Crushed (41 page)

Sophie wondered if they were each looking for relief or further disappointment in his expression.

Rylan glanced at them all in turn, seemingly confused by the sudden attention.

Then, like the angel that he was, he smiled at them.

"Well, I never was a fast runner anyway." He shrugged, still grinning stupidly.

Teddy began to cry without reservation and Gwyn turned away, cupping her mouth with her hand.

They were the closest to Rylan so they saw when the first few tears slid down his cheeks.

While he was grinning like a fool, his eyes were overflowing with tears of disappointment and fear.

Sophie clutched at her chest, willing herself not to cry. She had to pretend to be strong. If she started crying, that would leave Robert to be the responsible adult.

"You'll get out of chores for months." Sophie added, smiling back at him while brushing away her few tears. "It'll be fun. All the junk food and TV you could want."

"You guys will have to keep up the patient treatment too. That's been really great." Rylan replied. Even though she could see him crumbling inside, he seemed relieved at her attempt to play along.

"You'll have all the time in the world to practice your video-game skills. Maybe you'll finally beat me one of these days." Robert continued. His voice was the calmest in the room, and his face was a perfect mask.

Rylan and Sophie were struggling to keep up the act, but Robert was a pro when it came to pretending.

Teddy ran over to Robert, jumping in his lap and throwing his arms around him. Robert's smile faltered as he comforted him. Maybe pretending wasn't as easy for him as she'd thought.

"Will you all shut up?" Gwyn shouted, startling them all. "Can't we just accept that this situation sucks right now? Stop looking at the bright-side! There's nothing bright about it." She was staring at them all with desperate eyes that screamed at the unfairness of it all. "You're not making anything better!"

Rylan slipped his hand around hers, and she pulled away. He tried a few more times, and finally she allowed him to capture her hand.

"Hey," He whispered.

"Stop." She ordered. "Don't try to comfort me. I'm not going to let you."

"Hey," He said again, this time smiling genuinely.

All traces of his tears had vanished.

Sophie suspected that his strength came in the form of protecting someone else. He'd come close to breaking down, but now he remembered that he had to be strong for Gwyn.

She'd been right that he was stupid. Rylan was the most foolish sixteen year old boy in the world, but he was still perfect. If Sophie was his age, she would be swooning at how absolutely angelic he was being.

"Hey, look a me." He whispered to her. She turned reluctantly to look at him. "At least you won't have to worry about me running away from you." He motioned to his leg. "I can't leave you, so we'll just have to walk at the same pace. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Sophie laughed at how cheesy the line was, and Gwyn was laughing too, through her tears. Rylan, who had probably spent days coming up with the line, looked hurt that they were amused by his statement.

His eyes grew wide with disappointment, but Gwyn quickly displaced it when she leaned in close to him.

Despite everyone watching them in the room, she swooped down and kissed Rylan on the lips.

The kiss lasted briefly, as it was only a peck, but in seconds Rylan's face had turned the color of a lobster. His eyes had grown ever wider, and his mouth dropped open into a 'o' shape. His hand lifted to his lips as he tried to stutter some kind of reply.

Sophie laughed again, this time turning to see shock flickering in Robert's expression. Mid-kiss he'd covered Teddy's eyes with one hand, and was pointing at them with another.

"Those two are...?" He asked, his mouth hanging open similar to Rylan's.

"It must be nice being oblivious." Sophie commented, shaking her head. "So much for being a clever thief. Couldn't even spot a budding romance under your own nose."

"I knew they were close, but..." He glanced at Gwyn, looking like he felt betrayed. "Since when?" He asked in mock angst.

"Since always." She said as she fled the room.

Teddy struggled against Rylan. "Let go!" He ordered, clawing at Robert's hand. "I want to see!"

Rylan was still reeling in shock. He seemed like he was trying to call out for her, but he was choked on his words.

"Well..." Robert began, studying Rylan closely. "There's another good thing about being wounded."

"Let go!" Teddy ordered again, sounding angry. "Are they having sex?"

Shock returned to every face as each person turned to stare at Teddy. Robert dropped his hand, turning Teddy to him.

"What did you just say?" Robert's voice was dripping with surprise.

Teddy glanced at them all in turn, his eyes narrowing as he registered the situation he'd gotten himself into. He hadn't known at the time, but using the "s" word was obviously the wrong thing to say.

"N...nothing."

"It didn't sound like nothing." Sophie stood and walked towards him. "Teddy did you just say sex?"

"No!" Teddy tried to make a dash for it, but Robert locked his arms around the eight-year old's waist.

"Where did you learn a word like that?" Robert asked, his eyebrow raising.

"TV." Teddy answered guiltily, bowing his head in shame. The clever kid was trying every strategy he had to avoid trouble. When he knew the shame card wasn't working, he turned to blame. "It was on a show Rylan was watching!"

Robert and Sophie glared at Rylan who raised his hands in innocence.

"WOAH, woah, woah. Don't turn this on me!" Rylan looked like he was struggling to formulate a coherent thought. First, he was kissed out of the blue, and now he was being accused of a new crime. "Teddy, I never watch TV! Tell the truth."

Teddy muttered a jumbled excuse and broke free of Robert's grip, racing for freedom.

He was out of the kitchen in seconds.

"Those siblings are going to be the death of me." Rylan complained, covering his face with his hands.

"Who's in charge of what Teddy watches on television?" Sophie placed her hands on her hips, her mother-instincts flaring. Rylan didn't hesitate before throwing Robert under the bus.

"How did this get turned around on me?" Robert asked, looking insulted that he was sold out.

"You're the oldest." Rylan reminded him quietly, glancing worriedly between him and Sophie.

"You are the oldest." Sophie repeated, glaring at him. She punched him twice on the shoulder. "You could at least pretend to be some kind of parental figure."

"Ow, ow!" Robert tried to avoid her, but she'd already gotten in a few solid hits.

"You get the privilege of explaining it to him." Sophie ordered finally. "Someone has to before he gets the wrong idea."

"What?" Robert's expression twisted with dread. He thought for a moment before smiling sweetly up at her. "Why should it be me? I'm an innocent...I don't know anything about subjects like that." He thrust a finger at Rylan. "Why not him? He obviously knows more about relationships than I thought. You saw the proof!" Robert smirked at Rylan, silently declaring victory.

"Oh, come on!" Rylan scowled back at Robert. "I'm not old enough."

Sophie punched Robert on the shoulder again. "What was that for?" He asked, jumping away.

"You're both being immature, but he's injured, so I can only hit you."

Robert scowled, but thought up a new idea before she could go back to selecting him.

"Since none of us are willing to take the task, let's go back to the sacred rules of nose goes."

Sophie had recently been informed of their "sacred" game. Nose goes was probably the most basic form of rock-paper-scissors in the world. The person who touched their nose last was it, and even though the principle was elementary, they all jumped instantly to touch their noses.

Everyone exchanged long glances, and smiled together as the verdict was reached.

"GWYN!" They shouted together.

*  *  *

After informing Gwyn of her new duty as a big sister, Sophie and Robert slipped out of the house, hoping to avoid the talk.

It was still surprising for Sophie how the atmosphere had turned from grim to joking in a matter of minutes. She'd heard a million times how families came together in times of need, but she'd never really felt that warmth until now. Even while facing the awful reality before them, they'd all been able to find comfort in each other.

The sun was setting in the distance, which bathed them in orange light. Robert slipped his hand around hers, and led her to the tire swing in the front yard. They sat down together beneath the tree, not letting go of each other's hands.

"What a day." Robert mused, shaking his head. "There should be a limit to how much someone can find out in twenty-four hours."

"You really shouldn't be complaining." Sophie joked, grinning. "The Rylan and Gwyn thing has been going on forever. You were just too blind to see it."

Robert's smile faded momentarily. "I guess I'm an awful guardian, huh?"

Sophie squeezed his hand. "Well, you're just going to have to step up your game. We're the only influence they have...so we should probably start acting more like guardians and less like friends. You can start by monitoring what Teddy watches on television."

Robert laughed at her comment, shaking his head. "I think a month ago I wouldn't have been up to the challenge, but now that you're my copilot, I guess we can handle them all together."

"Excuse me?" Sophie's eyes widened. "Since when did I get ungraded to copilot? I feel like I'm still in flight attendant territory."

"You were the one who used 'we'. The two of us are in this together now, darling. Partners."

Sophie frowned, realizing that she had asked to be a team first. "This is crazy. I'm twenty-one, and I'm in charge of looking after two teenagers and an eight-year old. The math does not add up."

"They're good kids though." Robert reminded her gently. "It shouldn't be that hard."

"Yeah, I'm kind of looking forward to it." Sophie smiled. "Spending everyday together. It'll be fun."

Neither of them brought up how their time together was limited. The reason they were together now was because of the mission, and the days ahead were not going to be easy.

"So...Gwyn and Rylan?" Robert began, breaking the momentary silence.

"I can't believe you didn't see it before. They're always together!"

"I thought it was more like a brother and sister kind of thing. I never thought Gwyn would have it in her to just kiss him like that."

"Poor, Rylan." Sophie laughed. "He didn't know what to do."

"Hopefully that took his mind off everything." Robert winked down at her. "When I was sixteen, that's all I would be thinking about."

"Should we let it go, or never let them live it down?"

"Hmm, good question." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Even though Rylan's injured, I think he's strong enough to take a little teasing. Teddy will probably remind them every minute anyway."

"Do you think we should've been the one's to deal with the Teddy situation?"

"Probably, but it'll give Gwyn some time to let her embarrassment fade." Robert winced before continuing. "I can only imagine the aftermath of the talk. Teddy is going to be filled with questions."

"I've never been more happy to be a girl." Sophie closed her eyes, praying that she wouldn't be Teddy's first target. "I'm going to send him straight to you."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Robert scowled down at her.

They both laughed together, falling silent as they stared up at the darkening sky.