Chapter 9 - It's all for the best

A/N: Hi people! Wow, I'll bet you thought I'd forgotten about this little fic, but I haven't! :D I recently moved and got into university and since then my creative-streak has just run dry... But now I'm back and feeling hyper by writing and if you don't mind me saying so I feel like I did a good job with this chapter. But don't take my word for it, read it yourself and find out ;)

I really missed writing and I hope, hope, hope that I can keep it up!

So for all of you who waited, it wasn't in vain. Here it is!


Chapter 9

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Baja asked as they pulled up to the Davis-residence. Kaylin could see Millie pacing inside and sighed as she grabbed a hold of her bag in the backseat.
"I'm sure. Mom's not the nicest person when she's drunk and dealing with Millie is gonna be ten times worse. It's not something you wanna see, trust me." She opened the door and jumped out of the car.
"Thanks for everything though, I really appreciate it."
"No problem, but call Ryan. Tell him what you told me and he'll help you. I promise." The blonde said, a gentle smile firmly in place on her lips.
"Bye." Kaylin waved the girl off before walking up to the house. Not bothering ringing the doorbell she stepped right in, only to be jumped by an angry Millie.

"Where the hell have you been? How could you just leave me with mom when she's drunk? How could you hit Ryan? Kaylin?"
Kaylin didn't answer her little sister, she was far too tired to do so. She just walked straight passed her and into her mother's bedroom only to find the woman laying on the floor, an empty bottle of wine next to her, drunk off her ass and conveniently enough passed out.

It took Kaylin most of the strength she possessed to get her mother into bed while the woman mumbled something about ungrateful children and the girl's heart hurt when she realized that her mother was talking about her. She tucked her in and kissed her gently on the forehead before fetching a bucket to place next to the bed and a big glass of water for the woman that she placed on the nightstand.
It hurt to see her mother like that. To see what Kaylin had reduced her to, all the pain and anguish she had caused her.

Turning off the lights and closing the door the teenager went to deal with the nearly hysterical Millie who's behavior had caused Riley to sneak off to his bed to hide.
"Have you eaten anything?" Kay asked her sister first and foremost, knowing that food usually calmed the younger one down.
"I ate at Eric's." Millie sighed and ran her hands through her hair, the air pretty much leaving her the moment she sat down on the couch. "What the hell's going on, Kay?"

And so Kaylin told Millie what had happened that day.
About how she had gotten into it with Ryan and how the school nurse had shown up, shouting about how she could be expelled for hitting him. About how their mother had kicked her out of the house when she'd told her.
About how Jake and Baja had found her and brought her back to Baja's house only to spill the whole story about Logan to her.

When she was done with the telling Millie seemed to have gotten all of her emotions back because she'd jumped up and started pacing again.
"This is just fucked up, Kay." She mumbled, trying to keep herself together while her sister rested her head against the couch for a moment, feeling just how tired she really was. "Where the hell had she expected you to go?"
"I don't know." Kaylin replied. "But I think it might be for the best. This way I'm not screwing anything up for you again." She chuckled tiredly but Millie could see nothing worth laughing about.
"Don't you dare say this is the best thing for either of us." She snapped, tears in her eyes. "You're my sister, Kay, I need you here with me. Screw mom, I want you here... Please don't leave."

Kaylin felt her heart tighten as the tears fell down her sister's face but she knew what she had to do. She wasn't going to mess with their lives anymore. It was what needed to be done.
"I have to, Mills." She pulled her sister close, stroking her hair as the girl wept. "This isn't the place for me anymore."
A long silence filled the room, neither of them truly knowing what to say but both of them knowing that there was no stopping Kaylin. Once she had her mind set on something, there was never anything stopping her...

"I don't want you to leave yet." Millie whispered into her neck. "I don't want to be alone."
"Tell you what, I'll stay with you until you fall asleep. Just like when we were kids."

Despite the fact that she knew she would be gone before morning Millie nodded to the proposal. It pained her but at least she got to sleep next to her one last time, she thought as they split up, Millie getting ready for bed and Kaylin getting ready to leave her family.

Kay packed some more of her stuff, warm clothes and a blanket seeing as she might have to spend the night outside and a few pictures of her family. Everything else was just material but she didn't want to lose the memories.

Soon enough Millie was ready and laying down on the bed next to her sister, Kaylin for a second regretted her decision to follow her mother's wishes but sucked it up.
She didn't want to leave, but she had to. If not for her sake then for her mother's. She didn't deserve the pain Kay kept bringing her way.
The girls talked for a while, Millie clinging to Kaylin like a child but it didn't take long for the younger's grip to loosen and the sobs to lessen.
"Kay..." Millie mumbled, moments away from sleep. "I love you."

Kaylin looked down at the sleeping girl next to her and kissed her forehead, like she had done their mother's, before silently slipping out of the bed and moving towards the door.
"I love you too, Melaina." She whispered and wiped away the tear that had escaped the corner of her eye.

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She had hardly stepped out of the house and locked the door behind her before she knew that someone was watching her. Her guard completely up again she turned to the darkness and squinted to see who was out there in the shadows and it didn't take long for her to notice him leaning against the Escalade with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What are you doing here, Ryan?" Kaylin asked, relaxing slightly as she walked up to him.
"Got a call from Baja." He explained, pushing himself off the car. "Said she had a feeling you'd be running away from home." He glanced down at the duffelbag in her hand. "I see she was right."
His blue eyes found their way up to her green ones again and Kaylin felt herself warm up slightly at the look of them.
"I can't stay here, Ryan. It's just not right, to anyone." She sighed, running a hand through her hair as she tried to shake off how tired she was.

"Look, I don't know what happened. But I'm not letting you leave, not without an explanation." He took a step towards her and she instantly felt trapped. She looked around her, wondering just how far she'd make it before he'd catch up to her.
"So you're gonna kidnap me, is that what you're saying?" She knew he saw just how much she wanted to run away from him, from everything, but she also knew that there was no way she could stop him if he tried anything.
"If I have to, yes." He replied, his whole being shone with calm and seriousness, something that both scared and relaxed Kaylin. "But I would prefer not having to."

Kaylin looked into his eyes, her mind going a thousand miles an hour to try and figure out what to do. She had to leave her family, that she knew, but she couldn't leave him. She just couldn't...
"Fine." She reached her bag to him, a look of defeat on her face as Ryan took it and opened the car door for her.

The ride to the McCarthy-residence was a fairly quiet one, Ryan only opening his mouth once to ask her if she minded turning on the radio, which she did before leaning back to stare out the window.

A remake of Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise came on and the strings from the orchestra made the hair on Kaylin's arms stand up.

"As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at my life and realize there's nothing left.
Cause I've been blastin' and laughin so long that even my ma'ma thinks that my mind is gone..."

The words couldn't have been more fitting for the occasion, Kaylin thought as the words flowed through the speakers. She caught Ryan looking at her out of the corner of his eyes but she didn't return the gaze as she kept staring out the window, watching how rain started falling outside.

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"Are you hungry?" Ryan asked as he dropped the duffelbag on the floor in the big hallway, switching on the lights and started making his way to the kitchen without even looking at her.
"I could eat." Kaylin said quietly, finding it a little hard to find her voice again after the long silence. Wiping her wet bangs out of her eyes she wondered what the hell she was doing at his house and if she should just leave but when Ryan's voice sounded from the kitchen she thought better of it.
"You're not leaving until you've eaten and slept, so don't even bother looking at the door." His words were serious and she could hear him messing around in the kitchen so with a defeated sigh she left the hallway to join him.

"I hope lasagna is alright, it's the only thing I can cook after all." He said, still not looking at her as he was fully concentrated on what he was doing.
"It's fine." She said, hoping up on the counter, watching him work. "I didn't think you'd remember how to make it." Kaylin continued, dangling her legs a little as she spoke, suddenly feeling awkward.
"Of course I'd remember, it was you who taught me. How could I ever forget?" His voice was serious as he glanced up at the brunette and just that little look was enough to light a spark in the girl's chest.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, hanging her head slightly to hide the blush spreading over her cheeks. "About today, I shouldn't have hit you."
Ryan turned his head to look up at her, his blue eyes boring into her very soul.
"Today was my fault, I pushed it too far and didn't even consider the fact that it might freak you out. So I'm the one who should say 'I'm sorry'." He went back to the lasagna, putting the finishing touches on it before popping it in the oven, setting the timer and leaning back against the counter across from Kaylin, his eyes finding hers and for a long time the two of them stayed that way.

Both of them looking, neither of them moving out of fear of crossing an invisible line that no one knew what it was for.

The sound of the timer going off made them both jerk and with a lopsided smile Ryan moved to get the food. Once their plates were full and they each had a soda in hand they moved into the huge livingroom, placing themselves on the couch in front of the tv while Ryan started up a movie.

Smiling to herself Kaylin saw how the Disney-logo came in view and actually chuckled as the Aristocats-movie started playing and glanced over at Ryan who was humming along with the catchy tune.
"So not only have you taken a liking to cooking, you've become a Disney-nerd as well?" Kay giggled seeing as he was now singing along loudly with the Frenchman, knowing every single word of the lyrics mind you.
"You could say that." Ryan laughed, pleased that his singing, or whatever it could be called, seemed to have blown away the awkward air around them. "I now own every movie that Disney has ever made." He declared proudly and Kaylin almost doubled over in laughter. Ryan 'The Terror' McCarthy a Disney-nerd? Now that was a sight!

For the next hour they sat curled up together on the couch, Kaylin with her back against Ryan's chest, his arms around her as her fingers drew random shapes on his forearm. They enjoyed the movie just as much as each others company and by the final song Kaylin had nearly fallen asleep with her face resting against the crook of his neck.
"You want to go to bed?" He asked, smiling slightly at the way her breath on his skin made his heart do somersaults in his chest. She nodded tiredly but still didn't make an attempt to get out of his grasp.
"You know, if we're going to get you into bed you might actually have to move." He chuckled but the girl just whimpered cutely and grabbed onto him tighter as he tried to get up.

"Suit yourself then." He said and feeling thankful that his father wasn't coming back until tomorrow morning Ryan turned off the television, managed to get off the couch and lifted the girl into his arms, her arms around his neck as he carried the now hysterically laughing Kaylin up the stairs.

Putting her down on the bed he watched her for a moment. She was still laughing hard, at what Ryan had no idea but that didn't change the fact that it made her look even more beautiful than usual. He saw how she managed to calm herself down and smiled a little as she stilled but got a little worried when her eyes shifted from joy to dead seriousness.
"Kay, we don't have to sleep in the same bed if you don't want to..." He started but the girl turned her head towards him and shook it.
"It's not that." She sat up, running a hand through her hair, something that she had done a lot that night. "I need to tell you something and you're not gonna like it."
"Tell me what? Did something happen?" Ryan sat down on the bed next to her, his hand cupping her cheek, his eyes desperately searching for something that could be hurting her.

"Well... It happened a while back, last year when we were still living in Tacoma." Kaylin took a deep breath and grabbed a soft hold of his hand, gathering her strength as she wondered how to best do this.
"Just please promise you won't be angry with me, no matter what." Her voice held such desperation Ryan wasn't sure he wanted to hear what she had to say anymore but never the less nodded.
"No matter what I won't be angry, I promise." His thumb brushed against her cheek and she continued.

"When I was 16 I met a guy named Logan Anderson, he was really sweet and I found myself falling for him."
Ryan felt his heart ache with jealousy, she was his and no one else's!
"He was a great guy, you know, kinda jealous but that's the price you have to pay, right?" She almost mumbled but loud enough for Ryan to hear her.

"Anyway, we were together for nearly a year but about 5 months in he started getting really possessive of me. Wouldn't let me go to school on my own, always insisted on giving me a ride, always picking me up from school. He got me to skip school for him, saying that he didn't want anyone else to look at me. That sorta thing."

She cleared her throat from the lump that was beginning to form and Ryan felt a tug at his chest, this guy was just like he had acted towards Baja when they were together, and now he just felt like a complete douche bag.

"He had quite the temper too and ever so often we'd get into these loud arguments about little things like me hanging out with guys from school. I never would have said anything back then but I was so scared of him when he got that loud, yelling at me, waving his arms around like he was about to hit me... It was just downright terrifying, getting into a fight with him."
Ryan felt himself shrink for every word the girl spoke. She was describing him, well, the him before Jake Tyler came along and put him in his place.

"Then one night me and my girlfriends had gotten a little to drink and they thought it would be fun to drag me to the movies with their boyfriends..." Kaylin took a deep breath, steadying her thumping heart. "Logan somehow found out and came to my house that night and although he didn't yell at me or got himself worked up he still scared me, more than ever before..."

She stopped, fear tugging at her heart for what she was about to say but a light squeeze on her hand and a gentle smile from Ryan made her say it.
"He raped me, Ryan."


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A/N: YAY! I'M BACK! Ahh, you have no idea how good it feels to be back here! I can only say that I hope you liked it and feel free to drop me a message if you did, I'll always love the feedback ;)

Thanks for reading!