On Sleepless Roads
Chapter Sixteen
Marti’s POV
It took several minutes but then finally the door opened,
Revealing a very sleepy looking Ryan.
He stared at me for several long seconds
And then he seemed to recognize who I was.
“What the hell? Marti, why are you outside?” He asked.
Then he looked from up to the guy holding onto me.
“Pete? What are you doing here? What happened? Am I still dreaming?” He asked,
More so to himself than to any of us.
“You know her?” The guy, Pete I guess his name was, asked, sounding confused.
Slowly Ryan nodded.
“Yeah of course I do, she’s my…” Ryan started but then he let his voice trail off.
He’d been staring at me looking bewildered but then suddenly his eyes changed.
It kind of scared me because they got really angry.
“What were you doing outside?” He asked, his voice low.
It sent chills up my spine and unwillingly I stepped backwards.
“What were you doing outside?” He repeated in the same low voice.
I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out.
No lie would come to me,
And it wasn’t like I could tell him the truth.
Though he had already figured it out.
“You were running away again, weren’t you?” He asked,
Glaring at me.
I glared back at him.
“Well what did you expect?” I asked coldly.
Ryan started to answer but one of the guys from the backseat interrupted him.
“What is going on?” He asked.
Ryan jumped,
As if he had forgotten the guys were there.
“Oh, right, uh, come in?” He said it like a question
And I gave him a weird look,
Which got me a glare from him.
Then he grabbed onto my arm,
Pulling me forward into the house.
The four guys followed us all the way into the living room,
And then I finally got a good look at them.
And believe me,
I was pretty embarrassed.
I should’ve known the second that Ryan said Pete.
I mean,
Honestly,
When Ryan Ross is associated with someone named Pete,
There is only one Pete it could be.
That’s right.
Fall Out Boy
I was in another extremely awkward situation with another one of my favorite bands.
It was getting to be my life story.
Ryan forced me to sit down on the couch with him,
While the others sat anywhere,
On the floor,
A random chair,
Anywhere that there was space.
“So who exactly is she?” Andy asked,
Pointing at me.
Ryan took a deep breath.
“She’s my sister.” He said.
“Half-sister.” I corrected quickly,
Earning myself another glare.
“What?” The four of them said in unison after a slight pause.
Ryan sighed loudly,
And then,
In minute detail,
Told them about what had happened over the past few days.
Meanwhile,
I was trying hard to get away from Ryan.
Unsuccessfully I might add.
He had a death grip on my arm.
Once Ryan was done explaining,
The four of them could only stare at me,
Making me feel very self-conscience.
“Why were you guys here?” Ryan asked after several awkward seconds.
“We got into town late tonight and decided to drive by to see if you were awake. We got here just as she was leaving.” Joe said.
This got me another glare from Ryan.
“So why were you trying to run away again?” He asked,
His voice harsh.
I glared at him and refused to answer.
“You had to have a reason!” Ryan said.
I stared at my feet,
Wishing that I could disappear.
So much for my plan of not getting caught.
“Marti why did you run away?” Ryan asked,
His voice getting even harsher.
I looked up at him and couldn’t stop the tears from filling my eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
Ryan looked surprised.
“Tell you what?” He asked.
“That my mom wanted me back.” I said,
My voice dropping down to a whisper.
Immediately Ryan’s face went white.
“I didn’t want to scare you.” He said bitterly.
“So it’s better that I don’t know? That I can’t be careful? But just as long as I’m not scared!” I snapped.
This time it was Ryan’s turn to stare at his feet.
I felt his grip loosen on my arm so I took the chance to bolt to my room.
I closed the door behind me and slowly slid to the floor.
And then I stopped trying to hold back my tears.
Ryan’s POV
It all made sense now.
Marti was only pretending to be asleep down in Spencer’s basement.
She’d listened to every word that we’d said.
I guess maybe I should’ve told her about her mom.
But it was a little late for that.
Now what was I going to do?
Marti had made it pretty clear that she was mad at me,
And she’d already tried to run away tonight.
So she’d probably try again,
Now that she was even more upset.
A loud whistle tore me away from my thoughts.
It was Patrick.
“That was awkward.” He said.
Well I couldn’t argue with that.
“Sorry about that.” I muttered.
“Oh and thanks for bringing her back.” I added.
“We thought she was stealing from you.” Joe admitted.
I forced a smile.
“Good thing you did.” I said.
“So are you going to talk to her?” Pete asked after several minutes.
I shrugged.
I honestly didn’t know what I should do.
“Go talk to her, before this gets any worse!” Pete said.
I didn’t move.
“Think I should?” I asked.
Pete rolled his eyes at me.
“No I’m just telling you to for fun!” He said sarcastically.
I smiled weakly.
“Call me tomorrow.” Pete said, standing up.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
He smiled and shrugged.
“To a hotel probably.” He said.
“You can stay here if you want.” I said.
Pete shook his head.
“We’ve had enough awkwardness for one night.” He said.
I smiled and nodded.
“Okay.” I said.
I said bye to them,
Thanking them once again for finding Marti,
And then I was alone.
Taking a deep breath I knocked on Marti’s door.
It took several minutes but then finally the door opened,
Revealing a very sleepy looking Ryan.
He stared at me for several long seconds
And then he seemed to recognize who I was.
“What the hell? Marti, why are you outside?” He asked.
Then he looked from up to the guy holding onto me.
“Pete? What are you doing here? What happened? Am I still dreaming?” He asked,
More so to himself than to any of us.
“You know her?” The guy, Pete I guess his name was, asked, sounding confused.
Slowly Ryan nodded.
“Yeah of course I do, she’s my…” Ryan started but then he let his voice trail off.
He’d been staring at me looking bewildered but then suddenly his eyes changed.
It kind of scared me because they got really angry.
“What were you doing outside?” He asked, his voice low.
It sent chills up my spine and unwillingly I stepped backwards.
“What were you doing outside?” He repeated in the same low voice.
I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out.
No lie would come to me,
And it wasn’t like I could tell him the truth.
Though he had already figured it out.
“You were running away again, weren’t you?” He asked,
Glaring at me.
I glared back at him.
“Well what did you expect?” I asked coldly.
Ryan started to answer but one of the guys from the backseat interrupted him.
“What is going on?” He asked.
Ryan jumped,
As if he had forgotten the guys were there.
“Oh, right, uh, come in?” He said it like a question
And I gave him a weird look,
Which got me a glare from him.
Then he grabbed onto my arm,
Pulling me forward into the house.
The four guys followed us all the way into the living room,
And then I finally got a good look at them.
And believe me,
I was pretty embarrassed.
I should’ve known the second that Ryan said Pete.
I mean,
Honestly,
When Ryan Ross is associated with someone named Pete,
There is only one Pete it could be.
That’s right.
Fall Out Boy
I was in another extremely awkward situation with another one of my favorite bands.
It was getting to be my life story.
Ryan forced me to sit down on the couch with him,
While the others sat anywhere,
On the floor,
A random chair,
Anywhere that there was space.
“So who exactly is she?” Andy asked,
Pointing at me.
Ryan took a deep breath.
“She’s my sister.” He said.
“Half-sister.” I corrected quickly,
Earning myself another glare.
“What?” The four of them said in unison after a slight pause.
Ryan sighed loudly,
And then,
In minute detail,
Told them about what had happened over the past few days.
Meanwhile,
I was trying hard to get away from Ryan.
Unsuccessfully I might add.
He had a death grip on my arm.
Once Ryan was done explaining,
The four of them could only stare at me,
Making me feel very self-conscience.
“Why were you guys here?” Ryan asked after several awkward seconds.
“We got into town late tonight and decided to drive by to see if you were awake. We got here just as she was leaving.” Joe said.
This got me another glare from Ryan.
“So why were you trying to run away again?” He asked,
His voice harsh.
I glared at him and refused to answer.
“You had to have a reason!” Ryan said.
I stared at my feet,
Wishing that I could disappear.
So much for my plan of not getting caught.
“Marti why did you run away?” Ryan asked,
His voice getting even harsher.
I looked up at him and couldn’t stop the tears from filling my eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
Ryan looked surprised.
“Tell you what?” He asked.
“That my mom wanted me back.” I said,
My voice dropping down to a whisper.
Immediately Ryan’s face went white.
“I didn’t want to scare you.” He said bitterly.
“So it’s better that I don’t know? That I can’t be careful? But just as long as I’m not scared!” I snapped.
This time it was Ryan’s turn to stare at his feet.
I felt his grip loosen on my arm so I took the chance to bolt to my room.
I closed the door behind me and slowly slid to the floor.
And then I stopped trying to hold back my tears.
Ryan’s POV
It all made sense now.
Marti was only pretending to be asleep down in Spencer’s basement.
She’d listened to every word that we’d said.
I guess maybe I should’ve told her about her mom.
But it was a little late for that.
Now what was I going to do?
Marti had made it pretty clear that she was mad at me,
And she’d already tried to run away tonight.
So she’d probably try again,
Now that she was even more upset.
A loud whistle tore me away from my thoughts.
It was Patrick.
“That was awkward.” He said.
Well I couldn’t argue with that.
“Sorry about that.” I muttered.
“Oh and thanks for bringing her back.” I added.
“We thought she was stealing from you.” Joe admitted.
I forced a smile.
“Good thing you did.” I said.
“So are you going to talk to her?” Pete asked after several minutes.
I shrugged.
I honestly didn’t know what I should do.
“Go talk to her, before this gets any worse!” Pete said.
I didn’t move.
“Think I should?” I asked.
Pete rolled his eyes at me.
“No I’m just telling you to for fun!” He said sarcastically.
I smiled weakly.
“Call me tomorrow.” Pete said, standing up.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
He smiled and shrugged.
“To a hotel probably.” He said.
“You can stay here if you want.” I said.
Pete shook his head.
“We’ve had enough awkwardness for one night.” He said.
I smiled and nodded.
“Okay.” I said.
I said bye to them,
Thanking them once again for finding Marti,
And then I was alone.
Taking a deep breath I knocked on Marti’s door.