You're The Only One

I woke up in an unfamiliar surrounding. It took me a second to realize that I was in Gabe's house. When I realized this, all of the events from yesterday came flooding back into my memory. 
 
Pete's lifeless body, covered in blood. The tears And look of pure fear in Brendon's eyes. And the overwhelming guilt I felt for causing all of this. If I could have just been more careful… or maybe let everyone know what was going on in the first place, Pete wouldn't have been pushed over the edge and tried to kill me; he could have gotten help. He wouldn't be dead, and Brendon and I wouldn't have had to abandon our home to go on the run from the cops. 

I looked down at Brendon who was wrapped in my arms. He was still fast asleep, but he was tense at the same time. He would continuously flinch. He must have been having a nightmare. 

I gently caressed his face, hoping to maybe soothe him. Instead I just woke him up by mistake. His eyes fluttered open, and he snuggled closer, burying his face in my chest before letting out a sigh. 

"Are you alright? I'm sorry I woke you up." I mumbled. 

"Yeah, I just had a bad dream." he mumbled. I began gently rubbing his back and shoulder. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked. 

"Not really." 

"Mkay. I understand." I said. He slowly sat up and looked back at me. 

"This isn't right." he mumbled. I sat up too, and gave him a confused look. 

"What are you talking about?" I asked. 

"This isn't right." he repeated. "You were the one who suffered the most. He hurt you directly. He raped you and tried to kill you-" he didn't notice my flinch. "-and here you are, comforting me because I'm so weak that I can't protect my boyfriend without having a breakdown. I should be comforting you. I should be the one pretending to be strong for your sake. I should be holding you while you sleep, with you asking if things will be okay, and telling you they will be, even if I know they won't." he looked like he might start crying again. 

I grabbed a hold of his hand and he slowly lifted his head to meet my eye. 

"Brendon, it's okay. Look, you were there for me. Every time it happened, you may not have known what was going on, but you were there for me nonetheless. Every time I came to you, crying and broken, you took me in your arms and fixed me." I wrapped my arms around him, and pulled him into an embrace. "What you did was a lot harder to deal with, then what was done to me, I'm sure. It's not easy to kill someone and just write it off as if it's nothing. Even if it was a justified and noble act. Right now, it's my turn to be there for you. You already helped me, several times. You have a right to be upset, and just know, I'll always be there for you, no matter how I'm feeling, I'll be there. I'll never let you fall." I whispered the last part, attempting to blink away tears, but having them run down my face anyway. 

He let out a small shallow sob, and tightened his embrace around my small frame, clinging on as if he felt like he might loose me in any second. 

I gently rubbed comforting circles on his back and he continued to cry. As we both did. 

"I love you so much." He whispered between sobs. "I can't believe I almost lost you. Again." 

"The feeling's mutual." I whispered. 

He pulled away with a slight smile. Though I'm sure it was forced. I wiped away his tears and kissed him on the forehead. 

"We should get up now." I whispered. He nodded in agreement. 

"I'm going to go freshen up." he mumbled, crawling out of bed.  I watched him slowly make his way to the bathroom, before crawling out of bed myself. I changed into some normal clothes and made sure I didn't look too much like crap before exiting into the living room, where Kaela, Spencer, Gabe, and Bilvy sat. 

They all looked up at me when I entered the room. 

"Hey." Kaela said sympathetically. "How are you?" she asked in an overly sweet voice. 

"I'm fine I guess." I mumbled. 

"What about Brendon?" William asked. 

"He's not taking things too well." I answered honestly. "He's in there freshening up and stuff." I said. 

"Kaela?" I asked. 

"Yeah?" She responded. 

"I have a question." I started. 

"Shoot."

"Um, how do you plan on going on a long road trip with Jane?" 

"Well," she started. "We were just talking, and we have a plan. I called my friend on the phone, and she's going to meet you guys in San Francisco. Um, we decided that I would be best if you left your cars and stuff here. So it would be harder to find you. But, I've arranged a van so to speak for you guys to take down there. I'm going to stick around here for a few days, then take a plane down there with Jane." she finished. 

"So all seven of us are going to be stuck in one vehicle for Twelve or so hours?" I asked. 

"What?" Both Brendon and Patrick said in unison, walking into the room. 

"Yep." Kaela said nonchalantly. 

There was a knock at the door, interrupting our conversation. 

"That must be your guys' ride." Will said.