Chapter 2

We arrived at the restaurant.

Everyone gradually put the earlier incident behind them and chatted and laughed together.

Lucas was glued to his phone, scrolling through something with a little smile tugging at his lips.

He kept zooming in on photos, clearly looking through someone's Snapchat Stories.

If I had to guess, they were Ava's Snapchat Stories.

I couldn't help but think of his girlfriend, Emily.

If Emily saw her boyfriend focused on another girl's Snapchat Stories, looking smitten, it would be especially hard on someone as shy and sensitive as she was.

For some reason, I could totally relate to her, like I could feel exactly what she was feeling.

I was hesitating, wondering how to give him a heads-up.

But before I could say anything, Ryan spoke up first.

"Lucas, what are you looking at?" he asked.

Lucas quickly turned off his screen and looked up with a cheeky grin.

"Oh, nothing, just scrolling through," he said.

Ryan's eyes darkened, and he shot Lucas a serious look.

"Don't forget, you've got a girlfriend," he said.

Lucas froze for a second, then let out an awkward laugh, trying to play it cool.

"Of course I know. I just added her and was casually looking through her Snapchat Stories, that's all. Seriously, it's nothing," he said.

I couldn't hold back any longer, so I asked him.

"If you know you've got a girlfriend, why are you even adding another girl's contact?" I asked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ryan's hand tremble as he ladled soup for me.

Lucas looked a bit uncomfortable under my questioning, his eyes darting around as he stammered.

"Grace, well, she was the one who asked. I couldn't really say no," Lucas stammered.

Hearing his weak excuse, I couldn't help but feel bad for Emily.

I frowned and started to say, "Lucas, no girl would be okay with her boyfriend."

Before I could finish, Lucas cut me off, looking both embarrassed and annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Grace, can you just butt out?" Lucas said.

"Lucas." Ryan said.

Ryan's face darkened, his cold gaze locking onto Lucas.

"What's with that attitude?" Ryan asked.

Lucas's face went pale as he caught the irritation in Ryan's voice.

"Ryan, I," Lucas began.

Ryan reached out from under the table, took my hand, and gently rubbed his thumb over my palm, as if trying to comfort me.

He stared straight at Lucas, his eyes deep and sharp.

Ryan said, "Grace Weston is right.

"You're not single, so keeping your distance from other girls is the least you can do to respect your girlfriend," He said.

Lucas's face flushed and then turned pale. He opened his mouth, but stopped himself.

Finally, he apologized to me.

"Grace, I'm sorry," Lucas said.

Then he picked up his phone and began fiddling with it right in front of Ryan.

"Ryan, I get it. I'll delete it right now," Lucas said.

The others jumped in to break the tension, trying to lighten the mood.

"Let's eat, guys. The food's gonna get cold," someone said.

The meal ended quickly, and soon everyone went their separate ways.

Ryan drove me home.

I sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window, lost in thought.

The neon lights flickered past along the street, swirling like a carousel of memories from last night's dream.

Each moment felt surreal, yet strangely real.

The exhaustion and pain from the dream felt so real, like I'd actually lived through it.

Before I knew it, the car had pulled up in front of my house.

Ryan got out, walked around, and opened the door for me, even shielding the top of the car with his hand.

He was always so considerate, never missing a detail.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and stepped out, standing there for a moment.

After saying goodbye, I had just taken a step away.

But before I could go any further, Ryan reached out and gently took hold of my wrist.

"Grace, wait a second," Ryan said.

"Huh?" I paused, his touch making me stop in my tracks.

When I turned around, I was caught in his deep, unreadable eyes.

For a moment, we just stood there, the silence stretching between us.

Then Ryan reached up, brushed my cheek with his hand, his voice calm, but with a gentle concern.

"You seemed a bit off today. Are you feeling okay?" Ryan asked.

I froze for a second. He noticed.

Of course he did.

The Carter and Bennett families had been close for generations, and Ryan and I had grown up together for over twenty years.

I could always sense when something was off with him, just by the look in his eyes.

And naturally, he could pick up on anything unusual about me from the way I acted or spoke.

I thought for a moment.

I lifted my gaze and looked straight into Ryan's eyes.

"Ryan, I had this dream last night," I said.

*****

I started telling him about everything that happened in my dream, bit by bit.

The tears that felt so real and the deep pain I went through in that dream. It all poured out of me, like I was wading through a river of bitterness.

I looked at Ryan, still feeling lost.

I asked, "Why does the girl trying to win you over look exactly like the one in my dream, with the same name?

"But you acted totally differently?"

Before I could even see Ryan's expression, he wrapped me in his arms.

"Grace," Ryan said.

Suddenly, I felt a cold drop hit the top of my head.

Was it raining?'

I tried to pull away from Ryan's embrace, but he just held me tighter.

A long moment passed.

I finally heard a voice above me, strained and heavy with emotion.

Ryan said, "Grace.

"It was just a dream, Grace. Nothing more.

Dreams always flip things around, so that's why I wasn't myself."

The winter wind howled, biting through the night.

Nestled in Ryan's warm embrace, I mumbled:

"Really?

But it felt so real, like I really went through it myself."

Ryan stiffened for a moment.

I couldn't see his face, but his arms tightened around me as if he wanted to press me into his body.

Ryan said, "It's true. Believe me.

"In this life, my heart belongs only to you. No one else could ever conquer it."

Listening to the strong beat of his heart against my ear, I still couldn't find much comfort.

Promises made in our youth were beautiful, but always tinged with uncertainty.

Like the moon shimmering on the surface of the water.

With just a touch from the capricious hand of fate, it all scatters into restless silver ripples.