Quicksilver Dreams(171)

                “Yeah, just before you ran out of the room like your ass was on fire. How strange that I didn’t feel comfortable after that!” My voice was beginning to drip sarcasm, and his eyes narrowed darkly.

                “I didn’t run out of the room. I left to get started working. I’m trying to keep you from being killed, remember?”

                “Whatever, Ryder. You say tomato... What’s the point of this? I was hungry and went down to get food. You have no right to sit here and question me.”

                “Some guys almost grab you off the street, and I go through the trouble of saving your ass, and you think I don’t have the right to question you when you do something irresponsible?”

                “I wasn’t irresponsible. I left a note. And just to remind you, I’m not a prisoner. I can walk out any time I choose.”

                “Just try it,” he growled.

                “Oh, yeah?” I stood with purpose. Adrenaline kicked in. It raced through my system on overload, making me feel powerful.

                Ryder did the same. We glared at each other, him looking down and me looking up, both of us breathing heavily.

                “Yeah.” There were mere inches separating us, and he was just waiting for me to make a move.

                “You don’t own me, pal. I’ll step out into traffic if I want to,” I snarled.

                “Cut it out,” Sy said sharply from the other side of the table. He stood.

                “Stay out of this,” Ryder growled, not breaking eye contact with me.

                “The hell I will. Back off unless you want her to knee you in the nuts. She wanted to grab us food. Excellent. And Taylor? He was worried about your safety. Is that wrong? Surrounded by goddamn children,” he muttered. He snatched up his empty food containers and stalked off to dispose of his trash in the receptacle under the sink.

                We continued to glare at each other, but after a moment, I just felt like crying. My sense of helplessness and anxiety overwhelmed me. This really sucked. I couldn’t do helpless and reliant. I knew for certain that I refused to be Ryder’s problem, but already he’d been out looking for me, likely cursing me for the trouble. I was used to that from my family, which was why I worked so hard to insulate myself. I couldn’t bear the thought of him feeling like I was just a pain in the ass.

                I knew it would really be better for me to go back to my apartment and let whatever happened happen. Some people were lucky and others were not when it came to the lottery of whom you were birthed to and the kind of support you had from loved ones. I’d always been a pragmatist when it came to viewing my lot in life, and it was no different now.

                “You got me a sandwich?” he murmured after a moment of silence.

                “I did.” I released pent-up air and felt my eyes burn. Quickly, I tried to blink the moisture away.

                “Thank you.”

                “You’re welcome. I’m sorry you were worried. I left a note on the sink.”

                “Didn’t see it. Please keep your phone on you.”

                “I usually do, but I couldn’t plug it in last night.”

                I could practically see the memories parading through Ryder’s mind as his eyes turned sensual and his lips relaxed from their tight line. “I’m hungry.”