Debbie blinks, the familiar figure standing before her causing a mix of surprise and confusion. The shadows seem to cling to him, as if the very air is reluctant to let him go, but the moment he steps into the light, there's no mistaking who he is.
"Ryan?" Her voice trembles slightly as she says his name, the last person she ever thought she would see again.
Ryan stands still, his features sharper than before, the same mischievous glint
in his eyes, though now it's tempered with something else—something darker.
His appearance is almost unsettling, and yet there's something undeniably magnetic about him.
"Debbie," he says softly, as if testing her name on his tongue after all this time.
"I thought I'd find you here."
She stands up, her heart racing. She hasn't seen Ryan in years, not since everything fell apart. His sudden reappearance feels like a ghost from the past resurfacing, a reminder of things she'd tried to bury.
"What are you doing here?" she asks, a little too sharply, trying to regain
control of the situation. Her mind races, conflicting emotions tugging at her. Is
this a sign? A test? The thought crosses her mind, but she pushes it away,unsure of what it even means.
Ryan tilts his head, his gaze never leaving hers. "I came to see you," he says simply, as if it's the most natural thing in the world. "I've heard things. About Felix, about Pasco." He pauses, taking a step closer, his voice lowering. "About
how they've both been pulling you in di erent directions."
Debbie takes a step back, her chest tightening. "You've been watching me?"
Ryan smirks, the look in his eyes darkening. "Not watching. Just… keeping an
eye on things. I've always been interested in how things turn out for you."
She frowns, unable to shake o the uneasy feeling crawling up her spine.
There's something off about him—about the way he speaks, the way he's standing there, like he's too comfortable in this space that used to be hers.
"You can't just show up after all this time and expect everything to be the
same," Debbie says, her voice firm despite the swirling anxiety inside her.
"What do you want, Ryan?"