BlackMoon Beginnings (18 page)

I turn around and look for Liam. Spotting him
leaning against the wall, I slowly walk towards him. I stop in
front of him.

Trying to joke about the situation, I say,
“Well, I didn’t get shot this time.”

He reaches out and grabs me, crushing me to
him. “When I saw him…on you…choking you,” his voice cracks. “I
thought I was too late.” I wrap my arms around his waist and lean
into him.

“You weren’t, Liam. You weren’t.”

“If I was a couple minutes later…he would
have…”

I lean back and look at him. “You can’t think
about that. I’m fine.
You
saved me.”

I yawn and look for Colton next. He finds me
first, “Hey, Ry.”

Walking out of Liam’s arms, I walk towards
him. I start babbling, “I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to you. I just
saw so many people coming towards you, David, Logan, and Tom and I
didn’t want anything to happen to you guys. I love all you guys.
You’re my family now. I just panicked. I didn’t...”

He covers my mouth, “You don’t need to
apologize, Ryanne.” Taking his hand down, he says with a small
smile, “Come on, you need to go rest. I’ll carry you upstairs.” I
let him pick me up. I know that I won’t be able to walk up there on
my own. “I’m taking Ryanne to her room. I’ll be back in a little
bit.”

I snuggle into his chest, dozing off before
he even reaches the stairs. I am jarred awake when he puts me in my
bed.

“Wait, I have to change. I’m covered in dirt,
sweat, and blood.” I say groggily, sitting up on the bed.

“Wait here, I’ll grab you something.” My eyes
start to shut while I am sitting up. My head falls forward, jolting
me awake again. I rub my eyes, trying to remain alert for a little
longer. Colton is on the other side of the room, searching for
clean clothes for me. I should be embarrassed that he’s going
through my drawers, but I’m not. I feel disgusting and am in
desperate need of a shower, but that will have to wait. He shuts
the dresser drawers and walks back to me, placing a t-shirt and
pair of athletic shorts on the bed beside me.

He starts to turn around to leave, but I
reach out and grab his arm, “Wait, please don’t leave me.” So many
fears I have bubble to the surface and I start to panic. I’m afraid
to be alone. I’m afraid that someone is going to come and take me
again. I’m afraid that when I close my eyes, I won’t see any of
these people again. I’m afraid that I am dreaming and I’m still in
the concrete cell.

I’m afraid.

“Just turn around while I change.” He listens
to me and turns around, patiently waiting. I discard my dirty
clothing on the floor and put on the clean ones. The clean soft
fabric feels like Heaven against my dirty rough skin.

I reach out and tap him on the shoulder,
telling him it is safe to turn around. “Will you lay with me until
I fall asleep? I don’t want to be alone.”

He watches me for a few moments, before
crawling over to the other side of bed. He pulls me against him
with one arm and grabs the covers with his other hand. I press
myself against his side, resting my head on his shoulder, finally
feeling warmth for the first time in a couple of days.

“Go to sleep, Ry.”

And I do just that.

I roll over, still half-asleep, but hearing
voices outside my door, I try to get as far away from them as I
can. The image of Adam coming towards me keeps running through my
head. My heart starts beating rapidly, like it wants to escape, and
my breathing increases. I don’t want him anywhere near me. I start
thrashing and squirming. Only when I fall to the ground with a
thud, twisted amongst the blankets and covers, do I fully wake
up.

My bedroom door slams open and two sets of
hands reach down to untangle me and help me up. Standing up, Liam
and Colton both look at me with a worried countenance. I sway as
the room starts spinning around me. Colors stream together, making
it impossible to focus on my surroundings. I realize for the first
time how long it has been since I’ve eaten anything. Colton reaches
out and grabs me before I fall. As if reading my mind, he asks,
“Ryanne, what was the last thing you ate?”

“Umm….Claire’s pancakes.”

He turns me around so I am facing him.
“Claire’s pancakes? The ones she made a week ago?”

I was gone for a week? I’m not sure if I am
surprised because how long I was gone or because it feels like it
was longer than that. “I guess.”

He hands me over to Liam, like I am nothing
more than a ragdoll and says, “Help her. I’m going find her
something to eat.” I watch his back as he leaves the room.

“I’m in desperate need of a shower. I’m sure
I reek,” I tell Liam. He walks me over to the bathroom, grabs a
towel, sets it on the counter, and turns the water on for me. He
turns back to me, a lost look in his eyes.

I giggle at him, “Just knock on the door
every now and then to check and make sure I haven’t passed out or
anything.” Relieved, he nods and gently closes the bathroom door
behind him.

I undress and step into the shower, sitting
directly under the showerhead. I don’t trust myself to stand up.
The last thing I need is to slip and fall. The water warmed to
perfection feels amazing against my skin. All the negativity starts
to slip away the longer I’m in here and peacefulness overcomes me.
I’m completely alone, but tranquil. I close my eyes and angle my
head up, enjoying the feeling of the water cascading down me. I
lather shampoo through my hair, smiling as the sweet-pea aroma
wafts through the bathroom.

I hear a knock on the bathroom door,
reminding me that I am not actually alone anymore. I am surrounded
by people who care about me and are worried. I reach over and turn
the water off, slightly depressed that I have to get out. I know
the second that I leave this room I will be pushed into a corner
with pity, sympathy, and unwanted attention.

I grab the towel and wrap it around me.
Wiping some of the steam off the mirror, I gasp as I see my
reflection for the first time. My skin is paler than usual and
that’s a lot considering I’m always paler than everyone else
anyways. I knew that I had lost some weight, but I didn’t know it
would be so noticeable. I brush my hands through my damp hair,
trying to make it manageable. I know this is a lost cause, because
my hair will curl no matter what I do to it. It has a mind of its
own.

I peek my head out my door and see Liam
sitting on my bed, waiting.

“I need to get dressed. I forgot to grab any
clothes.”

When he leaves the room, I run over to the
dresser. Did I want to wear sweats, or did I want to look nice?
Decisions. Decisions. Deciding to try and look nice, I grab a pair
of white shorts and a black top. I frown when I put the shirt on.
It had once been tight, but now it hangs loose across my
stomach.

I walk back to the door and open it,
signaling for the two guys standing outside that they can come in.
Colton is carrying a small tray of food: crackers, small pieces of
fruit, and a cold bottle of water adorn the tray. Condensation is
dripping down the sides. I stare at it, feeling my mouth water in
the process.

Colton pats the area beside him on the bed.
My eyes stare at the tray greedily. Liam laughs at me and grabs my
hand, dragging me along behind me. He puts his hands around my
waist and lifts me onto the bed. Sitting Indian style, I stare down
at the food that Colton has placed in front of me. I’m hungry—my
stomach is growling loudly in anticipation, but I can’t get myself
to actually eat anything.

Colton said, “Ryanne, eat something. You need
it. I can tell you’ve lost weight.”

I grab an apple slice and slowly nibble on
it, trying to avoid their piercing gazes. “Please stop staring. I’m
fine.”

“Logan told us what happened.”

I grab one of the crackers and bite in it,
trying to keep my expression neutral. “Everything?” They both nod
at me, “Oh.” They continue staring at me, as if expecting me to
break at any second. “I don’t like feeling weak,” I admit.

Liam pats my arm, “Ryanne, you are anything
but weak. You were tortured and refused to give any information
away. That’s not weak.”

“I don’t think any one of us would have been
as strong as you were,” says Colton.

I look between Colton and Liam, “So what’s
going on between you two?” I turn to Colton, “Yesterday, you
attacked him when he brought me here and today you guys are talking
like you’re friends.”

“We realized that we have a common goal.” I
wait for either of them to explain, but neither one do.
Boys.

“I can’t eat anymore. My stomach is starting
to hurt.” I only ate half of the tray of food, but my stomach feels
like I have eaten nothing by junk food for a week straight.

“At least you ate something,” says Colton
picking up the tray. “I’ll go take this back downstairs. I’ll be
back in a minute.”

When Colton leaves the room, Liam turns to
me, “How are you holding up? What happened this morning? Colton and
I heard you cry out.”

I look out the window and notice the rain,
steady and heavily falling. I slowly draw my gaze towards him. “I
dreamt about him last night. Adam. I was fine with just being
slapped around by Dravin and that stupid Thomas guy,” I say. “But
Adam made it personal. He wasn’t looking for information. He wanted
to actually cause me permanent damage.” Liam’s body tenses, his
hands clenching. He stares off into space, seemingly lost in his
thoughts for a moment.

Without looking at me, he says, “I’ll do what
I can to make sure you don’t have any more nightmares about him. I
can help.”

“How did you find me anyways?”

“Emma. She was having a nightmare and I was
sent to help her fight it. She was dreaming about what could be
happening to you. I knew right then that that wasn’t a nightmare,
but her actual fears being visualized. I was able to tell from what
she was thinking where you might be. She helped save your life,
Ryanne.”

I open my mouth to reply when I hear a knock
at the door. Turning around, I see Emma standing there, with the
same worried expression I’ve seen on everyone else’s faces.

“Sorry for interrupting, I just wanted to see
how Ryanne was doing.”

Liam reaches out and pats my leg, silently
telling me that he is going to leave, “You didn’t interrupt
anything. I was just leaving. You two girls talk.”

Emma walks past Liam and takes his place on
my bed. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine. Really, you don’t have to worry
about me. I’ll be back to full strength in a couple days time.” I
smile, hoping that she will stop reminding me about the situation.
I just want to forget what happened and move on. “Can we please not
talk about it anymore?”

“Of course, I understand.”

“I’m sorry. I just don’t want people to worry
about me for too long. I’m alive and I’ll get better. I want, no
need
, to move on. I don’t want to dwell on what could have
happened. It’s in the past and I can’t change it, but I can change
the future and that is what I want to focus on. You know?”

“Yeah, you don’t have to explain yourself to
me.” I can tell that she doesn’t understand fully, but knows enough
not to question me further. She remains silent for a minute, before
turning back to me grinning mischievously.

“So…that’s another cute guy you’ve got pining
for you.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Psh, Liam. You should have seen them. All
the guys were pacing outside of your door last night, making sure
you were all right and everything. They were freaking out. It was
kind of adorable. They care so much about you.”

Shaking my head, I reply, “Liam’s not
‘pining’ for me. I’m not even really sure if I know what that
means. I’ve talked with him a couple times during dreams, or
dreamish things, but nothing is going on. Anyways, what about you
and David?

Her eyes widen. So, I
was
on to
something. “David…is...well he…I-I’m not the one he’s interested
in.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because he can’t keep his eyes off of
you.”

“Emma, I’m the one who can read minds here.
Granted, I don’t do it often, but I know for a fact that he isn’t
interested in me like that. David is like an older brother to me
and he’s never treated me as anything but. He likes you.”

Getting up off of the bed, Emma starts
walking towards the door. Motioning to me, she says, “Come on,
Ryanne.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the entertainment room. To watch a movie
with our friends. What else would we do in a time of war?”
Laughing, she walks out of the room. I start to follow her, a movie
sounds nice at this moment. “Oh, and you can’t tell David that I
like him.”

“I won’t tell him.”

“Thanks. Oh, and I won’t tell Colton that you
like him.” How does she know about that? My mouth falls open, my
eyes widen, and I feel my face redden. When I finally come back
into my senses, she is already walking into the room.

Running after her, I say loudly, “What the
heck are you talking about?” How did she know about that? I was
pretty sure I wasn’t that obvious.

Everyone in the room turns around and looks
at me as I enter the room. Emma turns around and winks at me before
sitting next to David.

“What are you two girls talking about?”

“Umm…” I rack my brain for anything to say,
but draw a blank.

“We were talking about which actor was
hotter, Chris Evans as Captain America or Chris Hemsworth as Thor.
She doesn’t agree with me when I say that Evans is hotter.” She
covers smoothly.

I quietly thank her and scoff, “I can’t
believe you think that. Thor is way better. Hemsworth is a fine
specimen of a man.”

“Ha, and Evans isn’t?”

“Girls, girls. There’s no need to fight over
this. You are in the presence of someone better anyways.” David
says, “Me.”