Sorry this took so long, but I've been busy with grade twelve activities and I'm a dance major, so lots of dance practice and recitals.
Anyway, enjoy it. It gets a bit intense, so read at your own risk, I'd say.
I don't own anything.
"What are you doing here?" Rydel demanded before George could say a word.
"I'm here to talk to you." He answered as she quickly looked behind her and then pushed him out, shutting the door behind her.
"You can't be here, I don't even want to be anywhere near you." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Three of my brothers and my boyfriend are all inside and all they want to do to you is kick your ass."
"I understand that and I fully understand why, but you can't shut me out."
"Yes I can! I don't like you. I never have and you know why. My father's in prison and to be honest, I think you should rot in there with him for seeing what you saw and not doing anything about it." Her tone wasn't exactly nice or playful but still, George sighed, running his hand over his hair.
"I came here to calmly talk to you." He said, "about what happened and what I saw."
"For what reason? So you can deny it happened? No. That's now how it works." Rydel turned to open the door, but he put his hand on her shoulder and she quickly turned around, smacking his hand away. "Don't touch me." She snapped.
"Does Ross know?" He asked her after a few moments of intense silence.
"No. He doesn't know yet." She responded. "Not about your part in it, he knows about everything else. And trust me, when he does find out the truth, he's going to hate you."
George looked down. "I know and he's going to have every right to."
Rydel stayed silent.
"What do you need me to do?" He finally asked, as he lifted his head up to look right at her. She blinked her eyes, confused. "I'm willing to do it. To testify."
"Why? You didn't want to when I came to you a few weeks ago."
"I still don't." He admitted.
"Then you're only wasting our time. Goodbye." She said, twisting the doorknob to open it. But he stopped her and she shut it again. "You have like five seconds left."
"What do you need me to do?" He asked her.
She stared at him, hard. The look on her face one of disgust and then she finally opened her mouth to answer him. Though her tone was a bit shaky, she still managed to convey what she wanted to through her voice. "I want you, to rot in a jail cell with my father. That's what I need. You're no better than he is." And with that, she finally opened the door and then slammed it in his face.
Leaning against it, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, just as Ellington came down the steps.
"Hey." He said gently and she blinked her eyes, smiling up at him.
"Hey." She pushed herself off the door and then walked up to him. "You are still dressed like Thor."
"I know. I think it's going to be something I wear everyday. What do you think about it?"
She laughed a little, "I think you are one interesting dude." And then she pressed her lips against his, instead pushing George's visit out of her mind and focusing on what was more important.
Laura strummed the same string for what felt like the eight billionth time and then Ross clapped his hands. "NIce job, dude!" He grinned at her and she smiled.
"Dude?" She asked, gently putting the guitar down by her side. She turned towards him and wrapped her arms around Ross' neck. "What happened to babe? Or Lorax?"
"I always call you dude, remember?" He scoffed and then he smiled and softly kissed her. "It's been about an hour or so, we should get ready for Alex's art show."
She nodded, "yeah, I have to take a shower."
"I would love to join you," He said and she felt her heart flutter and she blushed. "But I have to take Austin on a walk and then probably shower myself."
She nodded, "okay." She smiled and kissed him.
He kissed her back, slowly lowering her down on her back on the bed, his hand trailed up her side and he kissed her deeper. "I love you." He muttered against her lips.
"I love you more." She kissed him harder.
He shook his head and broke the kiss, looking right at her. "If we keep this up, we'll never get ready."
She laughed, "you're totally right." She kissed him again and then sat up. She leaned in close and then whispered in his ear, "I'm gonna go shower. Then, we're going to the art show and after, you and I will…" She trailed off, moving away, she bit her lip and winked at him.
Ross just fell back against the bed and let out a groan.
"Bye." Rydel pouted as Ellington kissed her again.
"I'll be back early tomorrow morning and then we can spend time together, maybe go to the beach?" He asked and she nodded, smiling.
"Okay." She leaned in and kissed him. "Text me when you get home and drive safely." He assured her he would and then kissed her one last time, before finally leaving. Rydel shut the door, closing her eyes, she let out a sigh.
"Hey, you okay?" She heard and then turned around to see Rocky was standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" She asked.
"Just checking." He responded and then he hugged her. "You going to bed?"
She nodded, "yeah, I'm kinda tired."
Rocky smirked, "I bet." She playfully pushed him and he just shook his head. "As long as you're being careful."
"We…we are." She told him and then her hand went into her hair and she looked away. Rocky knew that meant something was wrong, but he also knew she wasn't going to say anything yet.
"Good." He said and then he gave her a smile and with that walked into the living room. Rydel took a deep breath and then let out a sigh, she watched Ellington for a few seconds and then walked up the stairs and into her room.
"This is amazing," Ross said as soon as he and Laura walked into the art gallery. "All these artists, this is fucking cool."
Laura smiled, "I'm glad you're enjoying this." She lay her head on his shoulder and Ross smiled down at her.
"You're here!"
Ross lifted his head to see that Alex was in front of them. Laura let go of him and hugged her.
"Hell yeah, we're here," Ross said hugging her himself. "We weren't going to miss this." He looked around, "this art is incredible. I could only wish to be this amazing and creative."
"Well, you make pretty good music," Alex pointed out and Ross nodded, laughing as he agreed with her. "It's nothing really."
"No, it's not." Ross told her, "who's the artist?"
Alex blushed and looked down, then she lifted her head along with her finger, "me?" She said as though it was more than a question.
"You?" Ross said.
She nodded, "me." And she smiled.
"Holy shit, Alex! You're amazing! Just… so damn cool." He smiled at her and she smiled back.
"Glad to see you enjoy it."
"Oh trust me, he more than enjoys it." Laura assured her and Alex laughed.
"How did you get so good at it? What's your secret?"
She shrugged, "well, after I was diagnosed, my doctor said I need to do something that would help keep me calm, you know? So I didn't think about my illness so much and I decided to try art. I had been an artist before, like I was hardcore into it, but things happened and I just kinda stopped. I went back to it and I guess I still had my talent because I used it all here." She gestured around them.
"Well, keep going," Laura said, "you've got a real talent for it."
"Are people buying it?" Ross asked just as someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around. They talked for a few moments and then the woman behind her left with a smile. After, she turned around to Ross and Laura again. She grinned. He just looked at Laura and then back at Alex, "I guess so."
Alex waved her hand in Laura's face and then signed something to her, her eyes big.
'Amazing!' Laura signed back and then hugged her tight. Ross didn't really know what was going on, but he hugged her as well.
"Congrats!" Laura smiled.
"What just happened?" Ross asked.
"She just offered me a thousand dollars for the painting over there," Alex pointed it out.
"Holy shit, that's great!"
Alex grinned, "if you guys will excuse me, I have to go walk around. You do the same and we'll meet up in a bit?"
"Yeah, definitely." Ross nodded.
A certain painting caught his eye and he walked over to it as Laura stood there, rubbing her belly for a few moments, she looked down and then looked back up to see a teenage girl in front of her. Her eyes were wide, as was the child's that was with her.
"Are you-" The girl began and she started to fan herself.
"Am I?" Laura asked, looking at her curiously.
"Ally!" The child squealed. "You're Ally! Is Austin here?"
Laura smiled and then knelt down to the little girl's height. "Yes I am and he's around here somewhere."
"Oh my god, you guys are here together? Are you dating? Oh my god, I have to tweet this!"
Laura immediately stood up and gently put her hand on the teenage girl's. The girl looked like she was going to pass out. She wondered what would happen if Ross touched her.
"No, there's no reason to do that, we're just here supporting a mutual friend."
"You mean the artist, Alex?" The girl asked and then she seemed to calm down.
"Yeah, she's a friend of ours."
"How do you know her?"
"We um, we met some place, look we're just friends, okay?" Laura smiled at her, "how do you know her?"
"Well, first we should introduce ourselves, I'm Dana and this is my sister, Ellie."
"Well, it's nice to meet you guys." Laura smiled again.
"We're her… cousins." Dana said and then that wide-eyed look returned. Laura was confused until she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Ross was back.
"Hey, Ross, this is Dana and-"
"Austin!" Ellie squealed and ran towards him. Ross was quick though and picked her up, giving her a hug.
"What's your name?" He asked her.
Laura laughed, "the squealing girl you just hugged is Ellie." Laura responded.
"Hey, Ellie." Ross smiled and then poked her nose, she giggled. He looked up at Dana, "sup, Dana?"
"Ahhh! Oh my god, I can't believe you're here too, I'm like obsessed with your show and your band and oh my god, is the band here?"
Laura sighed. So much for the calm girl she was just a few moments before.
"Nope, just me. Sorry."
"I don't even care, it's okay. Can we take a picture together? Like all of us?" She asked and Ross and Laura nodded.
"Of course," Ross smiled at her and with that, they took a few pictures, the girls soon leaving them a few moments later.
"That was fun." Ross said.
"Yeah, you should have been here earlier." Laura told him, "they're apparently Alex's cousins."
He looked at her, "they don't know how we met, do they?"
Laura shook her head, "nope."
"Come with me," He said, "I want to show you something, amazing."
She smiled and nodded, "okay."
Rydel was exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. It was a few hours before ten, but she had a terrible headache and just wanted to lie down. But even though she was exhausted, every time her eyes closed, it was like she had a vision or could hear things and immediately she woke up. It had been going on for the past hour and she had no idea what was going on. Looking around her dark room, she took a deep breath and laid down again. Turning on her side she closed her eyes again and then it happened again.
"Don't worry, Rydel, everything will be okay." She heard a voice and then opened her eyes, looking around, she saw that she was alone.
Picking up her phone, she found then number she was looking for and pressed the call button.
"Hey, Rye." Her boyfriend's voice came through the phone. "What's up?"
"I just missed you." Rydel answered, laying back in the bed. "Um, I can't sleep."
"It's only seven." He told her.
"I know, but I had a headache and I guess I wasn't feeling well, so I just went to lie down. I'm having trouble sleeping."
"What's wrong?"
She shrugged, "I don't know." She twirled a strand of hair around her finger. It was silent for a few seconds, "but um, Riker did want me to call you and tell you that we have rehearsal tomorrow."
"I know, he sent me a text."
"Oh." Rydel played with her hair again.
"Is everything okay?" Ellington asked her, officially concerned.
"Yeah, everything's fine. My head just really hurts, I'll call you in the morning?"
"Yeah. Of course."
"Okay. I love you."
"I love you too."
And with that, she hung up the phone. Putting it back on the bedside table, she laid back down and let out a loud sigh.
"Alex, this is amazing," Ross was saying to Alex as Laura listened, smiling to herself. "You should be so proud of yourself."
"Thanks, Ross, that means a lot coming from you." Alex hugged him. "Sorry it's not a traditional thing, there's no alcohol here because I'm still very underage."
Ross and Laura laughed.
"So are we," Laura reminded her, pointing to themselves. She looked down at her stomach and then wondered for a moment why the two girls didn't notice she was pregnant.
"And you're-" Alex signed the last word, pregnant.
Laura nodded, "definitely. We met your cousins, Ellie and Dana, they were so sweet."
"Yeah, they're kind of a pain sometimes." Alex joked. "They kind of have it rough."
"Really?" Laura asked and Alex nodded.
"I'm the lucky one. Even though I'm deaf, I have my parents, my brother and my sister. They live with us because their parents abandoned them." Alex told them as she walked over to a table to fill out something when somebody gestured her over.
"What happened to their parents?" Laura asked her.
"Their father was involved in some illegal trade thing, so he's in jail and their mother was a part of it. But she's very mentally messed up, up here," Alex explained, pointing to her head. "It's honestly probably where I got it from, but anyway, she's in a mental health facility."
"Wow, that's intense," Ross commented.
"My father abandoned me too," Laura said quietly, "um, but he passed away a few months ago. On my eighteenth birthday actually, just as we were starting to reconnect."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Alex gave her sympathetic look.
"I'm sorry to hear about your cousins," Laura responded, "if there's anything we can do, at all, please don't be afraid to ask us."
"Yeah, even if it's to have a private live show or to come visit the set, or to go to Disneyland with them. It doesn't matter." Ross added.
"You guys are so sweet." She hugged them both and then Laura heard somebody call her name and gestured to Alex that someone was trying to get her attention. "Well, that's my cue. Thanks so much for coming, I really appreciate it."
"No problem, thanks for having us." Ross smiled and Laura smiled too.
After Alex had walked away, Ross looked at the painting behind them that he had noticed when they walked in.
"You want to buy it, don't you?" Laura asked.
Ross nodded, "is that a bad thing?"
"Why would it be?"
He shrugged and then smiled. "I'm buying it."
She grinned back, "good." And with that, they went to go find someone who could help them with the purchase.
Rydel woke up the next morning, her hair was a mess and she had bags underneath her eyes. Looking at herself in the mirror, she questioned who the girl was staring back at her.
Thank god for makeup, she thought as she began to put it on. She soon heard a knock and Rocky yell her name.
"One second!" She yelled back at him, "I'm busy!"
"Well, hurry up! We've got rehearsal in an hour!"
She ignored him and continued to get ready. About thirty minutes later, she opened the door and glared at him.
"Who peed in your oatmeal this morning?" He asked her.
"I'm tired okay?" She snapped and with that went into her room. She changed into a dress, a jean jacket and then was putting on her boots, when she heard a knock on her door and looked up to see Ellington was standing in the doorway.
"Hey." He said.
"Hey." She responded as she went back to putting her boots on. Ellington sat down beside her.
"You okay? You look exhausted."
"Yeah, I um, didn't get much sleep last night." She said, smoothing her hair out and letting it fall down on her chest.
"I remember you calling me," He answered back, "you went to sleep super early and I don't know, you didn't seem like yourself. How's your headache?"
"It's not much better." She admitted.
"And we're going to rehearsal, which means it's probably going to get worse."
"Don't bang the drums so hard," Rydel teased and he playfully rolled his eyes.
"Hey, these songs require that I rock out and if I must rock out, then I must." Ellington responded.
"That actually sounds super hot." She winked at him and he gave her a smile back that made her heart melt into a puddle. She leaned her forehead against his. "Don't worry about me, I'm okay. I promise." She whispered and he nodded, softly kissing her before they broke apart. They went downstairs and Riker looked up from his cereal.
"Hey, dude, I didn't know you were here."
Ellington shrugged, "I just got here maybe ten minutes ago. Had to go visit my girl first." He said, smiling as he put an arm around Rydel's shoulders, who just blushed in response.
"Well, regardless, glad you're here on time. Rocky's taking forever in the shower." Riker took another bite of his cereal.
"No I'm not, I'm right here," Rocky said, walking into the kitchen.
"Well, grab a banana or a muffin or something, we have to meet Ross at the studio in twenty minutes," Riker responded, getting up to clean his bowl and put it into the dishwasher.
"Yeah, yeah." Rocky responded.
They were at the studio in less than twenty minutes, greeting Ross at the front of it, before going inside to see their instruments were all set up.
"Right," Rydel nodded, "Ryland."
"What about Ryland?" Ross asked her.
"He set this up, I forget he gets everything ready for us way ahead of time."
"He's good at his job then." Ross responded as Rydel let out a sigh and went to her spot behind her keyboard. Though, Ross followed her, "you okay? You seem like you're not feeling well or that something's wrong."
"No, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well and I have a headache so…" Rydel smiled to assure him, though it was a bit small and shaky.
Riker called for Ross to take his place and then for Rocky to start the opening for the song, so he walked away. Rydel took a deep breath and then closed her eyes, taking a moment, before it was her turn to jump into the song.
Everything was fine for the first half hour of rehearsal. Nothing went wrong and they were actually having fun, when she heard something and turned her head to the right so fast, it almost hurt her neck.
"What happened?" Riker asked her.
"I thought I heard-" She looked back, confused. "I think it's just my headache, I'm sorry."
"Do you want to take a minute?" Riker asked, but she shook her head.
"I'm fine, really." She responded and then she started to play a random song, when suddenly, she saw her father in the room with her and George sitting with him.
"It'll be okay, Rydel, I promise. I'm not gonna hurt you."
"No!" She yelled suddenly, "you're a liar!" She stopped playing the keyboard and then covered her face with her hands, shaking her head, she backed away until she tripped over a wire and fell on her ass on the ground.
"Rydel!" She heard Ellington shout and in two seconds, he was right beside her. "What just happened?"
She couldn't really hear him. Instead, she was hearing something else.
"Don't tell your mother or your brothers okay? I promise. It's going to be okay. Everything will be okay. We're just going to have some fun."
"But daddy, this isn't fun for me."
"It will be. I promise."
"No! No! No! Get away from me!" She pushed Ellington away from her and then moved back, her eyes wide and a look of fear on her face.
"Rydel, it's me, it's your brother, Ross." She faintly heard and then his voice became clearer and she was back in the studio with her brothers and her boyfriend again. "It's okay, you're okay."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry, Ellington, I didn't mean to hurt you." She said and he shook his head.
"I'm fine." He assured her.
"Please, guys, don't worry about me." She said as she stood up. She realized she was doing what Ross did, act like everything was okay, when it wasn't. But she had no choice, they were rehearsing, she didn't want to ruin that.
"Dude, you just flipped your shit." Rocky said, "you were screaming and you looked scared. What happened? I saw the look on your face yesterday when you closed the door." He paused, looking around for a few moments, "who was at the door yesterday?"
"No one." She answered quickly, since Ross still didn't know about George yet.
"Rydel, come on, don't bullshit us." Riker said. "We're here to help you."
"Fine," She snapped, "then help me by leaving me alone. Okay? I just want to rehearse." She pushed passed her brothers and then stood behind the keyboard again.
"Rydel, come with me," Ross said and before she could say or do anything, he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him, outside of the studio.
"Ross, let me go!" She yelled at him and he abruptly turned around to face her.
"I know something's wrong, Rydel. You can bullshit them all you want, but I know there's something up. So talk." He gave her a look that told her he wasn't messing around.
"I'm fine, okay just-"
"Stop." He snapped at her, "talk."
She rolled her eyes, "I can't tell you if there's nothing wrong."
"So, you flipping your shit back there, that's normal?"
"Yeah, remember, Ross? I'm the crazy bitch in R5." She said and Ross shook his head. He immediately hugged her and she stood, frozen in her spot. "What are you doing?"
"Giving you a hug," He responded simply. "It's something you do with someone you care about." He broke it a few minutes later, "look, I know it's hard to speak up, but you have to. It's hard for me, for anyone. But unless you want to end up where I was, you've got to talk."
Rydel just stared at him for a few moments and slowly nodded.
"And just so you know," Ross added, "you're not the crazy bitch in R5, I am."
"No, you're not." She responded back. "you have an illness, it's different."
"No it isn't." He then stood beside her, his hand went to hers and he took it in his, gently giving her a squeeze. "Do you want my advice for what happened back there?"
She shook her head and then looked at him, "not really, but I know you're going to give it to me anyways."
"Call your therapist, schedule an appointment and if you want, I'll go with you." He said.
"I can't do that, I already made plans with Ellington and-"
"What's more important, Rydel, you're mental health or a date with your boyfriend? Whatever's going on, needs to be out of you. You can't hide it for forever. Ellington will understand, trust me."
She just stared at him for a moment, his words resonating with her and she finally nodded. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled her phone out and then found her therapist's number, she called it and while still holding her brother's hand, she made the phone call while Ross just gave her a small, reassuring smile.
"So, talk to me, what happened?" Dr. Moon asked Rydel. She looked to her left, where Ross was and he took her hand again. "Tell me everything."
"I think I told you this already, I don't remember, but my father he um, he abused me… sexually." Rydel began and Dr. Moon nodded, "he um, he-" She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She felt another hand on top of hers and looked to her right to see Ellington was there, lacing their fingers together, he gave her a reassuring squeeze. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile.
He hadn't originally been invited to tag along, but Ross had convinced her, telling her that he already knew everything and when Laura was by his side, it made things so much more easier than when she wasn't there. She had asked him to join them and he had been more than willing to agree. That alone made her heart melt and fill with so much love and warmth towards them both.
"He has this best friend, George," She said, not exactly making eye contact with Ross, who just blinked a bit confused. Ellington squeezed her hand again and she took another deep breath before continuing, her eyes filling with tears. "He and dad got drunk together once when I was maybe eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, I don't remember." She looked down, pausing again.
"What did he do?" Ross asked her softly. And Rydel lifted her head up to look right at him.
"He watched dad touch me and didn't do anything to stop it," She said, her voice breaking towards the end. She let out a sob and immediately Ross hugged her tight. Ellington let go of her hand as it went to wrap around Ross. She cried into his shoulder and Ross just comfortingly hugged her and rubbed her back as she slowly started to calm down.
"What happened today?" Dr. Moon gently asked her after she had handed her tissues and Rydel had calmed down a bit.
"Yesterday, George came by to visit me, to tell me he'd testify against my father in court," She closed her eyes, the tears still falling. "I told him he should rot in jail with him and then I started to remember everything that had happened to me. It came in visions and memories and it was like I was there again. And today, during rehearsal, it just got worse and worse and I completely lost it. I pushed away Ellington and… I was just so scared. I thought I was back there, in that room with them both and I thought it was going to happen again."
"It's hard, I know," Ellington said softly and both Rydel and Ross looked at him. "I get it, why you both struggle to speak, why it's so hard to say what's on your mind and why you're so afraid."
Dr. Moon nodded, "It's not easy." She agreed and gave Ellington a smile, "but once you say it, it feels so much better." She focused her attention back on Rydel, "it may be a bit too early tell, but you could be experiencing symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is what the visions and memories are all about. Getting the visit from George is a huge factor in that." She looked in between Ellington and Rydel, "I know this might be a bit personal to ask, especially in front of your brother, but how are you performing while sexually active? Are you okay? Do you experience anything during intercourse?"
Rydel looked at Ellington and shook her head, "no, he makes me feel so safe and so loved that I don't react in a negative way." She looked down. "I don't know what happened today, I guess I just lost it for a minute or something."
"It's good that you came in today, your brother was right in telling you to come here immediately." Dr. Moon smiled at the siblings and Ellington, "we caught it early so we can prevent something worse happening later on."
Rydel looked up, "what do I do from here?"
"Continue your everyday life and if you feel at all scared or concerned, call me, or come right in. Tell someone, don't be afraid to speak up, okay?" She reached over to grab her prescription pad, "I will also prescribe you some antidepressants, to help with the depression and the anxiety." She quickly wrote it down and then handed it to Rydel who looked it over with Ross.
"Huh, that's similar to what the doctors gave me," Ross said, "before I was diagnosed, I mean."
"What is your diagnosis, if you don't mind my asking?"
"I'm bipolar," Ross said, "at first the doctor's thought it was depression, but it got worse and then I was diagnosed as bipolar about a year later." Dr. Moon nodded as Rydel looked up.
"Could that be a chance that I could be bipolar as well?" Rydel asked, "it's genetic isn't it?"
Dr. Moon nodded, "there is a chance yes, but we can't tell this early. I really think what you're suffering from is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. If it worsens or the medication doesn't help, then we'll do more tests, try something different and go from there." Rydel nodded.
"See?" Ross said, gaining Rydel's attention, "it's not so bad to talk, is it?"
Rydel shook her head, "no, it's not and I'm sorry that was how you found out about George."
Ross shrugged, "you're what's most important, he can rot in hell with dad for all I care, you're more important to me and you being okay is everything. I just want you to get better, you know?"
She nodded, a tear slipping down her cheek and immediately Ross hugged her. "Thank you."
"Anytime big sis," He said and looked at Ellington who smiled at him. He smiled back and then released Rydel from his hug. She then laid her head on Ellington's shoulder and let out a sigh as they all stood up to leave, with one last thank you, nice to meet yous and goodbyes to her therapist, they were on their way back to Ross' apartment.
"Hey, babe." Ross greeted Laura with a kiss as soon as he walked over to the couch and sat down beside her. Ellington and Rydel entered in after him and sat down on the other end.
"Hey, how was it?" Laura asked Rydel.
"Not as hard as I thought it was going to be," Rydel answered back and then smiled at Ross. "I've got tons of support and that really helps."
Ross' phone rang and he excused himself to answer it, while Rydel let out a yawn and laid her head on Ellington's shoulder.
"You look tired, why don't you go back home, get some rest and we'll talk later?" Laura suggested. Rydel smiled at her and nodded. They shared a hug and after Ellington hugged her and they said goodbye to Ross, they were on their way to his car.
"Hey, Eli?" Rydel said and he turned around to look at her, his eyebrow raised in curiosity. She smiled at him and took his hand, stepping forward, she laced their fingers together and pulled him closer. "I have to ask you something."
"Go for it," He told her, his eyes searching hers.
"Why would you agree to date a crazy girl?" She tilted her head as Ellington walked backwards, until his back was against the car and she was comfortably in between his legs and tightly against his body. His hand reached up to put a strand of her hair behind her ear and then finally, he answered.
"You're not crazy." He said it softly, almost in a whisper and then he leaned in and pressed his lips gently against hers. He slowly broke it off and then both his hands were on her cheeks as he looked at her, "you're the best, the most amazing girl I have ever met."
She smiled, "you sure about that?"
He smiled and then gently kissed her again, this time, her hand went to his wrist and she kissed him back, tenderly and then they slowly broke it off again.
"I love you, Rye. And nothing that you say or that happens to you will ever change that. Not with me, not with your brothers, Maia, Laura, Vanessa, anybody. You are one of a kind and you're amazing and beautiful and an incredible person."
A tear slipped down her cheek and she softly laughed. He laughed with her and then he pulled her close, so that he was hugging her and her arms wrapped around him tight.
"I love you," She murmured and then he hugged her tight.
"You okay?" Laura asked Ross as he slowly sat down on the couch beside her. He stared straight ahead for a moment and then Laura saw it. His lower lip quivered and then a tear slipped down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away. She sat up her hand going to his arm, "Ross?"
He turned to her then and she saw the tears in his eyes, the puffy redness and realized that he'd been crying for a while. But before she could say anything more, he just wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight, softly crying into her chest.
"It's okay, whatever it is, it's okay." She hugged him and kissed the top of his head. He cried for a few more moments, unable to speak and she just let him.
"Sorry," He muttered.
"No, don't ever be sorry for being a human being. A hormonal human being, but still a human being nonetheless," He laughed and then he lifted his head up to look at her. "What's wrong?"
"I just found out that yet another guy I really looked up to, who defended me when things got bad with my father, fucked my sister up too." Tears still slid down his cheeks. "George, my father's best friend, he… he was there and he saw what my father did to Rydel. He watched it happen and didn't even do anything to stop it."
"Is that why you're so upset?" She asked him and then she straddled his lap, him falling back on the couch. "You're upset because someone you cared about and someone you looked up to totally messed things up and ruined your view on them?" He just blinked at her, "you're upset also, because your sister is hurting, I know you're upset because of that."
"I just wish… I could stop all of it." He said softly.
She cupped his face in her hands and looked at him, "but you can't. I know you want to be this superhero, but you can't. It's not something that just goes away instantly." She leaned her forehead against his, "you've got your own demons to fight and you're also fighting your sister's and protecting her, which I'm all for, but just know that the best thing you can do is just be there for her, whenever she needs you, just like today."
"I was so scared when she freaked out at rehearsal today. It just reminded me of-"
"-you," Laura finished and he nodded. "I can see where that would scare you and it's okay."
"Do you think," He began, but paused, before continuing, "that I'll ever be normal?"
"Can I be honest with you? You weren't when I met you at fifteen when you'd run around set and do silly, random, totally unusual things to make me laugh, or when you'd eat crickets, how on earth you did that, I'll never know, and when you'd always try to find a reason to touch me. No matter if it was to pull my hair, over use your limits on hugs or… just being with me, by my side. You, Ross Shor Lynch are a one of a kind guy and that's something that I never want you to lose, not ever." She told him seriously. "And I love you so, so much."
He smiled at her and she leaned in, gently kissing him, before he broke it off, looking at her thoughtfully. She tilted her head in question and then she felt his hand tapping her sides and then she knew what was coming next.
"Even when I do this?" He asked her and then flipped her on to her back, tickling her as her laugh resonated through out the room.
"Yes! Yes, you win!" She giggled and then he stopped as they just stared at each other, her arms going around his neck, she pulled him close and then pressed her lips against his.
"Ross isn't answering his phone," Rocky said to Riker. Riker just took a bite of his sandwich and shrugged.
"So, what do you want me to do about it? He's probably with Laura."
"True, true," Rocky said thoughtfully, "I just want to know what happened after rehearsal today."
"Yeah, me too," Riker answered as the front door opened and Rydel and Ellington walked in. They didn't see them until they walked into the kitchen.
"Interesting part on your epic timing, we were just talking about you guys," Rocky said, "Well, sort of." Riker gave him a look and he just rolled his eyes.
"Okay," Rydel gave them a strange look and walked passed them to get something to drink, handing Ellington a water bottle, she walked back to her brothers. "What's up?"
"How did it go after rehearsal today?" Riker asked.
Rydel shrugged, "as well as you'd expect it to go, I talked to my therapist, Ross and Ellington were there and then we left, no big deal."
"Okay and what did she say?" Rocky asked her.
"That I might be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, from what dad did to me." Rydel answered.
"What triggered what happened today?" Riker asked next.
"Wow, I feel like this is an interrogation," Rydel muttered to Ellington, he just nodded.
"It's not, we're just really worried about you," Riker defended.
Rydel sighed and then she spoke, "George came by to visit yesterday and he told me he'd go against dad and testify, but I basically told him to rot in jail with dad and then just walked away."
"Why?" Riker asked and that's when the other three in the room realized he had no idea.
"George and dad got drunk and he watched dad touch me and didn't do anything to stop it." Rydel answered him and his eyes widened. She held her hand up before he could say anything more, "I don't even want to talk about it, so don't make a big deal out of it."
Riker shut his mouth, a first and a shock to everyone else and then he looked down at his sandwich, suddenly not hungry anymore, for a moment, before looking back up again. "Does Ross know?"
Rydel nodded, "he found out today." She then shrugged and after a few more seconds of silence, just turned about to walk out of the room when she heard Rocky speak.
"I'm going to visit dad," He said, almost firmly.
Riker looked at him like he was crazy and Rydel, at that moment, turned around looking at him in disbelief.
"Dude, hell no. It's not a good idea, you remember what happened with Ross and I."
"I don't give a shit." Rocky snapped at him, "he did what he did to Rydel, let Ross feel like shit for most of his life and he allowed his best friend to keep what he did to Rydel a secret or whatever it was he did that made George not say a word."
"Nothing you say will make a difference," Riker's tone was louder, "he really doesn't care-"
"I guess yeah, but-"
"He's a fucking sociopath, Rocky!" Riker yelled at him and Rydel stepped back in surprise, "you going that jail and telling him off isn't going to make a difference because he doesn't give a shit about what he did. Not to the family, to mom, to Ross or to Rydel. If he did then he'd probably apologize, but instead he asked me for money to bail his ass out, remember?"
Rocky didn't say anything and then just slowly sat down. His hand ran over his face.
It clicked in Rydel's mind what was going on and she looked at Ellington for a moment before focusing back on her little brother. She slowly walked up to him, her hand going to his shoulder, she fell down to her knees and looked up at him.
"Did my freakout today remind you of what happened with Ross a few weeks ago?"
Rocky took his hands off his face and looked at her. He slowly nodded his head and then Rydel immediately hugged him. Her eyes filled with tears and she just hugged him tighter.
She knew how messed up Rocky was from seeing Ross the way he had been. Since it had been the worst of all of Ross' episodes, it made sense that it had traumatized Rocky a bit. He wasn't one to keep inside how he felt or what was bothering him, so for him to be silent about it as long as he had been was pretty huge.
"Don't be scared anymore, okay? We're both fine." She whispered into his hair and then hugged him tighter.
It took a few moments, but Rocky soon responded, "I don't know if I'll ever be."
"It'll take time, but just don't be afraid of your thoughts or your feelings. It took me a while, but I finally learned that and it's the best thing ever to think about in any situation."
Rocky nodded and then hugged her again as she had pulled away to look at him.
Then she whispered in his ear, "if you want to go see dad, then I'm going with you." And she shook her head, a signal not to say anything and he nodded.
"Okay." He whispered and then she let him go, squeezing his hand, she went upstairs with Ellington, leaving behind a deep in thought Rocky.
There was a loud knocking on the door and Ross sleepily walked over to it. Opening it, he saw Vanessa was standing on the other side of it.
"Vanessa?" He asked, looking at her, confused. "What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night."
"I know and I'm sorry, but I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and I just need someone to talk to, is Laura awake?"
Ross shook his head, "she's fast asleep, which is good, because she's pregnant." He told her.
"Right, yeah." Vanessa ran a hand through her hair.
"Something on your mind? Wanna talk about it?" Ross asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table.
"I don't know if you're the right person to talk about this with," She said and he blinked, confused.
"What are you talking about?"
"You're like three years younger than me and I don't know, it's awkward."
"I'm the same exact age as Laura, just a month younger, that shouldn't make much of a difference," He told her, his tone cold as he was a bit hurt.
Vanessa sighed and then nodded, "you're right, I'm sorry."
He motioned for her to continue.
"It's about your brother."
"What about my brother?" Ross asked her, "did he do something to you, because if he did then I will-"
"No, no and I'm flattered that you'd kick his ass for me, but there's no need to do that." She assured him and he just blinked his eyes at her, completely confused.
"Then what's the problem? Because, I really don't see it."
"I um, I…"
"You…like his hair?" Ross guessed.
She rolled her eyes, "no."
"Then what?"
She sighed and then it all came out at once, "IthinkI'minlovewithRockyandwanttohavesexwithhim."
"Wait, what?" His sleepy mind hadn't caught that at all.
"You are such a pain, okay. I said I think I'm in love with Rocky and want to have sex with him." She didn't make eye contact and then Ross just started laughing, like full on laughing. "That's not funny!" She was blushing so hard, she was pretty sure he could see it, even in the dim light of the room.
"Dude, sex and love totally go together and they are completely normal." He reminded her. "I just want to know why you haven't talked to Rocky about this."
"Yeah, because going up to your boyfriend and saying, 'hey I love you, let's have sex' is totally normal!" She threw her hand up and Ross just smiled at her.
"It's normal to feel this, you know? Us Lynches, we have got something, I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it's definitely something." Vanessa rolled her eyes, but still laughed at that. "And not that I don't mind us talking like this, but… if Rocky's your boyfriend, then why aren't you talking to him about it?"
"Because it's…it feel awkward."
Ross gave her a look, "if that were true, then why is your sister fast asleep and pregnant?"
"Well, not everyone likes to have crazy sex like the both of you seem to do, all the damn time."
"Good point," Ross agreed. "Okay, look, sex is totally normal, you know? If you feel it, go for it, there's nothing wrong with… that." He paused, looking closely at her. "Okay, if I were to ask you something, promise not to punch me in the face when I do it?"
"I can't promise anything, but go ahead." Vanessa responded.
"Are you a virgin?"
She opened her mouth to make a smartass comment, but then realized that there wasn't a point in that and closed her mouth. She wondered if she was even more red than she was before.
"It's okay," Ross told her gently.
"But I'm twenty one," She said quietly.
"So? Rydel and Ellington were both twenty." Ross told her, "there's absolutely nothing wrong with it."
"You and Laura were seventeen."
"Not even starts out young, dude, really." He assured her. She then sat down beside him and put her head in her hands.
"How do I even…what do I do?"
"That's up to you and your boyfriend. I can't tell you when to have sex, where to do it, or even to say it. You gotta be the one to or he has to."
"And how do you know he loves me back?"
He stared at her, "what's not to love about you?" He asked her. "You're pretty great, I see where Laura gets it from." She smiled at him. "Just be yourself, go with the flow okay? If you want it, then tell him. If anything, he's probably afraid to say it himself."
"But is the fact that we haven't been dating that long a huge worry?" She asked him.
"Why would it be?"
She shrugged.
"Laura and I weren't even dating and we had sex and then we started to again about a week or so after our first date. What you've got to do, is not worry so much about what other people think okay? It's something special and beautiful that's going to happen in between you and Rocky. No one else. I'm not involved, thank god, and neither will Laura or Rydel or Katie or Maia, also, side note, thank god." Vanessa laughed and he put his hand on top of hers, squeezing it reassuringly. "It's all good, V." He smiled at her and she smiled at the nickname.
"I approve of you asking Laura to marry you," She said it quietly, in case Laura overheard or something. "You're a really amazing guy."
"You can thank my mamma for that." He said and she laughed.
"Well, thanks for this, I really appreciate it. I am going to go home, think some more and then hopefully sleep." Vanessa said as she stood up to go to the door. She hugged Ross and with that a promise to text him to let him know she got home safely, he shut the door.
Just as his phone rang.
He didn't read the caller ID and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Dude, I need your help." Rocky said and Ross just looked at the door a moment before looking back at the couch.
"I literally just let Vanessa out so if you're calling to talk about her, this is some Twilight Zone shit, I swear."
Rocky laughed, "yeah, it's about her."
"Okay, well, then I guess I'm the love expert around here, so go for it. I'm listening." Ross got comfortable on the couch and yawned.
"First though, I want to ask if you're okay. I heard what happened this afternoon."
"Technically, seeing as it's past midnight, it was yesterday afternoon." Ross pointed out.
"Whatever, same thing."
"To answer your question, I'm okay. I talked to Laura and I feel a lot better. I'm assuming you know too so how are you?"
"I'm okay. Had a moment and Rydel helped me through it."
Ross smiled, "she's awesome."
"Yeah, very." Rocky agreed. "She's sleeping right now with Ratliff."
"Right, yeah, because that's what normal people do in the middle of the night, sleep." Ross reminded him.
"Right going back to why I called, good call." Rocky said and then took a deep breath. "Should I go for it?"
"Go for what?"
"Tell Vanessa I love her," He said and then Ross was silent, deep in thought for a few seconds.
"Yeah, go for it." He answered finally.
"What if she says she doesn't feel the same way?"
"Yeah that's not gonna happen, bro. Trust me you've got nothing to worry about." Ross assured him.
"Why? Is that why she came over?"
Ross just smiled, "you won't know unless you go for it. Gotta go, Laura's calling me, bye Rocky!" And with that he hung up the phone.
"Did you give love advice to my sister and your brother?" He heard and looked up to see Laura was standing in the doorway, leaning against it.
"Kinda, yeah." He answered back, "but don't worry about them, they'll be fine. I hope."
Laura laughed, "well, then come back to bed silly." He had gotten up and walked to her by then so she reached up to whisper something in his ear and then he grinned, picking her up, she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him.
"Just so you know, for the record," He managed to say in between her heated kisses. "Middle of the night sex is awesome."
"Such a boy." Laura teased and then Ross kicked the bedroom door closed.
The enddd of the chapter. Not the story. I didnt want to write too much cuz then I wouldnt have anything to write for the next chapter.
How adorable is Rocky by the way? :) I love him. Haha. Whether or not he cockblocks, he's pretty awesome. Though to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if he cockblocked in real life too. I'm just putting that out there into the universe, onto the table of life.
The font like this in the middle of the story means that Rydel is having flashbacks and memories, just as a side note. I also did some research on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, so I hope that shows. I'll edit it and everything later.
Okay, review, tell me what you think. That'd be way too cool and awesome :)
You guys rock.
Much love! xx
