TATE KNEW HOW to make coffee. Well, instant coffee.
"Here, it'll calm you down." He said, handing her an opaque mug. Her nose picked up on the scent of arabica beans. The mattress dipped under Tate's weight when he sat down opposite to her.
"I am sorry." She apologized. She outlined the rim of the mug nervously. "It wasn't fair of me to be so rude to you when all you did was. . .care." She said carefully.
Tate brought his mug to his lips and sipped. "You know bottling things up aren't good. You'll eventually combust or you'll burn out."
Ryan took a sip of hers as well. It was good, bitter but with a slight hint of sweetness. She tried to ignore the slight tremble of her hands.
"Yeah well I'm not the most open person." She said dryly.
"Oh I would've never guessed." He deadpanned. When Ryan threw him a look he continued. "I'm not telling you to confess about your whole life story, but if it bothers you, don't forget to talk it out."
"Well that sounds great and all, but I'm not that good when it comes to things like this, you can't trust anyone with your secrets." You'll end up eaten after all. And used against.
"I never said it had to be secrets. And for the record, I'm trusting you with my secret. Not that I wanted to but â yeah." He countered.
"Then what do you want me to talk about?"
"We can start with the normal stuff."
"Normal stuff?" She parroted.
"Yeah. Uh, okay. Let's do twenty questions. I forgot the rules so uh, twenty each? Okay, let's start." He said, taking another sip of his coffee. He smiled encouragingly at her and for a split second, she felt guilty about using his secret against him. It stung.
Here he was, trying to cheer her up and all she'd done was blackmail him.
"Are you serious?" Was what she replied with.
"Question number one," He said, ignoring her. His eyes darted all over as he thought. "What's your favorite. . .food?"
Deciding that she might as well humor him, she answered. "How childish. I like beignets. And gnocchi."
Tate wrinkled his nose, "ew."
"My turn, why do you play football? One." She twisted a strand of her hair in boredom.
"I was forced into it. It became likable." He answered easily. "What's your dream vacation? Two."
"Somewhere I can drown." She deadpanned. Tate shot her a look and Ryan exhaled. "Maybe Maldives. What's your favorite food? Two. Wait, isn't this like forty questions now?"
He shrugged. "Maybe. I like pizza," He said with a grin.
Ryan sipped her coffee. Warm. It was warm. "It's your turn to ask." She muttered. Strangely she grew accustomed to it. It helped her keep her mind off of a lot of things.
"Uh okay, why does Carter call you Gia?" He asked.
She blinked. "Pardon?"
"Why does Carter â"
"I heard you the first time!" She hissed. Ryan slumped back and sighed. "It's my middle name, short for Morgiana. When I first met him, he told me my first name wasn't 'feminine' enough for a girl like me. Then he asked me what my middle name, and I told it to him, and apparently he liked it."
"Oh. That's cute, I guess. The name Morgiana sounds familiar though â"
"Because it's famed!" She interrupted hastily. "You can ask me what it means for the next question. It's my turn."
There's no way he could've figured it out by that right? She thought.
She'd been so immersed in telling him what it meant she forgot to put her defenses up.
"Has Veronica ever talked about me?" She asked carefully, hesitation lacing her voice.
Tate seemed surprised by that. He shook his head, "not really. She's like you, doesn't talk about her feelings or anything." He said bluntly.
"Then how'd you know I was friends with her before?" The question left her mouth before she had a chance to register it.
"One question at a time Ry," he laughed. "Wait your turn. Ok so I'm curious, why Morgiana? I'm not saying it's weird or anything, but it's peculiar and. . .familiar."
Ryan shifted her weight on the bed. Should she tell him the truth? If she told him the truth, would he think less of her? Maybe, maybe not.
"Morgiana was a fictional character in Arabian nights." She answered truthfully. "She was a slave."
He knit his eyebrows in confusion, "why were you named that?"
"Because my grandmama hated me." The girl whispered. Ryan never understood exactly why. Sure, she wasn't her blood. She wasn't her daughters' daughter, but it wasn't her fault. Ryan may have been the product of infidelity but it wasn't like she made the decision, that was all on her dad.
Unable to help it, a tear dribbled down, grazing her cheeks in a silent plea. She hated this game now. She hated how much weakness she was showing just because a person disliked her.
"Ryan, oh my god. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to pry. Please don't cry." He panicked instantly, setting the mug down on his bedside cupboard.
She inhaled sharply through her nose before wiping her stained cheeks with the back of her hand.
"I'm â I'm fine." She said. But then she remembered just how much Tate hated to hear those words. "I mean, it's something old, I've gotten used to it. It doesn't hurt me as much anymore." She corrected herself.
Ryan tried not to think about how her grandmama had branded her as a slave of all things.
"You missed a spot." He whispered.
"Wha â what?" She stuttered.
"Left cheek," he pointed to his own. "You cry like a waterfall."
"That makes no sense." She deadpanned, but wiped the remaining tears off her face quickly.
Tate smiled sincerely, "Whatever. I'm glad you told â"
He was interrupted by a rhythmic knock on the door followed by a shout that said his name. Before Tate had the time to respond, the door opened.
"Hey do you know where I can â " Veronica started but stopped short when she saw he wasn't alone.
She titled her head to one side in confusion, her eyebrows strung together. "Shit," she cursed.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know you had company." She said, bowing her head frantically multiple times. "I hope I didn't interrupt. . .whatever was going on."
Ryan shook her head, "you didn't. I was just about to leave anyways."
"Uh, uh, okâay." Veronica dragged. "Wait, what â what's your relationship with him?"
Ryan gnawed the inside of her mouth nervously. What should she say?
She opened her mouth to give Veronica a vague answer when Tate interrupted her.
Tate smiled warmly at Veronica before his green eyes landed on Ryan.
"She's my girlfriend."
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Imagine, I haven't updated in weeks and I give y'all this really short update :/ super sorry, but please forgive me :)
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