Storytime

Chapter 16~ Time

Illeya POV:
Once again, I am left under the stars. I find myself running my fingers through his thick, hazel hair. He's so innocent, so helpless, so vulnerable. I vow I will never let anything happen to him again.
Then his fingers move in mine and I am filled with excitement. Not only does it mean he's alive but it means I finally get to ask him everything I wanted to when I found out about him.
He groans and I watch as his eyes flicker open. I never really got a good look at them but now that I'm close, I see them shimmering like the waters of the Mediterranean. He's so soft, so sweet, so innocent. My uncle took that away from him. My father took it away from me.
Almost immediately, he jolts up. His eyes are urgent as he stares through me, grabbing my shoulders.
"Oh god Illeya are you okay?"
"Me? Oh I'm... I'm fine." I stutter.
"What did he do to you?"
"Nothing." As he reaches for my shoulder, I flinch despite my determination to hide my own pain.
"Oh..."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let this happen. This is all my fault." A small tear slips down my cheek as I squeeze my eyes shut.
"None of this is your fault." I feel his fingers intertwine with mine.
"But it is. If I hadn't of done things..."
"You can't help who you fall in love with." I open my eyes, watching the smile on his lips. I manage a small one as he enclosed me in his arms. He gives me peace. Warmth. Hope. It almost feels like I'm home again.
But then I remember. This isn't home. This isn't even real. Maybe what my uncle told me is true. At home, maybe he is dead. Or maybe I don't even have a brother anymore. And that makes me long to stay in this world even more.

"Ryan?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you okay?" He looks down and sighs.
"I will be."
"So you're not?"
"Honestly? I don't know. All I know is that I'm happy."
"Happy?"
"Sure."
"What is there to be happy about?" I mutter, tearing at the grass.
"I have my reasons."
"Which are?"
"You called me Ryan." For a moment, I sit stunned. I don't know what to say. How to react. I didn't know it meant so much to me. Then again...
"That's your name, isn't it?"
"Yes. But... You knew me as Ben. As a drunk teenage boy who attempted to rape you."
"You didn't know who I was."
"That doesn't make it acceptable. I scared you, I hurt you."
"Stop. Stop it. Look, I don't care about any of that anymore. Neither of us knew. I know that doesn't make it right but... You're the only family I've got. And who you are right now... All i know is that you, Ryan, are the only family I need." He smiles warmly again.
"I never knew siblings could get on so well." We laugh.
"Every sibling has their rough times. Just like every sibling has their good times."
"I wouldn't know." At this point, we both look away. He lays his head against the tree, closing his eyes and letting out a long breath.
"What did we do to deserve this?"
"I don't know about you but I've done a lot of things."
"I'm sure they're not as bad as me."
"Ryan, as far as I'm concerned you've done nothing wrong."
"You have no idea."
"Neither do you." He sighs.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be arguing with you."
"I'm sorry too." Looking up at the sky, I notice the blue darkening and I slam my first down on the ground.
"Shit!"
"What? What's wrong?"
"I should be with Josie right now. I promised her."
"Oh. Sure."
"I didn't mean-"
"No. I know. You should be there."
"Will you... Will you come with me?"
"For what? Moral support?"
"Well... I don't know what its gonna be like. I don't know if she's awake."
"Okay."
"Sorry..."
"I get it."
"Ryan..."
"Don't do that."
"I'm sorry."
"No it's okay."
"It's not."
"You always seem to know. Look, I know how important love is."
"But it doesn't come first. You come first."
"I don't always have to. She needs you."
"Don't you?"
"We're fine, sis. We're fine and we always will be. So go sort it with Josie."
"Thank you."
"No need." He smiles at me and slowly hauls himself up, using my hand as a pulley. We were okay. Sure, this wouldn't last forever. But we were okay.

"We should probably get checked out." He says, leaning against the hospital wall.
"I'm fine."
"I know that you're not."
"Well, neither are you."
"Then come on." He let's go of me and drags me to the hospital doors. I don't think I ever realised how huge this place was. The receptionist gives us that look. Whether I go inside or not is not my choice as Ryan pulls me to the desk. We stumble but we are okay. Or at least I am.

"We're looking for a girl by the name of Josie." He says. My mouth refuses to move so I let him say everything. The woman mutters something back but her words are drowned out by the hospital grunts and groans. I see Ryan nod and then grab my hand, pulling me away once again. For a second he stops, looking me straight in the eyes. He places his hands on my shoulders, biting his lip as he prepares to speak.
"The woman told me some information." By the alarm in his eyes, I know what he's about to tell me isn't going to be good.
"What sort of information?" I mutter. Now I know why we don't ask questions we don't want the answer to.
"There's, erm... Been an accident."
"What? What sort of accident?"
"I, er..."
"Ryan!"
"Okay okay. Her brother Joe turned up."
"And so what? What's happened Ryan?"
"Josie's dead Illeya. She died a few hours ago."