You're The Only One

I woke up the next morning feeling like crap. My eyes stung, probably from all the crying, and my throat felt sore. 

I glanced up to see Brendon still fast asleep. He looked peaceful, with his closed eyes, and his eyelashes casting a shadow over his cheek bones. His beautiful lips were parted slightly, allowing his slow steady breaths. He was still in his work clothes, and still smelled like cheap overpriced food.

Just like always.

I felt safe in his arms, I felt like we could face the world, and live forever.  

It moments like this where I can pretend everything is okay. I can pretend the outside world doesn't exist and just lay here wrapped in his arms, as if we're the only thing that matters.

Too bad these moments can't last forever.

His eyes fluttered open, and he met my gaze. He gave me a weak smile before muttering a small "Hey." and sitting up.

"Hey." I mumbled back. I sat up too as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck. 

"Are you alright?" he mumbled into my shoulder. 

"Yeah, I just… I'm sorry." I apologized. 

"For what?" he asked lifting his head up to meet my gaze. 

For lying to you and being a horrible boyfriend.

"That you had to see that. And for keeping you up last night." I answered instead.

"Ryan, don't be sorry for that. Just… what happened? Why were you so upset? I don't think I've seen you that upset since you left for Alabama six sum years ago…" he said pulling away and facing me on the bed. 

I was raped by a man I've been friends with since I was in 8th grade. And I can't tell you because I love you too much and I don't want you to get hurt.

"I just started thinking about my dad… and everything that's happened. I guess I just got caught up in my emotions is all… it's really nothing to worry about. I'm fine now." I made up.  

Lies. All lies. I'm sorry for lying to you Brendon.

He wrapped his arms around me again and sighed. 

"Don't worry Ryan, he can't hurt you. I won't let him. You should just stay away from him." Brendon advised.  

He might not be able to hurt me but…

"I know. I was just thinking about my child hood is all. And everything he put me through then." Ilied explained. 

"Oh. Well let's take your mind off of that for now shall we? Guess what tomorrow is…" he said kissing my neck again. 

"Uh… Your moms birthday?" I teased trying to lighten the mood. 

"Funny. And I'm the one with the bad memory?" 

"I'm teasing. You know I wouldn't forget our six- year anniversary." I gave him a weak smile. 

He chuckled and gave me a peck on the lips before stretching his arms and getting up. 

"As much as I'd love to be in bed with you all day… I gotta get ready for work. Someones gotta pay the bills." he said planting a sloppy wet kiss on my forehead. I looked down, letting a stubborn smile escape my lips as I tossed a pillow at him, and missed. He laughed and ruffled my hair before exiting to the bathroom.

"Will you be okay here by yourself?" he called from the bathroom. "I could stay home if you want." he offered. 

"No it's okay. I think I'm going to head over to Kaela's today anyways. See how she's doing." I said climbing out of bed.

"Okay, just call me if you need anything. I'll come home right away." he offered. 

I sighed. "Ill be fine. Really." I assured him. 

He reappeared dressed in his work clothes, and smelling minty fresh.

"You change fast." I commented. 

"Yeah, I'm running late. We slept in." he said rushing in to grab his watch. 

He slipped his shoes on and did a quick fix of his hair in the mirror. 

"I'm off." he said kissing me one more time before leaving the bedroom. "Don't forget to call me if you need anything!" he called from the other room. 

He can be a little over protective sometimes. Especially times like this when he thinks I might be on the verge of a mental breakdown. 

Which I won't. Because I'm fine now. I'll just talk things over with Kaela. She can probably help me. 

~*~

I walked over to Kaela's house, mostly because I needed the air. I knocked softly on the door. I hadn't heard any crying, so I assumed Isabella, or Jane, was a sleep. (She has so many different names now it's hard to keep track.) 

Kaela opened the door, looking tired, but not zombie-like. 

"Hey Ryan! Haven't seen you in a while. Come in." she offered. 

"You saw me just the other day." I laughed. "Where's Isabella-Jane?" I asked, noticing she wasn't holding her. 

"Well, we haven't really 'hung out' I guess you could call it, in forever." she said. "Oh, and Jane's asleep. Finally." she added. 

"Oh that's good. Um, Kaela, I need to talk to you about something." my tone turned serious. 

She caught the sudden change in my mood, and sensed something was wrong. 

"Of course. Sit down, just let me go check on the baby real quick." she said leaving the room. 

I looked around and noticed that the room was a mess. Since Jon was still staying at our place, I guess she hadn't really had time to clean. Huh, I still don't know what that hell that boy did to piss her off so much. I should ask Brendon later...

"Okay." she said walking back into the room and taking a seat on the couch next to me. "Tell me what's wrong. Is it you and Brendon?" she asked. 

"Kaela, you're my best friend, and you have been forever. And I don't have anyone else I can turn to with this. I can't talk to Brendon… and I just… I need to tell someone. It's eating me up inside." I began. I was fighting back tears, and it was obvious in my voice. 

"Ryan, what is it?" she asked with worried eyes. 

I took a deep breath before beginning the story. "The other day, after you left, Pete came over. H-He said he needed to talk, so I sat down with him. Then he k-kissed me and left. After wards I went over to his place, to talk things out, and he told me that he loved me. That's he's been in love with me since highshool." I started the first part of my story. 

"Wait wait. He kissed you? How did Brendon take to that? He must have gone ballistic! Wait. Does he know?" She interjected. 

"Yeah, I told him after Pete left. He went kinda crazy at first. You know how he is… but I talked him out of it." I explained. 

"So what's the problem here then?" she asked. 

"I'm getting there." I mumbled. She nodded and closed her mouth. 

"Y-Yesterday, Brendon was at work. And Pete stopped by." my voice broke, and a tear or two fell down my face. "H-He told me he couldn't wait anymore, and that h-he was going to make me his, a-and that he wouldn't give up until he got his way." I wiped the tears from my face, only to have more fall. "Th-Then he…" I trailed off and choked back a sob. "He forced me to kiss him, then he p-pulled me into the b-bedroom… and he held me down so I couldn't fight back… he hit me when I tried to scream…" I trailed off. I don't know if I could finish the story, but she seemed to get the gist of it. 

"Oh no… Ryan…" She pulled me into a tight hug. I began sobbing, not able to hold it back anymore. She rubbed my back comfortingly, in attempt to calm me down. "Its okay." she whispered. 

"N-No." I mumbled. "He won't stop. N-Not until he gets what he w-wants." I sniffed. 

She pulled away and looked me in the eyes. "What are you going to do? You can't keep this from Brendon forever." She said in a sympathetic voice. 

"I have to. H-He'll go crazy if he finds out." I said. 

"Ryan…" she trailed off and wiped away some of my tears. "Pete…I don't understand how this could have happened. I mean, I know he bullied you guys in highschool, but you've been friends forever. What made him decide to do this all of a sudden?"

"I don't know. I'm so confused." I said putting my head in my hands. 

"Well you need to stay away from him. If you don't want the others to know… I don't know. If he continues… I just don't know if you can keep this a secret." 

"Kaela, what am I going to do?" I pleaded. 

"Do you want me to talk to Pete?" she offered. My eyes widened. 

"No. I don't want you to get hurt." I stated. 

"Come on. I can handle myself. I'm pretty tough." she said with a slight smile. I couldn't help but let a small smile appear on my lips. But I still couldn't let her do that. Who knows what Pete would do to her. 

"Kaela, who knows what he'd do to you if you tried to get in his way. He's gone crazy." 

"Okay okay. But I'm not going to let you be alone. When Brendon's at work, you'll be here. It's a good thing he only works two days a week… and I'm sure Jon will over at your place a lot. He sure as hell won't be coming around here for a while…" she mumbled that last part to herself. 

"What happened with you two anyway?" I asked wanting to know what the hell is going on. 

She sighed. "Well-" she was cut off by a baby crying. "Ugh. I'll tell you later. I gotta get the baby. Watch some T.V. maybe and take your mind off things." She ordered.

I sighed and did as I was told. Brendon would be off work for a few more hours. Then I could go him and be with him. Pretend every thing's okay. Then tomorrow is our anniversary. Tomorrow should be perfect. It's just about us. No Pete. Nothing matters but us. But him. Tomorrow will be special, and nothing can ruin that.