Still The Same | Rip Wheeler

Still The Same - Chapter One

The day was hot and muggy, the air felt heavy and wet. But the only thing that mattered was Cassidy's lips on Rip's. Their shallow gasps and light moans filled the blooming meadow as they held each other on top of a fleece blanket. "I have to go." Cassidy spoke in between soft kisses, her hand lightly gripping Rip's curly hair and tugging.

"Please don't." Rip opened his blue eyes to meet her honey colored ones. "I just need some more." He pecked her rose colored lips. "Please?"

She huffed, shaking her head. "We talked about this, Rip. We came to an agreement. It's way too risky." She removed his hands' grip from under her jaw, letting it fall in the air and down to his side.

"Cass..." He sighed, then began to shake his head. "I'm sorry, I–"

"Don't be sorry." She reached for her shirt that lay next to them. "My dad's gonna be looking for me. If I'm here with you, he will find me."

She began to stand up but he reached for her soft hand, pulling her down onto his lap. "Just come here for a second, that's all I ask." He cupped her face once again, caressing her lips with his own. She gave him a grin between kisses, her hand tangling in his hair once again and her hips moving against the situation in his pants. "When am I gonna see you again?"

She shrugged a shoulder, rubbing her nose against his. "When I call you."

He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a deafening gun shot that made them jump away from each other like they were on fire. She scrambled to pull her shirt over her head and down her torso when she saw the man on a horse, coming straight in their direction.

"Cassidy!" The man's voice boomed and echoed, bouncing against the mountains and the trees.

"Fuck." She began pulling her boots on as she hopped around. "Rip, you have to get out of here right now. Go!" He began to get dressed after being frozen for a second. He collected himself, as well as began to collect his items but he was too slow, her father had reached them already.

"Get on your horse and get back to the house!" He shoved Cassidy in the direction of her and Rip's horses. "Now!"

"Don't hurt him, daddy. Please!" She pleaded, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. "He's just my friend!"

In a quick motion, her father lifted his hand, letting it fly across her face. She fell to the dirt with a thud, her lip completely opened, covering the blanket in blood. "If that's how you treat your friends then I don't want to know what else you're capable of. You sicken me." He spat.

Rip stood up, charging for her father, but he was quick, hitting him to the ground before he climbed on top of him and began beating him repeatedly with his bare hands. Her pleads and cries filled the alley, it wasn't until he was unconscious that he stopped. He grabbed Cassidy by her hair, forcing her onto his horse while promising her she would be married to somebody of his choosing by the end of the week.

When Rip gained consciousness, it was dark outside. He was left to feed the wolves, which weren't too far away as the sound of their cry awoke him. As he rolled himself onto his back he felt the thumping in his head, his brain felt swollen from the impacts of her father's fists. The first emotion he could feel was anger, he was completely unable to defend himself but furthermore he was unable to defend her. Who knows what that monster did to his own daughter when he took her with him.

He grunted, holding his ribs as he slowly sat up, looking up at the moon. It was directly on top of him, signaling it was the middle of the night. They had met up at four pm after she got out of school. "Fucking asshole." He mumbled, spitting old blood from his mouth. He looked around, it was pitch black aside from the moon, he noticed her horse was still there along with his. "We all got lucky, huh?"

He stood mindfully, collecting the fleece blanket that was covered in both of their blood now. "The land shouldn't have to suffer." He said softly, making his way to his horse. He retrieved the rope from the side of his saddle, tying her horse to his by the horses neck and the loop in his saddle.

"Alright." He muttered, sticking his foot in the stirrup, bracing himself for the impact of him jumping on top of the horse. He put all of his weight onto the stirrup, jumping over. His head throbbed, he leaned over, shutting his eyes tightly waiting for the pain to stop. "Let's take this easy, boy." He spoke incredibly soft, scared his own voice would make his ears ring.

The ride back to the Yellowstone ranch was long and excruciating, he almost fell unconscious multiple times but kept himself awake long enough to make it. The next time he awoke, John Dutton was pulling him off from on top of the horse and on to the loose gravel beneath them. "Rip! What's happened, son?" He smacked his face softly, helping him gain consciousness. "Where were you? Who did this to you, son?"

He tried to speak, but his throat was dry, his mouth was swollen and he had bit his tongue while he was being attacked. He felt John lay him onto his lap as he began to speak to somebody else who had walked up. "Somebody hurt the kid." He said. "I don't know, he doesn't know about that." He would also say. "He's just a kid."

"Rip." He pried one of his eyelids open, Rips eye reacted to the light, indicating he was going to be okay. "Who did this to you?" Rip attempted to lick his lips, the gash on his tongue stinging and causing him to grunt. "I'm gonna help you, I'm gonna get you all healed up, son. First, I need you to tell me who was the bastard who did this to you."

It took him all of his strength to point at Cassidy's horse, the brand. "Look at the brand, Lloyd." John instructed. "That's not our horse."

Lloyd walked around the horse, the brand was a fancy "E" John knew exactly where that brand came from. "Arnold Evers."