Reaching for Rebecca

Chapter 68

RYAN'S POV

"She seems a bit more timid than usual," Mike states after making fun of how I gawked as she was leaving.

"She was fine until you fucking bombarded her... she doesn't know you that well yet Mike you have to reign it in a little." I remember one more point and sneak it in before he speaks. "And for Christ sake quit calling her baby girl! What the hell was that about?!" He laughs.

"I honestly don't know where that came from but chill out man; I'll try to watch what I say more closely but you know how I am."

"Yeah, you don't think before you talk."

"Exactly," he states like he's proud of it. "Has Alex said anything yet?"

I check on the lasagna and notice the cheese starting to bubble. "No. I'll probably text him later tonight if I don't hear from him. He's usually pretty good about this stuff though – really grown up actually."

"It was bound to happen sooner or later... I mean mom and dad were around more when Matt and I were little but Alex was kind of forced to grow up early – you were too." I nod along but don't really mind that my parents aren't around as much as they used to be. They still care for us and are always there when we need them.

Mike and I sat in the kitchen until supper is done and talk about nothing too important. He's okay with us crashing here however long we need and I'm sure Matt would feel the same way. He's also excited that he gets to hang with Becca and I tonight because one: he's usually here alone and two: Becca and him can get to know more about each other.

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Eventually, we carry our food into the living room to see Becca curled up snoozing on the couch. I smile but soon notice her twitching like she used to with the nightmares and my heart clenches.

"Uh, Mike?" He looks at me and raises his eyes. "Can you give me a second?" His usual joking nature is nowhere to be found as he senses my serious tone and backs out of the room. The second he leaves, I try to ease Becca awake as gently as possible.

"Hey sweetheart, dinner's ready," I whisper softly while the rest of my body remains tense. "Come on baby." I see Mike's shadow fall across the living room floor so I now he's listening just outside the door. I don't really mind though, I asked him to leave for Becca's sake – I don't want her to get embarrassed over something as silly as this.

"Becs?" I reach out to brush some of the beautiful black hair from her face and her eyes fly open. Without being fully awake, she leaps from the couch and runs to the corner between the wall and the entertainment center before curling in on herself in the fetal position.

"No, no, no, no," she keeps repeating in an ominous tone that breaks my heart. I quickly follow her but don't get to close – I don't want to scare her so much that she hurts herself or something. From the corner of my eye I see Mike's wide-eyed stare since he's now fully standing in the doorway but I focus on what's more important.

"Hey baby," I practically coo, "It's me, Ryan. You're okay Becs it was just a bad dream." She doesn't alter her position at all but I inch a little closer. "Babe, please look at me." Her tear stained face slowly lifts upwards and realization starts to dawn upon her face. "You're okay. I'm here Becs nothing's going to happen to you, it was just a dream hunny." Finally, she throws herself into my arms and sobs. "Shhhh it's okay baby, you're alright."

While continuing to rock her back and forth on my lap with my arms wrapped tightly around her, I look back at Mike to see him still standing in shock. I tip my head towards the door and he makes himself scarce.