Page 5 of Twisted
I look up and my heart sinks to the bottom of my chest as everything fades around me.It doesn’t matter that I’m sitting next to my younger sister in the back of a tavern calledZodiac IV, surrounded by dozens of other hunters.Because right now, only he exists.
Ryder Henderson.
For ten beautiful months, he was my boyfriend.And he was an absolutely wonderful boyfriend during that time.He was kind, caring, and attentive.He took the time to listen to me, to make me feel better when I was upset.He claimed he wasn’t romantic, but he was always doing little, thoughtful things just to make me smile.
I loved him with my entire heart and soul, and I know he loved me, too.We got along so well, always making each other laugh.Our first date lasted two days because we just clicked.
But I’m a witch, and he is a hunter.
Though when the time came for him to tell his family that he was serious about me, his dad objected.I still remember him relaying the conversation as if it just happened yesterday.
“Even my mom was surprised,” he had told me.“I wasn’t expecting that.I thought she would be happy I had found someone since it is so difficult in our line of work.But she asked me if I’ve lost my mind dating someone like you.”
“What do you mean?”I had questioned, feeling my life get ripped out from underneath me.All the plans we had made…all the promises of the future…gone.Evaporated before me like water on hot stones.He told me not to worry, that he saw the real me, and he knew we would have a happy life together.He knew his parents would be surprised when they found out he was dating me, but from the start, he assured me it wouldn’t be an issue.
I had even asked him the very first time we sat down on an official dinner date together.I told him not to ask me out again if it would be an issue because I don’t want to get hurt.He looked in my eyes and wrapped his fingers around mine and promised me it would be okay.He told me he loved me.That he wanted a house.A baby.A family.
Together.
But none of that mattered.
“My dad made a good point,” he said, fidgeting with a loose button on his flannel shirt.“He said the other hunters wouldn’t wanna come to him for advice if they knew his son was dating a witch.He said I have to pick you or them.”
I blinked once.Twice.What kind of horrible father would do that to their son?“Well…you’re picking me, right?”
He cast his eyes down, and I could see the shame in them.Shame for how hateful his father was and shame that he wasn’t strong enough to stand up for true love.
“Who am I without my family?My dad says this isn’t gonna work anyway,” he slowly went on.“What if you leave me?Then what do I have?The hunters certainly wouldn’t want me back if I was rejected by a witch.What will our future look like?”
It was so absurd it was hard to grapple with.What kind of father is more concerned about his ego than his own child’s happiness?It would take intensive therapy to make Ryder realize his father didn’t actually love him, but was exerting manipulation and control for his own benefit.His dad didn’t care that his son was truly, madly, deeply in love with me, and he certainly didn’t care that by forcing us apart it would hurl me into months of depression.His father is a cruel, heartless man and now I am glad I’m away from the Henderson family.
One of the cruelest things you can do to another human being is to look them in the eyes, tell them you love them, plan a whole future together…and then just walk away.I didn’t need to curse Ryder or even tell him how cowardly and awful he is.He’s the one who has to live with this regret the rest of his life, and throwing someone who loved you so purely aside like trash is a karmic debt he will be paying for the rest of his life.
I blink and inhale as I stare up at Ryder, telling myself I feel nothing when I look into his brown eyes.This was a man who prided himself on his bravery, on his independence, his rebellious nature to go against the rules…yet he became a trembling, beaten puppy the second his dad questioned his heart‘s desire.This is a man who has more fear than faith, and it may have taken me a while, but I’ve lost all respect for him and his entire family.
“Yeah,” I reply shortly, hating that there’s still a part of me waiting for him to get his head out of his ass and realize that throwing away someone who honestly loved him was the dumbest thing he’d ever done.I know from Leo that Ryder misses me, that he’s hurt too, and that his relationship with his parents has deteriorated, as it would.How can you look your father in the eyes after he forced you to make a choice like that?That’s not real love…not at all.
Ryder apprehensively sits down at the table across from us, a smile on his rugged face.We’re in the back of the tavern, at my usual table, in our hometown of Asheville, North Carolina.My heart skips a beat and I sit up a little taller, reaching up and flipping my brunette hair over my shoulder.
“It was nothing,” I say quietly.
“It was something,” Leo says.He knows what happened with Ryder and has hated the guy in secret ever since.Both Leo and Antonio—and even Larissa—wanted to beat the shit out of Ryder after they learned what went down.I almost had to get Vivian involved before I could convince them no amount of ass beating could make Ryder see what his dad did was wrong.
And for that, I pity him.
Blind loyalty to family doesn’t make you a good person.Sticking with the tradition of a hunter pairing off with another hunter is outdated, wrong, and just stupid.But I can’t fix Ryder’s trauma for him and the most egregious thing about this is that I know he wanted us just as badly as I did.We met once afterDaddylaid down the law, and Ryder broke down and confessed that his relationship with his father was already damaged beyond repair.He confessed going against his heart’s wishes by leaving me.
He regretted it then, and I can sense his regret now.But I’m stronger, and anyone who’s going to be my future husband would never leave me like this.
“The demon turned out to be demons.Plural.One had active powers,” Leo goes on.“And Wren took them out like it was nothing.”
I shrug.“It was fun.”
“Damn.I’m kinda jealous,” Ryder replies with a laugh, taking a swig of the beer he was holding when he sat down.
“This sigil was drawn in blood.”Antonio pulls out his phone and shows Ryder the sigil on the floor.“Haven’t placed it yet, though the demon is dead, so I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
“Hmm…I don’t recognize it.”Ryder looks up from the phone, meeting my eyes for a fleeting moment.“Looks like you got out unscathed.How many demons were there?”
