No Fear (Red Gerard)

Chapter 12

Mark's POV)
    I leaned back as I sat down on the couch, putting my feet up on the footstool and lifting my beer to my lips as I did so. It had been around an hour since Rowan had gone up to take a nap, and I had done all of my work that I needed to get done in that time, so now I was just relaxing and taking some time for myself. I reached to my left and grabbed the black remote to turn on the TV and watch the Montreal V. Boston Hockey game. I was still wearing my work clothes from earlier in the day, and wanted to change into something more comfortable, but I didn't want to disturb her. After a couple minutes of pondering whether or not to go get comfortable clothes, I set my beer down and stood up from the couch. I walked up the stairs, careful to be quiet to avoid waking Rowan up.
    I gently opened the door, cringing when it squeaked. I looked over to my bed to see one of my best friends curled up, in a state of peace for the first time today. It broke my heart to see her in the state that she was when she called me to pick her up. When I pulled up to the restaurant she didn't look like herself at all. All of the joy that was normally written all over her face had vanished, replaced by a look worse than sadness. Emptiness. As if she had nothing left inside her to give. No hope, No joy, no love, no laughter, no anything.
    I couldn't help but be pissed at Red for doing this to her. He already knew how stressed out she was with school, so I didn't understand why he felt the need to go off on her like he did. It didn't help anything at all. It wasn't up to me, but I thought she should have just been done with him in that instant. However, I knew that Rowan had a kinder heart than I did, and would probably give him another chance. She was one of a kind.
    A quiet mumble pulled me from my thoughts as I stood in the doorway.
    "Ro? Are you awake?" I whispered.
    "Mmm hmmm" she shakily hummed in response.
    "I'm just getting some clothes, then I'll leave you alone. It's late, so you can stay here tonight if you want to. I'll take the couch downstairs and you can stay up here," I said, walking to my dresser as I did so to grab a pair of sweats. She didn't say anything back, so I assumed she had fallen asleep. Just as I was about to shut the bedroom door behind me as I walked out, a barely audible voice spoke up.
    "Mark?" Rowan weakly asked.
    "Yeah?" I said as I turned back towards my friend.
    "Will you stay here with me? I don't want to be alone," her words drifted off as she finished the sentence. I wasn't sure what to make of her request. I knew it was purly platonic to me, but if Scotty or Red found out, I was sure that it would create issues. As if she could read my thoughts, she spoke up once again.
    "Don't worry, it's not like that, I just don't feel like being alone."
    "Yeah, just let me change real quick," I responded, scratching the back of my neck. I walked out of the room to the bathroom down the hall, where I quickly changed clothes before heading back to my bedroom.
    I gently lifted up the bedspread and climbed into my bed underneath it, careful to keep my distance from Rowan. She was one of my best friends, but it was still an incredibly awkward situation for me. Rowan and I laid there facing opposite directions in complete silence for what seemed like hours before she finally spoke up.
    "Mark, what should I do?" she whispered in a shaky voice. She was crying. I rolled over and rubbed her back comfortingly, causing her to turn to face me.
    "I don't know, Rowan. I feel useless in this situation. It isn't a decision I can make for you," I said, knowing exactly the choice she had to be pondering. She looked up at me with her normally bright, green eyes that were filled with sadness, confusion, and frustration. Her bottom lip quivered as her tears began to fall faster. I pulled her into my chest, hugging her tightly as she cried. I knew that all I could do for her at that moment was be there. Just like that, we both drifted off to sleep.

(Rowan's POV)
    A sudden cold air against my arms and a movement on the bed woke me up the next morning. I was too exhausted to open my eyes, so I just laid there and tried to go back to sleep. I heard Mark shuffle across the room to his dresser to go get some clothes, then walk out of his room to go change. I was so thankful to have someone like him in my life. It was nice, he was kind of like a constant for me. There was no doubt in my mind that sleeping in the same bed as me was extremely awkward for him, but he knew that it was what I needed, so he toughed it out and held me. He was fantastic.
    The doorbell rang, followed by repeated loud poundings on the front door, pulling me from my thoughts. I slowly sat up, my head aching from all the crying I had done last night. Quietly, I crept out of the bedroom and into the hallway so I could hear what was going on downstairs.
    "Where is she? I went to Scotty's hotel and her apartment. She wasn't at either, so she has to be here. I feel awful about yesterday, please just let me see her, Mark. I need to apologize," A very familiar voice echoed up the stairs.
    "Yeah? Well she could have used an apology about twelve hours ago, bro. You're a little late," Mark snapped.
    "Just tell me where she is," Red said, raising his voice slightly. I began to slowly creep down the stairs, careful to stay out of sight. I caught a glimpse of Red. He looked terrible, as if he'd been crying and drinking since yesterday. My heart broke. Wait, why did my heart break? He was an asshole.
    "She's upstairs, sleeping, now leave her alone. She doesn't want to see you anyways,"
    "What do you mean she's upstairs? Did you sleep with her? Oh my... I'm going to lose my shit,"
    "GOD would you stop jumping to conclusions! She was a wreck last night. She asked me to stay with her. We didn't do anything, I swear I wouldn't do that to either Scotty or Rowan, never in a million years," Mark said. I smiled at his response to Red. At this point I decided to slowly walk the rest of the way down the stairs. My heart started racing as I turned the corner into the entry way.
    I locked eyes with Red.
    I locked eyes with Mark.
    One was pleading for me to come closer.
    The other was begging for me to go back upstairs.
    "Rowan..."
    —————————————-

HOLY CRAP GUYS IM SO SORRY. I know a lot of you probably aren't reading anymore, but those of you who stuck around, thank you! I got a job, and between that and traveling have just not had a chance to sit down and write anything.

This is crap, but I'm trying to get back into it without rushing it a long. Hope you enjoy! Let me know with comments and favorites :))