Kidnap My Heart - Chapter Twenty Seven

The drive to Riverton was relaxing yet made Ivy more confused. Ryan and Crystal were raving about the vast fields and the millions of cows they had seen which might have been their next meal if the cows didn't count their blessings. Ivy's mind had kept drifting to Avery but they had immediately pulled her away from her thoughts as soon as they saw a familiar look on her face. He was all she could think about. She was furious at herself and yet still held her anger toward him for those years he didn't try to chase after her. What was she going to do? Maybe her mom was right. Maybe he was supposed to be in her head. Maybe this time around she was the one who screwed up, not him. She groaned inwardly and realized they were within 10 miles of the city. Her pulse raced and her mind pounded loudly.

This was it. She would either make it or break it. She thought it would be easy but her body cowered as her mind became strong. She knew she was going to crash and burn during the whole phase. She was a disaster waiting to happen. She felt an arm come around her shoulders and pulled her toward their body. She looked up at Ryan who smiled at her faintly. She did know how much he had been a victim in her cold ways and gave him admiration for sticking up to her and cooling her down. She leaned against him and sighed. "I'm sorry if it didn't work out between us because of me." He said genuinely. Ivy shook her head and smiled faintly. "It wasn't entirely you. You can blame me for having such a big ego. Plus I didn't realize how much I was holding onto Avery in my heart. It was unfair for you Ryan." She whispered gently. Ryan nodded and looked around as they entered the dreary city.

Crystal had opened all the windows and let them view the city limits. Ivy pointed out places she had most of her memories and Ryan listened intently. Crystal drove up to April's house and they sat in the car and viewed the house with small smiles. "This is where it all started?" Ryan asked as he stepped out of the car. Ivy stepped out as well and nodded. "Yeah, it is. Now let's go meet my mother shall we?" she said as she reached for Ryan's arm. They walked all together towards the door and Ivy rang the bell. She heard clatter behind the door and it opened displaying her mother. "Ivy!! I missed you!!" her mother said as she charged at her. She hugged her tightly and Ivy forgot to breathe. When her mom let go she hugged Crystal as she did to Ivy. They entered into the house and her mother gave Ryan a look over. "You must be Ryan." She said in half disgust and half amusement.

Ryan cringed and smiled at her widely. "Yeah I am." He said with a grin. April grinned and walked away quickly. Ryan plopped himself onto the couch and looked around the room. "Ivy this place is freaking gigantic. My house isn't even this big. And I'm scared of your mom. She looks like she hates me." He said as he looked at the next room. Ivy grinned and pulled him off the couch. "You haven't seen anything yet and mom doesn't hate you, she's just like that." she said as she pulled him toward her room. They all climbed up the stairs and stood in front of her room. Ryan viewed the pictures on the door and smiled. She opened the door and they entered her room.

"I knew you would have a girly room." He said as he viewed the room. Crystal snorted and walked away to the kitchen. He walked to the pictures and viewed each one. He came to a picture of Ivy with a guy. She was smiling brightly as the guy kissed the corner of her mouth as she smiled. He personally hadn't seen that side of her as much as he intended to. He thought jealousy would have hit him but he only felt happiness in looking at that picture. He knew that it was Avery in the picture with her. "Is that him?" he said as he pointed to the picture. He heard something fall onto the bed and turned to see Ivy lying on top of it tiredly. "Yep that is the famous Avery Warren." She said as she groaned into a pillow. Ryan turned back to the picture and smiled. It was nice seeing that Ivy had a vulnerable side to her stoic façade. He walked away from the wall and sat on the edge of the bed. Ivy sat up to hug her knees and looked over at him. "Are you ready for all of this? Life gets complicated when you're around me." Ivy whispered.

Ryan chuckled lightly and shook his head. "I think it's fun." He said with a smile. Ivy smiled wearily and watched as Ryan stood up and stretched. He had no idea what his family and friends could be. He patted her leg softly and walked down the halls slowly. She curled up and hugged her knees tightly. "This is too stupid. I hate my life." She said loudly. "Well I have to admit you always had bumps in the road. What could possibly be new?" A deep voice said. She looked up and saw Mason smiling down at her. "Mason! You're here!" she said as she tackled him against the doorway. He laughed melodiously and hugged her firmly. "Hey there beautiful." He said in his deep voice. Ivy pulled away from him and laughed. His blue eyes were as bright as the sky on a clear sunny day. "Well hello handsome. How's the fiancée?" she said with a grin.

He cringed and paced around the room. "Well she's going all bridezilla on me and she's tired so it adds fuel to her fire. She gets mad so easily. I can't wait to get this wedding over with." He sighed as he walked around briskly. Ivy nodded and smiled in agreement. "Tomorrow's the big day. My boys are all grown up." She said with a deep sigh. Mason pulled out a chair and slouched himself onto it. "Yeah, to tell the truth I'm overwhelmed. I'm marrying my dream girl, I have my dream job, and my best friends are all here for my wedding. What more could I want?" he said dreamily. "Kids?" she asked with a smile. He looked up at her with a pale face and shook his head. "Not yet. I feel ancient thinking about it. But I would like kids." He said with a forced smile. Ivy nodded and took a seat on her bed.

A moment of silence filled the room and she busied herself with a teddy bear. "Why did you have to leave so suddenly? You promised you would tell me if you left again." Mason asked in a whisper. Ivy shrugged and played with the bear's torn ear. "I had a client to deal with. And maybe Avery is a big part of it. I couldn't tell you since I decided to leave then boarded a plane immediately." She said in a whisper. Mason groaned and stood up from the chair. "I wonder when the both of you will finally grow up and understand the whole picture! Both of you are running away from what you both want! Is it that hard to believe?" he said in a stern voice. Ivy looked up from the teddy bear and felt her heart ablaze. "Maybe it's because he never showed sign that he was chasing after me huh? I have all those stupid regrets in my mind, but what about him? Is he sorry for any of it? With the way he just broke my heart without warning or reason and sent me into a depression stage, I doubt it.

So yeah, I still can be head-over-heels in love with him but he needs to be following all of this. If he wants me then he come and get me. He's already had millions of chances to. You don't understand any of it." She said angrily. It always came to this. Everyone had asked why they just can't be together. It was more complicated than they knew. Her life wasn't some stupid romance novel that came to a happy ending. There were hard times and they weren't leaving unless Avery noticed how stupid his actions had been. It wasn't just because he broke up with her years ago. He left her alone when she needed someone to be her anchor. She knew it was a biased feeling inside of her and yet she didn't care. "Then help me understand!!" he said yelled. Ivy eyed him scornfully. "I'm not trying to defend him but he's only human Ives." Mason said in a whisper. Ivy buried her head into the teddy bear and smirked. "Yeah I know. This little mini vacation will help whether we'll make it or break it." Ivy said with a sigh. Mason eyed her wearily and nodded. A comfortable silence wrapped around them and the time drew on.