Wishing Stars - Remake

Ryder watched her for a moment before pulling her into a hug and holding her close to him. His eyes darted around the space behind them as if searching for a solution there. He swallowed hard, unsure of what to say. "Are you still with him?" he asked softly, as if trying to figure out what would be the best way to fix this despite her telling him he couldn't do anything about it. There had to be something. Perhaps he could bribe him..

Lucia shook her head, looking down. "No... We broke up at the party," she said, shivering against his touch. She reached down absentmindedly, grabbing her shirt and put it back on, looking at him. She looked toward she exit, shifting. "I should probably go, though," she said softly. She had to go meet Jacob one more time to make sure he knew she didn't want him. She also had to give him back some of his stuff.

Ryder watched her for a moment as George came back with ice packs. "You should get some ice on those." His voice was soft, almost worried. He didn't like the thought of Lucia being hurt. She may die before him, but it was suppose to be of old age, not from abuse. "Let me take care of you..please?" He asked, wanting to treat the bruises and make them better.

Lucia shook her head, standing. "No, I'll be fine," she said, suddenly frowning. She hugged her sides and started away from him, chewing her lip. She couldn't believe she let him see her secrets. She mentally cursed herself and shakily opened the door, leaving the house. She looked around and sighed before starting toward her own home, partly angry at herself, partly at Ryder for being so persistent, and tired of hiding. She just wanted to stop everything.

Ryder sighed and watched her go, his brow furrowing. "George, have you seen my helmet?"
"Which one sir?"
"The motor bike one."
"Yes sir, it's in the garage."
"Mind making a run to the ATM for me?"
"Of course not, sir. How much were you needing?"
"At least a thousand.."
"Right sir, I shall be back shortly."

Lucia finally got home, tears slowly trailing down her cheeks. She ran up her stairs and stripped quickly, going right for the shower. She sat in the shower, letting the hot water rush over her. She couldn't hide here. Tears were moving more heavily, mixing with the water. She was glad her mother wasn't here, either, or she wouldn't get away with this. Everything was harder with her mom.

Ryder jumped on his bike, his face somber as he drove. It wasn't hard to find Jacob's house, or Jacob. He was with another woman, which would have made anyone squirm except Ryder'd been in that position to many times to really care. He looked at him, his eyes dark. "I came to talk to you about Lucia." He wasn't allowed to actually bring up the bruises or anything, so...he made due with his reputation instead. "I want her for myself. I came to see if there was any way I could possibly get her from you," he said as he counted out hundred dollar bills lazily.

Lucia finally stood up when the hot water began to run cold and steadied herself against the wall. She couldn't clear head from the mush that it was sifting through. She walked into her room, sighing and laying in her bed in just the towel and grabbed her phone. Should she call Jacob? Maybe she could just be back with him and nothing would happen...

Ryder headed home, having threatened Jacob to the point his face was white as a ghost after he'd "bought" Lucia from him. Surely, that would be enough to keep her safe from him. His eyes were narrowed on the road, trying to clear his mind. Should he stop by her house?...What would she say? Ryder took a deep breath and pulled into her drive. He then went to the door and rang the doorbell.

Lucia quickly threw on some clothes, running down the stairs and peeked through the hole in the door. She saw Ryder and closed her eyes, staring at the door. "No one's home," she yelled at him. She didn't know how he had irritated her so badly, but she was ready to break down with frustrated tears. Why couldn't he just leave it alone that she would be fine?

Ryder rolled his eyes. "Should I leave a message after the beep?" He called back, staring at the door. "Lu, I need to talk to you about something...I...I just came from Jacob's...I didn't mention you being at my house or anything, I swear...but he's not gonna be messing with you anymore. I promise. I made sure of it."

Lucia groaned under her breath and opened the door, staring at him evenly. "Why, Ryder? I didn't ask for your help. I was dealing with it on my own." Her tone was determined and in her own head, she had convinced herself that she was actually dealing with it, though somewhere she knew that just breaking up with him wasn't going to do her a whole lot of good.

Ryder stared at her and gave a slight shrug. "I don't know...'cause that's what friends do I guess." He didn't seem to back down, just watching her with those blue eyes of his that never seemed to tell everything, but gave just enough to keep a person guessing. Those blue eyes that looked as if they'd seen centuries pass, which they had.