Chapter 10: RYDER

I let the water run down over me in the shower in the hopes that it would wash away whatever this was that I was feeling. It was the only place where I could be alone these days. Ever since that night that I’d rushed out of the house to go lick my wounds after listening to her song, Janie has been on my ass like stink on shit.

Since I refused to answer her questions and she still had no idea where I’d gone or what I’d been doing, she’s become even more neurotic than ever. I’ve been in hell ever since that night, vacillating between happiness, anger, relief, and uncertainty.

I was proud of her, of course, though I had to keep it hidden. I must be the only human being on earth who wasn’t allowed to show his true feelings one way or the other about her chart-topping song.

I knew it was about me; how could I not? Everybody knew it was about me unless they lived under a rock. And even though she’d ripped me to shreds with her words, I can never forget the way it felt to see her again.