Chapter XXVII

Both Briella and Ryan walked out of Briella's apartment complex before turning left. They headed away from the city centre and towards the countryside.

Following the path before them, it would have led them to a big park on the outskirts of the city, right by the big river.

Embarking on such a journey took them about twenty minutes. Most of it was filled with silence, allowing nature - and her sounds - to thrive and boom through the air.

One beside the other, they walked. Occasionally, a person walking or on a bike would have passed them by, nodding in acknowledgement. To which, they'd have both replied with a smile.

And from there, silence would have once again descended upon them both.

The day was a warm one. Which was a surprise. Usually, around this time period, it would be rainy, and still cold with a chance of sleet here and there. In the longer run, it would have brought them a cooler Summer.

But this year, it would have been different. "They are predicting Summer that'll be warmer than usual..." Briella began.

To which, Ryan replied by looking up into the sky. Scattered, broken clouds ruled the sky, but they didn't leave an impact on the temperature. The sun would have found its way to peer through the sailing cotton balls and heat up the ground.

"Yeah..." he began. "If it's already this warm, I'll be expecting the upcoming months to be hotter than the usual.".

Muteness was deafening between them both until Ryan decided to speak up again. "But tell me, how are you keeping up?".

She briefly turned around and looked at him. "As best as I can, I guess... you?" Briella responded.

"Can't lie... same here...". Ryan felt the quiet descend upon them both once again, but he didn't allow for it to fully settle in. "But tell me... can you believe it's almost Summer?".

As a reply, Briella laughed at his words. "Are you excited to leave this hell of a hole? Because I know I would be...".

It was her words that left a bad impression on Ryan. He furrowed his brows before turning towards her. Only when Briella twisted her head and looked him in the eyes did she realise that maybe she shouldn't have said what she said.

"What sort of a question was that?... Why such pessimism?".

"P-pessimism? I-..." Briella began but stopped herself. What was she gonna say?... She didn't know...

Ryan, once again, steered his eyes towards her. He examined her body language. The way her hand tensed up into a fist.

"You're hiding something from me, aren't you?" He asked, and it was those words that had a weakening effect on Briella.

Ryan noticed this and couldn't help but let a small smile grow on his lips. "I am an author, don't forget that. Looking at behaviour and all the different languages a body expresses is something I must keep an eye on all day, every day. It's that 'show, don't tell' idea. You know?".

To this, Briella only replied with a nod, before another brief moment of silence descended between them both.

Briella was stuck in her thoughts when suddenly, Ryan's voice ejected her out of her trance. "I want you to know..." he began. She felt some sort of excitement, mixed with a sprinkle of fear, churn in the pit of her stomach when she detected his tone. It reminded her of that night when they fought. That side of Ryan that she saw then. "I will find out whatever it is you are hiding from me. Although, I do have a fairly good idea of what it may be...".

'H-have I read her right?...' he asked himself.

His final sentence caused her eyes to widen. But she didn't know why. She wasn't hiding anything from him.

She was sure of it.

So what does he mean that he has a 'fairly good idea of what it may be?'.

Unless... 'I-is me hiding something from myself the problem here?' she thought to herself.

Then, she rose her eyes to Ryan. 'Am I denying it? Is my brain treating the fact that I might actually like Ryan, like a piece of fiction?... like something that doesn't exist?'.

But with a surrendered sigh, she looked away, maintaining her gaze on anything other than Ryan.

"C-can we sit down somewhere, please?".

With another smile, he replied with "sure.".

Finding a bench somewhere nearby, they took their seats there. Consequently, it was right beneath a blossoming cherry blossom.

They were on a pathway, that if followed that bit further, would lead you to the park centre. It was filled with kiosks, people, playgrounds, children and... love.

And within this park was another, smaller park.

The Cherry Blossom Park.

The sides of the pathway were hugged with cherry blossom trees, which stretched all the way down to the park centre.

Minutes of silence passed. There was a lukewarm breeze present, that rustled all the leaves around them.

In a few instances, the weak wind would have carried down a few cherry blossom petals from the trees down to the ground.

Having her hands opened up, her eyes widened when a petal managed to find its way into her hands. But, spreading her hands apart, she let it fall to the ground.

Moving her gaze a little left, she was met with Ryan's shoes. His smart shoes. 'Who would wear something like that on such an occasion?...' she asked herself. But then a small smile grew on her lips. 'Although, he always has such a smart attire... I guess it's just something about Ryan that... just makes sense...'. A pause. 'And what's more, it suits him...'.

Once again, her smile receded. She cleared her throat.

"C-can I ask you something, Ryan?" Briella asked.

"Sure, go ahead.".

From her elbowing her thighs, she sat up, crossing one leg over the other. "W-why are you so invested in me?". Only after she asked, did she allow herself to look up again at Ryan. She saw the way he crossed his brows ever so slightly in confusion.

"Invested? What do you mean?".

"All the things you've said..." she began. "Like if I were to be hiding something, you will find out what it is.".

"It's not a question of whether or not, I know that you are hiding something from me and I am going to find out what it is," he replied. Just like before, his words caused another powerful swirl of emotions to churn in the pit of her stomach.

"B-but why?" she asked.

"What do you mean 'why'? It's because I don't like it when people are hiding things from me...".

But to his words, Briella responded by giving him a look. "Is that so?".

"Why that look?" he inquired.

"It doesn't sound right to me. It has to be something more exact. Something that is truly bothering you so you have to find out what it is, even if your life depended on it...".

It was her words that brought Ryan surprise. She wasn't wrong.

"Something more exact and something that is truly bothering me, you say?". He marked the end of his sentence with a deep, manly chuckle. Then, taking a deep breath, he continued, "Well, I don't like it when YOU hide things away from me...".

Briella narrowed her eyes at him. "Nice try...".

Again, Ryan let out a chuckle, all while Briella had an amused smile stretched across her lips.

"What do you want me to say then?" he asked.

"I don't know. Maybe why do you want to know what it is that I am hiding from you?".

Ryan looked at Briella differently. "So you ARE hiding something from me!".

From there, they both looked at each other. Their gazes once again landed on each other's eyes. They both wanted to say something but decided against it.

Then, the breeze picked up a bit. It caused their hair to blow across their foreheads. But it also caused a few cherry blossom petals to descend from the trees. The wind swept any loose petals from the trees that were in the surroundings to land all around them.

"Should we begin our way back now?" Ryan inquired.

All Briella answered with was a nod.

With that, they both stood up.

"Let's go through the park, we will get to a nearby bus stop. From there we can catch a bus home.". Ryan was about to turn around, but he stopped himself in his tracks. Next, he moved a step closer to Briella. "Also, to answer your question... simply put, I feel like you are worth my time.".

A small break followed.

And from there, Ryan went on to say, "That's why I am so... invested... in you.".