Loud and Clear

6.

Ryker's POV

I paced back and forth in my room. Darcy and Dean had been gone for longer than I expected and I was starting to worry; but not just about them being gone and Dean potentially saying something to mess things up even worse, I was also worried about the frequency of her nightmares. They've never been this bad and it worried me.

"Uncle Lou, I'm going out for a little. Let me know when Darcy gets back?" I asked while pulling my shoes on. Louis nodded his head before continuing his conversation with whomever he was talking to on the phone. It looked like a serious conversation, so I didn't dwell in the room any longer. Instead, with the small amount of light there was left outside, I grabbed Batman's leash and called the dog. He came trotting up to me with his tongue sticking out and tale wobbling about in pure happiness.

I hooked the collar on and walked out the door. I opened my car door and let the dog in the passenger seat since that was the only seat Batman would sit in and made my way towards the park. Not many people came to the park, especially not at this time of day.When I pulled up to the park, I took Batman out of the car and off the leash. I remembered to bring a few toys for him to run around and play with.

"Hey, Boy," I cooed, waving the toy in his face before launching it far off in to the distance. Batman sprinted towards it, running as fast as his legs would take him. In a matter of seconds he was back with the toy in his mouth and tale wagging faster than thought possible. He dropped down the tennis ball waiting for me to throw it again. I wound my arm back and threw it as far as possible.

"That's a really pretty dog you have there," A small voice spoke behind me scaring me a little bit. I turned around to see girl, about my age with dark hair and brown eyes. She was quite beautiful.

"It's my sisters, but thank you." I nervously spoke. Batman had come running back, dropping his toy at  my feet before sniffing around. He completely ignored the girl in front of me.

"Well your sisters dog is quite beautiful," She replied before bending on her knees. "What's his name?" She asked, looking up at me through her eyelashes.

"Batman."

"Come here, Batman," She cooed. The dog happily trotted towards the stranger, wagging his tail when she scratched behind his ear. She giggled quietly when he licked her face happily before jumping up so his front paws rested on her shoulders.

She pet him for a while longer before standing back up and facing me. "Sorry, I have a habit of introducing myself to the animals first. I'm Chrissy." She held out her hand for me to grab which I quickly did.

"Ryker," I told her. She stared at me for a minute before a flicker of realization danced in her eyes.

"Your dad was, like, in that famous band, right?" She asked, her cheeks a slight pink. "Harry was it?" I nodded my head.

"Louis takes care of us now, and he was in that band, too. My dads best mate." She nodded in acknowledgement. "You only know me from my dad being in a band? Nothing else?" I asked after a moment of silence. Usually the first thing anyone said in relation to me and my sister was how we party all the time, not our dads successful career.

"Only thing I care about, really. I've read about you and your sister in magazines, but I never believe any of that anyways. They seem to stretch the truth a lot." I smiled at Chrissy, someone who didn't judge me because of what they read.

"I think you might be the first person that hasn't judged me or my sister before getting to know us," I told her with a smile. It was nice not to be looked at with judgment in their eyes. I took the split second in between conversation to study her. She had a small nose and walnut shaped eyes. Her lips were full and pink and a tiny indention rested on the right cheek. She had freckles covering her nose and her hair was slightly curly.