Fighting for Her

Riley stared at the back of Tommy's head while he slept. The snow had started to come down heavy, making the small room much colder. She snuggled closer, grateful for his body heat. Her fingertips began drawing circles on his back, his shirt tightening as his muscles tensed. He turned on his side to face her, their noses touching. Riley smiled at the hair that stuck up on the side of his head.

He stayed perfectly still, just staring, his blue eyes seemed to glow in the dark.

"Don't be scared anymore, Riley." The bed vibrated slightly as he spoke.

"I'm not." She whispered back. She bit her bottom lip and leaned closer.

Without another word he turned back around, leaving her to face his back once more. She stared blankly at the back of his head. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arm over his side. She heard him let out a low breath.

She pulled herself closer to him, her chest flat against his back. She pressed her lips against the back of his shirt and began to kiss his arm, leading up to his neck.

"Riley..." His tone was strong, but she heeded no warning. She sat up on her elbow and stared at his open glowing eyes. He stared off into the darkness of the bedroom. Riley buried her face into his neck. She felt him turn into her.

"Riley. Please."

She felt his breath on her face. She put her pointer finger on his mouth and traced the outline of his full lips.

Riley grabbed his face and pushed her lips onto his. He pushed her away gently.

"Riley I can't. Please." He sat up in the bed beside her.

"I don't understand." She sat with her back against the wall staring into his eyes, which seemed to be glowing brighter.

"I don't want to break you."

Riley shook her head. "You're not going to break me, Tommy." She reached forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning in to kiss him once more. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them up against the wall.

"Yes I am. Look." His eyes were close to white now, his voice a low rumble. Riley looked down at the dust falling onto the bed. Her eyes following the trail of dust up to her arms. They were cracking like fragile porcelain. Bits and pieces were falling onto her lap, coating the blanket with dust.

She opened her mouth to scream, but heard nothing. Her throat was dry, aching. It began to crumble...

Riley sat up in bed with a loud gasp. She grabbed at her throat, looking down at her hands. She took in deep breaths to steady herself. Her dreams were running rampant and she couldn't stand it. Shivering, she wrapped herself in the blanket to get warm.

Tommy must have left hours ago, she thought. His spot on the bed wasn't warm anymore. She missed him already. When he had climbed into bed with her, upon her asking, he wrapped his arms around her. She drifted off to sleep knowing she was perfectly safe.

Ugh. She looked down at the jeans and tee shirt she had been wearing since yesterday. Looking through Tommy's dresser she found a pair of black sweatpants and a grey shirt. Of course they were huge on her, but she felt better already. The shirt smelled like him and that made her smile.

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"Do you need me to come and get you!?" Anna all but yelled into the phone, making Riley pull back the house phone from her ear.

"I'm fine Anna." Riley laughed knowing she had just dropped a lot of news on her best friends plate.

"When are you coming home?"

"Tonight. I have to pack for my parent's house." Riley leaned her head against the kitchen wall. She suddenly didn't want to leave. There was a pause on the phone.

"I'm going to kill him, you know." Anna's voice was low and breaking.

"A, don't cry... I'm fine." Riley spoke with a reassuring tone, knowing that she wasn't just saying that to console her friend. She really meant it.

"What I would have given to see what Tommy did to him." Anna perked up a bit, thankful that Riley had someone like him around.

Riley chuckled but before she could speak, Anna interrupted.

"And you kissed? Oh em gee! I can't even believe it. How was it? Amazing? Of course it was! I mean look at him!" Anna rambled on.

"Holy shit Anna, slow down!" Riley laughed. "I told you, I don't really remember much. But from what I do remember, it was... great." She licked her lips absentmindedly.

"I can't stop dreaming about him Anna. I mean, we slept together last night and -"

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Anna bellowed into the receiver.

"No, no! Like slept together, not slept together. In the same bed." Her heart beat faster at the thought...

"Oh." Anna's tone was dry.

"Damn don't sound so disappointed." Riley laughed sarcastically.

"Well, all I'm saying is, you're single. He's single. He's hot, you're hot. You get the gist."

"A, I've been single for like twenty minutes. I can't just jump into something else." Riley pulled at the drawstrings on the sweatpants.

"You've been single for like two years, lets get real here Ri. And yes you can jump. This is me, telling you to please, do us all a favor and JUMP."

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The front door opened, a gust of cold air filling the living room. Riley looked up from the book she had pulled off the coffee table and watched as Tommy shook the snow off of his shoes. He narrowed his eyes at her with a smile when he saw what she was wearing.

"Comfy?" He walked into the living room and flopped on the couch next to her.

"Mmhmm." She nodded "How was work?"

He stretched his legs onto the coffee table. "Terrible. Its way too cold to train."

"Says the man who bathes in 45 degree tubs of ice." She smiled and stared at him happily. He fished a small black item from his pocket and beamed as he held it up to her.

"You got a phone?" She sat up curled her legs under her. He tossed it over lightly and sat back, proud.

"Yep." He put his arms behind his head and watched her slide her finger across the screen a few times and then type something quickly before handing it over again.

Smiling, she looked back at her book and flipped the page. He studied the way she read. How she showed her reactions ever so slightly by furrowing her brows or lifting her lips into a smile. Looking at his phone, he noticed that she entered her number into his contacts. He played around with his phone while she read, the silence was comforting.

After finishing the chapter she closed the book and set it down. "I had another nightmare this morning, after you left."

"About what?" He sat up and watched her with his blue eyes. She stared into his eyes, remembering how white they were in her dream.

"I was breaking. Like... like a china doll. There was dust everywhere." She looked down at her hands. He took them in his and pulled her closer.

"You're tougher than you think Riley." He drew circles on her palms with his fingertips. He gazed up at her, her eyes on his lips.

Her eyes flickered from his lips to her hands.

Jump you idiot.

Before she could do anything, he picked her up and sat her on his lap in one swift move. She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled his face up to her own and kissed him. It was soft and slow, everything she had ever wanted. Her dream did him no justice as he kissed her back with a surge of intensity.

His mouth moved from her lips to her neck as she giggled from the tickle. He laughed. "I love that sound."

Riley kissed Tommy harder, grabbing the back of his neck. He brushed her sides lightly, making her jump slightly.

"That tickles!" She giggled and shook in his lap.

"What does? This?" He poked at her sides.

"Stop!" Riley squealed with laughter, her cheeks hurting from smiling so much.

The front door opened and let in another gust of cold air. Riley's eyes grew wide as she jumped off Tommy's lap, feeling like a teenager again. Caught by dad.

Paddy looked at them both curiously as they sat together on the couch. He laughed and shook his head. "Damn kids."