I knew Ryan wouldn't go far, especially not when his parents were about to come home to an officer on their front porch, so I stayed to answer any questions I could for the police. They kept it short, knowing I was still a bit frazzled. When my dad was loaded into an ambulance the medics asked if I wanted to ride with him. I did want to go to the hospital with my dad, but I was too worried about Ryan to leave him here alone; I certainly wouldn't leave without telling him first. So, I politely decline and said I would come by after. Ryan was my first priority right now, and besides, Sylvia would be with my dad anyway and I knew she would take good care of him.

"Since your dad's in the hospital, we'll have a car come pick you up tomorrow for more information," an officer said. He had been instructed to stay and wait for Ryan's parents to return home so he could speak with them about the incident. "Do you have a number we can call?" he asked.

I shook my head at the officer. "I lost my cellphone," I told him. Really, it had been taken from me by Steven's men, but that was unnecessary information so I left it out. "Can you just give me a time? I can drop by around 6:00pm or 7:00pm if you want. I can walk."

The officer nodded and asked if I be at the police station by 6:00pm for further questioning. I agreed and watched as all but one of the police cars and the ambulance drove off. The house grew silent, apart from the waiting officer occasionally speaking over his walkie-talkie, and I drifted away from him to walk to the back door. From the back porch, I could see the gate was open wide, indicating where Ryan had gone. I sighed to myself. Ryan was probably out there pacing or something, overthinking what he'd done and overreacting too. That was the first time I'd ever seen him react in that way, and it was kind of scary. But I wasn't mad at him, I wasn't even upset. If anything, I was concerned about him.

Deciding I needed to talk to him, I stepped outside and closed the back door behind me. The air was a little chilly, but I hardly noticed it as I walked to the gate and looked out. The streets were dark. Ryan had told me he often took walks at night because it was when the world was at the most peace. My feet quickly carried me to the first place I thought of: the park. As I had expected, I saw Ryan standing on the far side, facing towards the trees away from me. He was very still. I watched him for a moment, letting him relax in his own way. He probably didn't want to see me right now, but I had to talk to him.

After a few minutes, I finally started towards him. At first he didn't move, but as I got closer, he seemed to sense my presence. When I was only a few feet away he spoke. "Don't," he sad. "Please, I just want to be alone."

I didn't leave. "Ryan, I'm not mad," I said.

"I said go away," he snapped, sounding sharper than I'd ever heard him.

I jumped a little at his tone, but still remained where I was. "Ryan..."

He sighed. "Can't you just let me deal with this? You're just going to make it worse..." he said. He took a shaky breath. "I can take care of this by myself."

I stared at his back, my heart going out to him in that moment. I stepped forward cautiously and wrapped my arms around him, pressing my cheek to his back. He tensed up, intending to pull away, but I squeezed him tightly, stubbornly refusing to let him go. "You're right, but you don't have to," I said. As soon as those words left my mouth his shoulders relaxed and he looked down at my hands looped around him. I smiled and snuggled close to him, knowing I had made the right choice not to leave. "You know, a very smart and brave person said the same thing to me not too long ago. I was in a horrible state and those simple, kind words... They changed everything." I stood on my tip toes and kissed the back of his neck, my lips barely brushing his skin. "That person saved my life," I said softly.

There was a long stretch of silence as he took my hands in his and sighed deeply. "I never meant to show you that side of me..." he finally admitted.

I nodded slowly. "I know... and it did scare me a little... But you don't have to act like it's the end of everything." I laughed a little to try and ease the tension.

He still seemed a little hesitant, so I released him and walked around so I could see his face. His cheeks were red from the cold and he looked nervous, his eyes flitting this way and that. I laced our fingers and smiled, encouraging him to speak his mind. Finally, he bit his lip. "But if I lost you then it would be the end of everything... Because you are my everything," he said.

He stared into my eyes sincerely and I let a happy blush seep into my cheeks. I smiled as my heart beat in my ears. "Well, you haven't lost me yet, have you? So, dry those tears and smile a little. Okay?"

His eyes bore holes into my own as he leaned forward, his hand going up to cradle my upper neck as he pulled me towards him, pressing his lips to mine passionately. I put my arms on his chest so I could support myself and leaned closer into the kiss. It seemed like it lasted an eternity. I felt like all the love I'd been stripped of was finally being returned in one fell swoop, and when I pulled away, I was teary eyed. Ryan looked worried. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I laughed and put my face in his chest to hide my tears. "I'm more than okay," I said. When I had composed myself, I looked up. "I know the qualifications for your promised date were violated, but you scared the shit out of me back there," I said. "So, to make up for it, I think you're still going to take me on that date."

He smiled for the first time that night and pulled my hips to meet his, his hands resting on my lower back as he held me. "Absolutely. I can take a punishment like that," he said.

I shook my head. "It's not a punishment," I told him. But I was relieved he was back to making jokes. Ryan was back to normal. I traced my fingers in circles on his back as I asked, "Hey... That yelling I heard before, when I got shot... Was that really you?"

He hesitated. "Yeah... I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid it would scare you..." he said. "I don't want you to think I'm someone who can be violent."

I shrugged. "Well, I heard all of it; and it did scare me," I admitted. Ryan slumped his shoulders and I chuckled and started walking towards the house, pulling him with me. "But, damn. Peel every piece of skin from his body? That's a hard job. At least I know you'll do anything for me," I joked.

Ryan laughed a little uncomfortably. "Yeah..."

I squeezed his hands to make him look at me and I smiled. "At least you're on my side," I said.

We talked for a while, circling the house a good three times before actually going in since Ryan wasn't in the mood to have to explain everything to his parents just yet, and I didn't want to have to talk about it either. However, out prolonged return caused Ryan's parents to completely freaked out when they saw us, repeatedly asking why there had been a call from the police and why we hadn't been home when they got there. Ryan assured his parents that we were fine and that we had just taken a walk. They still asked us what the police had wanted and I had nudged Ryan as a warning of not to tell them, or at the very least, not while I was there. I didn't want it to have to talk about it.

"Jacob's dad was sent to the hospital," Ryan said. "But it's kind of Jacob's business, so I can't say much more."

Ryan's parents still seemed wary, but after a few more questions, they let us go up to Ryan's room. As soon as the door closed, Ryan laid his head on my shoulder. "Why do they have to be so pesky?" he muttered.

I chuckled and took his hands, leading him towards the bed. "Because parents are pesky. They get hypnotized at their wedding to stay pesky for the rest of their lives," I said.

Ryan forced me on my back and looked down at me, grinning. "Then I guess I won't be proposing to you any time soon," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "You're too young to get married anyways."

He leaned down and kissed my neck slowly. "So?" he whispered. "I don't care about any of that. I just like being close to you."

His elbow hit my side and I paled with the pain. "Ouch, ouch, ouch. Watch the side..." I hissed, pushing urgently at his shoulders.

He sat up quickly. "Sorry! Did I hurt you?" he asked.

I snickered. "I said ouch, didn't I?" I asked. He frowned and I chuckled, pulling him back to me. "Little steps right now. I still have to heal."

He pouted. "No fair," he said.

I laughed at him. He was cute. "You can squeeze me all you want as soon as my side is healed," I promised.

His frown disappeared and he smiled brightly. He kissed my nose and I blushed, making his smile widen. "Little steps, right?"

I couldn't hide my own smile and nodded. "Little steps."

*******

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