On Her Own
Chapter 3
"That day you found us together…holding hands…he, he wanted to-to do it against a tree, and he found out I was coming back here, he- he thought that sounded better…doing it here…" Richard couldn't help but wish he could walk out of her room right then and go pound Roy into the ground for tormenting her like this.
"Sssshhhh Rachel, baby, it's all right." Rachel could't stop the tears from coming. She looked up at him and he pulled her a little closer. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his shirt.
"Hush now, it's all right. I'm here with you." She was trembling in his arms, and he didn't know how to help her.
He sat there rocking her in his arms well into the night. At some point the tears had stopped, but she was still trembling against him and her breathing was still uneven. He looked down to see her clutching at his shirt.
"Why don't you go wash your face and get ready for bed?" Richard suggested gently. He could tell she was exhausted and needed to go to sleep.
She looked up at him and blinked slowly before nodding, even though she wasn't sure she wanted to. Gradually she released his shirt and got off the bed. He followed after her and went over to her closet. They always had each others clothes in their rooms.
He noticed her hesitating by the door. "Go wash up, I'll be here waiting for you to come back and we can go to bed." He told her gently, as he went over and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
She nodded again without looking at him. Without a sound she left, and went to go use the bathroom and wash up.
When Rachel walked back into her room, her shirtless boyfriend was pulling the curtain across the window. She shut the door behind her and pulled her shirt over her head, leaving her in sweatpants and her sports bra. He glanced over at her and gave her a half smile. "Don't want the sun waking us up again now, do we?"
She tried to smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. Richard noticed they were still red from her crying before. He threw himself sideways onto her bed, bouncing slightly before he moved the blankets and held out his arms to her.
Slowly she moved closer to the bed but stopped at the edge and stood there.
Richard laid on his side looking at her. Taking her hand in his, he gently pulled her onto the bed. She laid there on the edge, watching him tensely.
"Are you planning on sleeping on the edge like that all night? Or are you gonna come and sleep in my arms?" That was all the clarification she needed. She moved into his arms and curled herself against him. Richard wasn't Roy. They were complete opposites. Richard would never try to hurt her.
Her fingers went back to the chain, wondering where it came from. Richard pulled the blankets up around their shoulders and placed a kiss on Rachels' temple as she buried her face against his chest.