Fighting for Her

The sun was warm on Tommy's back as he ran down the block back home. There were still frozen piles of snow everywhere but he stopped to take his sweatshirt off, his black t-shirt clinging to his body. He stopped at the corner of his street and put his hands behind his head, opening his lungs and taking in larger breaths.

Riley's pick up was parked on the curb in front of his house, a tire on the sidewalk. He laughed and picked up the pace. His lips curled into a smile as he thought of the night before. She was all he could think of these days.

Riley sat on the cement stairs in front of his door, her grey hood up and head down. Her arms were wrapped around her knees which were pulled up to her chest. Wisps of her dark hair whipping in the cold air.

"Let me guess. You're still drunk." He stood in front of her with his arms crossed, his body rumbling with laughter.

She said nothing as she remained still, looking at her feet.

"Come on inside. Its cold out here." He reached for the door behind her, but she still didn't move. He kneeled in front of her and placed a hand on her elbow. She immediately tensed at the touch.

"Ri?"

She was shaking. He draped his sweatshirt over her shoulders and rubbed her back.

"Ri, what's wrong?" He stared at her patiently.

Finally she lifted her head and pulled her hood back. Her hair was a mess and covered the sides of her face. Her dark sunglasses stared back at him.

He lifted his eyebrows. "Why aren't you in bed right now Ri, you look terrible." He chuckled as he brushed one side of her hair back behind her ear.

She tensed even though she knew he still hadn't seen what Ryan did to her. He had hit her on the other side of her face. Twice.

Her hands shaking, she let out a long breath and slowly pulled the sunglasses away from her face. With her other hand she brushed the rest of her hair back exposing her bruised face. She couldn't meet his gaze, though. So she focused on his feet in front of her.

Tommy was still, staring at the dark red marks on the side of her face. He stood up and rubbed his face with his hands. He turned and paced the walkway, breathing heavy but still silent. Finally, he kneeled back down in front of her.

"Riley. Look at me." His voice was low and gentle. He put his hands softly on her shoulders. "Please."

She closed her eyes and brought her face up to meet his. She swallowed hard, her throat hurt from crying so much after Ryan had left. She had sat against the floor in the kitchen, crying her eyes out. She frantically dialed Anna's number but still she wasn't picking up. She took in a couple breaths and left to find Tommy. She checked the gym first, Fenroy telling her that he had already left. She drove fast then, and got to his house in a huff. Slamming on the breaks and running up the steps. When he didn't answer the door she eventually lost her nerve and slumped on the stairs where she was sitting now.

She mustered up the strength to finally open her eyes. His bright blue eyes were now dark, staring back at her. Angry and pleading.

"Ryan?" His chest rose and fell heavily.

She nodded her head slowly.

"What else happened?" He closed his eyes, imagining the worst.

"Nothing." She managed to squeak out. He opened his eyes and his forehead crinkled in question.

"Are you sure?" He was sitting at her feet now, staring up at her.

She nodded assuredly. He brought her into a hug and cursed under his breath.

He cursed at Ryan, he cursed at himself for leaving her last night and he cursed at the fact that it was Sunday. His father was gone with the car.

He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. With a swift move, he grabbed the keys that were sitting beside her and turned to run for her truck.

"Tommy!" She got up and shouted back at him.

Before he hopped in the driver seat, he yelled back. "Stay here Riley."

"Tommy!" She ran toward the truck and swung the passenger door open. "You don't know where you're going."

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The ride was silent. Riley stared out of the window in a daze and every chance he got, Tommy glanced over at Riley. They had to drive about 45 minutes, every so often Riley would tell him to turn left or to take a right until they finally reached a gated community.

Tommy pulled up close to the little silver box in front of the gate. Riley leaned out of the window, across Tommy's lap and pressed in the combination.

3-6-5-2

The silver box beeped with recognition and the black gate opened with a loud creak.

They drove a couple minutes inside the community until they reached a huge two story stone grey house with large windows on the bottom floor.

Ryan's small silver sports car was in the driveway.

Tommy looked over at Riley and with a stern face said lowly, "Stay in the truck." He opened the door and closed it quietly. He walked over to her window and added with imploring eyes, "Please."

She nodded and grabbed his face through the window and kissed him softly. She wanted to tell him that he didn't have to do this, to just drop it but he brushed his hand softly over her cheek. She winced in pain and his eyes turned from sadness to anger in a split second.

He turned and stalked up the driveway in a rage. She sat in the truck and stared, her eyes never leaving him.

Tommy reached the front door and kicked it in with one hard burst of strength. Riley shot up in the truck and debated whether she should get out or stay. Her foot tapped the inside of the door nervously until she saw Tommy through the large glass windows walking in the house. She got out of the car and walked slowly up the lawn until she reached the windows. The living room was as clean as it always ways, just cold. Decorated with straight metal lines and grey tones, it looked as if it belonged in the future.

Tommy marched passed the large windows in the living room and into a small hallway. Loud rap music was coming from inside of one of the rooms. Tommy pushed the door open so hard, it swung into the wall, plaster and paint exploding from the collision.

"Oh shit." Ryan looked up from his desk and saw an enraged Tommy. He scrambled to his feet and tried to keep the desk in between them. Tommy grabbed the large wooden desk and slid it across the floor. Ryan backed himself into the wall and reached for the first thing he could grab.

He threw the plaque right at Tommy, who caught it in mid air and whirled it to the side. Ryan put his arms up in an effort to get him to stop. A step away from pleading, Ryan decided to run. He ran around the corner of the desk and out the office door, tripping over his feet. Tommy kept walking behind him, grabbing one of the chairs in the corner of the room on his way out.

Riley saw Ryan stumbling down the hall into the living room. A chair came flying from where he just emerged, nailing him right in the back. Riley's eyes widened and she stuck her hands on the window unable to look away.

Ryan lay flat on the floor, trying to get back on his feet. Tommy came up behind him and grabbed him by the back of the collar. He lifted him up and threw him back down on the ground. Tommy looked out the window and saw Riley's face pressed against the glass.

He reached down and grabbed him again by the back of the neck and dragged him to the window. He slammed his face against the glass right where Riley was standing. She took a step back but never averted her gaze. Tommy slammed Ryan's face against the window again when he saw that he wasn't looking at Riley.

"Look at her." Tommy spoke for the first time, keeping his voice low but harsh. He pushed harder until Ryan finally let out a weak groan.

"Apologize." He waited, his hand still on the back of Ryan's neck.

Ryan mumbled something, his face smeared across the glass. Riley's eyebrows furrowed.

"Louder." Tommy grunted as he pulled back and pushed him harder against the glass. A small crack formed followed by a sharp splintering noise. Tommy pulled back a little, letting Ryan speak.

"S-S-Sorry..." He looked at Riley who closed her eyes lazily and turned to walk back to the truck. Tommy flung a whimpering Ryan back who landed against a side table with a loud crash.

Tommy walked over to Ryan and stood over his cowering body.

He spoke slowly.

"If you ever touch her... talk to her... look at her... or even think about her again..." He brought his face close to his, his dog tags dangling just above Ryan's face. "I'll fucking kill you."