All characters belong to Sega/Archie except my OCs.

Ch. 9 Count On You

Only the radio's soft hum and the rumbling of the engine filled the silence in the car during the ride home after we had seen Rosy's dad's odd actions. I kept glancing at Rosy to make sure she was alright. I wasn't exactly sure how she would take what we just saw. We both weren't expecting her priest like father to do something so crazy – or be capable of it for that matter. What bothered me the most was that I couldn't tell how Rosy was feeling. I mean, I knew that she had to feel hurt and betrayed but what else could be running through that fragile mind of hers? Not good things, I bet. When we finally reached her house, I turned to Rosy to see there were tears falling down her cheeks. Cautiously, I leaned over to gently wipe the tears off of her face. The action only made her cry more though she seemed to sink into my touch. "What's wrong," I asked though I already knew the answer.

"I don't know what to do," Rosy said simply, her soft voice cracking from her tears. "Should I tell my mom? The cops? My brothers? Or do I confront my dad myself?" She shook her head, her moist eyes turning to me. "I don't know which is the right choice." Slowly, I pulled her towards into a tight embrace. Her arms locked around me without question as she freely cried into my chest. I didn't say anything. I just held her close and stroked her hair until she started to calm down. "Can I sleep over tonight? I don't want to see my family after seeing what I did."

"Sure," I murmured before setting her back into the passenger seat. I pulled out of her driveway and drove into mine. After helping Rosy out the car, I held her close as we walked to the house. I was immediately taken by surprise when I saw my dad sitting on the couch in the living room talking to Bonnie. It seemed to be a serious conversation that they stopped the second they heard out footsteps. I raised an eyebrow at them but they ignored it. Instead they took an interest in Rosy, especially my dad.

"Hello there," he said, letting his strong accent show. Rosy blushed softly.

"Hi," she replied, glancing at me. I sent my dad a glare as I wrapped my arms around Rosy. Even though I knew he wouldn't hurt her or anything, I didn't want him talking to her. Not yet anyway.

"We were going upstairs to watch a movie," I said, trying to shuffle Rosy out the room. My dad held up a hand, causing Rosy to stop. I shot her an annoyed glance as I bumped into her.

"Wait, you're not going to introduce me to your lovely friend?" Rosy smiled and walked over to him, holding out her hand.

"I'm Rosy, Scourge's girlfriend," she said, beaming proudly. Oh shit, I had almost forgotten we were in a relationship now. Although, it did feel good to know that she was officially mine now. Then again, in my mind, she was mine before we made anything official. But chicks think differently apparently.

"Girlfriend, eh? Nice to meet you Rosy. I'm Alejandro, Scourge's dad," my father replied, sending her a soft smile as he shook her hand.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Mr. Delgado. You and Scourge look so much alike." My father chuckled, shaking his head.

"I see you are one of the ones who see the similarities." Rosy giggled.

"Yea, I'm very observant when it comes to the little things such as the shape of one's eye and jaw." My dad seemed intrigued by this.

"Really now? Are you an artist of some type?"

"Not in drawing per to say but I am strongly interested in photography."

"That's interesting."

"She's interesting," I said, grabbing Rosy's arm and starting to drag her out the room. "Now if you'll excuse us, we're in the middle of a date." Rosy sent a glare to let me know I was being rude but I honestly didn't give a fuck.

"Oh I'm sorry to interrupt," my dad said. He smiled to Rosy again. "I hope to see you around again, Rosy."

"You too, Mr. Delgado," She replied as I dragged her out the room. "What is your problem," she snapped as she tried to shrug her arm out of my grasp. I tightened my grip as I glared down at her.

"Who are you talking to like that?" She narrowed her eyes.

"You! That behavior was uncalled for." I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever."

"I thought you were close to your dad."

"I am but something's off about him popping out of nowhere."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, his moving her was kind of random and unexpected. I mean, we had agreed that they'd spend Christmas together and that my dad wouldn't come around my mom since they don't exactly get along too well anymore. Now that he's around and way too happy, I just have a weird feeling. As if he has something up his sleeve but I don't know what." Rosy nodded, seeming to understand what I was trying to say. I mean, she had just seen her dad's unknown secret come to life. Of course she understood what I was I feeling. I remember her vaguely mentioning something about her dad acting strange when we were hanging out once. Sure her assumption came to be true but our dads are totally different people. Either my bad feeling can just be stupid or my dad can be planning something really weird.

When we reached my room, I immediately walked to my dressers to pull out a basketball jersey and a pair of basketball shorts for her to wear. Soft blush crossed her cheeks when I held them out to her. "I could have gone to my room via the branch and grabbed some clothes ya know," she said, accepting the clothes. I shook my head, letting a small smirk come upon my lips.

"I couldn't risk you falling off that branch now could I?" She giggled as I pecked her cheek. "I'll let you change now." I made a move to step around her when she stopped me by putting her hand on my arm.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go get some soda and snacks and stuff. You can pick out a movie to watch, okay?" She nodded and I pecked another kiss at her lips before leaving out the room. I wandered downstairs and passed my mom and Bonnie who were talking quietly in the hallway. Although I was itching to stick around and eavesdrop on their conversation, I had a girl upstairs to take care of. Couldn't keep her waiting too long. Especially since she might be tired. I don't want her falling asleep until she was nice and snug in my arms. Damn, I am becoming such a romantic freak. When I reached the kitchen, I saw my dad sitting at the table. He seemed to be texting or something on his phone before he looked up at me. A soft smile grazed his lips. I stared at him for a brief second before walking over to the fridge. I heard him sigh softly.

"You've got a nice girl there, son," he said, making a sucky attempt at conversation. Honestly, I didn't like talking about Rosy much to other people. My thoughts were if they knew too much about her then maybe they'd fall for her too. I think I like having her all to myself.

"Yea. She's different than most of the other girls I've been with."

"Are you guys active or anything?" I shook my head.

"She's a virgin and devoted Christian so I doubt that I will be getting anywhere in that category anytime soon." I heard my dad crack out a soft chuckle. I glanced at him to see he was nodding slightly.

"Well I'm happy you found a good girl. Does she make you happy?"

"Yea. Happier than I've been in a long time." I paused, hesitating on what I wanted to ask. "Dad," I started but trailed off again.

"Yes?"

"How do you know when you're in love with someone?" He sighed. I looked over to see him looking down in deep thought. "Um, how did you know you were in love with mom? Use that as an example."

"Well, she just became my world. I wanted to do everything for her and make her the happiest that she could be. I wanted to give her everything and hold her and kiss her. I never wanted to let her go," he murmured the last one. A part of me felt bad for asking since I knew that my dad and mom still did have slight feelings for each other. I mean, it wasn't as if my dad wanted to put her in that ward just because she needed it. He did it because he loved her. He took me away because he loved me. If he could still have both of us then he would but I guess there were some wounds that just couldn't be healed. The one my mom had made when she went crazy just happened to be one of those types of scars.

"Oh," I murmured. My dad looked up at me and smiled.

"Do you think you're in love with Rosy?" I shrugged.

"Maybe. I know I'm getting there."

"Scary isn't it?"

"What?"

"Caring for someone more than you care for yourself." I looked down and nodded.

"Yea," I murmured before quickly walking out the room and heading up the stairs. I hadn't actually thought about this whole love thing but now that the topic has been put in my head I was realizing how weird it felt. My dad was right about it being scary. I'd never felt this way before and I know that she hasn't either. Damn now that's a really scary thought.

I entered my room to see Rosy sitting on the floor in my baggy clothes, running her finger over the movie titles in the little rack. She had pulled her hair up into a back ponytail and discarded her tights, boots and socks. It seemed that she had also wiped off the little bit of makeup she had on. She looked absolutely beautiful and innocent. A small part of me wondered how innocent she was under those clothes. As soon as the thought went through my head, I shook it off. How could I even think that? I knew that I could never take advantage of Rosy. Unless she gave it to me willingly and open heartedly – well maybe even then I wouldn't. She was just too innocent and sweet. She looked up at me, her wide jade eyes filling with curiosity as she tilted her head at me.

"Everything okay," she asked. I nodded, holding up the Oreos and sodas. She beamed and got up to take the snacks from me.

"So did you pick out a movie," I asked after I had let out a chuckle. She nodded, popping an Oreo in her mouth. Rosy then plucked a DVD from the rack and held it up for me to see. "Freddy Vs. Jason? Nice choice." She giggled as I playfully snatched the movie from her hand and pecked her cheek. I loved how she was into scary movies. I'd always been attracted to girls who enjoyed scary movies. Most girls didn't because they were little punks but Rosy was different in every way possible from them. I popped the movie into my DVD player as Rosy perched down on the edge of my bed. After flipping the lights off, I flopped down next to Rosy on the bed. I put my hands behind my head as I made myself comfortable. Rosy stared down at me, a hesitant look in her eyes. "You can lay down if you want, mama," I purred. She blushed softly but slide herself up the bed and laid down beside me. I made a soft moan as I grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to me. She curled up on my chest, wrapping one of her legs around mine. Damn she was warm.

"Is this okay," she murmured, looking up at me with those beautiful eyes of hers.

"Of course." I pecked a kiss at her forehead. She smiled up at me, leaning up towards me for a kiss. I met her halfway so that our lips could meet. We kissed for a sweet moment before Rosy pulled away. She smiled at me again before turning her attention to the movie. I pulled a blanket over us and started to relax. The last thing I saw before I fell asleep was Rosy's content face as she slowly fell asleep as well.

X

A soft whimper escaped my lips as I awakened in a warm bundle. I cracked my eyes open only to have the bright sun shine in my eyes. Immediately I closed them again and got more comfortable on the warm six pack I was laying. He was so warm… Wait what? I shot up, looking at my position. I was practically draped all over Scourge! I blushed softly when I noticed that his arms were wrapped tightly around me, as if he wasn't let me gonna go anywhere. Even though I had moved, he was still asleep. A soft smile came upon my lips as I took in his peaceful look as he slept. How much hotter could he get? I mean, even though he's cute and everything when he's awake he looks even better when he's asleep. His face is a lot less tense and the thoughtless look on his face made him look so much younger. He was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. A part of me fell for him even more.

Carefully, I untangled myself from him and climbed out the bed. I quickly changed my clothes, keeping my eyes on Scourge to make sure he didn't wake up and catch a flash of my body. That would absolutely embarrassing on my part even though he would probably enjoy that. To my relief, he never woke up. The dude sure could sleep pretty. I let out a small giggle at my own joke. I wrote a note on a Post-It on his desk thanking him for his kindness and that I wanted him to call me later. I then stuck it on his forehead and hopped out the window to the branch. Even though Scourge was worried that I might fall off, I was actually at ease. I had taken gymnastics up to the past year when I hurt my ankle so I crossed the branch easily. When I slid back into my room, I saw Ray standing there. He looked to me with a worried expression. "What's wrong," I asked.

"I covered for you but mom and dad realized you were gone this morning when you wouldn't come down for breakfast."

"Yea me and Scourge went to bed pretty late last night… Are they angry?" He nodded.

"I can help you make up a story if you want but honestly I think it's time you just let it all loose. Hiding all of this from them will only make things worse. Besides, the worst that they can do is kick us out but we've already got a back-up for that."

"We," I asked with a raised eyebrow and a smile. Ray smiled back nervously as he put a hand behind his neck.

"I think I'm ready to come out the closet. Jace and I are starting to get pretty serious and I don't want to keep hiding him."

"Aw well would you look at that: my big brother is growing up." Ray rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand.

"Come on and hope we don't die." I giggled as I let Ray drag me downstairs. Honestly I wasn't too worried about what they would say about me and Scourge since nothing could really be done. I was at that age where I would do what I want no matter what they said. Besides I was too deep in to stop now. I was more worried about Ray since his secret was something a little more serious. My parents would definitely flip. My only hope was that he would be okay after hearing what they had to say.

Our parents were in the living room, looking panicked. My dad was trying to calm down my mom by holding her close and whispering things to her though he looked like he was about to bust a nervous vein in his head himself. Although I did feel a twang of anger towards my father, I managed to push it back. I could deal with how I felt later. My dad didn't deserve to touch my mother after having his filthy hands all over that slut he was with. Both of them turned to us and relief flew over them before the anger came. "Rosalinda Maria Rose, where in Christ's name have you been," my mother yelled.

"I spent the night at Scourge's house," I said with a soft shrug. My mother immediately started to turn red.

"You went where?"

"Scourge's house," I replied, not seeing anything wrong with it.

"So you let the devil into your soul and made yourself object to temptation? How could you just through away your purity like that?"

"Mom, we didn't have sex. We just watched a movie and went to sleep. I swear."

"That demon possessed boy probably drugged you and raped you without you knowing it! Don't tell me you guys just slept! Do you know what he could have done to you while you were asleep?" Anger and disgust seeped through my veins, causing my temper to go straight off the top. How dare she accuse Scourge of such things?

"Scourge would never do that to me!"

"That's just what he wants you to think! He's pulling you in with the sweetness and the decietfullness! Wait, just wait until he gets you alone and where he wants you: then you'll be the one looking like a fool! I bet just last night, he drugged something you ate or drank and gave you some type of disease! You know that boy can't keep his hands to himself!"

"Don't talk about Scourge like that! You don't even know him! He would never ever hurt me!"

"She's right, mom. Scourge would never hurt her," Ray stepped in. "Even my boyfriend knows Scourge would never hurt Rosy and they barely know each other. Why can't you just see that he is a good person?" Our parents' jaws both dropped, staring at my brother in astonishment.

"Boyfriend," my mom stuttered out. "What do you mean boyfriend?"

"I mean that I'm gay, mom. I like boys and I have a boyfriend. His name is Jace and he makes me happy."

"You're just confused, honey. Just confused. You both are," my mom said, looking as if she was about to lose her sanity.

"No. Both of our heads are crystal clear. I think its you two whose minds are all blurred up." I noticed my dad staring venomously at Ray, a look of pure anger and hatred on his face.

"You," he growled. "YOU FAGGOT!" Ray turned his attention to my father and calmly squared up to him.

"Rather be a faggot than a two timing, cheating, idiotic, worthless, ASSHOLE," Ray said, his voice keeping a surprisingly calm tone. As soon as the words left his mouth though, my dad punched him right in the face.

"GET. OUT," my dad said, glaring down at my brother. Ray's lip was bleeding but he didn't seem affected by it. He merely shook his head.

"Gladly," he said before hurrying up the steps to get his stuff together. I made a move to follow him but my mom grabbed my arm. I looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"You are forbidden to see that boy from now on." I shook off her hand.

"Well I might as well get out too since nothing is going to stop me from seeing him." I then went upstairs to my brother's room to see him packing up while talking on his cell phone. I assumed he was talking to Jace. His lip was still bleeding but he didn't seem to care. He glanced at me and then asked if there was room for me. I heard a faint "Of course" come from the phone before I retreated to my own room to gather up my things. I received a surprise when I saw Scourge lounging on my bed. "What are you doing here," I asked him, walking up to the bed.

"I wanted to see you," he said, his voice low as he sat up. "But I heard the argument…"

"Look, I want you to know that my parents are insane and that I know you would never hurt me in that way."

"I don't think you should give up your family for me though."

"Scourge, it's more than just you. It's time to take control of the life that they have been manipulating since I was born. I think it's about time that I got out of this Hell-hole anyway." He shook his head, putting his head in his hands.

"But it's safer for you to be here with your parents."

"Oh so you want me to stay here and have no contact with you whatsoever? You want us to just let go of everything we've worked for in the past couple of months just because my parents said so?"

"Of course not, Rosy."

"Then why does it seem like it?" Scourge sighed, still refusing to look at me. I sighed myself and walked closer so that I could crawl onto the bed and sit down next to him.

"I just don't want you to make a decision that you'll regret." He looked up at me, wrapping his arms around me so that I could be close to him. "Look, I like you – a lot – but one day, I'm going to do something stupid and you're going to realize that you deserve better." I merely looked down, not wanting to think about what he just said. I knew that it was possible that I could hurt me but I still wanted to hope that he wouldn't. I mean, he was strong enough to resist, wasn't he? I heard him sigh before he pulled me even closer against him so that my head laid on his chest.

"Would it scare you if I said I wasn't going anywhere," I murmured, holding his torso tightly. He put his fingers under my chin and shook his head as I looked up at him.

"I think that would only make me want to kiss you more." I smiled a soft, sad smile before Scourge leaned down and kissed me.

I've noticed as I've been outlining the next couple of chapters that this story is actually very fluffy and relationship building rather than tons of drama like my other stories. But don't worry guys, there will be tons of drama to come: I just don't know when yet haha. But what do you guys think? Like the fluffy or would you want to see some more juicy drama?

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