Help Me

Just A Bit Of Empty Bed Syndrome

Rye

"Get some rest mate. We'll be here when you wake up." Rye softly spoke. He smiled when Mikey's hand found his, gently curling his fingers into Mikey's.
"Thank you... And I'm sorry." Rye heard Mikey murmur sleepily, the smile still on his face when Mikey squeezed his hand tightly. Mikey was always clingy when he was tired.
"Any time mate, the boys are all agreeing with me... What are you sorry for?" Rye asked, frown on his face as he briefly looked up at the boys. They were still shaken from what had occurred, but now confusion was etched alongside the worry.

Mikey's next words had Rye squeezing his eyes shut as he fought tears. "Being a burden." Rye heard Mikey breath quietly, before he seemed to fall into uneasy rest. Mikey's vice like grip on his hand slackened, so Rye made sure that he had a firm grasp on it. With his eyes closed, Rye made sure that Mikey was secure in his arms before he began to play with Mikey's hair... The one thing that seemed to calm Mikey down the most, or at least the one thing that gave his friend some respite.

At Mikey's words Andy's face had dropped, and as Rye opened his eyes he watched Andy silently cry, the eldest member of the band's eyes never leaving Mikey's sleeping form. Seeing Mikey like this seemed to break something in the four of them as they watched him sleep wordlessly. None of them knew what to say. After all, how did you respond to something like that? But Rye knew that he had to say something.

"You're not a burden Mikey... You're never a burden." Rye whispered, bringing Mikey even closer as he hugged him tight. But it seemed that Mikey was already asleep, too far gone to comprehend what Rye had said.
"Please understand that... You have to know that." He continued speaking to his friends sleeping form, ignoring the looks he was getting from the boys. Then he froze as Mikey tossed in his sleep, his head restlessly moving from side to side, stress marks forming on his forehead. Rye ruffled Mikey's hair softly, pressing his lips to the top of his head.
"You're safe mate... You're safe. Calm down, nothing's going to hurt you... I won't let anyone hurt you again." Rye vowed quietly, sighing in relief when Mikey mumbled something unintelligible as he stilled. Rye thought that Mikey would be more comfortable on his own bed, rather than curled up awkwardly on the sofa, so as gently as he could Rye lifted Mikey, slowly, calming him when he stirred. He carried him the few steps, laying Mikey down as he tucked the covers securely around him. Rye watched for a few seconds, biting his nails, just watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. His eyes raked over the vivid cut across one half of his face, and the marks that covered his arms and the slashes that were visible on his chest. The bruises around his neck had mostly faded now, but Rye couldn't get the image of Mikey out of his head... The image of when they found him on the floor, bleeding and in pain, confused and cold, and scared.

That image would never leave him, he knew.

"Rye." A voice murmered behind him. He turned slowly, head bent low, not even realising that tears were slowly trickling down his cheeks. "Oh Rye..." Then a pair of arms wrapped around him, and he rested his head on their shoulder. He could already tell that it was Andy, just from the way he was being held. Only Andy held people like that, like they needed support, even though it was clear that Andy needed support too.
"You don't have to do this alone anymore Rye... We can help." He said softly into Rye's ear. At that point Rye began to shake, clutching onto Andy's jumper. Rye knew that Mikey was going to be fine, after all, he was Mikey Cobban, but he just couldn't get the image of Mikey out of his head. Out of everything he'd seen, that was the one thing that had shaken him up the most. That was the one thing that made him stop and think about the consequences, about the knock-on effects. Because it wasn't just one person affected by it. It was everyone that that one person was close to, and then the people that the other's were close to...

All of this, because one man wanted some money. And to prey on the innocent.

Rye vowed to himself again. He vowed to himself that he would never let Mikey get hurt ever again.