Bailey looks at me, eyes wide. “Maddy—”
“Come on!” I’m already running before she can finish. Sand kicks up under my bare feet as I take off toward the street.
Bailey swears and runs after me. “Wait—Mads!”
The world blurs around me. What if he got in an accident? What if he’s hurt? Shit, shit, shit—
My chest tightens painfully.
“Slow down!” Bailey calls behind me, breathless. “He’s probably fine!”
But what if he’s not? What if something happened? What if I never get to tell him? My dad was right. My Mom was right. God, why am I such an idiot? I should have told him that I—
We reach the edge of the street and I run straight into someone solid. “Oof—”
Hands catch my shoulders before I can fall.
I look up—and it’s Ryan. Alive. Standing. Fucking breathing. “Ryan—oh my God—”
The air rushes back into my lungs all at once, relief hitting so hard it nearly knocks me over. And before I can think, I throw my arms around him, practically jumping into him. “I thought—are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened? Why did you hang up?!”
The words spill out in a rush, tangled and breathless.
His arms come around me automatically, steadying me into place. “I’m okay,” he says quickly. “I’m okay. My phone just died.”
I freeze. Then I pull back, slipping out of his hold as I take a step away. “…Your phone… died?”
“Yeah.” He gives a small, apologetic half-smile. “Worst timing in human history, I know.”
I shove his chest. Hard. Which makes him stumble back a step.
“You scared the shit out of me!” I gasp, my eyes burning. “I thought something happened to you!”
“I’m sorry,” he says quickly. “I tried to call back, but well…dead phone.”
Bailey finally catches up, bent over and out of breath.
“I swear,” she pants, pointing at him, “if you emotionally traumatize us before noon again, I’m confiscating your driver’s license.”
Ryan lets out a shaky laugh. “I’m sorry.”
I’m still standing there, chest rising too fast, my heart racing. For a second, we just stand there, both of us still breathing too hard. And before I can stop myself, I let out another shaky breath and step forward, wrapping my arms around him again.
“I was so scared,” I blurt into his shoulder, the words tumbling over each other. “I thought something happened and I kept thinking—what if you hit a car or something and what if I never got to see you again and what if I could never tell you that I love you and what if I never got to annoy you again or tease you or—”
Ryan goes completely still. Slowly, he pulls back just enough to see my face, his eyes widening slightly as they lock onto mine. The realization crashes in all at once, my lungs suddenly forgetting how to work.
Whatdid I just say?
His hands hover near my arms. “Did you just—”
“No.”
“You did—”
“I didn’t.”
“Maddy—”
