Red Water Lily

Chapter 15

Lily ran back to the others as fast as she could, hoping she had not been seen by Kain. She would have to come up with a reason to get everyone back to the house, but she didn't know how.

Ryan could tell straight away that something was wrong when Lily returned to them. He could tell by the worries in her eyes and the way she kept looking behind her as if something was chasing her. He stood up to meet her with open arms, hoping he would be able to comfort her the way she had comforted him earlier. But she just walked past him and started to pack what was left of the food.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked as he crouched down next to her and tried to get her to look into his eyes. But she completely ignored him and kept packing. He didn't get a reaction from her until he grabbed her hands and forced her to stop packing.

"We have to go home, now." She ordered without meeting his eyes.

"And why do we have to go home?" He asked calmly, not wanting to make her more distressed. Lily pulled her hands out from his grip and finished packing. She stood up and looked at the others who were standing behind them and whispering to each other.

"Because I say so."

"I'm sorry love, but I don't think that reason is enough." Ryan said as he stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll ask again, why do we have to go back home?"

"I got my period, okay?!" Lily suddenly burst out, hoping that the subject would be too uncomfortable to discuss any further. "I need to...Take care of that, so I thought you guys could bathe back home instead."

Ryan's cheeks turned slightly red. He scratched the back of his head, trying to figure out what to say without embarrassing Lily.

"Oh, I understand." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently "I'm sorry."

He waved his hands for the others so come with them as they silently started to walk back. Lily kept looking behind them as they walked and he knew the whole period thing was a lie. She might have gotten her period, but that certainly wasn't the reason she wanted to leave. But it was obvious that she didn't want to talk about what happened while she was by the lake, and he wouldn't ask. At least not until they were home.

Tyler was the first to jump into the river when they arrived at the house. Dale and Freddie joined him as soon as Ryan made it clear he wanted to be alone with Lily. Ryan followed her inside and helped her unpack the leftovers, silence hanging over them like a suffocating veil.

When they were done Lily went into the dining room and sat down by the table. She stared out the window in silence, her head filled with all kinds of catastrophic thoughts. Ryan looked at her for a while before he decided to join her. Hopefully he would be able to get at least a hint of truth out of her now that they were alone. He sat down next to her and leaned forward, raising an eyebrow as he stared at her. Lily stared back, waiting for him to say something. But he never did, so she was the one who broke the silence.

"What?" She asked, slightly irritated.

"Don't you have something you need to take care of?"

"And what would that be?"

"Didn't you get your period?"

Lily's eyes became big as her eyebrows raised; she had been so busy brooding that she had completely forgotten about the lie she told them.

"Oh yes, of course. I should take care of that right now." She mumbled and was on her way to stand up and leave. But Ryan put his hand on hers and stopped her.

" I want to help you and be there for you in any way I can. I want you to tell me if you're in pain and if there's anything I can do to help." Ryan started to explain. Lily sat back down and listened, her hand still being held by Ryan as he continued "I don't know if you're on your period or not, it doesn't matter. But I do know that it's not the reason why you wanted us to leave, and it definitely isn't the reason why you're upset. I really do want to be by your side, be a shoulder to cry on, make sure you feel safe and do my best to help you stop hurting. But I can't do that unless you tell me what's hurting you, Lily."

Lily looked down at the table, biting her lip and fighting the tears that threatened to run down her cheeks. Ryan patiently waited for her to gather the strength to tell the truth while gently stroking her hand with his thumb in a comforting way.

Lily's emotions were split. A part of her wanted to throw herself into his arms, cry and tell him the truth, about everything. But the other part of her wanted to stay away from him. He had someone he wanted to find, someone he loved. And she knew that the closer she got to him, the harder it would be to fight the feelings she had for him.

But she also knew that she wouldn't be able to keep the fact that she saw Kain to herself, her fear and anxiety would eventually escalate and nothing good would come out of that. She wouldn't have to tell him everything right away, just about what happened that made her want to go back to their home.

"You know that I was running away from someone when you found me at the gas station." She started, Ryan kept stroking her hand in silence and letting her take the time she needed to tell him. She wiped her teary eyes and took a few breathes "He and some of his men were on the other side of the lake, I don't know if he saw me, but I ran back to you guys as fast as I could."

At this point her tears were running freely down her cheeks. Ryan pulled her onto his lap and hugged her tightly.

"It's okay, it doesn't matter if he saw you or not. He won't be able to put his hands on you again. Your safe here with us- with me."

He held her for a while, wanting her to let her emotions run freely and to feel everything that needed to be felt at that moment. After a while her sobs turned into a calm breathing. But he still didn't let her go, instead he let her be in charge over how long she would stay in his embrace. If he was the one to decide they could have stayed that way forever.

Eventually he heard Lily mumble something against his neck.

"I can't hear you love, what are you saying?" He whispered and gave her a quick peck on her jaw.

"Swimming with the others would be fun. I really wanted to swim."

"They're still out there so it's not too late to join them. Are you ready for that?"

"Yes, can I borrow your T-shirt again?"

Ryan chuckled. He'd give her all of his clothes if she wanted them, even if the thought of seeing her naked seemed more tempting.

"Of course!" He said and slowly helped Lily up from his lap. He took of his black T-shirt and gave it to her. She walked into the bathroom to change and when she came back out she was met with Ryan, who was only wearing his briefs. Lily once again could not help but look at his muscular body, and she could no longer deny that she wanted to feel his naked body against hers.

Ryan smiled, knowing that she was checking him out. He held out his hand and waited for her to take it before they walked out to the others hand in hand.