“What?! What is it, Bryce?!” Ryan scrambles out of his chair, completely forgetting about the spill on the floor and table. He runs into the living room, and quickly grabs Bryce, who is staring at something in horror.

Bryce shakily points at something on the floor, eyes wide with fear. Ryan quickly notices the problem, and finds a small rush of anger go through him.

“Bryce! What the fuck! You nearly gave me a heart attack over a damn spider! Don't you ever do that shit again!” Ryan smacks Bryce's arm lightly before pulling him in for a hug, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

“I'm so sorry, Ryan, I just- I just…. It scared me,” he whines quietly. Ryan doesn't say anything in response, instead he pats Bryce's back.

“You're not scared of spiders, are you?”

“No, but it crawled onto my hand when I tried to pick up my jacket from the floor.”

Ryan shakes his head, finally letting go of Bryce. “Well, you owe me some coffee now. I spilled mine when you screamed.”

Bryce giggles. “Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. But I will say, it's kinda cute how you got all worried about me. That's sweet, you know?”

Ryan quickly realizes what Bryce is getting at, and he laughs nervously. “What? Me thinking you were getting murdered is sweet? You're weird, Bryce.”

“But it shows you care,” Bryce insists, continuing to giggle. “You care about me, Ryan. Don't deny it!”

Ryan thinks it over for a moment, before stomping off to the kitchen. He had coffee to clean up.

But Bryce is right behind him, still smiling like some kind of dork and teasing Ryan about his feelings.

-

“Okay. So… hear me out. Brock is hiding something from us,” Bryce says out of nowhere.

Ryan looks over to Bryce, rolling over on the bed. “What do you mean?”

“Well, nobody would be this nice to two kids who just show up out of nowhere. And don't you think it's odd that he saw Luke really recently and doesn't say anything else about him? Or that he didn't just call an ambulance for Luke who was obviously badly wounded?” Bryce lays down besides Ryan, grabbing his phone.

“Well…” Ryan didn't know what to say. Some of the same questions had been going through his mind, and now Bryce is bringing them back. And he had a point with the last part, too.

Wouldn't it be more efficient to call for help, med student or not? Why go through the trouble of walking all the way here with a knife in your shoulder or wherever it had been?

“You would think a badly wounded man walking through an apartment building would raise questions,” Ryan finally says, giving a bitter laugh. “I bet you five dollars Luke covered them all up with his hoodie or whatever.”

Bryce shakes his head. “I'm not wasting five dollars on a bet I know I'm gonna lose. Though I do wonder how nobody noticed a knife inside of him.” Bryce laughs quietly, still typing away on his phone. “Oh, Luke. Always the stubborn one, don't you think?”

“Yeah,” Ryan agrees, a fond smile on his face. “Whatever he's doing, I hope he's kicking ass at it. I can't imagine him doing anything else.”

--

Okay!! So, first off, hooray for chapter 20!! Second, this kinda marks a turning point in the story. Plot is a more consistent thing in the next part of the book, so.... Enjoy!!