Searching for Safety

Chapter 6

 I jolted forward gasping and panting, looking around frantically until I saw Ryder. He was looking at me with his eyebrows raised, holding his hands up so I could see them. I looked around again and sighed, putting my face in my hands. He gently touched my shoulder and started rubbing my back.

"You okay?" He asked quietly. I nodded and pushed my hair out of my face.

"Yea, sorry. Just a nightmare. Did I wake you up?" I asked looking back at him. He shook his head with a small smile.

"No, I've been up for while." He said. I glanced at the window, it was still dark, but it was getting light out. I looked back at him, he was staring at me. I sighed and rolled my neck, causing it to pop loudly. His hand left my back and he slid off the bed, walking over to the dresser.

"Do you wanna go back to sleep?" He asked. I shrugged and stood up, stretching.

"Want to, yes. But I'm not gonna be able to." I said pulling my hair into a messy ponytail. He tossed my backpack over to me and walked over to the door.

"I'm gonna go change, you can lock it behind me." He said opening the door. I nodded and he left the room, closing the door behind him. I walked over to the door and locked it, then went through my bag and pulled out the jeans and black t-shirt that Ryder had put in there.

"Not a fan of bright colors is he." I mumbled to myself as I got dressed. I unlocked the door and grabbed my brush out of my bag, sighing in relief that it was there. There was a light knock on the door and I glanced over at it.

"It's unlocked now." I said pulling my hair up into a neat ponytail. He opened the door and came in, now in black jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. He looked me over and smiled to himself.

"What?" I asked raising my eyebrow. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Just admiring my style choice." he said. I laughed and put my brush back in bag. He looked back at me amused.

"Yea, I especially love all the color." I said sarcastically, still laughing. He rolled his eyes chuckling and shook his head.

"You hungry?" He asked standing in the doorway. I shrugged and started to follow him out into the hall.

"I guess." I said, closing the door behind me. We went downstairs and I followed him into the kitchen. He started going through the fridge and I leaned against the counter.

"How about some eggs? I'm pretty good at making over easy eggs." He said chuckling. I laughed and nodded.

"Sure, as long as they're actually cooked all the way." I said smiling. he smiled and pulled the carton of eggs out of the fridge. I sighed quietly and looked around the kitchen, I was feeling fairly okay considering the events that took place yesterday. My mom would want me to be okay though, not sulking and so distraught that I couldn't function. I wondered how my dad was doing, if he managed to sober up any or if he drank himself unconscious.

"So do you wanna go over now while your dad is probably still sleeping, or do you wanna wait until he'll be awake?" Ryder asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. I shrugged.

"I have no idea when he'll be awake, he's probably passed out drunk right now. We can go whenever, I'll just leave a note." I said walking over to the stove next to Ryder. He glanced up at me and smiled slightly. I looked at the pan then started looking through the cabinets until I found the plates, and pulled out two. He took them from me and put an egg on each plate, then he put them down and grabbed the bread.

"Toast?" He asked as he grabbed two pieces, I nodded and he put them in the toaster. We ate quietly, not knowing what to talk about. When we finished I washed the dishes before he could and then we went into the living room. I was still admiring the room, since I hadn't really seen it last night. He sat on the couch and began putting his shoes on, I looked down remembering I had already put mine on and shifted my weight from foot to foot.