My Protector

My Protector Part 7

"Hey baby girl." He's looking deep into my eyes and caressing my face. He looks healthy....and happy. "Is this a dream? This has to be a dream." I say. He smiles at me and chuckles softly. "What happened? I thought you were going to stay strong." he says. "I'm sorry. It's just that things got really difficult." I say.

Words keep coming out at the speed of light. "Dad....am I dead?" I finally ask him. He looks at me and sighs. "No...but you will die if you keep going the way your are." he says. Suddenly I start feeling drowsy. "Promise me we won't see you until it's your time." he says. "We?" He gives me a small smile and kisses my hand. "Me and your mother. We'll be waiting for you. And your brother."

A tear falls from my eye and my father wipes it with his thumb. "Don't cry. Stay strong my love. Remember that I'm always with you." Once more, everything goes black. I hear my brother talking to me. I open my eyes and see that I'm in a hospital. "I can actually remember when you were born. You were so small. And everyone was saying how much of a good big brother I'd be." He wipes his eyes and sniffles. "Remember-remember that time when we were kids and it snowed and we made a fort out of the snow?" I don't say anything and look around the room.  Everyone is looking at the floor.

"I shouldn't have been like that. I should've been there for you." I'm actually quite annoyed by the sadness. "Andy shut up! Jeez! I'm hurt not dead." I say. Everyone's eyes light up when they hear my voice. "You're okay!" Andy practically yells. "No need to shout. Right in front of you." I say. "Even when your hurt, you still manage to be sarcastic." Dean says shaking his head with a smile. "So...what'd I miss?" I say sitting up. Everyone's looking at me with strange expressions. "So you pass out and wake up in a hospital bed...yet you act like nothing happened?" Ryan asks.

"Yep. Pretty much." I say. I'm the type of person that gets injured and moves on with life. "You're a sad, sad human being." Dean says jokingly. "So when can I leave here?" I ask looking at Ryan. "You honestly feel your ready to leave? I'll be taking a break so I can take care of you." Ryan says. "Yes. I don't like hospitals. I only liked going with Andy so I can laugh at him getting shots." Dean laughs and shakes his head. "You're such a nice sister. I think she's ready." There's a moment of contemplating and Ryan unfolds his arms. "Fine. I'll go sign you out."

Two nights later....

I'm sitting on the couch next to Andy when Ryan comes in with sandwiches. He hands me this little sandwich and I look at him like he's crazy. "So...where's the rest of my sandwich?" I ask. "I don't want you to stress yourself. Just take your time eating that." he says to me. I eat the sandwich in about 10 minutes and I'm full. "Satisfied?" Ryan asks. "Very." I say. Later that night I feel someone lift me up and carry me. I can can sense what's around me by the familiar sounds. I'm in a car and then back in a bed. I wake up the next morning to the smell of food. I walk out of the room and down a flight of stairs and into the kitchen.

"Well good morning. Nice timing." Ryan says. I turn my head to the side and give him a puzzled look. "You cook?" I ask. He chuckles and pulls out a chair for me to sit. "Yes I do. Only when I want to....which is a rarity." Just then Andy walks in and looks at the food Ryan is putting on the table. I look at his eyes and know exactly what he's thinking: FOOD. Before sitting down he hits me in the back of my head before saying "Good morning squirt." Ryan hits him in the head for me. "Don't hit your sister. Or else." he says. "Or else what?" Ryan kind of does a scoff like laugh and squats next to Andy. "Its simple. You hit her, I hit you."

"Okay. But what happens if she hits me?" Andy asks. "I laugh....hysterically." Ryan says. I smile before taking a bite of my toast. "I don't like this new rule." Andy says. "I do." I take another bite of my toast and before I chew, I give Andy a big closed smile. Ryan walks over and ruffles my hair and kisses my forehead. "Come on guys.I'm going to take you guys to the mall." Ryan says. "Are you sure? Because both of us like the same places and the stuff isn't cheap." I say. "Yes I'm sure. Now hurry up and get dressed. Me and Andy race up the stairs to get to the bathroom. I push Andy into a wall and run into the bathroom.

"Cheater!" he yells. "Noob!" I yell back. At the mall I make Ryan go into one of my favorite stores ever: Hot Topic. "I think I'd rather wait outside." he says. I yank him in by his arm and don't let go. "You know for someone who barely weighs 100 pounds, you have a strong grip." I roll my eyes and pick out a fifth shirt (they were having a sale). "Are all these shirts really necessary? With buttons?" Ryan asks as we're leaving the store. "Yes. Yes they are." I say with a straight face.

Me and Ryan have a staring contest and then I ask "Why so serious?" to make him laugh. "You two are giant kids." Andy says as we sit down to eat. "Look who's talking! Dude, your supposed to EAT the frozen yogurt not WEAR it." I say. "Shut up." he whines and takes a paper towel to wipe his face. I shake my head and keep eating. Later on we go out to dinner and watch movies together. Andy is knocked out sleep and Ryan and I are watching the Avengers.

He has his arm wrapped around me and I have his hoodie on because its cold.  I can feel both of us falling asleep. "Ryan?" I whisper. "Hm?" "Are you happy that Andy and me are here with you?" I ask softly. "Of course I am . You know how boring it is to watch movies alone?" he says jokingly. "I'm serious Ryan." I give him a straight face and he clears his throat. "So am I. I really do like having you guys here." With that I get comfortable with his arm still wrapped around me. I doze off and wake up still in Ryan's warm embrace. His head is tilted all the way to the side. I lean over and kiss him on the cheek.

"I love you, Big Guy." I say.

He moves and I pretend to be asleep. Then he kisses my forehead. He knows I'm awake so he just chuckles and ruffles my bangs.

"I love you too, Nicole."

Sorry about the delay. Lots of stuff has been going on and I've been super busy. Hope you like this chapter!