The Waiter and The Musician (Ryden)

Chapter 9

"Ryan," her little voice repeated. Ryan jumped out of bed and threw on a pair of shoes.

"Skylar, sweetie, why are you crying?" Ryan kept his voice as steady as possible so he could avoid upsetting the child anymore. Skylar continued to cry through the phone. "Skylar, tell me what's wrong? Where's your daddy?"

"He's not waking up," she whimpered. Ryan grabbed his keys and ran out the door to his car. 

"What happened?" When Skylar's cries got louder, he knew that she was getting more scared. 

"Baby, you don't need to be scared. I'm coming right now okay. Can you tell me what happened?" 

"Dad was here and he was being loud so daddy made me hide," Skylar started crying harder. "and daddy was screaming then dad left."  

"It's gonna be okay Sky. There's nothing to be afraid of anymore. I'll be there soon. Okay?"

"Okay," she said with a sniffle. 

"Okay. Now can you tell me where you're daddy's at?"

"He's on the floor." Ryan gripped the steering wheel tightly. 

"Sky, I need you to put your hand on your daddy's chest and tell me if your hand moves." Ryan heard the girl moving across the room. After a little, Ryan asked again, "does your hand move when you put it on your daddy's chest?"

"Yeah." Ryan let out a sigh of relief. "Ryan.. I'm scared." 

"No baby. Don't be scared." He heard the girl sniffling. He bit his lip and tried to think about what could calm her. "Hey Sky, wanna sing our song?" There was a small pause before Ryan heard anything.

"Mmhm." 

"Yeah? I'll start okay." He took a breath. He was a few minutes from the house. He just needed to keep her calm over the phone a few more minutes. "When the moon fell in love with the sun." He stopped. "Your turn," he said waiting for Skylar to continue the song.

"All was golden in the sky," she sang softly. They both continued together. "All was golden when the day met the night." Ryan listened to her sing, occasionally singing with her. When he pulled up, he ran inside. Skylar was still singing over the phone as he looked around for them. 

He made his way to the kitchen and spotted Skylar sitting next to an unconscious Brendon on the floor. Skylar held the phone against her ear with both hands as she sang the ending of the song through her sniffles. Ryan's heart pounded in his chest.

"Hey Skylar." She turned around and dropped the phone. Ryan kneeled down and pulled her into his arms. He kissed the top of her head. "It's okay baby. It's gonna be okay," he said to reassure her and himself.

"He's not waking up." He lifted her in his arms and went to Brendon. Skylar pushed her face into Ryan's neck. Ryan pressed two fingers on the side of Brendon's windpipe, relieved when he felt a strong pulse. Ryan worked to comfort the shaking child. She was in her pjs and it hurt him to think that she'd been woken up to what was happening to Brendon. 

"I missed you." She gripped the front of his shirt. 

"I missed you too." He hugged her tightly before setting her down. "Can you go to your room while I take care of daddy?" She nodded. "You're so brave," he said with a smile. She returned it before walking to her room. 

Ryan went over and picked Brendon up bridal style, taking the man to his room. He laid him gently in the bed. He kneeled beside the man, taking in all his injuries. Ryan ran his thumb over Brendon's bruised jaw before moving down to wipe a small amount of blood off his cut lip. He moved his eyes down Brendon's body. Gently lifting the boy's shirt, Ryan saw a bruise spanning over his ribs. He ran his fingers over the tender skin, tears forming in his eyes.