Reaching for Rebecca

Chapter 10

RYAN'S POV

Waking up Tuesday to the sound of rain was quite relaxing; however, that means football practice will be held indoors today meaning I get to do tons of sprints across the gym. Great.

I get my lazy ass out of bed and into the shower to hopefully wake myself up a little. As the warm water cascades down my corded back I think about how Becca rushed off yesterday, trying not to be bothered by it. Maybe she was just in a hurry.

I wake Alex up and pack our lunches while he showers. Making sure I have an extra one for Becca, I carry them to the truck and chuck them on the seat. Alex comes jogging out of the house a few minutes later with wet hair and we are off to school.

"Where are you going?" he questions when I drive past school, his voice still groggy from sleep.

"Picking up Becca," I respond like it's been our routine forever. Alex rolls his eyes at me but soon diverts his attention to the iPhone in his hand.

I'm almost to her house when I slam on the breaks after seeing her on the sidewalk, walking to class in the rain.

"Ryan what the fuck!?" yells Alex, unaware of why I stopped. My response is to jump out of the truck and run over to her.

"Becs! What are you doing? It's raining!"

She jumped at my voice but her eyes showed acknowledgment after a moment. She stayed quiet but stopped walking.

"Come on, get in the truck," I say softly while grasping her hand gently.

We walk back to the truck and she gets in through the driver side door, wedging between Alex and I. Alex nods and mumbles a hey but goes back to his phone when she doesn't respond. I feel a vibrate in my pocket a few seconds later.

___
|Ryan Bradley > Alex - 7:35am|
Received: What's up with her?
___

I shrug back at him before pulling away from the curb.

"I was coming to pick you up Becs why didn't you wait for me?" Becca barely shrugs her shoulders and makes an 'I don't know' type of noise.

We drive in silence until we reach the school parking lot. Alex hops out quicker than lightening to get out of this awkward truck and Becca turns to leave out Alex's door when I stop her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I practically whisper. She looks down and doesn't respond. "Is it something I did?"

That gets her head to shoot up.

"No Ryan! I-I'm just tired I guess." I noticed the stutter and the fact that she's lying, but I decide not to push it any further.

"Okay."

I reach out for her hand and place a kiss on her cheek before getting out of the truck. We walk to our shared locker and to chemistry in absolute silence. Mr. Monty has a lecture day once again so she doesn't speak to me in that class at all.

Although we should run into each other at our locker, I don't see her again until lunch where she sits next to me quietly and looking very pale.

"Hey," I put my arm around her, "are you feeling okay?" I whisper close enough so only she can hear me.

Becca nods her head and gives me a small smile. I run my hand up and down her arm a few times before pulling away and handing her the sandwich I packed.

"Thank you," she says quietly before taking a huge bite.

I smile, "you're welcome Becs."

She leans lightly against my arm and finishes her lunch. Mason tries to talk to me but I'm too distracted thinking about what's wrong with her.

We walk to biology together after lunch and the rest of the day drags on. Meeting her at our locker after seventh period I lean over her, giving her a gentle hug from behind and kiss her cheek, causing her to blush and crack a tiny smile.

"Let me bring you home okay? It's still raining out." Her smile immediately falters and her eyes get wide. The blue in them turn a shade lighter with what I'm assuming is fear.

"N-n-no that's alright. I will walk, you have p-practice," she stutters.

"Dammit Becca! Are you afraid of me or something? What's going on?" I ask slightly raising my voice and she flinches. Taking a deep breath, I calm down before speaking again. "Please let me take you home. I would hate if you got sick and it was my fault."

She nods her head slightly before walking towards the school's front doors. Her backpack makes her act like it's twenty pounds too heavy and she winces when it moves across her so I slip it off her shoulders and carry it for her.

"Are your ribs still bothering you?"

"A little bit, not much," she replies quickly while avoiding my eye contact.

The drive home is just as silent as the rest of the day was and I expect her to run out the second we get to her house but she doesn't. Instead, she scoots closer to me and wraps her arms around me in an awkward side hug. I quickly respond, my arms embracing her incredibly small body.

"I'm sorry," she whispers with a trembling voice that just about breaks my heart.

"Hey... it's alright," I say, attempting to speak in a soothing tone.

We sit wrapped around each other for a few minutes until she gently pulls away and walks into the house.

~~~

I hear my phone go off right as I finish changing for practice. Already arriving late after dropping Becca off, I decide to check it anyways because what's an extra thirty seconds?

___
|Ryan Bradley > Becs - 3:51pm|
Received: Thank you Ryan.
___

I smile at the text. Maybe she's getting over this little funk.

___
|Ryan Bradley > Becs - 3:52pm|
Sent: Of course Becs
Sent: I have to get to practice but text me later okay?
Received: Okay :)
___

I get through a grueling practice, staying late to do extra sprints because I was late, and check my phone for messages from Becca. My face falls when I don't find any.