3.13 Long Time No See

In the months following the death of his father and wife, Ryan forced himself to go to work and to let life appear as normal as possible for Rafe.

But his mother refused to make the bed his father once slept in, or to go back to her daily routine.

And when she is not sleeping through most of the day, she stands in the livingroom staring at his fathers picture. He is not sure weather he should worry about this behavior, or if this is part of the grieving process you go through when spending the whole of your life with the one you love.

When he is not at work, he tries to spend time with Rafe, show the boy that there is still a lot of fun to be had, even though his mother and grandfather are gone.

Sometimes he can overdo it a bit though, which forces Rafe to do his homework in the morning before the schoolbus arrives. So Ryan usually gives him some help while preparing breakfast.

Even while having dinner, it would be just the two of them, both of them have already accepted that Danya is not joining them, so they don't even bother calling her anymore. There days are passing rather quickly, but feel like they are lived on an automated pilot.

The nights however are the worst. Ryan had let Rafe sleep in his bed for quite some time, not sure whether it was to comfort Rafe, or to comfort himself. Truth is, that now the time has come for Rafe to sleep in his own bed, he refuses to do so. And Rafe knows exactly what buttons to push to let Ryan cave in.

When Ryan had finally learned to ignore the screaming, Rafe started to throw the pity act. Knowing his son was abusing the death of his mother, Ryan decided there was no need for him to have his own bed to himself. Hoping the boy would realize at some point that he can't sleep in his fathers bed the rest of his life, he decided to give up entirely.

After a year had passed since Satya and Boy died, Ryan was still fully emerged in his grieve. Trying his best to keep Rafe entertained and happy all the time was a hard job, and he felt the need to get out of the house.

 So that night, he went to find a quiet little bar where he could drink his sorrows away, hoping this might make life a bit easier for him. With not a sole coming in the bar, probably because the bartender is always wearing a nutcase jacket, Ryan soon became a regular.

Ryan began to grew accustomed to this new part of his routine. It was the only way he would get through his days, by thinking of everything as routines. If anything would happen, that would alter his routine, he had a hard time dealing with it. The bartender soon became familiar with his routine as well, his drink would normally be there when he'd arrive. So when he arrived that night, he was put of his routine when it wasn't. 

When the bartender started to mix his drink, Ryan couldn't help but wonder why he was late. Or why he was using the pink bottle instead of the dark blue one. But before he could say something about it, Ryan heard the doors of the elevator ping. 

He looked towards the hallway, only to be set back for the second time that evening when he notices a familiar face walking in. 

When she stops to look at him, he pretends he doesn't see her and stares at this tiny little speck of dirt on the wall over there.

When the bartender hands Ryan his drink, in a different glass for crying out loud, Ryan quickly takes a sip while the bartender pretended the air wasn't so thick with tension that you could cut through it with a knife.

Madeline can't ignore the tension though. She knows why Ryan never contacted her anymore, she can't blame him. But it hurts to realize he is not even happy to see her. Looking down at the ground she tries to overcome her cowardliness, she tried so hard when she was younger to overcome that, why should now be any different?

She takes a deep breath, lifts up her head and take a seat on the barstool next to Ryan. She'll make sure he can't pretend to not see her anymore. But when she sits down, it's like a wave of grieve washes over Ryan, as though her presence alone brings back all those feelings he has been trying to lock away ever since Satya died.

The drink the bartender gave her, and the look they were exchanging made it clear that she wasn't a stranger to this bar either. Not sure what to do next, she looked at the bartender for some extra courage. When he nodded at her, she took up her glass to take a sip.

While putting the glass to her lips, she mumbled "long time no see, Ryan..." Ryan wasn't the kind of guy to just stand up and walk away, "long time no see indeed, do you want to play a game of foosball?"

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Right :D so I was so shocked that Ryan actually said something.......(hasn't spoken in I think 4 chapters :P) that I just had to end it right then and there to get my act back together :P

so the story continues in the next chapter :P