Reaching for Rebecca

Chapter 89

RYAN'S POV

I had been pacing by the front door for the past ten minutes wondering where the hell Becca and Landon were. We decided that instead of them waiting outside for me to pick her up, that it would be safer for Landon to bring her straight home after training. I already called Landon once and Becca twice but I took my phone out to call again just as I heard the faint grumble of the motorcycle.

"What the hell?" Becca basically sprinted into my arms as I opened the front door and Landon was walking behind.

"She got some more texts today... we didn't check them until we were done working out," he explained. I pulled Becca in the house and locked the door behind us after Landon waved and jogged back to his bike.

"It's okay Becs," I comforted. "Can I see those texts?" She handed her phone over without hesitation.

___

|Becca Hanson > Kirk – 5:42pm|

Received: Hey doll, I think you might be needing a haircut soon... your hair's getting kind of long. I like it better short.

Received: Oh but those jeans you wore today are might nice. Is that why you ran away? Does he give you money for those things? I could do that if you helped with certain favors.

___

"He saw me..." Becca's voice was shaky and afraid so I pocketed her phone and pulled her in close.

"You're still here. He didn't get to you hunny. This is why I wanted more people watching over you." It killed me that he was watching her and worse yet, letting her know that he was watching her. This was also the first time the texts weren't really threatening but creepy.

"B-but he saw me and I didn't s-see him!" She wasn't crying but her quivering voice gutted me. I lifted her in my arms and she instantly wrapped her legs around my waist and tucked her face into my neck.

"You're okay," I whispered while taking the ponytail from her hair and running a hand through the end while my other arm supported her weight.

My mom, who stayed home sick today, appeared from around the corner with a concerned look on her face. I'd been keeping her in the loop but it pained her that she couldn't help Becca more even thought I ensured her time and time again that just letting Becca stay here was the best thing that she could have done. I gave her a sad smile and a shrug before carrying Becca upstairs and straight into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. After setting her on the countertop and standing between her legs, I lift her head to me and look in those beautiful blue eyes.

"He's just trying to scare you Becs. You're safe here and you're safe at school alright? You know that hun, there are always people around you that will help if anything happened okay?" She nodded sadly so I placed little kisses all over her face in an attempt to cheer her up. "I love you sweetness." Becca giggle slightly.

"Sweetness?"

"Yes. Sweetness." I kissed her once more and turned to start the shower. I had already taken one after practice thinking that Landon and her were just running late but I wasn't planning to leave her alone right now either. "I'll be right outside the door okay? You shower off and meet me there when you're done."

"No!" Her face filled with sudden terror and she leapt down from the countertop. "Please stay in here? You can keep your eyes close if you want!" I nodded but she went along with her explanation anyways. "I don't want to be alone."

"I'm staying baby." I leaned against the locked door and slid down until I was sitting in front of it inside the bathroom. Closing my eyes, I relaxed and waited until I heard the shower curtain slide open and back. Becca hummed as I sat in silence wondering how I was going to make it through the week... I know that she's the one who has to go through this and I would never stop supporting her even though my stress levels have gone through the roof, but I haven't slept decently in a few days and I could feel my patience wearing thin at times.

I can't control what happened in her past or really what would be in the future but I was sure going to try on the latter. I needed to push everything aside and focus on keeping her safe.

"I'm coming out now." Becca broke the silence with a warning so I could close my eyes, but I realized that there was no way I'd ever lose control around her – I cared too much.

Her eyes went wide for a split second and then lifted with a small smile. She is so beautiful. With the towel wrapped snuggly around her body, she sank down next to me and leaned her wet head against my right arm.

"How about we eat dinner in my room, do some homework, and watch Netflix until bedtime. Does that sound good?" Becca sighed happily and nodded against my arm. We sat in silence for a few minutes until I softly patted her leg in suggestion to get moving.

---

I wasn't much of a cook but I heated up some canned chicken noodle soup on the stove for supper. My mom still wasn't feeling the greatest so I figured it would be nice to have something warm to eat. After bringing her some, I called Alex down and then dished some out for me and Becca.

"I need some help," I called while standing in front of my semi-closed bedroom door. I wasn't going to attempt balancing the tray containing hot liquid with one hand while opening the door with the other because I knew it wouldn't end well. The door opened to a smiling Becca who promptly took the tray from me and carried it to the bed easily. I rolled my eyes at how carefully I'd been carrying it up the stairs when she just whisked it away without any worries about spilling it.

"Don't roll your eyes at me," Becca said with a laugh. Her back was to me so only God knows how she caught that...

"You're cute." I pecked her cheek and gingerly took a seat on the bed so I wouldn't spill the soup. "It probably won't be that great but heating things up is pretty much my extent of kitchen knowledge."

"I know. Thank you." I had figured she wouldn't want to be downstairs – she confessed to having the 'eebie jeebies' (which I translated as feeling like someone's watching you) whenever she was by the windows.

I turned on That 70s Show on Netflix while we ate the subpar meal and kept in on as background noise when we were working on our homework. We fell behind during homecoming week and taking off Monday didn't help.

"I don't get it!" Becca's frustration was immediate after taking out her chemistry homework.

I spent over an hour re-teaching the last two chapters since she'd been so spaced out recently (not that I blame her.) After that homework, we did biology together and then worked on our other stuff until finally catching up around eleven o'clock. She hasn't checked her phone since I put it in my pocket earlier so I handed it over before leaving to bring our dishes downstairs.

"Ryan?" I just hit the kitchen when her faint voice could be heard. "Ryan??" She sounded unusually upset so I set the tray of dishes on the counter and got upstairs as soon as possible.

"What's wrong?" There were tears streaming down her face and she held her phone out towards me. I felt my patience slip and bound towards the object in anger, practically snatching it from her hand.

___

|Becca Hanson > Kirk – 11:04pm|

Received: Rebecca, I don't like being ignored. You know this.

Received: You're still mine. Not the Bradley's, of that kid on the bike's, or any of those damn footballers you got following you around... MINE.

Received: I always get what I want and I'm coming for you doll – then you'll wish you hadn't made me wait so long.

___

I was so pissed off and couldn't face Becca right away or I was afraid I'd scare her, so I paced back and forth a few times before sitting right there on my bedroom floor to screenshot all the texts and send them to my phone. After deleting them from Becca's, I took a few deep breaths and rejoined her on the bed. She was still crying and stayed in her own space until I held my arms open.

"Why does he have to do this? What did I ever do to deserve this?" I picked her up and laid us back so I could wrap my whole body around her.

"Shh baby." I really had nothing else to say... How can you offer support to someone who's going through this crap besides just being there for them? I held her against me all night, comforting her while she cried, cuddling her while she slept, and soothing her after the nightmares. I didn't sleep and couldn't think of anything else to do besides love her.