Gold And Coal (Ryden AU)

2.16 ◇ Nothin' On You

I was woken by the sound of laughter.

Yes, laughter.

It seemed impossible, giving my talent to attract dismay and misery. But it was nice. It was a good way to wake up, I decided.

The pleasant sound motivated me to get up and find the source of it, my blanket still wrapped around my shoulders.

It was Brendon, Spencer and the little girl, Penny, who were seated at a table, a piece of paper in front of them.

Upon stepping closer, I realized Penny was drawing something, a dog or something similar by the looks of it.

Brendon caught sight of me and beckoned me forward, gesturing to the empty chair on his right, where I took a seat.

Penny briefly glanced up when she noticed my presence and even managed a quick smile before resuming her artwork.

There was a knock on the door and I anxiously sprung up. Spencer hurriedly ushered me into the kitchen before opening the door and Brendon dissapeared into the hallway.

I strained my ears to try and catch what was being said, doing my best to shut out my hammering heart.

Carefully and at an agonisingly slow speed, I opened the door so I had a better chance of listening to the conversation.

To my satisfaction, my plan succeeded.

"...no trouble."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I cannot leaver her with you," an unknown voic said.

"But he's my uncle," Penny.

"I'm her last living relative so I have the right to take care of her," Spencer.

"Sir-"

"Surely you wouldn't want to take the poor child away from her last living family member?" Spencer interrupted.

"Sir, we have reasons to believe you are harboring a fugitive."

"That's ridiculous. What made you believe that?"

"The girl led us to your house, sir."

"She's a child! She wanted to come home to her family! Of course she led you to my house!"

Silence.

"Very well, sir. Have a nice day."

The door shut.

I waited for a couple of seconds before fully opening the door and stepping back into the main room.

Spencer shook his head at me and ran a hand through his hair.

"You have to leave, as soon as possible, he's gonna be back," he muttered as Brendon joined us.

I nodded and walked over to Penny, kneeling down in front of her and placing my hands on her shoulders.

"Thank you," I smiled and she returned it.

"Are you happy with staying here for the time being?" Spencer asked her, looking down at her fondly and the little girl nodded vigorously.

"Nobody else ever was as nice to me as you," she smiled.

Brendon tapped my shoulder gently and I got up again.

"You have a place to go?" Spencer asked and Brendon nodded.

He threw a hat at me and one of the cloaks hanging over a chair. "We're leaving at once."

"Where's Jon?" I asked, dressing myself hurriedly.

"Out. Now hurry," Spencer shushed me. I furrowed my eyebrows at his harsh tone.

"He's not gonna come back that quickly, I want to say goodbye to Jon!" I persisted, slapping away Brendon's hand as he tried to fix a button on my coat.

"I'm not taking any chances," Brendon snapped, scowling. "Do you want to go back to jail?"

"No, but -,"

"Then shut up and move."

"Don't worry, we'll come see you," Spencer comforted me, a forced smile on his face. I nodded and let Brendon push me towards the door.

I turned around and stole one last look at the house that had granted me refuge so many times, it was like a second home. Spencer and Penny lifted their hands in goodbye and I turned back towards the door.

●●●

"I'm sorry we rushed you like that," Brendon said.

We were sitting in the back of his carriage, me with my head resting against the walls and my knees pulled up, staring at nothing in particular and Brendon sitting opposite me, trying to catch my eye every now and again and frustratingly clicking his tongue when he failed.

That was the first words spoken since we got on the carriage.

I sighed and granted him the satisfaction of looking at him.

"I'm supposed to feel happy. I'm being given another chance. A better life. Everything I've ever dreamed of. But I don't feel anything," I mumbled.

He didn't answer, and merely stared  at me, worried and confused.

"I'm sorry for being such a bother to you, " I added and averted my eyes once more.

I jumped in surprise as he sat down next to me and his hand softly grabbed my chin to turn my head, forcing me to look at him again.

"It'll all work out, I promise. We'll be there soon, and if you don't like it, we can always go back. Or go someplace else. Whatever you want, I'll do it. Wherever you want, I'll take you there. I've made it my job to make you happy, Ryan Ross, and I intend to do it well. You deserve the world, and I will make sure you get it."

He didn't give me a chance to reply and quickly placed his lips on mine, and my eyes fluttered shut, my heart beating furiously and I was reminded as to why I was doing this, why this boy had me wrapped around his fingers.

His kiss, his soft, full lips on mine, was the only thing I needed. He wanted to give me the world? Well, he had already succeeded, because he, the spoilt little rich kid whose father had made my life a living hell, was my world.

~

There's so much nonsense
It's on my conscience
I'm thinking baby I should get it out
And I don't wanna sound redundant
But I was wondering, if there was something that you wanna know
But never mind that we should let it go
And all the bad thoughts just let them go

Beautiful girls all over the world
I could be chasing but my time would be wasted
They got nothin' on you baby
They might say hi and I might say hey
But you shouldn't worry about what they say
'Cause they got nothin' on you baby

~