Bounce Back

Chapter 44

Tyler's POV

It was always hard to say goodbye to family and this time was no harder. I hugged both Lisa and Mom tighter than normal.

"Talk to Ryan when you get back," she said.

I nodded and hugged her once more before heading through security. I still had a bit of time before my flight was going to board so I grabbed my phone out. I sent a text to Ryan asking him if we could have dinner. I told him that I would make something for us to eat.

I didn't hear back from him until I got off the plane in LA. He agreed to my plane which meant that I had to think about what I was going to say. The trip back to college wasn't too bad and I was early enough that I knew that Ryan wasn't going to be in the dorm.

I unlocked the dorm to find it empty as predicted. I was glad that I had stopped to pick up some food because the cupboards were empty. I had enough time to muck around for a while before I had to start cooking.

I couldn't cook much but I managed to make pasta with tomato sauce without anything going wrong. I placed some on two plates and sat down at the table to wait.

I was started to get nervous and Ryan was late already. I continued to sit there, waiting for the door to open. At last it did and Ryan looked slightly surprised to see there.

"Are you ready for dinner?" I asked.

"Fuck, I've got a project to work out and I need to get it done. I'm really sorry," he said quickly.

I didn't even get a chance say anything else as he grabbed a couple of books and headed back out again. Suddenly I wasn't hungry anymore so I shoved the plates into the fridge and I headed out as well.

Instead of following Ryan I headed towards the gym. No one was in there so I grabbed a few balls and started to shoot. The thuds of the balls were repetitive and it helped me calm down. I didn't notice someone come in until they came to stand in front of me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I could say the same thing about you. I just happened to be coming in to grab my sweatpants that I left here and saw you. What about you?" Luke asked.

"I just needed to clear my head," I said vaguely.

"Is it something to do with Ryan?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're never seeing each other anymore and I just want to talk to him but he's never around," I admitted.

He didn't say anything else and we both started to shoot. We didn't talk as we continued to shoot for at least ten minutes and I could feel that I was more relaxed.

"Do you want to talk more about it?" Luke asked.

"Not at the moment but maybe at some point," I told him.

He nodded and said goodbye to me not long later. I continued to stand there and shoot for a couple more minutes before deciding to head back to the dorm. Even though it was a short conversation it was nice to talk to Luke.

I didn't want to talk to him now but I might want someone to talk to after I talk to Ryan. I haven't found anyone that I completely click with in my class and hadn't found anyone like James on the team yet but Luke was at least someone.

I wasn't surprised to not find Ryan in our dorm. It was at that moment that I decided that we had to have a conversation. Before I headed to bed I wrote a note that Ryan it would see. I told him that we needed to have a serious conversation tomorrow after our classes

I wasn't really if he would have the time to have the conversation but I was hoping that he would take me seriously. Once again I was asleep before Ryan made it back to the dorm and he was gone before I woke up.

I was half thinking about Ryan for most of the day. After my last class I headed up to our dorm and stood outside the door for a second before pushing the door open. Ryan was sitting on his bed and looked up from his phone when he heard me come in.

"Hey, so what did you want to talk about?" he asked.

"It's just that I feel like you are never around anymore and I'm worried," I explained.

"I'm not overworking myself if that is what you are worried about," he said.

"I am but that's not the only thing. I feel like I haven't talked to in ages because you aren't ever here and I feel like I'm being forgotten," I told him.

"You have to understand that I have a lot of work to do. I need to spend the time in the library so that I can get it done."

"I haven't had a proper conversation with you in weeks. I barely see you and you didn't even tell me that you weren't coming home with me until that morning."

"And as I told you I had a lot of work to do and I needed to get all my work done."

"I don't know whether I can keep doing this anymore. I wanted someone to talk to and you were never here for me to talk to," I said honestly.

"Are you breaking up with me?" he asked.

"I don't know any more Ryan because I really like you this isn't working."

"So, what are you doing then?"

I paused for a minute and I realised that I only really had one option.

"I'm breaking up with you. I'm not going to bother moving out because you are never here," I told him.

He gaped at me and I shrugged.

"A relationship involves both people putting effort it and I feel like you aren't. You aren't going to change my mind," I said.

He scowled at me. I didn't want to continue this conversation so I headed out of the dorm. I didn't make it that far before I ducked into a corner and pulled my knees to my chest.

I didn't really want to break up with Ryan because I did really like him but I couldn't do it anymore. It hurt to break up with him but I was hurting more when I felt like I was alone because he was never around.

If he could change and prove to me that he was still here for me I would change my mind but I wasn't sure if that was going to happen.

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The Wise One