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Chapter 7
Nightmares
Rachel cried that night. She cried a lot these days. But she kept running through the night she had felt the brunt of Finn's anger for the first time. She had dreamed of the moment when she would tell him everything, the reasons why she left, and she had always pictured a huge fight between them. Although, she had never imagined that it would hurt this much.
The pain in her chest was a sharp, throbbing pain that never seemed to want to go away. Knowing that Finn could possibly hate her hurt so badly that she was unable to fathom what to do if he forever hated her. She could only hope that he would give her the chance to make up for her misdeeds. Maybe, one day they could become friends.
Crying herself to sleep again, she had a fitful sleep with dreams that plagued her every thought. The dream never left her alone, but it was more vivid this time, more real.
Rachel was running, Ryder struggling to keep up with her even though she was holding his hand. They weren't moving quick enough. If they didn't move now, they were going to get caught. Glancing behind her, she saw the men following them from a distance, but no matter how hard she and Ryder ran, they could never make the gap between the two of them and the men following them any bigger.
Picking up Ryder, she decided to try running down another street. Maybe she could loose them. No matter how hard she ran or how far away she thought she was getting, the men were always the same distance away from her. She found a door that was unlocked and hurried inside, shoving Ryder into a closet to hide him.
Right as she turned back around, the men were standing in the doorway. Rachel tried pleading with them, but it was no good. She was helpless as they descended on her, making her feel vulnerable and helpless. They were going to take Ryder away from her while she was unable to do anything for him.
The tore the door off the closet, reaching in for the poor, scared child. "Ryder!" Rachel yelled, reaching for him, trying to struggle against the firm grip of the men holding her. They were a lot stronger than Rachel's small form, so she was forced to sit and watch, to sit and wait. "No!"
"Mom!" Ryder's voice broke her from the hold her dream held on her. "Mom? Are you okay?" her son asked her, concern clouding his no longer sleepy eyes.
Breathing heavily, Rachel sat up, running a hand through her long, dark hair. "Come here," she said, holding her hands out for him to come into her arms, which he did. "I'm sorry if I scared you, sweetie," she apologized. This was the second time her nightmares had been so bad that Ryder had heard her.
"Is everything alright?" he asked her, hugging her around her middle tightly, almost protectively. He wanted to protect his mother, but he didn't know how.
Rachel nodded. "I'll be fine. Just, let me hold you for awhile, okay?" Glancing at the clock, she saw it was three in the morning. Rachel was really glad the morning would be Saturday. She could lay in bed with Ryder for as long as she wanted in the morning.
"Why were you crying? What were you dreaming about?" Ryder asked her as they laid back down under the sheets together. He was still hugging her tightly, as if he wasn't going to let her go.
She reached up to her eyes and found her cheeks wet. "It was just a bad dream, Ryder. I had a dream that bad men wanted to take you away from me and hurt you." She was running a hand through Ryder's hair absently. "But, I will never let that happen. I will protect you always."
"Daddy would, too, right?" Ryder asked about Finn. It was amazing how much they had taken to each other within a few short days. It was almost as if they had known each other forever. That thought made her happy.
"Yes, your dad would do anything for you," and Rachel knew that statement to be true. He'd do anything for Ryder. Ryder meant the world to Finn. The one good thing that came out of the list of mistakes he did in high school, herself one of them. Finn was talking to her, albeit sparingly.
Ryder was asleep shortly after, and as she watched him sleep, she couldn't help but cry again. What had she drug him into? She wished she could rewind the clock back to when she was 18. The nightmares she had never stopped. It was the same dream over and over again. Did that mean the men were close to finding them again? She'd be damned if they were going to get her son.
~.~
Finn was standing over her bed, looking down at the two sleeping forms before him. Finn had been worried when Rachel didn't show up in the park this morning. They were supposed to meet thirty four minutes ago. He had tried her cellphone several times, but she never picked up. Wondering if she was ok, he decided to just head over to the house. He had let himself in when she never came to the door.
Sure, the door may have been locked, but when he heard her cry out, he had thought something was harming her. He had thrown the door opening, breaking the frame as he did so. When he got into the living room, he saw that she was merely sleeping. One would have thought the noise would have woken her up, but she was sound asleep.
She was sleeping on the couch, Ryder between her and the back of the couch, cuddled and cramped. She had tears running down her face while Ryder was sleeping soundly. He wondered what she was dreaming about if she was crying. She cried out again, a whimpering noise escaping her slightly parted lips. She was scared.
He leaned over her sleeping form and wiped away stray strands of hair, tucking them gently behind her ear. Her face was so much more mature now. She was a changed woman from whom he had known in high school. But, maybe that was a good thing. Maybe if she was changed, things between them could be fixed. He wiped away the tears from her cheeks tenderly. His gentle touch made her moan in her sleep. It wasn't in fear this time, but almost as though she liked the touch, as though it soothed her.
He was afraid to wake her up, because he wondered how much sleep she had been getting lately. He could only guess not a lot, so he decided to let her sleep peacefully. He hoped that whatever dream she was having that was making her cry would be over with soon enough. He went into the kitchen and peeked into the fridge. It was almost completely bare except for some milk and other bare essentials. He grabbed his phone and made a phone call.
~.~
When Rachel awoke, she felt oddly refreshed. After she had finally fallen asleep last night, the nightmares had come back, but not for long. They vanished rather quickly and once they were gone, she slept quite soundly. She wondered why she hadn't had the nightmares. What had made them vanish? Ryder wasn't with her anymore, so she figured he had gone back to his own room. She was sort of a bed hog, so he had probably got fed up with it.
Getting up, she stretched her arms and checked the clock that hung on the wall near the door, which wasn't shut all the way because the frame was broken and cracked. The chain lock was broken off the door and was hanging on the wall. Getting up, she ran into Ryder's bedroom and found the room empty. Her heart dropped into her stomach as she ran out of the small room. "Ryder?" she called out. She heard voices coming from the kitchen. Listening, she heard Ryder laughing. Hurrying into the kitchen, she found Finn and Ryder sitting at the small table laughing and talking. "Ryder!" she exclaimed as she hugged him tightly.
Looking over at Finn, she asked in exasperation, "What going on? What happened to the door? Why are you here?" She sighed in relief that nothing had happened. She plopped down in the nearest chair and stole one of the cinnamon rolls on the plate, which she assumed Finn brought with him.
"I got worried when you didn't show up this morning, so I kind of broke in," Finn admitted sheepishly. When Rachel was about to say something, he continued before she could get a word in, "I knocked, but you didn't say anything. You cried out, and I sort of panicked. Turns out you were just having a bad dream. Anyway, I didn't want to leave with the door the way it is."
His genuine sincerity touched her heart. He was really worried about her. She tucked a chunk of hair behind her ear shyly. "Well, thank you. It's sweet of you," she told him as she got up and went to the refrigerator. Opening the door, she found the door and shelves filled with food. "What is this?" she said aloud, looking at all the options they had.
Finn stood up and went to stand directly behind her. "I saw that it was bare, so I called Puck and told him what to buy, and he brought it all up for me. Can't let you and Ryder starve."
Rachel turned around, closing the fridge door. "Thank you so much for everything. I appreciate the help." The were standing mere inches apart, and Rachel desperately wanted to lean in and kiss him, but she didn't want to have to jump him. If only he knew how much he meant to her, and how much his helping them meant to her.
"You're welcome. But, you shouldn't hesitate to call me help should you ever need it," he told her, looking down at her with those eyes she had missed so much. His lips which she had kissed on more than one occasion were slightly parted, as though they were inviting her to make the first move.
She looked away, "I'll remember that for next time," she promised with a smile.
A little Finchel fluff going on. Hope you like it!
Sorry this is a lot shorter than the others, but I won't have internet again until Thursday or Friday. I'm going home where there is no internet. I am at the library right now, which is the only reason I got on today.
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