So, I totally did this the complete opposite of the way I was going with it, but whatever. I guess it works.
Enjoy. I own nothing.
"So, what are you really doing here?" Rydel turned around, her eyes narrowed and she smirked, her hand on her side, she stepped closer.
"What's wrong George, is there a problem?" She asked, she put a finger on his chin and smiled, "you look a little scared. Aw, poor you."
"Your dad and Serena are going to be back any minute, what are you doing?" She didn't miss how his eyes trailed down her body, from her cropped sleeveless shirt to her short high-waisted skirt. "Your outfit is kind of revealing you know and I don't think that—"
"Cut the bullshit, George." She shook her head, glaring at him. "Don't deny that you're against this, because just a year ago, you were all for it."
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't act like you don't know!" She suddenly shouted and he immediately tried to quiet her down, but she pushed his arm off her shoulder. "You may have been a little wasted but you were there and you saw what happened. You knew what he was doing and you didn't even try to stop it."
"Why is this all coming out now?"
"It's out in the open. My brothers and my friends know. I told them." Her eyes darkened, "I didn't tell them about you because you're their 'uncle'," She used finger quotes, keeping her hard stare on him, "you wouldn't want me tell them you of all people broke my trust would you? Because that could really change things."
He sighed, "what do you want from me?"
"I want you to testify against him." She said, almost as though it was simple. "Since my brothers know and clearly want to kick his ass, we're going to press charges. You are the only witness I know of, so you have to testify against him and put him in jail."
"I can't do that."
"I really hope you're kidding." Rydel stated as she stepped closer, her eyes narrowed again.
"No, I'm not. He's my best friend, we've been buddies for years. I can't just turn my back on him like that."
"No, but you'll let him sexually abuse his daughter!" Rydel nearly screamed at him. "I don't give a fucking shit who's listening now, you watched him touch me, you watched him do everything and you didn't even say a word to anyone about it!"
"I couldn't betray him like that!" He yelled back at her, "and keep your voice down, I don't want my wife and kids to hear this!" His tone was a bit quieter, but that only made Rydel more angrier.
"Fine, well, you want to be there for your best friend? Did you know he's been cheating on my mother for two years with that slut? Or that he slapped Ross because he talked back to him? Oh and on top of all that other shit. You really think he's so fucking loyal? How do you know he hasn't stabbed you in the back a few times?"
Rydel stared hard at him and before George could answer, another voice cut into the conversation.
"George? What is going on here?" The older woman looked at Rydel. "Why is there a… young girl here?" She gave Rydel a look of disgust, "you look like you should be out on the streets."
"Yeah," Rydel rolled her eyes, "watch what you say to me. I'm actually more well known than you think I am."
"I think it's time you leave," George cut in.
"Be quiet." Rydel snapped at him.
"Don't talk to my husband like that!" The woman yelled at her.
"Yeah, your super 'loyal' husband. The one who let his best friend inappropriately touch his daughter and didn't say a word about it. Yeah, just so you know, I'm Mark Lynch's daughter. His only daughter by the way, until he has this new baby, if it's a girl, that is. He used to touch me, everywhere, make me feel dirty and like I hated myself, and this guy let him touch me." Rydel didn't break eye contact with George's wife. "I just asked him to help me out, but he won't. So then that means he'll probably go to jail too." Rydel then fake-smiled sweetly. "So, you know, have fun knowing that." She then waved, and then paused, turning around. "And just so you know, I wasn't trying to seduce you or anything, I have a boyfriend. I love him a lot and…unlike you, I know my boundaries." With that, she walked out of the door, it slamming hard behind her.
She walked down the steps, a sort of satisfied smile on her face, when she ran into someone and stumbled backwards.
"Watch where you're going!" She heard a familiar voice yell at her. "She's pregnant!"
"Yeah," Rydel nodded, realizing she was meeting Serena for the first time. "No shit."
"Rydel?" Mark blinked at her, "what are you doing here and why are you dressed like that?"
"Oh, right, I uh… came here to talk to your loyal best buddy forever, George. I wanted him to help me testify against you in court." She said it nonchalantly, watching the color drain from her father's face and Serena's eyes snapped towards her. "Yeah, just so you know, our little secret that you tried so desperately to hide is out in the open, as in Ross, Riker and Rocky know. And so do Maia, Laura, Vanessa and Ratliff. The list goes on," She smirked at the fact that Mark wasn't saying a word and looked like he was going to puke. "So, with the exception of Ryland and mom who already hate you, everyone else are just downright disgusted with you."
"What are you talking about?" Serena demanded.
"I don't have to explain that…" Rydel smirked, "I'm gonna let my daddy dearest explain and maybe George and his bitchy wife can too. For now though, I have to go. I'm supposed to be somewhere. Anywhere else but here."
Mark then seemed to snap out of it at that moment. "She's lying, Serena. She's completely lying."
"No, you're the one who's lying!" Rydel yelled at him.
"She's crazy, I swear, none of what she's saying is true."
Rydel looked like she was ready for murder at that point. So she put her hands on her father's chest and pushed him back so violently, he fell on his ass. She looked down at him.
"You're not worth my time."
Then she turned to Serena.
"You better never let that baby, if it's a girl out of your sight. He might touch her." And with that, she walked off, getting into her car. She was just about to unlock it, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, ready to tell off her father, when to her surprise, she saw that it was Serena.
"Is it true, what you said?" She asked.
"I'm not crazy." Rydel stated simply.
Serena nodded, "I believe you."
Rydel just gave her a nod and then got into the car. She backed out of it and with that, drove off towards home. She was sort of surprised Serena believed her and though it made Rydel wonder why, it didn't mean she was suddenly all buddy-buddy with her. She didn't like her and she knew that she probably never would.
"Why is Rocky flipping out?" Ross asked and Riker looked up at him. He thought to tell him about Rydel, but then decided that Ross needed a night off from any kind of stress and just shook his head.
"I don't know, he thought Rydel was here, but he figured it out."
Ross nodded, "oh, okay." He looked at Laura, "ready to go?"
She nodded and then walked over to Riker, "you're okay?"
Riker nodded, "yeah, I'm better." He made eye contact with Ross who just smiled at him. "Go have fun. I'll talk to you two later."
Ross high-fived Calum, "see you on set tomorrow bro, bright and early."
"Yeah, looking forward to it." Calum gave him a look that said he wasn't and Ross burst out laughing. "See you tomorrow, Laura."
Laura nodded, "I just want to sleep forever."
"You're not the only one princess." Ross teased her and she took his hand, allowing him to lead her out the door.
"Where are we going now?" Laura asked, as Ross paused outside Calum's apartment door, turning towards her. She looked up at him in question.
"It's a surprise."
Laura rolled her eyes, "I know, I'm just wondering if I can get a hint or a spoiler?"
Ross scoffed, "pfft, no."
Laura groaned and Ross smiled, leaning in he kissed her softly.
"You are an impatient one, aren't ya?"
"What gave that away?" Laura asked as she pressed her lips against his and then they started to kiss, pulling away and repeatedly doing it while they kept up their conversation.
"The fact that you keep kissing me is a huge giveaway." Ross murmured before kissing her again.
"Then stop kissing back," She teased, "but for real, we should probably stop though, Calum or Riker could come out of that apartment at any second and find us."
"Yeah…you're probably right." Ross whispered, pushing her up against Calum's door. "We don't need another sibling cockblocking our activities." He made a face. "Or a Calum."
She looked at him confused, "oh right," She nodded, "you separately categorized him and Rocky. I'll never understand that," She rolled her eyes, then gave Ross a look, "And what exactly would be those activities?" She sweetly asked him and he rolled his eyes.
"You are so damn lucky you're you, your dorky self."
"I thought I was adorkable."
"And argumentative."
"Shut up and kiss me Rozy."
"Okay, only one more time though because I think Calum's going to come out of there and—"
"He won't if you keep it down."
"What about his neighbors?" Ross asked and then suddenly they stopped, breaking away from each other.
"Yeah, let's go." Laura took his hand, smiling up at him and pulled him along with her, just as Calum opened his apartment door.
"I hope you two are aware that Riker and I could hear everything!" He yelled after them.
Ross just waved his hand, "yeah, yeah, whatever."
"Where is Rydel?" Ryland asked Ratliff asked he held his phone to his ear, Rydel's phone ringing in it.
"I think she went—" He stopped speaking as it went straight to voicemail again, "well at least I know she just turned it off and it's not dead." He looked down at his phone a total of two seconds before looking back up at the Lynch family. "Anyway, I think she went to go see um, Mark, your father," He spoke directly to Ryland, but Rocky was quick to speak.
"Why the hell would she do that after—" At Ratliff's look, he cut himself off, and looked away from his mother and Ryland's gazes.
"After what exactly?" Stormie asked him. "Do you know something else that we don't?" She asked him.
"We can't say, it's really not in our place too and I really shouldn't have brought it up." Rocky walked passed them, shaking his head as he looked down at his phone.
"Rocky!" Ryland called out and he slowly turned around. "If it means Rydel's in some kind of danger, then we have a right to know."
"Dude, I'd love to tell you, but it's something she has to tell. Not me, not Ratliff or anybody else."
"She's not in any danger, none that we know of." Ratliff stated, "it's more of what happened a while ago."
"Great job at not giving it away," Rocky gave him a thumbs up and Ratliff held his hands up in defense.
"Well, who else knows?" Stormie asked them.
"Yeah, do Ross, Laura and Riker know?"
Rocky nodded, "and Maia."
"But we don't. Fucking awesome." Ryland sighed, "way to not keep anything from us, by the way. You're doing a great job with that."
"Stop guilt tripping me!" Rocky suddenly yelled at him, surprising everyone in the room. Usually he was the calm, goofy, collected one, but now Ratliff could see it. Rydel's secret had really gotten to him. "I can't tell you so fucking stop trying to get me to!"
"Rocky," Ratliff spoke up, going over to him. "Calm down. I'm sure Rydel will be here any moment and she can explain to us what exactly is going on. Okay? Guys? So, can we just… relax and chill out."
"How the hell are you so calm right now?" Rocky asked him, "if she went to see our father, then she's probably doing something really stupid and reckless and—" Rocky cut himself off, shaking his head. "She's a lot like Ross and when Ross gets his mind focused on something, he'll do something very stupid."
"Yeah, I'm actually starting to see just how alike they are," Ratliff said, stepping away from him. "But until she answers her phone or walks through that door—" He pointed to the front door, "we're not going to get anywhere with all this yelling."
"Alright, dude. Fine." Rocky agreed and held his hands up. He walked passed his mother and brother again, about to head up the stairs when the door opened and Rydel walked in. "Oh, look at that, Rydel's back!" He said in a fake cheerful voice, then his eyes narrowed and he stormed over to her. "Where the hell have you been all day? Other than ignoring your phone."
"I told you, I was with Maia." She answered.
"No, you weren't." Rocky went after her. "I called her to see if you were coming home soon because you texted me that you were and she said she hadn't seen you since the other night at Ross'." Rydel closed her eyes, and Rocky nodded, "yeah, if the word fuck is going through your mind, it should be."
"Rocky, just shut up for like five seconds," She told him and he rolled his eyes.
"Rydel, where have you been? And no more lies." Ratliff spoke and she opened them to see Ratliff was right in front of her.
"Yeah, double fuck." Rocky said. "Triple and quadruple if you count mom and Ryland too."
"Not helping," Ratliff told him and walked over to Rydel. He raised his eyebrows in question.
She sighed.
"I went to see George, there you happy?"
Ratliff looked at her in confusion while Rocky and Ryland looked at her in confusion.
"George?" Ryland asked. "As in dad's best friend?"
"Yeah, that would be him." Rydel answered.
"Okay and you couldn't just tell me what earlier… why?" Rocky asked, as she walked away and went into the kitchen.
"Because it would've raised too many questions," She answered simply.
"Rydel, come on. No shit. Was dad there?" Rocky asked and she shrugged.
"He showed up towards the end of my visit."
"And?"
"I told him off, told Serena his little secret and she said she believes me."
"Okay, young lady, explain to me what's going on. Right now." Stormie demanded having heard enough.
"No, don't think I will." Rydel answered her. "I have to go change out of this outfit, so if you'll excuse me." She tried to go passed her mother, but Stormie shook her head. "What? I was being polite about it."
"No, I want to know what's going on. Why are Rocky and Ratliff so afraid of you going to see your father and also, what's this big secret they say they're in no place to tell me or your brother about?"
"There isn't a secret mom, you already know that he abused me. What else is there to tell you?"
"I don't think that's it." Stormie told her, her tone quieter. "What are you hiding? You can tell me."
Rydel's eyes suddenly filled with tears and she shook her head. "I can't."
"But your brothers know and so does your boyfriend and apparently friends of yours. What's this big secret?"
"Mom, stop." Rydel whispered, "You can't force me to say anything. I'm not going to."
"Rydel…"
"No." She said, backing away from her, "don't." She stared at her mother hard for a few moments, "you wouldn't even believe me if I told you anyways."
"That's not true."
"Yes it is!" Rydel suddenly yelled. "Because it's bad, mom okay? Really, really bad and I didn't have a choice. I had to keep it a secret or-or—"
"Or what?" Ryland asked gently.
"You've already let it out," Stormie began, "it's out in the open now and I could go to Ross or Laura or Maia or Riker and ask them just as easily as I could go to you."
"They won't say anything."
"Probably not, no." Stormie agreed, "but if it's as bad as you're saying it is, then why can't you—"
"Rydel, maybe we should go—" Ratliff began to say, but she shook her head, her eyes never leaving her mother's.
"Dad touched me!" Rydel finally yelled, her hands in her hair, as her mother was driving her insane. "He touched me, as in sexually, as in he'd make me feel dirty and gross and uncomfortable anytime we were in a room together."
Ryland was speechless. He looked at Rocky and Ratliff who kept their expressions emotionless.
"There! That's why I was gone, because I went to see George because he was the only one who saw what dad did. I wanted him to testify against dad in court, but because he's dad's best friend forever, he won't." She stared at her mother, "is that what you wanted so fucking badly to know?" She pushed passed her mother and stormed up the stairs to her room, slamming the door behind her.
Stormie, meanwhile look at Rocky. "Is this true?"
"Sorry." Rocky shrugged, "I couldn't tell you, but yeah, it does make sense. She never wanted to be around dad and if they had to be, she'd be as far away from him as possible."
"I can't believe he would do this!" Ryland yelled, kicking the counter hard, and causing Ratliff who was standing right there, to move away. "Fucking jerk!"
Stormie covered her face, crying into her hands as Rocky walked over to her. He patted her shoulder awkwardly and then hugged her.
"It's a fucked up situation, I know." Rocky said quietly, "but we can't blame ourselves for it."
"I should've known." Stormie whimpered, "the moment he slapped Ross, I should've known he was like that. Violent…." She couldn't bring herself to say the next word.
"Yeah," Rocky agreed, "we all should've known at that point. But we didn't and we can't blame ourselves for it." His eyes locked with Ryland's. Ryland looked like he wanted to both cry and kill his father, not that Rocky blamed him. Ratliff took notice of this and immediately pulled the younger boy into a hug.
And the four of them stood there, not saying another word and letting the horrible news sink in.
Rydel stared at the ground, wiping her cheeks as she started to take off her jewelry and throw them beside her on her desk. Her bedroom door opened and she looked up to see Ratliff walk inside, the door softly closing behind him. He leaned against it for a moment, before walking over to her and holding his hand out in gesture that asked if he could help her out.
She nodded and he reached his hand into her hair, running his fingers through it, before he pulled out the ponytail, letting her hair tumble back onto her shoulders.
"There's the Rydel we all know and love," He softly smiled at her and she gave him a soft smile back. He then leaned down in front of her, and looked up at her. "I'm proud of you, you know."
"For what?" She asked him, her voice barely above a whisper. "Lying about where I was going?"
He shook his head, "for telling your mother about what your father did. I know that was really hard for you."
She nodded, silently, looking away and his hands went to hers, holding them in his.
"I can't imagine what you've been through Rydel, with your father and having to keep it a secret for as long as you did, but I just want you to know that you cant blame yourself for it. Your father made a decision and since he's an adult, there's no body out there to blame but himself. Whatever the reason was he decided to do it, he had to know exactly what he was doing and that's not your fault at all. Not even the fact that you didn't say anything until now is your fault."
"I was scared," Rydel whimpered, "he-he would try to make me be quiet by telling me he'd get me ice cream or a new keyboard. He would bribe me to keep quiet and the fact that I couldn't be around him really didn't bother him at all. He would sneak into my room late at night after everyone went to bed and would touch me. He would—he would make it seem like he wanted to tell me a bedtime story and I stupidly believed him, every single time. I just wanted a father, you know? And I thought that was how fathers loved their daughters. Until I met Maia and Raini and saw that their fathers were nothing like he was."
Ratliff reached up to rub her cheek gently as she cried softly for a few moments, he didn't say anything and let her continue liking the fact that she was opening up to him and didn't want to disrupt it any possible way.
"Then after Ross auditioned for the show behind his back and got the role, he started to get worse. He would get drunk and would come into my room, banging on the door and so that we wouldn't wake up anybody else, I would let him in, because I didn't want them to catch him. I think I even sometimes let it happen because it was all I knew. He would do things to me and he would hurt me so badly to the point where sometimes I couldn't even breathe and walked with a limp or something."
Ratliff's eyes furrowed together as he remembered some band rehearsals where Rydel would show up, her eyes red, her hand on her side and her body completely covered. And when she was singing, she would lose her breath very easily.
She said it was because it was that 'time of the month'. Now he knew it was complete bullshit and a cover up for what her father would do to her.
He didn't even see the signs, he was such an idiot.
"Don't blame yourself, I can see you are." Rydel's voice broke through his thoughts. He blinked at her, his eyes going back to hers. She put her hand on his cheek, "you couldn't have known," She whispered, her voice breaking. "I kept it such a secret."
Then, Ratliff hugged her, bringing her to him, he hugged her so close and so tightly. She put her head on his shoulder and softly cried as he squeezed her gently, hugging her tight and letting the tears fall.
"The beach?" Laura raised an eyebrow, turning to face Ross.
He smiled at her and nodded, "the beach."
"Beach, beach, beach." She repeated.
"Why are you saying it like that?"
"It's a fun past time," She told him, playing with the ends of her hair as he stopped in a parking space. She looked around, "no one's here."
"Well, yeah. I don't want to get attacked by fans. Not that I'd have a problem with that, but you know, you're pregnant, I don't want anything happening to you and also, no one knows we're dating yet."
"Yeah, good point." Laura agreed.
He then smiled at her and got out of the car, he went to the other side and took her hand, helping her out of it, before silently walking with her to the ocean. She bent down to take off her wedges, holding them in her fingers as the hem of her dress dropped into the water a bit.
"Yeahh," Laura smiled, tilting her head back, her eyes closed. "I think I really like this." She then opened one eye and stuck one tongue out. Ross burst into laughter, shaking his head he pulled her into a tight hug.
"I love ya, Lorax."
She titled her head so that she could look up at him, "I love ya too, maybe. A little? Can't really love someone too much." She teased and then softly kissed him.
"I wanna dance." Ross randomly said.
She raised an eyebrow, "but we don't have any music."
"So? When has that ever stopped us before." He asked and she nodded, realizing he had a very good point. "And we're both singers, we could totally come up with some thing together."
Laura nodded, thinking as Ross put his hands on her waist and started to dance with her, she smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and moving with him, when she thought of the perfect song.
"What?" Ross asked.
"When you're on your own, drowning alone, and you need a rope that can pull you in, someone will throw it," She began singing and Ross smiled at her, picking up the next part of the song easily.
"And when you're afraid, that you're gonna break, and you need a way to feel strong again, someone will know it." He sang and she smiled wider, singing along with him.
"And even when it hurts the most, try to have a little hope, that someone's gonna be there when you don't, when you don't. If you want to cry, I'll be your shoulder, if you wanna laugh, I'll be your smile, if you wanna fly, I will be your sky. Anything you need that's what I'll be, yeah you come to me."
Ross suddenly spun her around and she laughed, stumbling back onto the stand, pulling him down on top of her.
"Now I have sand in my hair," She giggled, running her fingers down his back as he just lay on top of her, his face in her neck, as he laughed with her.
"It'll wash out," He assured her, lifting his head up, she just looked up at him, biting her lip innocently.
"This feels like a first date, all over again," She whispered. "But I have to admit, our first date was pretty cool."
"Yeah, sweatpants and my mom's backyard, totally romantic." Ross playfully rolled his eyes.
"It was you though, you know? So you, because you're Ross Lynch and you're just… you're you."
Ross tried to follow along with her and at his confused stare they both burst into laughter.
"Think our baby is gonna be as silly as us?" He asked her. "Probably my awesome hair and your awesome eyes and… a mix of both of our personalities. Perfectionist Laura and goofy man child Ross."
She closed her eyes, smiling at the image of that. "The perfect combination," She finally said.
"Who's being the cheesy one now?" He asked, tilting his head and looking right at her.
"Oh that look you're giving me is pretty cheesy." She paused, "and heartmelting."
"Heartmelting?" Ross raised an eyebrow.
"You do need to work on your smolder a bit though."
"Smolder?"
Laura giggled, throwing her head back as she pulled Ross closer to her, kissing him in between her giggling. "You're so cute when you're confused."
"Yeah, I guess. But seriously? Heartmelting? Smolder?"
"Just kiss me you dork," She whispered before pressing her lips against his repeatedly until he finally responded back, deepening the kiss, his tongue slid against hers, before he broke apart from her. She pouted, "why did you stop?"
He just smiled at her and got off of her, helping her to her feet, he turned her around, "I wanted to look at the ocean with you."
She turned around, smiling. "Heartmelting," She whispered, kissing his cheek and then staring straight ahead. He put his hands on her stomach, rubbing it gently.
"All three of us." He said.
She leaned against him, the smile still on her face as she watched the waves, immediately feeling relaxed and grateful for Ross. He was really one of a kind and she was so lucky she had him all to herself.
"You are such a boy," Laura laughed as Ross pulled into a parking spot in front of the local supermarket. "Always so hungry."
"Hey, don't judge me." Ross teased her, kissing her quickly. "Come on, we can get you your go-gurt if you be nice."
"I don't have to be nice to get go-gurt." Laura playfully scoffed, but got out of the car, following Ross into the small supermarket.
"Hey, I'm gonna go over there towards the fruit section, meet you here in a few?" He asked and Laura nodded, grinning.
"I'm gonna go for the go-gurt."
"I had a feeling." Ross said and then walked backwards, "I'll see you soon."
She nodded, walking towards the end of the aisle where she knew the go-gurt would be, when her phone vibrated in her hand. She flipped it open to see she had a text from Charlie, which made her squeal excitedly. Someone looked at her and she just blushed.
"Sorry." She mumbled and kept going. She read the message from her brother.
Hey, Laura! Havent seen you in forever and I miss you so I convinced mom to let me come to LA for a couple weeks! I wanna see your new place!
She smiled, responding back and letting him know she'd be more than happy to have them stay in their apartment as they did have the room and it wasn't a problem at all, though she'd have to talk to Ross first.
She reached the end of the aisle and searched for the go-gurt, finding it with no problem, she grabbed two boxes and then turned around, only to run into someone.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry." She said, gasping as their things fell to the ground.
"Still as klutzy as ever, I see." She blinked her eyes, confused as she heard the familiar voice and lifted her head to see the very last person she ever wanted to see.
"Ben? What are you doing here?"
"Uh, same thing you are, shopping. Amber's here too, by the way."
"Oh, how nice. You two together now?" She coldly asked him.
"Not really, more like a friends-with-benefits thing."
"Cool." She gave him the thumbs up and then tried to walk passed him, but he stopped her.
"Why haven't you been in school? It's been a while."
"Because I have a job? I work and I'm doing my work from home." She responded back. "But why do you care? You're the one who spread a false rumor about me, remember?"
"I didn't spread anything that wasn't true. You told me it yourself." Ben, clearly sick of her attitude, gave her some himself. "Though you probably don't remember it at all. You were so drunk that night."
"You're not wrong about that, but what I said that night, wasn't true." Laura shook her head. "Look, I have to go. You're the very last person, next to Amber, on the list of people I want to speak to. So if you'll excuse me."
"So, what you're saying is that you're still a virgin?" Ben called to her and smirked once she saw her freeze in her spot.
"What is wrong with you?" She yelled at him, "you're making my personal life public!"
"Come on, Laura. Let's be real here. I saw Ross by the fruits a second ago, I know you two are together."
"I'm not denying that." Laura stated, "but if you spread that, I swear to god, I will find you and I will make your life miserable."
He held his hands up, "Like I'd say a word about that."
"Yeah, forgive me for not believing a word you say." Laura snapped, she stepped closer to him. "If you say a word though, to anyone, I will keep my promise on making your life miserable."
"Wow, someone's a bit hormonal." Ben laughed and she glared at him.
"Fuck off, Ben. I'm not interested, nor will I ever be. I'm also not going to let you ruin my other wise perfect day." She snapped at him and with that, stormed off. She then remembered that she and Ross were out of peanut butter and jelly and went to the aisle that had both of those items. She pulled a peanut butter off the shelf and turned around, only to roll her eyes at whom she saw was standing there. "I just talked to Ben, I'm really not in the mood to deal with you either."
"Yeah, I know." Amber giggled, but soon stopped and glared at her. "I heard the whole thing. I also heard that you and Ross are together."
"Yeah, and no one else needs to know that." Laura told her, "we're not ready for the world to know just yet."
"Why afraid you'll get a ton of hate from complete strangers?" Amber narrowed her eyes.
"Hate doesn't matter, because I'll always get hate, no matter what I do." Laura shot back. "I've learned to not let it bother me."
Amber nodded and then looked down at her stomach, Laura furrowed her eyebrows, confused, when she saw that Amber had lifted her head up.
"Well, unless you want the whole world to know your other secret, you know, the one about you being…" She looked around, before leaning in and whispering it in her ear, "pregnant." She smirked, at the look on Laura's face. "Then I suggest you do what I say, or it'll be leaked for the whole world to know."
"How do you know that's true?" Laura demanded.
"Simple. I overheard your conversation with Pretty Boy's brother at brunch a few weeks ago. And I also heard you puke."
"Wow, that really puts you high on the list of great people in the world. Using something as blackmail." Laura snapped at her. "Fuck off, seriously. If Ross is who you're interested in, I can promise you, he won't be interested in you at all."
"He wont be too interested in you either once you get fat from your pregnancy." Amber scoffed.
"Yeah, you don't know Ross as well as I do." Laura shook her head, moving passed her, purposely pushing her shoulder against hers.
"Well, do you want you boyfriend and baby daddy to know your other secret? You know the one about everything you did while he was away? With Tr—" Laura immediately ran to her, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Don't." She snapped at her, "don't say a word about that."
"Why not? It was so fun. You were totally somebody different and it was… awesome! You don't him to know about that side of you, do you?"
"No. I don't."
"Well, then unless you want all three of your secrets out, meaning the one that you don't want out the most, then you have to break up with him."
Laura's eyes widened. "Hell no. I won't do that, I refuse to do that."
"Okay, then just know by tomorrow morning, you're secrets will be out, for not only him to know, by the whole world as well."
"I'm pregnant with his child and I live with him. Even if I wasn't and I didn't, I wouldn't break up with him. I love him, Amber. I probably didn't know it or show it at the party, but I'm sure I am now. I'm in love with him and nothing you say is going to make me break up with him!" She yelled quietly at her. "If you do tell the press about all of this, than that just makes you a low life bitch. Using me for money is pretty pathetic."
Amber didn't even blink her eyes as she stepped closer, "you have one month. If you don't break up with him before the month is over, all of your secrets are going to be out and there's not going to be a damn thing you can do about it."
"Fuck you." Laura responded back. Then without another world, she spun around and stormed off down the aisle.
She heard Amber giggling, "bye, nice talking to you!"
She just gave her the finger in return and then soon found Ross at the fruits section. She didn't want to show off how pissed off she was or the blackmail that Amber and Ben had on her show, so she just smiled at him like nothing was wrong, hoping that he wasn't as observant with her as he usually was.
"Hey, babe." He said, just as picked up some apples and put them into a plastic bag. "Get what you needed?"
She nodded, "Yeah, I did. Ready to go?"
"Yeah, let's go." He walked over to her and they went into the check-out line. She looked over his shoulder to see if Ben and Amber were going to show up, but since they didn't, she let out a sigh of relief and turned her attention to Ross who was talking to her about what he wanted to eat later that evening.
They soon walked out of the supermarket, just outside the store, when Laura noticed Ben and Amber, making out by the entrance. She saw them look right at her, so she pulled Ross towards her, midsentence and passionately kissed him, her hands going into his hair as he kissed her back.
She breathlessly pulled back, leaning her forehead against his.
"What was that?" He asked her.
"I just… I love you and I wanted to remind you again." She smiled at him.
He smiled back, "I haven't forgotten, but thanks. I'll remember that now… and forever…" He trailed off and she smiled, giggling when he softly kissed her again. "Come on, let's go home." She nodded and took his hand in hers, walking the short distance to his car, she got in and breathed out a sigh of relief. She was glad she didn't have to deal with Ben or Amber for a while. It had only been a few minutes and she was already sick of them.
"Oh! Hey! Before I forget, Charlie texted me that his mom is letting him come to LA for a few days. I said it was okay that he stay with us, is it okay with you?"
"Yeah, totally! Of course. No problem." Ross smiled at her and she smiled back, texting Charlie back instantly. "It'll be good to have him around, teach him the ways of how to be an amazing prankster."
"Yeah, that's what he's coming here for," Laura deadpanned and Ross laughed. "You and Rocky… I don't know what I'm going to do with the two of you."
"You got a point there, but you love us, so, there's nothing you can do about us, if you think about it."
Laura froze for a few moments, remembering Amber's words, before nodding her head. "Yeah… yeah." She blinked, sighing, she took Ross' hand in hers. "you're absolutely right about that."
Rocky put his feet up on the table in front of him, a bowl of popcorn on his lap as he saw, from the corner of his eye, Ryland walk into the room. He looked up at him.
"Sup, buddy?"
"I um…. I just wanted to… I…" Ryland trailed off, not knowing where he was going with what he wanted to say, so Rocky just smiled softly at him and patted the spot beside him. Ryland nodded and silently sat down beside him.
"What's on your mind?" Rocky softly asked him, turning the television down and letting the popcorn go back on the table in front of him.
Ryland just stared straight ahead for a few moments, before he spoke, "is this what's happening to our family? Every thing's so… fucked up now. Ever since dad hit Ross and then what he did to mom and Rydel came out and now… this. I'm… actually kind of scared."
"Scared?" Rocky asked him, "how so?"
"What if I end up like dad when I'm older? Mean to my children, cheating on my wife of however many years? I don't want to be dad when I'm older. I don't want to be anything like him."
Rocky was silent for a few moments, thinking over Ryland's words. "You know," He said, "I think that we're all afraid of that, you, me, Ross and Riker. We don't want to end up like him and we're scared because of how much we looked up to him before. Dad's pretty fucked up. We know that now, but there's a pretty high chance we won't be that way if we just cut him off completely or just do everything the opposite way I guess. I'm not going to hit my children nor am I going to cheat on my wife or girlfriend. You can too, you just have to believe in yourself and believe that you won't end up that way."
Ryland nodded, "yeah, I guess you're right about that, I mean—" He was cut off by the door ringing.
"That might be Vanessa. She's coming over to watch a movie," Rocky said and got up to go answer the door. "Don't move, I'll be back into two seconds." Ryland nodded and turned his attention to the tv, while Rocky walked up to the door. He opened it and promptly tried to slam it again, but a hand stopped him. He rolled his eyes and opened the door again. "Sup, dad? Time for you to leave? Yeah, you should do that." He tried to slam it again, but Mark's hand stopped him.
"Where's Rydel?"
"Like I'd tell you that," Rocky snapped. "Leave or I'll call the police and don't think I won't."
Ryland's head snapped up and he looked at Rocky. Rocky just shook his head, telling him that he was handling it.
"I just need to speak to Rydel. She said some things earlier, and—"
"Good, I hope she scared the shit out of you. Trust me when I say that you'll get what's coming to you, but for right now, you need to get the fuck out of here."
"Don't shut me out."
"Give me one good reason. You fucking sexually abused Rydel, not just abused her no. You're a sick bastard and trust me, none of us want you around. So I'm going to say it one more time, and then I'm going to pull my phone out and call the police. Leave! Now!" Rocky yelled at Mark, pulling his phone out, he opened it, and then pressed 9-1-1. His finger was just about to press the call button when Mark shook his head.
"Fine, I'll leave, but I'll be coming back."
"Trust me, you won't. Oh and by the way, fuck you." And then as hard as he could, Rocky slammed the door in his face. He waited a few moments, before walking back over to Ryland, he soon heard the sound of car start and it drive away, before he took his seat beside his brother.
"He wanted to talk to Rydel, how fucking interesting is that." Ryland commented.
"Yeah, he doesn't get messages to clearly, obviously." Rocky answered back. "Anyway, I'm sorry about that interruption, go ahead, let's continue our talk."
Ryland shook his head, "it's okay, we'll talk later."
"You sure? I don't mind, I mean… dad coming here just pissed me off. I'm here to listen regardless, you know."
Ryland smiled, "I know, and that's what makes you an awesome big brother." He said just as the door opened and Riker walked in. "Look who's finally back."
"Yeah." Rocky mumbled. "You just missed dad, by the way."
"Wait, he was here?" Riker asked, "did you ever find out where Rydel was?"
"Yeah, she's home now. She just went to go see George and have him testify against dad, since he was a witness, but seeing as he's dad's best friend, he refused to do it." Rocky said and Riker's eyes widened.
"You mean, he saw what he did and didn't try to stop it?"
Rocky shrugged, "she wasn't too specific, but yeah, I guess that's what that means." He answered, just as his phone went off with at text. "Hold on, Vanessa's here." He got up then and walked to the front door, opening it to see Vanessa was standing there, a smile on her face.
"Hey, Rocky—" Her smile went away as soon as she saw the look on his face, "are you okay?"
"Kinda sorta ye—no." He answered and then stepped outside. "Just a lot of family drama, it'll be okay, I hope."
Vanessa didn't say anything and instead stood up on tippy-toes and wrapped her arms around Rocky's neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and just held her, his chin resting on her shoulder.
"How did you know I needed that?"
She pulled back slightly and smiled at him. "You just look like you needed a hug." She told him, her hand on his cheek, before she hugged him again. "I'm always here to give you free hugs."
"I like hugs."
She giggled softly, "who doesn't?" She mumbed into his shoulder as he hugged her tighter.
"Sociopaths, crazy ass people… I'm pretty sure my father is on that list." He added quietly and all Vanessa did in response was hug him tighter.
"It'll be okay," She whispered, closing her eyes and rubbing his back. She kissed his shoulder, "I'm here for you, okay? Whatever it is. I'm here, I wont go anywhere."
"Thanks," Rocky whispered back. "You're the best."
And unknown to the both of them, they were smiling as they held each other. Tight and almost like they would never let the other go.
"What are you in the mood for?" Ross asked Laura as they entered their apartment and Laura sat down on the couch, holding her stomach. Ross noticed this, "are you okay? Do you need to go to the bathroom?"
Laura shook her head, "no, no I'm okay." She assured him, "I'm just tired."
"Come on, let's take a nap before we eat, how's that sound?"
Laura smiled, "that sounds perfect." He bent down, wordlessly telling her to wrap her arms around his neck and she did so, as he lifted her up and walked her to their room. He gently put her on the bed and was just about to move away when her arms wrapped around him tighter and pulled him on top of her.
"Don't leave just yet." She whispered, "just lay here with me."
Ross smiled and then she pulled him on top of her. He moved so that he wasn't crushing her completely and wrapped both arms around her, holding her tight.
"I love you," She whispered into his ear, sleep taking over her.
"I love you more," He whispered back.
"No way."
"Way."
She stuck her tongue out and then let out a sleepy laugh as she cuddled closer to him, her eyes closing shut as she feel into a restless sleep.
Ross, meanwhile was still awake, though he was quickly falling asleep as well. He yawned, his eyes closing as he heard his phone ringing on the counter top in the other room. Deciding he'd wait to answer it until after their nap, he just ignored it and soon, followed Laura into a restless sleep.
More secrets already? And with Laura? What do you think she did that was so horrible while Ross was on tour? Dun, dun... mother-effin, dun. Also, Ross doesnt know about George and what he did yet.. he's actually the one that George is most worried about because he was the closest with Ross. So, there's a little fun fact slash spoiler for you there. And who was calling Ross towards the end of this chapter? Any guesses? Hmm...
Next chapter will be up soon. Ross, by the way is going to have a breakdown soon. I'm not going to say what it's about or why, but there are subtle hints. Also notice that Riker sort of protected him from the fact that Rydel disappeared. I think it's sweet, he didn't want to stress him out for once :)
Anyone surprised by where Rydel went off to? Only one person guessed it right and also guessed who said 'sup dad' right as well (shoutout to my friend, Dani on twitter!) high five to you girl! :]
Anything you'd like to see? I got request for more Rocky and Vanessa, so there ya go. They're not going anywhere though, their relationship will progress soon. And as for Ross and Laura's baby, well... you'll see with that too. And Mark's. And where Serena is going with that as well.
Get excited, there's a lots more to come. Oh! And another thanks to my boyfriend, he came up with another great idea, which was Ryland and Rocky's talk that I rudely interrupted. I thought that would be cute and added it in. So, I'll probably go back to that again soon.
And sorry for not much of goofy Rocky. He's taking the news of what happened pretty hard as you can see, so he's gonna be a bit serious for a while, but again, no worries, his goofiness will return again soon :)
Much love! xx
