Every Breath You Take [RDJ Fanfic] - COMPLETED

Twenty Two

Almost as soon as he's gone, my day gets worse.  In strolls my two worst nightmares; Devin and my mother.  Both with horrified and tired expressions.  Great, he must have called them.

No words are spoken as Devin sits down on the side of my bed, her arms crossed awkwardly over her torso.  She looks uncomfortable.  So am I.  My mother takes the side Robert was on, and now I'm surrounded.

But my mind's not even on this.  It's on the fact that he just grabbed my pill bottle and left.

"Is someone going to stop him?" I finally speak up, and Devin raises an eyebrow in question.

"Rachel, he's done.  Let him go," she tells me sternly.

"He's leaving with a fucking bottle of narcotics, Devin, he can't have that on him!" I say urgently, forcing myself to sit up.

My jaw stings, tight as I start speaking more, but I'm used to it.

"If he wanted to get high, he would've done it with you," she says simply, and then my mother jumps in, voice steady and face unreadable.

"Why don't we talk about that, though."

"I'd rather not..." I mumble, trying to slyly look around the room to find my phone for a distraction.

"What the hell happened, Rachel?"

"Nothing..."

"Rachel Marie Thomas, you fucking answer my questions, do you understand?!" she yells suddenly, and I know her...she's doing it to avoid being upset.

I blink, nodding, and hang my head down to avoid their stares.  I never, ever fight with her when she gets like this.  Angry, yes.  Upset?  Never. Especially when it's because of me.

"We had a fight.  I came back.  Charlie picked me up."

"How long has he been abusing you?" my mom asks, direct and plain.

"Robert didn't do this!" I gasp, glaring up at her, and she rolls her eyes.

"Stop being dramatic, Rachel.  Devin told me everything."

Devin sighs, shaking her head.  "I'm sorry, Rach, I am...  But really, pain killers?  There's only so much a friend can put up with."

"And for what?" my mom follows up, not giving me a second to defend myself.  "What the hell is possibly so fucked up that you want to suddenly kill yourself?!"

"I didn't try to...ugh!" I groan, tossing my head back and closing my eyes.  "I can't sleep.  I don't sleep at night, because when Charlie has his episodes, it's usually before bed.  And I take them to help me sleep.  Okay?  I'm not trying to fucking die, or whatever you think.  It was an accident, I took a couple extra because this time it was worse, and..."

I trail off, realizing they're finally listening.  And there's suddenly a weight lifted off my shoulders.

"Why did you come back?" my mom asks.

"We had a fight, like I told you already," I snap.

"About?"

"Just...nothing.  Please, can I have something be private?  It was just a fight."

Suddenly, there's warmth on my hand, and I look up to see my mother placing her hand over mine with a concerned look.  She swallows nervously, like I do a lot more often than not, and sighs.

"Okay."  Her voice is softer.  "Okay, here's what we're going to do..."

I shift my gaze nervously between the both of them, until she speaks again.