Orion’s Star

Chapter Eight

XXXXX

Ryan heard knocking, and pulling his legs under him, he rested his head against the floor. He felt pain vibrate up his head as the knock came again, and he hoped that whoever was at his door would go away. He felt his stomach roll, knowing that if he moved too much, he’d be sick. Shifting his hand, he could feel the cooling liquid on the floor beside him. He heard his door open and then close, knowing that it was his aunt that had entered.

“Orion,” Anca kept her voice quiet as she moved to kneel down beside him. He felt the healing warmth on his face, the feeling of nausea faded slightly, as did the pain in his head. Ryan glanced up, seeing the woman was moving around the kitchen, making tea.

Shifting, Ryan sat up to lean against the counter; he brought his hand up seeing blood clinging to it. Licking the blood off, Ryan found himself muttering something. He let his eyes track his aunt, seeing the woman was looking into the pot on the stove.

“Oh Orion, we told you about this,” she shook her head as she glanced at him, “and you go ahead and do it alone. You could have been seriously hurt!”

“It’s fine; they shouldn’t have taken away what was rightfully mine,” Ryan rubbed at the side of his head where the blood had started to dry. He looked up to see she was dumping the pot and didn’t argue; he had planned on doing the same thing. “You saved my life, thanks.”

“What?” Anca glanced at him, her face confused.

“About a year ago, well not really, but I was hit by a car and you saved me,” Ryan rubbed the heel of his hand into his eyes before he looked up at her again. “You turned me into a cat, took me to the man that had hit me and …”

“And?” Anca wanted know.

“And, well he’s my soul-mate,” Ryan dropped his head again as he felt the pounding increase. “He was soul-bonded to me; he’s no longer soul-bonded to me.”

“But, that’s not…” Anca knelt next to her nephew, seeing Ryan was staring at the blood on his hands. “Orion, how can that be?”

“I don’t know, other than him agreeing to have the bond broken,” Ryan said softly; he dropped his eyes and shook his head. He’d have to scrub his floor, and he knew he needed a shower.

“There isn’t anyone who could break a soul-bond.” The woman reached out, pulling her hand back when Ryan leaned away from her touch.

“There has to be somebody,” Ryan wiped his hand on his pant; for some reason, his finger tips were tingling. “I’m gonna clean this up and shower.”

“I can help,” Anca started only to stop when Ryan shook his head,

“It’s my mess; let me clean it up,” Ryan pushed away from the counter, pulling himself to his feet. He held onto the counter until he was sure that he’d be able to stay on his feet.

“Orion,” Anca started again.

“I’m fine, Auntie,” Ryan moved to wrap an arm around her shoulders; he led the way to his door. “I need time alone, to figure it out, honestly.”

“If you’re sure,” Anca worried her bottom lip as she looked at her nephew.

“I am; I’m fine,” Ryan moved to open the door. He hated to toss the woman out, but he really needed time alone to sort out his head. He watched as Anca moved down the hall, the woman pausing by the elevator to glance back at him. Giving a small wave, he turned and shut the door.

Leaning back against the door, Ryan took a deep breath before he brought his hand to his face. While his aunt had healed it a bit, it was still tender to the touch, and he knew it would bruise. Pushing away from the door, he moved towards the bathroom, hoping a shower would help the pounding in his head. Slipping into the bathroom, Ryan paused in front of the skin; his eyes scanned the damage to his face.

With a shake of his head, he moved to pull his clothing off before he started the shower. He tried not to think about what happened, what he had learned. Not all of it was clear; mostly the ending part after that person had kicked him. After that, it was blurry, mostly just feelings and panic.

Crawling under the spray, Ryan was careful of his face and the bruise he knew was forming. He washed the potion and blood from his hair; he tried to keep his mind blank, not sure if he’d be able to keep the pain back. Closing his eyes, Ryan couldn’t stop the images of when he was with Sean as a cat.

“Fuck,” Ryan dropped down; he felt as if someone was trying to rip his heart out. A sob escaped him. He knew the pain wasn’t really physical, but he felt as if his soul was being ripped in half. Bending over his knees, Ryan continued to sob. A short time later, he realized the pounding water on his back was cold.

Pulling himself from the shower, Ryan shook with the cold. Drying off, Ryan moved into his bedroom to pull on a pair of warm pajamas. Towel-drying his hair, he made his way back into his kitchen to survey the mess. Shaking his head, he reached up to gently touch the bump, and moving across the kitchen, he pulled out aspirin and a glass of water. Taking them, he turned to look over the kitchen again, wishing that he could leave it.

Quickly cleaning up the floor, Ryan tossed the rag he used into the sink and headed into his room. With a sigh, he crawled into bed, knowing he was going to end up staring at his ceiling for most of the night. Ryan rolled to his side, letting out another sigh; he felt the tears slip down his cheeks.

XXXXX

Sean glanced up again, his mind on his missing assistant. He was worried, although Ryan had left him and his nephew at the park, the boy seemed in a good mood. But when he had tried to call Sunday, he didn’t get an answer, nor did Ryan open his door. With a groan, he sat back and went over what work he had to do.

“Mr. Timpson,” Sean looked up when he heard Ryan’s voice.

“Ryan,” Sean stood, his eyes widening as he took in the bruising on the boy’s face. “What the hell happened?”

“Nothing,” Ryan frowned at the man, not sure what was with Sean’s tone of voice. “Sorry I’m late; I got tied up.”

“Tied up! What the hell happened to your face?” Sean moved around his desk, heading straight for the blond. He stopped when Ryan took a step back from him. “Ryan?”

“I need to get to work; do you have files for me?” Ryan looked up, his eyes scanning Sean’s face before he dropped them again.

“Ryan,” Sean dropped his voice as he stood in front of the boy. “What happened to your face? Where did the bruising come from?”

“Mr. Timpson,” Ryan fidgeted slightly. “I fell, that’s all. Now those files?”

“On my desk,” Sean gave in; he watched as the blond moved across the room and took the files. He stood back and held the door as Ryan crossed the office again on his way out. Once the boy was out of his office, Sean slowly closed his door. He didn’t believe for a minute that Ryan just fell; he knew something else was going on.

Dropping back down into his chair, Sean watched the boy through his open doorway. He didn’t like how Ryan wouldn’t meet his eyes, nor would the boy look at him. Shifting slightly, Sean grabbed the phone and dialed before he could lose his nerve.

“Yeah?” someone on the other end answered.

“Hey Victor, it’s Sean,” Sean glanced up at Ryan once again.

“Oh hey, what’s up?” Victor’s voice sounded distracted.

“Can you meet me for lunch?” Sean asked, knowing the minute that he had Victor’s full attention.

“Is there something wrong?” Victor sounded less distracted.

“Not really, just please, meet me for lunch, usual place.” Sean asked, his eyes never leaving his assistant’s image. He wanted to be able to make everything all right. He knew something had happened on Sunday, he just didn’t know what it was and didn’t like the feeling he was getting.

“All right, I’ll meet you at twelve-fifteen,” Victor said before hanging up. Sean took a deep breath before he returned the phone to its cradle. He glanced at the clock to see that he had forty-five minutes until he was to meet his friend. Turning back to his work, he tried to put thoughts of what he was about to do out of his head.

At noon, Sean stood and walked out of his office; he paused beside Ryan’s desk. He saw the blond didn’t look up at him, but he knew Ryan paused in his work. “It’s lunch time.”

“I’m having lunch with Mel,” Ryan stated. He glanced up at Sean, his eyes meeting cold blue.

“I’m meeting a friend; I might not get back until late,” Sean turned away; he paused before walking away. “Make sure you eat something.”

Ryan watched the man leave, a frown on his face. He glanced over when he saw Melody approach him, the woman also watching Sean’s retreating back. “What was that about?”

“Nothing,” Ryan stood; he glanced at the things on his desk before moving away. He glanced back to see Melody wasn’t following him, and he paused to raise an eyebrow. “Coming?”

“Oh yeah,” Melody moved to follow her friend. They were quiet as they rode the elevator down, Ryan trying hard to put Sean out of his mind. “You okay?”

“Fine,” Ryan could feel Melody’s stare, and he finally looked over at the woman. “Why?”

“’Cause you don’t seem okay,” Melody shrugged her shoulders; something about Ryan seemed off today. Stepping out of the elevator, Ryan glanced beside him.

“I really am fine, just tired; I didn’t sleep well last night,” Ryan lifted one shoulder, his eyes scanning the lobby as they crossed it. They entered the parking garage, moving towards Melody’s car, Ryan glancing around once again.

“What are you looking for?” Melody couldn’t help but ask as she unlocked the car. She looked across at Ryan as he watched her.

“Nothing,” Ryan slipped into the car; he kept his eyes on his hands. He couldn’t tell her why he felt so off… because he didn’t know for sure. The short drive to the restaurant was quiet, neither sure what to say.

They slipped into chairs at a table in front of the large picture window of the café. Ryan glanced over the menu, even though his stomach rebelled at the thought of food. He glanced up at Melody to see the woman was biting her lip as she tried to decide what to eat. Once they ordered, they fell quiet again.

“So…” Melody started her eyes on her friend. “What happened to your face?”

“I fell, on water on the kitchen floor,” Ryan shrugged, turning to look outside. He studied the people, his mind on other things.

“Ryan, talk to me,” Melody went to reach out to her friend, surprised when Ryan pulled back. “Ryan?”

“There’s nothing really to talk about,” Ryan turned back to his friend. He tried to smile, but it came out strained. “Honestly, I’m okay.”

Ryan turned away, his eyes on the window. He knew that Melody was uncomfortable with the situation; the woman was used to them talking. Ryan was about to try something when someone outside the window caught his eye. A frown came to his features when he saw Sean moving towards a car that had just pulled up at the hotel across the street. He watched as his boss opened the door for a man then watched as the two proceeded to head into the hotel.

“Ryan?” Melody’s voice was very quiet; she had watched the blond lose all the color in his face.

“What?” Ryan wanted to whimper, but he plastered on a smile for Melody.

“Ryan what’s wrong?” Melody couldn’t keep the concern out of her voice. She watched as the blond looked out the window again.

“Nothing, it’s not important,” Ryan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a second, he opened his eyes and gave Melody a genuine smile. The rest of their lunch was pleasant, as was the trip back. Ryan didn’t let the fact that Sean didn’t return to the office until quarter to five bug him.

XXXXX

Ryan pulled back from the stinging slap, a whimper escaping him. He reached up, placing his arms in front of his face to protect himself. A cry escaped him as the person attacked again, a hand buried in his hair pulling his head up, painfully forcing him to meet the cold blue eyes of his attacker.

“Please…” Ryan trying to pull away, his eyes wide as his muddled brain finally figured out what was going on. Wrenching his hair from the punishing grip, Ryan rolled and stumbled to his feet. The landscape around him was familiar and yet not familiar. It wasn’t something he could say he’d every seen before yet he knew the place.

Running out of the barn, Ryan turned towards the house, knowing that if he made it, he’d be safe. He heard a yell behind him, and reaching down, he hiked his skirt up, a frown finding his face. But he didn’t stop running towards the house he could see.

“ANNA!” Ryan stumbled when he heard the man behind him yell. Glancing behind him, he realized he wasn’t going to make it. The man tackled him into the dirt; Ryan yelled out, trying to wiggle away from his attacker.

“Please don’t do this,” Ryan couldn’t believe what came out of his mouth; the voice was definitely female. He tried to push at the man’s shoulders, tears slipping down his face. Closing his eyes, Ryan tried to block out what he knew was coming next. He cried out as he felt pain between his legs, reaching up he tried to push the man off him again.

“You brought it on yourself, Anna; I told you…” the man groaned as if in pain. Ryan looked up at him, when the man pulled back, tears and blood dripping down his face. Ryan flinched when the man reached up, but all he did was touch the side of his face.

“Please, Bart, please stop,” Ryan tried to pull his face from the man’s rough hand. He tried to cry out as hands wrapped around his throat to squeeze. He struggled against the man, trying to pull away as darkness started to dance at the corner of his vision.

Ryan let out a scream as he sat up; he was sweating and breathing heavily as he tried to calm his heart. Reaching up, he swallowed; he could still feel the hands around his throat. Getting out of bed, Ryan made his way into the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he was almost surprised not to see marks on his throat. With a shake of his head, he turned and started to get ready for his day.

XXXXX

“Ryan, you okay?”

Ryan jumped, his eyes wide as he turned around to face the person that had talked to him. “Oh, hey, Mel.”

“Are you okay?” Melody came into the copy room, her eyes on the blond.

“Yeah, just tired, sorry,” Ryan shrugged slightly as he turned his attention back to the copy machine. He could feel the woman’s eyes on him, but he couldn’t offer more than he had already told her.

“You know you can talk to me, right?” Melody reached out to touch the blonde’s shoulder.

“I know; I wish I could,” Ryan fought the urge to shrug her hand off his shoulder. “I really am sorry, Mel.”

“It’s okay,” the woman removed her hand, her eyes sad as she watched her friend.

“Ryan,” Sean said from the doorway; he glanced between the two before his eyes settled on Ryan. Melody mumbled something as the woman left the room, leaving them alone. “I need those copies; I’ve an appointment after lunch and won’t be back today.”

Ryan stared at the man for several long minutes, trying to keep the emotions out of his voice. He started to nod as he felt the tingling in his fingers that had been present the last couple of days. “Sure, fine, give me a few; the machine keeps jamming.”

“Can I help?” Sean asked, although he didn’t move from where he was standing.

“NO!” Ryan shouted; his eyes wide as he watched the man. “Sorry, it’s just that I can do this; let me do this.” Ryan turned back to the machine, hoping that Sean would leave the room. When the man finally did, Ryan let his teeth clinch together as pain lashed through him. It had been the same all week; Sean would come into work early, leave at lunch, and then come back looking satisfied close to five.

Taking a deep breath, Ryan looked back at the copy machine, his eyes watching as it shuddered again spitting another copy out. When the machine jammed again, Ryan gritted his teeth together his hands clinching the side of it. He wanted nothing more than to pound his head against the door until his brain leaked out. He couldn’t figure out why Sean was doing this.

“Oh and by the way,” Sean’s voice came from behind him, startling the blond. Yelping, Ryan banged the machine causing the thing to start spitting out copies like it was supposed to. “There’s a man I want you to meet.”

“No,” Ryan kept his voice low, his eyes watching as the ancient machine seemed to grow a second life. Turning, he handed Sean his copies, meeting the man’s cold blue eyes. “I don’t want you interfering in my life anymore, nor do I want you showing up at my place. I want you to leave me alone.”

“Ryan,” Sean looked confusingly between the copies and the retreating back of his assistant. He frowned, not sure why as the week went on that Ryan had become more and more withdrawn. It was like the first few weeks of when the boy had been a kitten.

XXXXX

“You like seeing him struggle to make sense of why is mate betrayed him?” The redhead’s voice was as soft as the green eyes on the swirling mists.

“Of course I do; it makes for a good time,” the blond woman turned to look him, a grin on her dark red lips.

“It’s cruel,” Another redhead, identical the first, stepped up beside his twin.

“It’s his life,” the blond turned away, her eyes slowly looking over the twins. “Why shouldn’t I enjoy it, when I can no longer enjoy… other pursuits?”

“You did that!” One redhead stepped in front of the other, green eyes narrowed angrily.

A small laugh escaped the woman as she reached out one red nailed-tipped hand to grip the redhead’s chin. “I’ve done a lot of things; you’re lucky you two only ended up with this.”

“Leave him alone,” the soft voice floated up from behind the scowling redhead. Both could see the humor in the woman’s eyes. Yanking his head away, the redhead glared at her, his hand holding that of his twin. With one last glare, they moved away.

“Don’t go far, loves; I might need you.” She laughed when they looked back at her, one was painful, the other scornful. She laughed again as the pair continued away before she turned back to the swirling mist in front of her.

“I hate that bitch,” the harder of the two muttered as he pulled his twin close.

“You and me both,” was the answer he received. “But it’s not like we can do anything. We’re unregistered and quite frankly she can do worse to us than she’s already done.”

XXXXX

“Orion,” Anca grinned as she opened the door. “You’re early… for once.”

“Yeah, I um… got out of work early,” Ryan glanced around; his eyes landed on David where the man was standing in the kitchen’s doorway. “David.”

“Hello, Ryan,” David nodded to the blond.

“Hey,” Ryan turned back to Anca, the boy’s eyes hard to read. “Didn’t know you had company. You should have called; we could have rescheduled for next Friday.”

“I thought we could have dinner together,” her voice was quiet.

“I’m not sure that would be a good idea,” Ryan shrugged, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jean jacket; he kept his eyes down. He didn’t know what to say, but something about the other man being there set his teeth on edge, although he’d always liked the man.

“Please stay, Orion,” Anca frowned at her nephew; she could feel something off about the blond. Taking a step closer, she was surprised when Ryan pulled away from her. “Orion?”

“Sorry, haven’t been sleeping well,” Ryan shrugged.

“Then stay,” David took a step towards them, his eyes on the boy. Something about Ryan was off; the boy did indeed look tired. Ryan shrugged again before the boy moved further into the house. Looking at Anca, David didn’t try to hide the frown on his face. “Do you think something is wrong?”

“Um…” Anca bit her lip, and pulling her shawl closer around her, she watched Ryan’s retreating back before looking up at David again. “I shouldn’t say anything; it’s really not my place.”

“Anca,” David pulled his eyes from the retreating form. “There is something wrong with him; I can see it.”

“Like?” The woman’s voice was worried as her eyes went from where David was standing to where Ryan had disappeared.

“Just something’s off about him,” David moved to wrap an arm around the woman; he moved them towards the kitchen.

“Is it dangerous?” Anca couldn’t keep the fear out of her voice, fear for Ryan.

“I’m not sure,” David shrugged again; he turned to look at her. He kept her from entering the kitchen, knowing that she wanted to say something to the blond. “I’m not even sure he knows what is wrong with him.”

“His soul-mate gave him up,” Anca whispered, her eyes wide at what she said.

“What?” David dropped his voice as he stepped closer to the woman. He glanced into the kitchen again, his eyes narrowed slightly.

“Orion did a spell, which gave him back memories; he knows who his soul-mate is and was soul-bound to them until recently. The soul-mate had to have someone break the bond and is now trying to set Orion up with other people.” Anca kept her voice down, her eyes on the doorway to the kitchen.

“How did he get the spell to work?” David couldn’t believe that it would work.

“He had a book and made a potion, but that’s not the point. The point is that it worked, and now he’s spiraling down,” Anca shook her head before taking a deep breath; she plastered a smile on her face as she moved towards the kitchen. She found Orion sitting at the table watching Saso. “Orion?”

“What?” Ryan turned to look at her, his honey brown eyes going from her to David and back again.

“Is everything okay?” Anca moved towards the boy, pausing as she was not sure how the blond would react.

“Yeah, everything is fine,” Ryan shrugged again, his eyes going back to the cat.

“Well, I should get dinner finished,” Anca moved towards the stove, pausing to glance back at the two. “You guys could go sit out on the deck.”

“All right,” David grabbed the tray of iced tea that Anca had set out. “Come on, Ryan.”

Ryan looked up at the man, a frown coming to his face. After a few seconds, he got up and followed David out to the deck. Dropping down into a lounge chair, he started slightly as David held out a glass to him. “Thanks.”

“So…” David sat down in a chair opposite from the blond. “How are you?”

Orion kept his eyes on the water out beyond the deck for several minutes before he looked at David. “Did you turn into a shrink since the last time I saw you?”

“No, but I’ve raised kids; maybe I could help,” David kept his voice neutral, even though everything in him screamed out to help the blond. Ryan was in so much pain it hurt David to look at him.

Ryan tilted his head slightly, his eyes on the man. “My male lover decided that he no longer wants me and is trying to pass me to someone else.”

“Oh,” David glanced down; he knew that Orion was different, the way that Anca protected the boy.

“What? No great advice for me?” Ryan all but sneered, his eyes narrowing at the man sitting across from him.

“You’re in so much pain,” David shrugged slightly, his eyes dropping from the blond. “I want to help, but you’re just not letting anyone in.”

“I really don’t care to let anyone in, especially those on the council,” Ryan took several deep breaths, knowing that no matter what he did, David would always know his feelings. “It was you guys that took my memories and my…”

David waited for several minutes, but when the blond didn’t say anything else, he sighed. “The council wouldn’t do anything unless they were protecting you.”

“Protecting me from what?” Ryan seethed as he glared at the man across from him. “They have no right to mettle in my life.”

“Ryan,” David rubbed the bridge of his nose; he didn’t want to ignore with the blond, had only wanted to make him feel better. “The council tries its best; I know they were only thinking of what was best for you.”

“I should be able to make that decision,” Ryan sat back, his eyes on David. He wanted to make sure the man understood where he was coming from.

“Dinner’s ready,” Anca said from the patio door, her brown eyes going from one to the other. They sat down to eat, although it was strained. Once they finished, Ryan offered to help clean up, but Anca told him that she had it. The blond left the house, glad to be free of their weekly dinner.

XXXXX

“Hello,” Ryan looked up, his eyes landing on an attractive man standing by his table. “I’m Victor; mind if I sit?”

“Um…” Ryan glanced around; he was on his lunch hour, across from his office building. He brought his eyes back to the man standing there smiling at him. “Sure, I guess.”

“Thanks,” Victor sat down his light blue eyes on Ryan. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Ryan.”

Ryan frowned, his eyes narrowing at the man across from him. “Excuse me?”

“Sean,” Victor paused when he saw the blond’s mouth turn down. “Sean Timpson? You know him right?”

“He’s my boss,” Ryan said before muttering under his breath, ‘not for long.’

“I’m Sean’s lawyer; he’s spoken about you,” Victor smiled and reached across to touch Ryan’s hand, his grin not fading as Ryan pulled his hand away. He went on as the blond continued to stare at him. “I had asked Sean to introduce me, but the man said you weren’t interested.”

“So you figured you’d introduce yourself to me?” Ryan took a sip of his tea, watching the other man, a frown on his face.

“I figured,” Victor turned on his most charming smile, “that if I introduced myself, maybe you’d find some interest, seeing I’m not nearly as bad as Sean said.”

“Actually, Mr.…” Ryan trailed off, not willing yet to give into the informality that this man had.

“Studauge,” Victor kept his smile in place.

“Mr. Studauge, Sean has not mentioned you,” Ryan decided that he wasn’t going to have another overbearing man in his life. “The one and only time he mentioned that he had someone he wanted me to meet, I told him no and to stay the hell out of my life.”

“He said you had a set of claws,” Victor leaned back with a grin; he glanced up when the waitress came out. He ordered coffee, his eyes never leaving the blond’s face. “I would really like to take you out.”

“No,” Ryan watched him; he planned on having a few words with Sean as soon as he got back to the office. He was tired of the man meddling in his life, tired of the man trying to push him aside.

“Listen, I’m gonna be frank with you,” Victor thanked the waitress as she set his coffee down. “Sean said you and I were a perfect match, not sure why he would think that. But the man has his eye on some little brunette down in filing, said he really wants to bring the man up to the office level…”

“Fucking bastard,” Ryan couldn’t believe it, his eyes narrowed at the man across from him. The pain that had been lingering in his heart tore it open.

“He said there was a promotion in it for you,” Victor smile faded; he didn’t like the ashen pallor of the boy’s face, “that you were moving up, that someone wanted you as their new assistant.”

“Right,” Ryan nodded. He took several deep breaths, trying to keep from crying right there. Not only did Sean want the bond broken, the man wanted him completely out of his life. He looked up at the man across from him; Victor was startling handsome, had black hair and deeply tanned skin. It was the blue eyes that got him, though; they were the opposite of Sean’s.

“This obviously didn’t come out right,” Victor sighed, the sound was heartfelt. “But agree to one date, and I’ll leave you alone.”

“What’s in it for you?” Ryan wanted to know.

“I’ve always had a thing for brown-eyed blonds,” Victor grinned as he watched the small blush cross Ryan’s face. “Just agree to meet me at the Italian restaurant, and we go from there?”

Ryan watched the man, seeing genuine want and caring in the man’s eyes. “All right, tonight at seven?”

“Great,” Victor pulled some bills from his wallet, enough to cover his coffee, and Ryan’s lunch. Ryan argued but, in the end, let Victor pay. He moved back to the office, his eyes scanning the area only to stop when he saw Sean talking to a brunette from filing.

“Ryan,” Sean called him over; clinching his teeth, he moved over to see the man take the files from the man. “I have a meeting in fifteen minutes and need you to go over these.”

Ryan took the files before he moved back towards his desk. He glanced back to see Sean was grinning as he talked with the man. It didn’t take him long to go over the files, and he took the next few minutes to type something out. Finishing, he got the paper from the printer, picked the files up off his desk and headed into Sean’s office. He set the files down, placed the paper on the top and turned and left.

XXXXX

Sean shook his head as he walked into his office; he had glanced up to see Ryan was doing something at his desk. With a grin, he moved to pick up his files but stopped when he saw what was lying on top of the pile. Picking it up, he felt the blood drain from his face. Turning, he walked out of the office and over to the blond.

“What is this?” Sean asked shaking the paper at the blond.

“That would be my resignation, effective immediately,” Ryan didn’t pause in tossing things into a box.

“But…” Sean wasn’t sure what it meant. He knew that Ryan has been pulling away from for a while, but he couldn’t place his finger on it.

“But what?” Ryan picked up the box, his eyes on the man.

“Why?” Sean watched as Ryan started to walk away. He was certain that he wouldn’t get an answer, but Ryan paused, the boy not looking back at him.

“Because you didn’t want me.”