What dreams are made of... (Between Us/Hemp Rope)

One step at a time.

Thank you for taking the time to read.

The characters in this chapter are from my other Fan Fiction, Mr. Unromantic (Win&Team). You may be a little lost if you didn't read that one. Sorry for the inconvenience. 

I hope you enjoy :)

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As they got in the car to head to the surprise, Waan's phone started ringing. Seeing that it was a number he didn't recognize, he ignored it, opting to focus on the task at hand first. Again his phone started ringing, the same unknown number. Thinking it was a telesales call, he answered annoyed, "What?" He turns towards Tul when he entered the car, never taking his eyes off the man. He was so focused on him that he wasn't listening to the person on the other end of the call. He hears someone in his ear and realizes he is still on the call. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" Waan felt his heart in his throat, he immediately gave a panicked look to Tul while he continued listening to the person. When the call ended he put the car in gear and raced towards the hospital. He parked off and raced inside, hearing his boyfriend running behind him. He got to the ward and looked around the room, when he saw who he was looking for he braced himself, seeing the man running towards him. He closed his arms around the man and just held the boy as his world fell apart. What the hell happens now?

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Tul takes over looking after Rider while P'Waan went to the nurses station, being the next of kin for Riders mother and father since they would both be going to prison on tax evasion charges. He did this because of the younger children in the house, never thinking that it would come to this. He manages to calm the boy down enough to ask him what the hell happened. "You need to tell us what's going on kid."

Rider wipes his eyes and shakes his head, this is a dream, it has to be. It cant be that whenever something good happens in his life then something worse happens. He feels Tul squeeze his hand and looks up seeing P'Waan coming towards him. "Are they okay?"

P'Waan just stares at the kid not knowing what to say, "I'm sorry kid, your mother and father didn't make it." He looks at the boy crumbling right in front of his face, not knowing what to say or even do. There had been a horror crash on the highway and their car went under a truck. They had recently cut a deal with the courts and were to turn themselves in a few weeks. Rider would take custody of the rest of the children who were underage until their release. All this had been arranged and managed by him personally. He had made sure that he  kept his promise to the kid and in turn the kid had made sure he kept his promise to him. He has never been in this situation before, not knowing what to do or what to say in this situation. He and the boy had become close but this is something that family should deal with. "Can I call anyone for you? An aunt or uncle? Grandparents?"

He shakes his head. "I have nobody P'Waan, its always just been us." 

Waan looks at Tul, not knowing how to handle this situation, his boyfriend just shakes his head, making it known that he also doesn't know what the hell to do. Shit. He excuses himself and calls his father, knowing this is beyond him. "Dad, I need you..."

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P'Waan entered the house, all 3 kids and his boyfriend following behind. He sees his parents and Wiew waiting for them at home when they get there. He had taken Rider to his home to give his siblings the news. The broken hearts and tortured cries had made his heart rip to shreds, kids shouldn't have to deal with this. He rubs his eyes from tiredness, feeling drained. He looks to his dad who sees the defeated look on his face and just shakes his head, letting him know silently that now is not the time to stumble. He takes a deep breath, "Wiew, do you mind taking the boys upstairs and letting them shower and change while I make them something to eat?" Wiew nods at him motioning for the kids to follow. He turns to his mum, "Mum.." He doesn't even have to finish before she is taking the little girl upstairs. All they have left is the 3 of them, but they don't even talk, haven't spoken for years. Riders siblings blaming him for what happened to their eldest brother. He sighs and takes a seat, Tul at his side holding his hand. He squeezes knowing they need to figure out what they have to do.

Tul sees the indecision on Waan's face. "What are you going to do?" Tul swallows the bile building in his throat, he knows by the look on his face what he is going to do. He closes his eyes, "Lets get through all this first before you think about anything else." He kisses his hand and goes to help Wiew with the boys.

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Waan turns to his father, "Dad..." His father lifts his hand stopping him in his tracks. He swallows and waits for the lecture he knows that he is about to get.

"What happened?"

"There was an accident. They both died on the scene." He lets out a frustrated breath. All the good he had done with Rider is now ashes. He will go back to his ways and this time he is not sure that he can pull him out.

"Do they have anyone who can take care of them?"

Waan shakes his head, "No dad. They have nobody that can take care of them. The two younger ones are now in the care of Rider since he is 18 but other then that, they have no family."

The man nods taking everything in, "How old are the younger two?"

"Rider is 18, he is the eldest since their older brother was murdered a few years ago. The next is Torch, he is 15 and in middle school, his last year there. The last one is Rosie, she is 12 in junior high. "He runs his hand through his hair, "Dad, I know this is going to sound strange but since the day I met this kid, I just had this feeling inside me that I needed to help him. I felt like something was pushing me towards him. I did all I could for him and he finally turned himself around, but after today... What do I do here? I need you to tell me." 

His father moves closer to his son, putting his hand on his shoulder, "I know what you are thinking, I need you to think this through son. This is not something that can just be made on the go, you..." He stops speaking seeing the kid they call Rider walking down the stairs, freshly showered. "I will go and get you guys something to eat." Seeing him about to argue he uses his authority as the adult, "Nothing heavy, just some soup." He wakes up and disappears to the kitchen.

Rider turns awkwardly and looks at his savior. Once again P'Waan took charge of the situation just as he did when he was about to be expelled. At this rate he will never be able to repay the debt that keeps growing between them. "What do I P'Waan? The two of them hate me. I'm only 18 years old, even though I was going to take care of them while my parents were away, they would still be the ones parenting them. I cant do this."

He sighs, "You don't have to do this alone. You have people in your life who will be there when you need it." He puts his arm protectively around the kids arm, "Dont think about any of this right now. All you need to do now is be there for them and let me worry about the details. I haven't let you down since I came into your life, have I?" The boy shakes his head, "Then focus on you, focus on dealing with this and focus on being there for your brother and sister. I promise you after everything is taken care of then we will have a sit down and discuss the best way forward."

Rider nods at him, "Thank you, not just for this but for always being there. I don't know where I would be if you didn't show up in my life." He had meant every word. He owed every thing to the man but he also knows that he will not be able to keep his promises to him. Knowing that he now needs to drop out of school to take care of his siblings. Breaking P'Waan's faith in him killed him, but he would do it, he has no choice. His siblings hated his guts but he loved them, there is nothing that he wouldn't do for them, for their future. He takes in a deep breath and lays his head against the back of the couch, closing his eyes just for a second. Its for this reason that he missed the looks exchanged between P'Waan and P'Tul. He hears P'Waan take in a shaky breath and he turns and faces the man, seeing him staring at something behind them. He follows his gaze and sees no one there. "P'Waan, are you okay?" 

He just nods at the kid not wanting him to have anything else on his plate right now. "Dont worry, I'm okay." He feels like he swallowed concrete but he also knows that he cant deal with his issues right now, not when there is someone else who needs him more. The last thing he was, was okay. This however was a problem for another day. One step at time, Waan, one step.

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