days. He looks very tired. Something is bothering him. He is usually a very talkative person. He has not yet said one word since he came to pick us up. In fact, he didn't even greet me, he kissed me a long hard kiss and he hugged me long and tight, but he didn't greet me with words. That was my first indication that something was very, very wrong. I close my eyes. Poor Ellie. I cannot imagine how terrible she must feel.

I look over my shoulder at Ellie who is sitting behind Ryan, staring out the window. Tears stream silently down her cheeks. She just lets them. Ellie is usually a very strong person. She is excellent at negotiating. It is sad to see her so defeated.

I look back at Ryan. He glances at me and tries to smile. He fails.

Something is horribly wrong. This is the worst I have ever seen him. He pulls into Ellie's aunt's driveway. He lets the Jeep idle and gets out of the vehicle. He opens the door for Ellie who stops to give me one last look.

"Everything will work out fine Ellie. Next week this time you and Greyson will be back in each other's arms." I try to comfort her.

She smiles and gets out without saying a word. Ryan helps her to carry her bags to the front door. Her aunt flings the door open. She is an eccentric person. Her red hair is loose and messy. As if she just gotten out of bed. She is wearing a lime green silk robe, her cigarette dangling between her two fingers as she squints to see who is at the door. Ellie's aunt is a beautiful woman but I have never liked her. Her lipstick looks a bit smeared. She looks worse for wear. She opens the door fully to reveal the bottle of wine in her hand. Ellie turns to Ryan and smiles and pushes her way past her aunt to let herself into the house. Ryan sets the bags just on the inside of the doorway and stands up straight to bid Ellie's aunt goodbye. Before he is able to leave the woman moves the cigarette to the hand holding the bottle of wine. She drapes her arm over Ryan's shoulder and plasters her body fully against his. Her free hand slides over the front of his pants, shamelessly touching him inappropriately. I cannot hear what she is telling him but I can see him taking her wrist and pulling her hand away from himself. He steps out of her grip and pushes her away gently. When he is free of her, he hurries to the Jeep. He gets in and pulls out of the driveway. All the while keeping a straight face.

When we are about two blocks away from Ellie's house Ryan looks at me.

"You are gaping, little lamb" he tells me in a soft voice.

I am in utter shock. I have no words. He seems to grasp that and starts talking.

"Today has unfortunately been a very eventful day." He looks over to me to see if I wanted to ask anything. He turns his gaze back to the road ahead of him.

"Mother called this morning before the exam started. She wanted to talk to us urgently after the exam. When we finished writing we excused ourselves from the writing hall and rushed home. When we arrived at home she was in her office. She looked like a headmaster waiting for the schools' misfits to come for their punishment. I have come to know that look as absolute disappointment. She was about to tell one of us how utterly disappointed she is in us. Turns out it was Greyson.

I look at Ryan. He steels a gaze at me and puts his hand on my leg. He tries to smile again but the smile does not meet his eyes.

As he drives to my house, he tells me how his mother laid into Greyson, she had a list of complaints against him. One of the complaints was that he was dating the likes of Ellie.

"How can she call Ellie cheap and easy, Ryan? Ellie was a virgin when she started dating Greyson. Greyson is the one who took her virginity. Ellie is most certainly not a cheap or easy!" I defend my friend a bit too loud.

Ryan pats my leg where his hand is. "I know little lamb." He always uses little lamb when he wants to soothe me.

"Do you know Ellie's whole story?" Ryan asks me quietly. I do not. Ellie did not like to speak about her past or her home situation. She only ever spoke of the future and Greyson. Ellie was always positive and excited whenever she spoke of these things. Clearly, she felt that Greyson was her future.

"Did you see Ellie's aunt today? What did she make you think of?" He asks softly and gives me a chance to answer. I shake my head but offer an answer anyway.

"She looked drunk. Her lipstick was smeared. She was wearing a robe. Do you think she is depressed, Ryan? What is wrong with her?" I ask Ryan. He obviously has more answers than I do.

"She is a prostitute, Rachel." Ryan tells me and gives me a few moments to let it sink in. She did touch Ryan inappropriately. Oh no. Poor Ellie.

"Is that why your mother refers to Ellie as she does?" I ask Ryan in a whisper.

"Well, that is one of the reasons. She also believes Ellie seduced my father. I do not believe it to be true but mother does not want to hear anything else."

I am now in even more shock than I was before. Ryan pulls into the driveway of my parents' house. He turns the ignition off and gets out of the Jeep. He walks around to open my door for me. He takes me in his arms and gives me a warm hug as soon as I get out of the Jeep. He closes the door behind me and pushes my back against the Jeep. He looks me in the eyes and whispers. "I love you, little lamb". I do not get a chance to answer him as his mouth covers mine and he kisses me, blocking my words with deep sweet kisses. When he pulls away, I am left breathless and needy.

He walks to the back of the Jeep and takes out my luggage. He carries it to the front door and waits as I unlock and open the door. Ryan carries my luggage to my bedroom on the second floor. He sets it down at the foot of my bed.

"Have you packed for the breakaway yet?" He asks as he looks around my room for a second set of luggage.

"Yes, I have." I answer him as I open the double doors to my wardrobe. I pull out the large suitcase and drag it towards the door. I leave it by the doorway and proceed to put the other luggage Ryan carried to my room into my wardrobe before I close the door.

"I will unpack that when we come home" I tell him after closing the doors and turning to face him.

He smiles his first genuine smile all day. He takes a step towards me and rubs his thumb on my jawline.

"I do believe that you still need to change into something more comfortable before we leave" He whispers in a husky voice as he lowers his mouth to my neck and plants soft kisses in a trail to my shoulder.

He loosens the top button of my blouse, kissing me softly as his hands trail down undoing one after the other buttons. I groan softly as I know where this is going. Ryan has a very sweet and gentle way with me.

Everything that felt wrong about today evaporates under Ryan's soft touches. I wrap my arms round Ryan's neck and hold him tight. He hugs me to his body and whispers in my ear that everything will work out fine. I instinctively know that he is talking about Ellie and Greyson. He knows how close the girls are to one another.

He lifts my feet off the ground and takes me towards the bed. He lays me down and settles in next to me, kissing me softly and gently stroking my hair.

"Ryan" I whisper softly in his ear as he is trailing kisses down my neck.

"Yes, little lamb?" he whispers as his kisses trail to my chest.

"I love you too"