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The entire room fell silent. Not one word from anyone as they stared down at the beloved hero of Haven, now a sobbing mess on the bar floor. Behind him, Diane cowered against the doorframe, the color gone from her face.
It was over and she knew it.
But as with all major victories, this one hadn’t come without a cost.
“Why are you doing this?...Were you afraid we wouldn’t get Typhon? Is that why you need someone else to blame? I thought we were in this together. For Gabe. And me…I thought you cared about me…”
“Ryan…”
“No…I’m not going to let you do that to me anymore.”
She had practically crawled out of her grave to get here. Stood before him, broken and bleeding, apologizing for everything that had happened. Only for him to recoil in disgust, shaking his head and withdrawing from her as if her touch were poison.
Was this really happening?
The world seemed to go dark around her. She felt her eyes glaze over, her brain shut down. The same way it did when she fell into the mines. Completely surrendering to the pull of the abyss.
Her ribs would heal…
But this…?
Was there any coming back from this?
Would she ever forgive him for turning his back on her?
And would he ever forgive her for ruining the life he knew and loved?
But now wasn’t the time to get caught up in any of her personal feelings. This was about Gabe. Seeking justice for him and everyone else who had suffered at the hands of Typhon.
With renewed focus, Alex honed in on the bar owner, picking apart his mind until his darkest secrets were laid bare before his family and friends. She watched on with a mixture of satisfaction and awe as he fell to his knees and confessed, shaken by the extent of her power, by an ability she never even knew she had.
Immediately, she could also sense a change in Ryan. Anger quickly dissolved into guilt and remorse, and she could feel his eyes on her but didn’t even spare him a glance. Somehow, it would’ve felt like throwing salt in the wound.
She also didn’t have the energy to dwell on it for very long once the adrenaline began slipping away. She staggered towards the exit with only Steph by her side, hands hovering protectively around the empath in case she fell. Ryan took a step forward too before quickly stopping himself, and Alex spent the next few minutes trying to convince herself she was more relieved than disappointed.
Maybe she just needed to get out of here for a bit. A place to clear her head. Even the long-dreaded hospital visit was looking more appealing at the moment. Just somewhere far away from the man who had confessed his feelings to her less than ten hours ago, only to take it all back with one hateful look and words that cut straight through her heart.
A week had gone by.
Alex wished she could say she had gotten more accomplished after such a life-altering event. Instead, she had stayed cooped up indoors, her only tie to the outside world being Steph, who had kindly offered to supply her with groceries while she recovered.
“You’re the best,” Alex had told her gratefully.
“I know,” Steph had smirked.
As nice as it was to have her friend’s support, it unfortunately wasn't enough to distract Alex from her own thoughts. Ever since the town meeting, she had woken up each morning hoping that everything had just been one horrific nightmare. Upon realizing it wasn’t, she found little motivation to leave the warmth of her bed.
Even sleep offered little comfort, knowing that all that awaited her once she closed her eyes were fragmented memories and shattered dreams. Visions of what could have been violently torn from her grasp and set ablaze. Nothing now but a smoking pile of ruins.
At one point, she had tried using these emotions as song-writing fuel, anything to fill the pages of her long neglected journal. But some feelings were just too painful think about, let alone put into words.
But that didn’t stop her from trying.
So once again, she was sprawled out on top of the covers, fingers idly strumming her guitar. She stared blankly up at the ceiling, willing the lyrics to come to her when a knock at the door startled her from her musings.
“Steph?” Alex muttered.
She had mentioned coming by to drop off food today, but that wasn’t supposed to be until later.
Heaving herself out of bed, Alex propped the instrument up against the wall and walked over to the door, cracking it open.
“Hey, you’re earl-“
Alex trailed off as she locked eyes with someone who was definitely not the record store employee.
An odd combination of excitement and panic shot through her. She’d grown accustomed to experiencing joy at the mere sight of him, but their last conversation was still so fresh in her mind, she couldn't help but anticipate the worst.
Was he going to kick her out? Demand her to leave? After all, she was living in his bar now.
But one look at his expression – eyes wide and fearful, as if half-expecting her to slam the door on his face at any second – and her concerns were quickly laid to rest.
“Alex…I’m so sorry.”
And just like that, whatever remaining resentment Alex held over him instantly melted away.
She sighed at the ground. “I know.”
She opened the door wider as invitation, allowing Ryan to step inside.
“What you said…the truth about my dad,” he continued, struggling to mask the tremor in his voice. “I should have known. Maybe, deep down, I did. I just couldn’t accept it. I guess I wasn’t strong enough.”
The pain behind his words was undeniable. The disturbing truth had no doubt been weighing on him all week, and she lamented the fact that she hadn’t been there to help him through it.
“He was good at pretending,” she admitted. “Even fooled himself in a way.”
Ryan scoffed, shaking his head. “Looking back, it seemed so obvious. Everything he said felt so practiced. So rehearsed. Like he was used to putting on an act. It just makes me sick.”
“Well, it’s out now,” she shrugged wearily. “And as horrible as it is, at least everyone finally knows what really happened.”
He gave her one long look before nodding and directing his attention to the floorboards, fiddling with his hands as he approached her.
“What about us?” The question was barely audible, as if he’d almost been too afraid to ask. "Could you ever forgive me? What I did?” His voice was desperate, pleading. It made her chest ache.
She wanted to tell him that everything was okay. That she was completely fine now. But that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. A small part of her was still stubbornly clinging to that initial pain. That sting of rejection. Those bitter accusations.
Suddenly, her mind was a jumbled mess of questions.
Was he asking for too much? Did he deserve her forgiveness?
And while she had yet to speak a word, her hesitation seemed to say it all.
Ryan took a few steps back, retreating from her just like before. The expression he wore reminded her of that day on the cliff. Face twisted in anguish, ready to plunge in after his best friend.
“Right…of course. I totally understand. You don’t have to say it. You have every right to hate me. I’m so sorry, Alex.”
As he was turning to leave, her heart filled with dread.
What was she doing?
They’d both been victims in all of this, caught in the crosshairs of an organization that would stop at nothing in their endless pursuit for more money and power.
They were the ones to blame for everything. She was angry at them. At Jed.
Not Ryan.
Her Ryan.
After just months of knowing him, she’d come to him with a ridiculous story about how his father was a murderer. Of course he’d be skeptical at the very least.
Plus, it wouldn’t exactly be fair for someone like her to judge him. She knew a thing or two about letting emotions get the best of her. About losing control and lashing out, saying things she didn’t mean. Pushing away the people who mattered.
Throughout her life, she’d lost countless friendships, severed so many relationships. Even to this day, she looked back at them full of regret.
And as she watched Ryan walk away now, she could sense that familiar feeling bubbling up inside of her, already overwhelmed by that ache of his absence from her life.
There was absolutely no way she could lose him like this.
He had managed to make it halfway down the hall before Alex caught up to him, grabbing his arm.
He turned towards her in surprise, which lasted for but a second before she was closing the distance between them, arms wrapped around his waist, head against his chest.
“Alex?”
His hands tentatively came up to place on her back, afraid to ruin everything again. As if one false move would break whatever spell had possessed the person he had wronged to come running to him for comfort.
“I didn’t think I was going to make it,” she said, the confession slightly muffled against his shirt. “I thought I was going to die down there. But one thing that wouldn’t stop running through my mind was how sad and scared I was that I’d never see you again.”
“Alex…” He said weakly.
He held her tighter and rested his cheek against the top of her head.
“I’m so sorry, Alex. You were counting on me to be there for you and support you when it mattered most, but I let you down.”
“I won’t lie to you. It hurt. A lot. But I was also saying something that sounded crazy and terrible and went against everything you’d been told your whole life. I understand why you turned away.”
She pulled back to glance up at his tired eyes. He looked like he’d been through hell.
“But you’re here now, and that’s what matters.”
Ryan’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “The way I treated you though. The things I said…”
“You were hurt and confused. We both were.”
He looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “It’s funny…This whole week I was so afraid that you wouldn’t forgive me, but now that you have…I’m not even sure if I deserve it.”
It was upsetting, yet endearing, how difficult it was for Ryan to forgive himself sometimes.
"Don't you think that's for me to decide?" She teased, an attempt to lighten the mood.
But his expression remained fixed into a frown.
“Still, I-” He protested.
“Ryan,” she said steadily. “You’re too important to me to lose over something like this. I’m done giving Typhon any more power over us. I just want to move on with my life and focus on creating more amazing memories in Haven.” She smiled up at him reassuringly. “And I know that I can do that when I’m with you.”
She watched in relief as the fight left him. His gaze finally softened. “There’s nothing I’d want more than that,” he said quietly.
His hands reached up towards her face, fingers gently tracing along the healed cuts on her cheek and forehead. Her eyes fluttered shut as she relaxed under his soft attention, skin tingling pleasantly at his soothing touch.
“But I’ll make it up to you somehow. I promise,” he whispered.
“I’ll hold you to that,” Alex smirked, and he chuckled at the familiar words.
She felt him begin to inch closer until their lips met in a slow and gentle kiss. Her body instantly relaxed into it, knowing it was everything she’d been yearning for this past week.
After breaking away, Alex couldn’t help but stare up him, heart full of affection. She probably looked like a lovesick dork right now, but she didn’t care. Not when Ryan was looking at her the same way, positively glowing, as radiant as the sun.
It was hard to believe how just last week, the distance between them had seemed insurmountable. But now that they were here in each other’s arms, Alex felt dumb for ever believing that things could turn out any other way.
They’d both had their fair share of disappointment and loss, heartbreak and tragedy, some of which had happened before they’d even crossed paths. But they had healed from those wounds the same way they’d heal from this. And as long as they had each other…as long as Ryan could hold her just like this, she was confident that they could get through whatever else life managed to throw their way.