Haley's POV
"I don't know what to do. I came over here and she was just laying there, like she was dead." I heard a hushed Ricky say in a shaky voice.
"Did you call the police?" An unfamiliar voice asked.
"And say what, my girlfr- I mean Haley went into some kind of shock? There was no real medical emergency." Ricky sighed. Did he just almost call me his girlfriend? I felt my stomach jump. Oh no, please don't.
I felt my mouth start to fill with saliva as the bile rose from my stomach. As quick as possible, I scrambled out of my bed towards the bathroom. Slamming the door open, I fell on the floor in front of the toilet and let it all go into the bowl. Over my heaving I heard a pair of footsteps run toward me. A pair of cold hands gently slid the hair from my face and started rubbing up and down my back to calm me.
"It's okay..." Ricky cooed. I stood up off the floor and walked to my sink. Rummaging through the drawers, I stopped at the one that had my towels and the small black box that contained my razors. Panicking, I grabbed a towel and slammed the drawer shut. Wiping my face, I looked up to see Ricky staring at me intently.
"Was that IT?" He said motioning toward where I had retrieved my towel. I took a deep breath and nodded my head, not wanting to hear what he was about to say. "I'll do it if you do it." I looked at him puzzled.
"Stay here." He said pointing to where I was standing, and ran out the door.
He soon returned with a box of his own in hand.
He wanted me to throw away my razors. I looked up at his hopeful face and shook my head.
"I can't, I'm not strong enough, especially not now." His face fell a little.
"That's what I'm here for. We can help each other." God damn it, I knew he wasn't going to take no for an answer.
Without a word, I opened the drawer and pulled out my box that I had depended on for so long. Looking him in the eyes, I caved into his request.
"You have to promise me you'll actually be here for me if I need you. These were my friends, the only ones who made things better."
"I promise." I followed him out of my bathroom, into my bedroom. Ricky opened my window, which conveniently had an open dumpster below.
Sticking his arms out the window, he dropped his box. Ricky turned around, looking at me expectently. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I stepped forward. Was I ready for this? I knew I wasn't but I didn't have much of a choice. A tear slipped out of my eye, trailing down my cheek and falling onto the surface of the box.
"That's the last tear of mine you get." I whispered to myself. Moving my arm so it was parallel with the dumpster below, I loosened my grip and let the box fall.
Closing my eyes, I felt Ricky's arms wrap around my waist.
"I'm proud of you." He hummed in my ear, kissing my neck comfortingly. I turned around, still in his grip.
"I'm proud of you, too." I said, gazing into his depthless blue eyes. Bringing my chest against his, I stepped onto my tiptoes. Gently, my lips found his. At first he didn't respond, but within seconds his were moving in time with mine. He tasted like tobacco and mint. His kiss was intoxicating, and soon I found myself lost in his silky lips. I felt him pull back and I groaned, slightly annoyed. Ricky chuckled and caressed my face in his soft hands. I felt the goosebumps rush up my arms. How did he do this to me?
"I have a friend over..." He trailed off. I sighed and took his hand. He led me into the kitchen where Josh was sitting at the table.
"Someone's blushing," He teased, laughing slightly. Looking at him with the most serious face I could muster, I lifted my left hand flipped him off. "Oh no you didn't!" Josh replied, snapping his finger. I giggled and gave him a quick smile.
"I need to get going." Josh said, standing up. He walked over to me and I wasn't quite sure what he was going to do. Opening his arms, he wrapped me in a huge bear hug.
"I can't breathe." I choked out, laughing.
"Alright, I'll see you, Hale." He said, purposefully leaving off the 'y' in my name.
"K, Joshy." I said sarcastically, smacking his ass. Looking over at Ricky, I saw his annoyed face. Oops, I probably shouldn't have done that. I quickly shot Ricky an appologetic look and he just shook his head, letting it go.
Once Josh had left, Ricky and I walked into my living room. Sitting on my couch, I cuddled into his warm chest and covered us in a blanket. He started stroking my hair.
"So, are you gonna tell me what happened?" He asked cautiously. I sighed, knowing there was no avoiding this conversation. I felt the lump in my throat growing, blocking my words.
"Greg came back." I coughed out. Ricky continued to play with my hair and waited for me to continue. Drawing in a deep breath, I looked down at my bandaged wrists. "I tried to stop him, but there was no point in trying to fight back. When he was done, he gave me this nice present." I sobbed, pointing to the stop on my face that he had punched. I didn't want to come right out and tell Ricky that Greg had raped me, he got the point.
Lacing his arms around my shaking body, Ricky took me in for a much needed embrace.
"Do you want to call the cops." Quickly, I shook my head, brushing off that idea. I didn't the added drama of court dates and the such when I didn't have my go-to stress reliever anymore. "Alright, that's fine. But if we aren't going to take legal action, can you please do me a favor to make me know you're a little safer." Reluctantly uncovering my face from his chest, I looked up at his face confused.
"What?" I asked silently.
"Please move in with me." Moving back a little, my head started spinning.
"I-uh-" He cut me off.
"Please." Ricky pled as he gripped my hands and looked me in the eyes. My heart melted and I caved.
"Fine." I sighed. At my response, he pulled me off of his lap and started jumping up and down like a teen girl.
Was I really moving in with someone I hadn't even known for a week?
