Reba sighed, rolling her eyes as she climbed off her bed. "Fine! I'll try, but if it doesn't happen…" Reba trailed off, too tired to fight the crazy blonde right now. She left her room, panic rising in her stomach and closing her throat. She stopped at the top of the stairs when she heard Van, Scott, and Brock talking.
"I swear, Mr. H, Cheyenne is just completely out of it lately. If I get up at night with Adam, she sleeps…but when she gets up with him, she expects me to!" Reba pressed her body into the wall, leaning her head to the side so she could watch them without easily being spotted.
"She can be a little over the top sometimes," replied Brock. He took a sip of his drink, enjoying the rare chance to talk with just the older guys around. Van nodded his head in agreement before checking over his shoulder in case Cheyenne might be listening in on the conversation.
"I just don't like her being mad at me but it's just not fair for her to get mad about that." Van shook his head, not understanding Cheyenne's side of the fight. Reba rolled her eyes, focusing more closely when she heard Scott's voice replying to Van's statement.
"Van, I have never experienced kids, but I have experienced women," Scott piped up, receiving a smirk from Brock and a slight chuckle from Van. He took a deep breath, trying to be patient.
"Yeah," Van said raising his eyebrow, "I bet you've been around the block a few times."
He smirked, "That's not what I meant. I think you just need to give Cheyenne a little of what she wants. Whether you want to or not, it'll make your life easier and her happier. And seeing her happy should be enough to make you happy." Reba smiled at his answer, feeling her heart swell a small bit. She quickly reminded herself not to love him anymore no matter what he might say or do.
"No, no, no! Van shouldn't back down. If he gives her this, she'll think she can get him to do anything," replied Brock. Reba rolled her eyes at Brock's answer, smiling when Scott called him an idiot.
"She should be able to get him to do anything. She's the love of his life...she should make him melt every time he sees her...just like I do when I see Reba." Scott paused, taking a moment to push his heartache and thoughts about Reba to the back of his mind for the moment. He needed to help Van right now. Reba sighed at her name, wishing things could be different, but how could they? He would leave her eventually, and this way she'd be more prepared for the let down.
Brock started laughing, shaking his head before he took another drink. Van thought for a moment, going back and forth between his father-in-law and the man he hoped would eventually be his step-father-in-law. Maybe he should have just asked Reba what to do? "I never got up with Reba when the kids were babies. She got over it, just like Cheyenne will do once Adam is a little older. Don't let her win, Van." Van shook his head, standing up to go into the back yard where the rest of the family was enjoying the early afternoon.
"Uh, no offense, Mr. H, but you and Ms. H also got divorced. I think I'm gonna try Scott's suggestion. I don't mind letting Cheyenne win every now and then if it means she'll be happy...Mostly 'cause when she's happy, she's not yelling or nagging at me."
"That's not what I'm trying to say…do it to make her happy, not to make you happy," replied Scott.
"Why are women SO complicated?" Van said as he got up and left the living room.
Brock laughed at his son-in-law, before turning somewhat hostile, "Are you going to tell me what a terrible husband I was now? Since you're such a perfect boyfriend?"
"Brock, why do you always make me out to be the bad guy here?"
"I don't mean to…it's just, it is Reba. To me, the way I treated my relationship with her is my biggest regret. I'll never be able to let that go. And it really does make me happy to see her with someone like you, but I'm still jealous as hell."
At that moment, Scott's phone began to ring. "Excuse me," he said as he answered the phone and went out the front door to take the call privately. Reba still stood at the top of the stairway listening to every word said during the conversation taking place below her. She walked back up the stairs and re-entered her bedroom.
"So, did you do it?" asked a very curious Barbra Jean.
"I went down there, and he was talking to Van and Brock, and then his phone rang and he left."
"Reba, you are going to have to do this one way or…are you okay?" Barbra Jean stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Reba trying desperately to hold back tears. "Did he say something to them?"
Reba stared at her friend, unable to answer. She wanted to tell her what she'd overheard, but it was still so fresh that she wasn't sure she'd fully comprehended what it meant. Barbra Jean stood up from Reba's bed, walking to Reba's side. The redhead took a deep breath, hoping to keep the tears at bay. "Talk to me, Reba." Barbra Jean almost sang it as she gently placed her hand on Reba's upper arm.
"Where do I even start?" Reba questioned more to herself than Barbra Jean, but she wasn't the least bit surprised when the blonde answered her anyways.
"Well, you could start by admitting you're an idiot." Reba rolled her eyes, moving to sit down on the end of her bed. Barbra Jean watched her before continuing. "I'm sure the rest will flow outta you after that." She gave the redhead a half smile, hoping to ease the tension with a small joke. Reba shook her head, her hands shooting over her face and through her hair.
"I know what I'm doing, Barbra Jean. I just can't be around him right now, that's all." Reba was determined, but Barbra Jean could see past it.
"Why? Cause you know that you're hurting him and watching him in pain hurts you because you love him?" Barbra Jean folded her arms, staring at Reba as she waited for a confirmation to what she had pointed out. Reba sighed, looking to her bedroom floor.
"He'll leave." Barbra Jean stopped her.
"He hasn't, yet." She paused before joining Reba on her bed. "Listen, Brock left the first time you told him to not come back. Jack left the first time you told him not to come back. Brian was just an idiot who left the first time his feelings got hurt…which being with you, he should have known to expect that. Ouch!" Barbra Jean whined as she rubbed her arm where Reba had just smacked her. "What. I am trying to say is…Scott is still here. You told him no to a marriage proposal yesterday, and here he is…waiting for you to realize how important he is to you and how amazing you two are as a couple." There was a small silence as Barbra Jean's words sunk into Reba's head. "So, you gonna tell me why you were so upset? Did he say something?"
Reba took a deep breath, falling backwards onto her bed. "He told them that he melts when he sees me and that I'm the love of his life and how all that matters is my happiness and a bunch of really sweet crap like that." Reba sighed, hearing his voice echo his words in her mind once again. Barbra Jean smiled at her friend before standing up and grabbing one of her arms. She gently tugged on it, forcing Reba to sit up and then to nearly fall forward onto the floor.
"Get your butt up and go after him! What more do you need to not be scared, Reba? Now, if you don't go, I will carry you kicking and screaming over my shoulder until I find Scott." Reba rolled her eyes, deciding she needed to get away from Barbra Jean. She wasn't sure if she wanted to find Scott just yet or not.
"I will, just not right now. I just need a moment to process this all and get a grip on myself. I know I made a mistake, I know I messed up. I know all of this, but it doesn't mean I can stop feeling this way. Damn it!"
Barbra Jean quickly laid down her front to comfort her best friend. "Reba, you have every reason to worry about this. I have every reason to worry about Brock leaving. Everyone has reasons to worry, but your situations determine that. I'm not going to tell you to marry him or not, but you have support from all of us. And you know that."
"Please, just leave me alone right now." Reba turned her back to Barbra Jean, listening as the blonde sighed and then walked out of her room. The bedroom door shut quietly behind her, and with the soft click of it closing in place, Reba's body finally gave out on her. She fell onto her bed, curling up into a tight ball. She cried both sad and happy tears. What Scott had said to Brock and Van about her had been so sweet and a little comforting, but it only made her fear of him leaving or hurting her bigger.
Reba stared at her wall, begging the blank white surface to give her answers to all her problems, but how many times had she done this before with other problems only to end up with a migraine and more tension than before. She rolled over, deciding that this time would not end up like that. Reba tried to keep an open mind on the subject, even tried to avoid remembering how she felt when she'd been broken hearted before, but all she could focus on was the loud voice screaming that he would end up being no different than the ones before him.
She sighed, closing her eyes as she felt tears start to fall. It was a pointless action, seeing as her tears this time around were strong enough to slip past her eyelids. Memories of her and Scott together slowly played out in her mind like a horribly sweet and heart wrenching movie. His face after she had declined his proposal froze in her mind as if someone had pressed pause. She sighed. She loved him so much, and at this point it wouldn't matter if he left her or if she left him. Her heart would still break.
Hours later she had managed to drift into a fitful sleep, her nightmares staying true to their promise of keeping her company. As daylight entered her bedroom, her mind and body finally gave out, allowing her the short number of hours before Scott entered her room to sleep.
Scott stood outside Reba's room, a tray of breakfast food balancing on one arm as the other stretched out to knock on the closed door. He waited a few minutes, but when he didn't receive an answer he eased the door open. For the past three months he had made this family breakfast on Sundays, giving the redhead the morning to sleep in. Scott had brought her breakfast in bed as a sweet way to wake her up, and both of them had learned to ignore Van's jokes about it being their sneaky way of getting him in her bedroom.
Scott casually and quietly walked into the bedroom, not finding anything unusual for a Sunday morning. He set the breakfast tray on her dresser before moving to the bed. He started to sit down on the edge of the bed next to her like he had done before when their situation halted his movements. She might not want him that close to her right now and as much as it hurt him to not sit next to her he remained standing. He gently shook her arm before rubbing soft circles on her back. Reba groaned tiredly as she woke up, too tired to keep her eyes open for longer than a few seconds.
Reba rolled over, yawning as sleep threatened to take over her again. She didn't even need to open her eyes to know who was in her room, and for a moment she wondered why he wasn't sitting next to her. She loved waking up to find his eyes hovering over hers, but this morning as she forced her eyes to open one more time she had to turn her head to the side to see him. Was he finally starting to drift away from her? Would he be leaving her soon? It hurt her to even think he could be doing those things and forced her mind to think of ways to stay awake. "Good morning. I know it's a little earlier than most Sunday's, but I was worried you might not have eaten much, if at all, yesterday. I couldn't wait any longer to make sure you were taking care of yourself." His smile was sad and it broke Reba's heart even more to know she could have prevented such a thing from happening to him.
Reba looked away from him, slowly moving to sit up. Her body fell heavily back against her headboard, and when she sighed with an attempted smile, Scott moved to get her breakfast. She watched him, feeling her headache worsen at the light coming from her window and the hallway. She ran a hand over her face, moaning at how much of her body actually hurt. Scott paused when he turned around, frowning at the worn out woman in front of him. "Is everything all right, Baby?" His concern pushed away her fears and his wonderment over her rejection for the moment.
Reba sighed, shaking her head slowly. "I feel terrible." Her voice was hoarse and quiet. She hated how weak it made her sound. Scott frowned with concern before bringing her breakfast to her.
"What's wrong? Anything I can do?" Reba stared at her food as Scott set it on her lap, tears filling her eyes.
"It's nothing, Scott. I'll be fine. You shouldn't worry about me." Scott took a step back, giving her some space. He looked at her profile, studying the distant, sad look on her face.
"I know you'll be fine because you're strong enough to not need me to take care of you, but Reba, I love you and can find nothing more important right now than taking care of you. I will always worry…especially when I…" He trailed off, deciding she wouldn't hear a word he was saying right now with her stubbornness playing as her lead defense. He sighed, moving to her bathroom, finding her aspirin and bringing the bottle back to her. "Please, eat something. That's all I ask." Reba nodded her head as she took the medicine from him, appreciating all he was doing for her right now.
Reba watched him as he started to leave her room, and held her breath when he turned around. "I love you, and I'm truly sorry for anything I might have done to upset you. Whatever it was…or is…I never meant to hurt you. I can learn from my mistakes, I promise." His voice cracked slightly, and Reba struggled to keep her tears at bay when he turned around, wiping at his eyes. Shutting the door behind him, Scott left her alone in her room with the space she knew he understood she needed.
He sat down on the floor with his back against the wall in the hallway, hitting his fist on the floor. He'd never allowed himself to be placed in such a desperate, lonely situation before. Why wouldn't he allow himself to stay? Reba. He couldn't help but love her, no matter how hard it was sometimes. Sometimes he did want to just simply walk away, and not have to worry about anybody. But he honestly knew he could never and would never walk away. Not from her.
Scott stood up, and reached for the folded up piece of paper in his back pocket. It was a note he had written her the night before, in a state of confusion. He read it over and then once more before sliding it under the bedroom door. He pushed it far enough to make sure he couldn't reach it again, even if he wanted to. Everything he wanted to say to her was written down so nothing would go unmentioned, and she needed to hear every word of it.
He walked down the hallway and left the house, unsure of his every action.