Page 13 of Mine To Hunt

I take a step closer. This time, I refuse to let him tower over me. “Someone randomly sent it, okay?” I say. “An unknown number.”

Ryan scoffs.

“But that doesn’t answer my question.” I nod toward the phone in his hand. “Who is this, Ryan?”

He doesn’t answer.

“You’ve got your arm around her.” I continue, my voice tightening. “You’re smiling like she’s the best thing that’s happened to you since your last callback.”

Silence stretches between us.

“If it’s nothing,” I say quietly, “then why does it look so… intimate?”

He tosses the phone onto the couch like it's contaminated, his hand shooting out to cup my cheek. Not gently, but with a grip that's firm enough to tilt my face up to his, pulling me closer until our noses almost touch.

His thumb presses into my skin, a warning in the touch, and his voice comes out in a hiss that's more menacing than loud.

“It’s none of your business, Iris.” His voice is sharp enough to cut. “You don’t get to dig into my life or my work like someparanoid cop. That was a party. Networking.” He scoffs. “You think every photo means I’m cheating? Grow up.”

His hand tightens my jaw, fingers digging into my cheek. Pain shoots through my face. Not bruising, but insistent. Anger flares hotter than fear. I grab his wrist, trying to pull his hand away.

“None of my business?” I snap. “How is it not my business when I see my boyfriend draped all over another woman?”

His grip tightens harder for a second.

“We’re supposed to be together, Ryan.” I continue, my voice shaking but loud now. “You’re the one who talked about forever.”

I swallow hard. “If that’s networking… then what am I?”

He doesn’t answer.

“Your convenient roommate with benefits?”

Ryan releases my cheek with a light but deliberate shove and steps back. His eyes narrow. The defensiveness in them shifts into something colder.

“Don’t meddle in my business, Iris.” His tone drops, crueler now. “You’d be nothing without me.”

The words hit like a slap.

“Scraping by on that scholarship.” He continues. “All alone. Crashing in halls with no one to fall back on after your folks checked out.”

My chest tightens.

“I gave you a place. Stability.” He gestures around the room. “And this is how you repay it? Accusing me over some fake-ass picture?”

The mention of my parents rips open a wound that never really healed. Rain. Sirens. The twisted guardrail on that cliffside road.The tears rise before I can stop them. Ryan notices, and instead of stopping, he leans into it.

“God, and stop nagging so much.” He says, jabbing a finger toward my chest. “It’s exhausting.”

His voice climbs, ugly with irritation. “Maybe if you’d eased up back then, your parents wouldn’t have decided to end it all.”

My breath catches.

“Driving off that cliff like they couldn’t take the drama anymore.” He tilts his head. “Ever think of that?”

The room goes completely silent. Except for the sound of my heart breaking.

Mom's laugh, Dad's quiet hugs after bad days, they didn't choose that. It was an accident, a slick road and bad luck, not my fault, not ever.