Silently Falling ORIGINAL: Chapter Twenty Five

West's POV ;)

I've had my suspicions of Warren since the first day of school. I didn't like him the second he opened his mouth, and the closer I've gotten to Raine, the more I've grown to hate Warren.

My dislike has been backed by the way the guys react to him, and especially by the way Raine reacts to him. He makes her nervous, worried, scared; and I'm not okay with that.

The stunt he pulled tonight made her shake with fear, and it made me shake with anger. I was prepared to give him a beating some received in juvie, beatings that lead to jail transfers and hospital visits, but Toby seemed keen on doing it instead, leaving me to comfort Raine.

I was worried I wasn't going to be able to control my anger, I was worried I would scare her further. But the moment my eyes landed on her quivering figure, everything in me softened and I just wanted to stop her crying.

Holding her sobbing figure hit me harder than I had anticipated; the more she shook the more my heart broke. There's nothing worse than holding the girl you've come to care about while she cries and not being able to do anything about it.

I glance through the rear view mirror of my Jeep as another small sob passes through her, and my hands clench the steering wheel tighter. Now that she's out of my arms, my anger has returned and all I seem to want to do is pound Warren into the ground.

Gray glances over at me from the passenger seat but doesn't say anything. No one does. The ride is completely silent aside from Raine's occasional sob.

We pull up to their house, the clock showing 1:00 AM. I turn the car off and get out, ready to carry Raine to her room; but before I can even get to her side, Toby steps from the car with her cradled in his arms. He doesn't waste a second and walks up the driveway and porch, carrying her inside without a word said. I stay by my car, my jaw clenched tight as I replay the scene that lead to this.

I had just gotten back to our spot by the staircase with both of our waters, but she wasn't there. I figured she probably found Toby so I went to go find him, only to have him ask where she was. He panicked more than I had, and next thing I knew the two of us were storming the upstairs. He wouldn't answer any of my questions as he barged into every room, walking in on many couples.

He was still frantic after every room was checked, and I finally managed an answer from him.

I can't let it happen to her again.

Then we heard a crash downstairs and we bolted down the steps before I could comprehend his words. We ran into a vacant room, and the scene that stood before me made every cell in my body fill with rage.

There stood Warren, pinning Raine painfully against the wall, his pants unzipped and his hand far up her dress. Her eyes were clenched tightly together, tears falling down her cheeks and her body shaking. I reacted quicker than Toby and threw Warren off of her with strength I didn't know I held.

With everything that happened, I had no time to think. Now, however, Toby's words flow through my mind as I try to decipher their code.

"West, calm down man. She's okay." Gray says, causing my intense gaze to shift from the door to him.

Instead of nodding or letting this whole debacle go, I speak my mind.

"This isn't the first time this has happened to her, is it?" I ask curtly.

Instantly he looks over to Alyse and they share a look that basically answers my question for me.

"I'm not an idiot, Gray. I've seen all the signs, I've pieced all the bits of evidence together." I begin, glancing over at Alyse as well. They both look away and I continue.

"It hasn't been too hard to figure out. All the signs have been there, I just had to put them together. First the fact all of y'all hate Warren, then the fact Raine is practically terrified of him. The way she avoids parties all because she 'had a bad experience at one.' How all of you seemed to know what happened as soon as you saw her crying. Not to mention every single word Toby yelled into Warren's face as he beat him up." I say, looking back to Gray.

He sighs and looks down. "It's not my place to tell you."

I look at Alyse and she shakes her head, staying quiet.

I let out a long breath of irritation and nod. I know they can't tell me, but their lack of confirmation gives me all the confirmation I need.

I hear the front door open and my eyes snap towards it to see Toby walking towards us rather confusedly. I stand up straight and walk to him.

"How is she?" I instantly ask.

"She asked for you." He says, sounding slightly surprised.

I furrow my brow in confusion, "She did?"

He nods and I look up at the window of her room, my brain working a mile a minute. I waste no time and start to walk up her sidewalk and then walk inside, quickly running up the steps without taking my eyes off the target.

I enter her room and see her sitting on her bed, her knees pulled to her chest with her chin resting atop them. Her eyes are focused on something ahead of her, and she has on her brothers sweatshirt rather than her dress.

I go and sit in the chair next to her bedside, catching her attention. Her eyes trail over to me and then back to the front of her. I follow her gaze and see her eyes focused on her mother's piano and I frown.

"Hey Sunshine." I say, watching the twitch of a smile on her lips, but it's gone all too soon and my heart drops.

"I'm sorry." I begin, fiddling with my fingers. "I shouldn't have left your side when I promised I would stay by it the whole night."

Her eyes trail back to me and she furrows her brow.

"I got the water bottles as soon as I walked into the kitchen, ready to walk back to you, but Sydney stopped me and started talking to me." I explain, swallowing to keep my emotions from taking over my voice. "I tried to just walk away from her, but she was relentless and dead set on having a conversation with me. I continued to ignore her and kept trying to just get back to you, but she wouldn't leave me alone. She kept asking for me to dance, but you were the only one I wanted to dance with." I explain regretfully.

If only I hadn't left her side.

"By the time I got away from her and back to you, you weren't there. I figured you just went to find Toby, so I did the same to find you. Only when I found him, he was watching Alyse dance with that guy and you weren't anywhere to be found. He asked me where you were and I asked him the same, then he freaked out and started running towards the steps. He sprinted upstairs and stormed every goddamn room, leaving me to follow in pure confusion. Then we heard the crash downstairs and..." I trail off and shake my head, angry at myself for leaving her side.

This is my fault.

"If I hadn't left your side Warren would have never come for you and you wouldn't be this upset, this scared. I broke the only promise I made to you tonight. Some friend I am." I scoff, shaking my head at myself.

I feel a soft hand rest atop mine, sending a wave of warmth up my arm, and I look over at Raine. Her gentle eyes scan mine and she shakes her head.

"It wasn't your fault, West." She signs.

I swallow back my emotions and frown, "It is though, I shouldn't have left your side."

"West, you were there to stop him. Don't blame yourself." She signs, shaking her head at me.

I lift my hand and gently caress her cheek, my thumb trailing along the bruised mark from Warren's hand. She leans into my touch and closes her eyes for a brief moment.

"He should rot in a cell for hurting you." I say quietly, keeping my eyes focused on the dark wound.

She looks down and my hand drops, landing back by my side. Her eyelids begin to droop and I sigh.

"You should get some sleep." I say gently.

She shakes her head and tries to keep her eyes open.

"We all know you need your beauty sleep." I joke lightly, causing her to give me a lazy grin, but she still fights to keep her eyes open. "Are you afraid of what you might dream about?" I suggest, watching as her eyes shamefully look down before she nods.

Without words I kick my shoes off and climb into the bed with her. I lift the covers and get in, fully aware of her surprised eyes watching me lay down.

I don't blame her- this was a bold move.

I rest my head on her pillow and look into her confused eyes.

I open my arms, "Come here, I'll keep the nightmares away." I say quietly, my heart starting to beat faster.

I see the shock in her eyes, but relief masks it and she slowly sinks down into the covers, resting her head atop my chest rather than her pillow, which makes me smile lightly. I wrap my arms around her and she places her hands on my chest, her head tucked under my chin.

It doesn't surprise me how right this feels.

"Goodnight, Sunshine." I whisper, rubbing my thumb gently on her shoulder.

She nods slightly as a response, and just moments later the smooth rhythm of her breathing tells me she's fallen asleep. I sigh and try to take this moment to get caught up on all that happened tonight.

I look down at Raine and smile gently at the sight. Her lips are pursed and slightly parted, her eyelashes are long and beautiful, and the moonlight from her window glistens off of them. I lift a hand to brush a stray strand of hair from her face, laughing quietly at the way her nose scrunches from the contact.

My smile fades all too quickly when I think of my question to Gray and Alyse earlier.

This isn't the first time this has happened to her, is it?

My thumb continues to trail her cheek as my brain mulls over everything. A small smile lifts her lips and makes me smile softly as well.

All the signs are there. I pretty much know what Warren has done to her before, now I just need to wait for her to tell me. It hurts a little that she hasn't told me already, I like to think we're close enough to admit our pasts to one another. But I can't expect her to open up to me when I still have secrets of my own. I haven't told her the full story of my trial and why I was sent to juvie, and she hasn't once questioned me about it. Even with the essay, she never flat out asked why I was sent, and I appreciated it more than she would know.

Now that we're close and now that I care about her so much, I feel bad not having told her sooner. I can't assume she's going to tell me her deepest secret if I refuse to tell her mine.

I sigh and push my thoughts away for another time. For now I just want to enjoy this moment. I set a soft kiss on Sunshine's head and rest my cheek against it, finally closing my eyes and welcoming sleep.

A/N: Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? VOTE!