Remi is sitting on the couch in the living room of the house that she shares with her sister, Eden.  She glances over at Ryan, who was sitting on the couch as well.  She bites on her bottom lip a bit before taking a deep breath and tugging at her simple tee.

REMI “So….”

She glances over at him again, as if she was nervous or a bit perplexed.

Sitting back and looking at the TV Ryan is comfortable where he is. Shirtless with his grey sweat pants while he moves his feet over the soft fur of Dash on the floor. From the corner of his eye he catches Remi look nervous, like she’s going to blow if she doesn’t say anything.

RYAN “So? You doing alright?”

He asks but doesn’t tear his eyes away from the TV. He couldn't answer anything Remi would ask, probably  she wants to go out.

RYAN“If you wanted to go out you can just ask.”

She raises an eyebrow at him as she looks down at Dash, as he slept on the floor.  She watches the puppy for a minute, her blue eyes on the dog for a moment or two. She sighs and takes her eyes off of the puppy to place them on Ryan once more.

REMI “If I wanted to go out, I don't think I'd be wearing sweatpants and a tshirt.”

She shrugs her shoulders before messing with her hair a bit.  It was turquoise this week and she had it on top of her head in a messy bun with a few pieces around her face that refused to stay in the bun.

REMI “Plus...didn't we say we were going to talk?”

She looks down at her lap, staring at her legs as if there was something mesmerizing on the simple grey pants.

Pursing his lips slowly Ryan nods once before grabbing the remote to shut the TV off. It was obvious to him that Rem wants to have that talk sooner than later. Moving his body as he turns to Rem his blue eyes are set on her, giving her his attention.

RYAN”Alright.. You wanna talk. Let’s talk.”

He turns a bit serious since this isn’t one of those easy talks they can just brush off later. Ryan wants to know who he’s with and Rem should get the same treatment.  He moves his inked hand and guides it over her thigh and gives it a squeeze.

RYAN”Tell me, what do you want to know? Or what do you want ME to know?”

She bites her bottom lip before turning her eyes to look at Ryan and into his eyes. She places her hand over his for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.

REMI “Um. I don't know? I've never …. Done this type of thing before. Every guy...is usually pushed away before it can get to this point.”

She looks back down a her lap, avoiding his gaze for a moment. She reaches up and pulls the hair tie from her hair, letting her brightly colored hair fall down around her shoulders.

REMI “I mean, if you want to run, you can…”

Ryan softly huffs out a breath and turns a bit more to look at her. Rolling his shoulders he can understand that whatever Rem was going to tell him that it wasn’t easy for anyone. But she should know him better than to be a man that would run.

RYAN “Try me. Can’t tell me that I’m exactly like every other guy.”

He says while playing around with Remi’s fingers, his eyes looking over at her hair down to everywhere else his eyes usually are. Nodding his head a bit he wants to make a suggestion.

RYAN “Tell you what. You tell me something, and I’ll tell you something about me. If you feel like you want to keep going I can listen.”

Ryan isn’t seen like the caring listening type, but there is more to him than what people see. She looks at him, still unsure of where to really start.

REMI “Um. Okay.”

She chews on the inside of her lip, thinking of where to start. She tries her best not to overreact or overthink.

REMI “I'm a natural blonde but I keep my hair dyed so that I'm unrecognizable to….”

She hesitates again as if she was unsure if she wanted to go there.

REMI “To somebody in my family.”

She wanted to tell him who but she wasn't ready for that yet. Not in that moment at least.

Ryan nods, only understanding this a bit. He to knows what it’s like to hide from someone. Not like he’s going to judge someone for it now.  Bitting his lips he carefully thinks about what he would saw next.

RYAN “That explains a few things. I’d love to see you as a blonde some day. But I know how you feel…. Hiding from someone.”

Grabbing Remi’s hand Ryan rests his body against the couch cushion to try and get himself relaxed and comfortable.  His thumb softly rubs against her soft skin which calms him down.

RYAN “I don’t know a lot about my family, but I know that I have one member left… and it’s someone I hope never finds me.”

He confesses this which he would never do. Ryan’s jaw tenses a bit before he breathes in and out to continue. If Remi is being truthful than he can too.

RYAN “I changed from normal guy to what you see now… inked up and a few tons bigger than what I was. I sometimes don’t recognize myself sometimes.”

She looks at him, and offers him a polite smile before squeezing his hand. She understood what he meant and maybe all too well.

REMI “It's hard.”

She chews on her lip for a minute.

REMI “Eden and I are full blood sisters but my mom wants and wanted nothing to do with me at all. I blame her for almost everything that happened to me in my childhood.”

It was something small to continue with. She wasn't sure what he wanted to know and what he could handle. Or what she could handle with him knowing about her. There was a LOT in her past that she didn't like to think about.

RYAN”Remi, you know you’re worth something. You are worth something to me.”

He says as he gets closer to her on the couch. Ryan wants to make her feel comfortable, yet let her know that she has someone these for her. He doesn’t know Eden all that well, but he’s here for Rem.

RYAN “Do you want to tell me what happened? In your childhood?”

Asking may be a step too far, but this has been killing him for months. Everytime he would get close to Rem there was something holding her back. Wanting to comfort her in any way he stays put and doesn’t move away for anything . She bites her bottom lip as she thinks about her past but tries not to really think about it.

REMI “I...I don't know.”

She takes a deep breath but it doesn't help her as she starts to remember.

REMI “Maybe? I don't know.”

She wanted him to know but it was hard for her to talk about. It was hard for her to share it with another person. She brings her eyes up to meet Ryan's, trying to keep her eyes emotionless.

Ryan moves his other hand to brush her beautiful hair out of the way of her face. He wants her to look at him and trust him completely, but he is not going to rush her. Nodding his head he breathes in deeply.

RYAN “Shh, it’s okay. You don’t have to do this.”

Even if he wants to know how to help her he can’t force her to talk about her past. It was hard enough for him, so he can imagine how hard it would be for Rem.

RYAN “I’m going to be here all day for you. I’m not going anywhere.”

She nods her head as she starts to slowly calm down. She wanted to tell him but it was hard to speak about it out loud. There were things that even Eden didn't know about what had gone on.

REMI “ I do want to tell you, maybe. Or I think I do. I...I just don't really know how to say it. There are things...that happened that even Edie doesn't know about.”

She looks into his eyes, chewing on her lip.  She wasn't sure if she could tell him; after all, she couldn't even tell her own sister all of the things that had happened to her.

REMI “Can we go back to the I tell a thing, you tell a thing? And it doesn't always have to be so significant, even little things are important.”

She offers him a small smile before looking down at Dash, who hadn't stirred one bit.

He nods in understanding. These types of things take time. Looking down at Remi’s hand he slowly moves his eyes up to look at her. Guessing that it’s his turn to tell something.

RYAN”Fair enough.  I was raised by a single mother...she and a group of her co-workers raised me. Never really knew my dad.”

Guessing his past isn’t so tragic it still stung a bit to go back and remember about all the things he didn’t have. But looking back things do explain why Ryan is the way he is. Short tempered, but protective. More street smarts than real smarts. Yet he’s made due with what he has.

RYAN” But I guess a bunch of strippers, drag queens and bartenders raising a kid isn’t so bad. I didn’t turn out all too bad, did I?”

She smiles at him, giggling just a tiny bit. She looks at him, looking him over and then shrugs her shoulders.

REMI “I suppose they didn't do too bad.”

She winks at him with a giggle.  She then takes a breath and looks at Dash, staring at the Golden retriever puppy.

REMI “I was raised in Hawaii. And right by the ocean, really.  It was a small town and my...father was a lawyer. He was the only parent in my life.”

She tried to keep a straight face as she mentioned her father. She looks at Ryan, offering a small smile.

REMI “Hawaii is beautiful. I want to live there again but I don't know if I can ever bring myself to return there.”

She looks at her feet before looking at him again.

With a wide genuine smile Ryan looks at Remi. He loves the ocean and Hawaii has been a place he’s been wanting to go for a long time.

Ryan: ”I knew I liked something more of you. Hawaii must have been nice to grow up in. All the water and waves. I would have never left.”

Taking away the smile people have told him is awkward he looks up at her, lacing his fingers with Rem’s hand. It would be a huge shot to ask about her dad so he tries to avoid the subject.

RYAN “ Maybe we can take a small trip there, spend sometime at the water. I’m sure this little guy would love it.”

Ryan ducks down to scoop up the small Golden retriever who is still sleeping. Resting him against his lap he moves the tiny dogs paw and makes a soft voice.

RYAN” I’d love to go to Hawaii Ma.”

She giggles and reaches over and pets Dashes head as he still looked sleepy and now confused. Remi wasn't sure she could handle going back to Hawaii.

REMI “Okay. Maybe we can go.”

She scratches Dash behind his ears before looking at Ryan, hoping her eyes didn't betray the way she felt about going back.  She knew that she couldn't avoid it forever and if she didn't go back to the same place, she'd be okay. Or she hoped so.

REMI:  â€œIt was alright. The scenery was great and then the rain sometimes was horrible but you can't beat the ocean. “

She smiles at Ryan.

REMI “I...I have a scar on my right hip from an accident.”

She knew that he'd probably seen it before but she hadn't ever disclosed where it had came from. She raises her shirt to show the scar along her right hip.

Holding Dash against himself Ryan nods at Remi’s confession. That smile he had when she giggled and looked happy was slowly fading away at how serious this was all changing into. His protective instincts are kicking in and his temper would soon go if he didn’t keep it in check. Breathing slowly he moves a hand to pass his inked fingers over the soft skin over to the scar.

RYAN “ Yeah… I knew about it.”

His eyes slowly scan over it like they’ve done a few times before, but he never had the guts to asker her about it. He always figured it was personal.

RYAN “Did you get this when you were living in Hawaii?”

She takes a deep breath and nods her head.

REMI “Yes. When I was 15 years old.”

She looks at Dash, avoiding Ryan's eyes. She didn't know if she could tell the story or not but she felt like she had to.  She keeps her eyes on Dash, petting his snout.

REMI “I...my father was drunk and probably high on coke when it happened…”

She continued to look at Dash.

Ryan’s temper is slowly rising, causing him to roll his shoulder a bit more to get the tension out of him. Breathing slowly he moved over so he is sitting side by sade with his on the couch.  Placing the small dog between them he needed Dash’s help to calm here a bit more.

RYAN “It’s not your fault Rem.”

It’s mostly all he can say about this before going into a small fit of rage. Keeping himself calm his jawline tenses as he simply looks down at the dog before looking at rem.

RYAN” None of it is your fault.”

She continues to look at Dash, scratching him behind the ears. She could feel the panic and anxiety consuming her.  She presses her lips together, trying not to cry.

REMI “Well, it kind of was.  I had all but ran away and he was drunk.  He was so mad at me for...not being home for almost two weeks.”

She keeps her eyes on Dash, trying to focus on him rather than the emotions that the memory brought up.

REMI “I was lucky that Edie showed up when she did. Otherwise I'd be dead right now.”

She said it as if it wasn't a big deal but she 8 struggled with it for a long time almost thinking it would have been easier than what she endured.

Cracking his neck Ryan tries very hard not to let his rage get to him over what Remi’s telling him. All of this was making him remember about some repressed memories. Moving his hand he grips her hand and looks back at her, looking serious.

RYAN”No… he’s lucky he’s still breathing right now.”

Ryan doesn’t say much after that. He smiling lowers himself on the couch, low enough that he can rest his head on Remi’s shoulder. Sometimes words can’t make things better, but touches can.

RYAN” Rem.. I get it. And I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

She just shrugs her shoulders as she moves to get comfortable on the couch.

REMI “There's not much we can do to change it, right? I mean it happened; my own father stabbed me with a knife and t was probably the nicest thing he's done.”

She shrugs her shoulders, being honest with him without realizing that she probably let a lot slip out.

Looking up at Remi Ryan stays calm, or at least as calm as he can get about this in particular. It infuriated him knowing that she thought of this as something nice he’s done for her. Ryan sits back up and wants Rem to look at him.

RYAN”Rem, Look at me..”

He slowly moves his hand to cup he chin so he can turn her head over to him. Being as gentle as he can with this situation he breathes easy before speaking.

RYAN” You didn’t deserve that, you didn’t deserve everything bad that happened to you. Do you understand me? None of it. What happened to you is sick, and it’s something you should have told someone about. This sick son of a bitch needs to pay for this and I…”

Ryan stops himself before he gets a bit more agitated, and God forbid he scares Rem in the process.

RYAN”You’re okay now… You have me with you.”

She shrugs her shoulders, battling with her own emotions.

REMI “It's okay, I'm okay. It happens, right? And there's not much anybody could do about it. Not then or not now.”

She looks into his eyes, blinking back tears. She knew that he probably knew now that her father was at every bad memory she had.

RYAN”No.”

He won’t take that for an answer. Letting go of the dog Ryan holds onto her arms and demands that she looks at him. His chest is rising and falling as his heart is beating rapidly. Managing his temper Ryan smoothes his face a bit to talk to her.

RYAN”I’m not going to take that for an answer. Rem.. this man hurt you, he abused his daughter. You can sit here and tell me that you’re okay with that. Because guess what? That’s not okay.”

He doesn’t mean to raise his voice a bit at her, but this sort of situation is not one that Ryan can tolerate. Even if it did happen a few years ago. Even though she knew that he wouldn't hurt her, she had flinched when he raised his voice. She gives him an apologetic look.

REMI “It's what I knew, Ry.”

She reaches up and touches his face for a moment. She offers him a small, sad smile.

REMI “If only you knew…”

At the moment Ryan’s heart sunk. This is what he didn’t want to see happen. Getting closer his slowly wraps an arm around her to give her some comfort. Clutching her tight he wants her to feel safe, and safe with him.

RYAN”It’s alright. I’m sorry. But this is no more. You’re safe now. I won’t let this happen ever again. You’re with me.”

He says in the calmest way possible. The tension on his neck and shoulders soon falling. It kills him inside seeing Remi like this, and he swears the this will be the last time he does see her like this. Ryan doesn’t want her to give him that apologetic look ever again.

RYAN”I think it’s okay for now. I know enough,”

She looks at him the look of uncertainty in her eyes.  She wasn't sure that he would stick around if he knew more; if he knew all of it.


REMI “For now you probably do...but that's just...the tip of the iceberg.”

She looks at him and offers him a more hopeful smile than the previous one she'd shared with him moments ago.

REMI “I just I don't want to scare you away...And you say you won't but you don't know that for sure.”

He nods at Remi’s words. It’s a bit hard for him to hear that she doesn’t completely trust him with knowing what happened to her. Pulling back a little in the embrace clears his throat in attempts to bounce back from the moment.

RYAN “You won’t scare me. I’ve been saying this to you for months now. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Resting back on the couch he can feel the small pup move around between them, probably looking for comfort. He picks him up and places him on Remi’s thigh and watches him enjoy it. Looking back at Remi Ryan doesn’t know what else to say about this. All he needs to do is wait until she trusts him.

RYAN “But I’m not going to push you into telling me. We can leave it for another day.”

She looks at him, watching him for a moment. She knew that if she didn't tell him stuff now when her courage was up, she'd never tell him.

REMI “I … should probably tell you now…”

She swallows hard.  She thinks about how to tell him some of the darker stuff.

REMI “I...I had an abortion once. When I was almost 14…”

She looks away from him. The news came as a shock to Ryan, one that was hard for him not to pay off his reaction. His eyes went wide for only a second as he nods to himself for a bit. This was some news to drop on a guy.

RYAN”Listen.. I…. um.. Damn this is hard.”

With deep regret Ryan has to take a moment of silence as he breathes. The levels of rage within his body spiked up high, but his anger his pointed at Rem’s parents, and not her. Tapping his thumbs over his thighs he slowly counts in his head to process all of this.

RYAN”Who.. I mean.. How?... What the fuck Rem.”

He eventually looks up at her with a deep look of confusion in his eyes. Ryan has no right or business of feeling a bit hurt by this, but he does. Breathing out slowly he stays in place, only moving his hand slightly over to Rem.

RYAN” I don’t know what to say.”

She looks at him, the tears now on her cheeks. She didn't know if she could tell him what happened before it.

REMI “It...was...I got pregnant because of …”

She didn't know if she could bring herself to say it. To say it out loud to another person would make it real and she liked to pretend that it wasn't real. She looks down again, trying not to overthink it.

REMI “It's wasn't...consensual.”

She couldn't bring herself to s the word rape. It felt like her tongue was on fire and she just couldn't spit the word out. She didn't know if she could tell him who it was. Ryan shakes his head and finds it very hard to say anything. He’s between being extremely pissed off and sad for Rem. He moves his hand over to hers and only grips it lightly.

RYAN”Don’t...Just don’t.. You don’t have to say it.”

His voice is a bit gravely at the amount of will power he’s using not to break down on Remi, he will not breakdown on any one. But this, this is just tragic.  Squeezing her hand lightly he needs her to let this go.  

RYAN” S-squeeze my hand. If I know who did it.”

She bites her bottom lip.

REMI “Um. Do you mean personally or..?”

She moves her eyes to his and reaches up to wipe her tears away from her cheeks

Again Ryan shakes his head while looking back at her. That was not what he meant. Ryan wanted to know if whoever did this was someone she mentioned earlier.

RYAN” No. I mean like… it wasn’t. Your father.”

He feels sick just letting those words slip out of his mouth. The works is a sick and cruel world and he’s seen his fair share of fucked u p things. But it doesn’t mean he likes them. She bites her bottom lip and looks at him. How could she tell him? She felt uneasy, wondering if he was ready to run for the hills.

REMI “I…”

She just looks down at her lap before squeezing his hand. She couldn't bring herself to say the words out loud. Ryan drops his head and breathes out, squeezing Remi’s hand. This is what eh feared, but now he knows why she’s kept this. But it didn’t mean that he liked it. Without another word Ryan took Remi into his arms. No word shared between them as he just wants to hold her tight.

RYAN” I’m.. “

He can’t bring himself to say sorry because that wasn’t good enough. Ryan chokes up a bit with in his words as his body shakes. Shivering he doesn’t want to let her go now. Because if he did his next step would be to show up in Hawaii.

REMI “Ryan, I'm okay. I mean, I have my own issues that you know stem from that. But I'm okay.”

She tries to make him look at her.

REMI “It happened a long time ago, Ry. I'm okay right now.”

Ryan just shakes his head slowly, only letting her go gently.

RYAN” If you were okay you wouldn’t cry because of it. If you were okay you would have told me with no problems. “

He wipes off his watery eyes and breathes in sharply as he wants to stay cold, even if Rem can easily see through that. Keeping his hand with hers he looks up at her.

RYAN”Was this it? The whole secret?”

She looks at him, knowing he was battling with his own emotions.

REMI “More or less. Look, you don't have to stick around. I'd understand if you wanted to leave.”

She bites her lip before looking at him.

REMI “And I'm safe I meant.”

After all this and she still thinks Ryan would leave. Shaking his head he gets himself in check and breathes out all his anger, or at least part of it. Loosening up his tension he looks back at Remi.

RYAN”Now why would I do a thing like that? I’m not heartless Rem.”

He says while looking down for a bit and staying put where he sits on the couch. His eyes met with Remi’s again and gives her his usual smirk.

RYAN”I’m still here.”

She looks at him and shrugs her shoulders a little bit. She looks down at Dash, who had settled I  between them.

REMI “But why would you stick around, Ryan?”

She lifts her eyes to look into his eyes for a moment.  She takes a deep breath as she tries not to have an anxiety attack.

REMI “I'm damaged goods, Ry.  My father forced me to have….sex with him on a regular basis.”

She looks down at her toes.Ryan nods before cupping Remi’s chin again and making her look up at him. He was not going to let her wallow in the past.

RYAN”You don’t ever have to mention that again.”

He can't handle his anger spiking up once more because of this. Letting her go he moves his hand lower to touch hers.

RYAN”Honestly. I stick around for you. Not gonna pretend that what happened to you isn’t bothering me, because it does. But I’d be a hypocrite if I judged you in anyway and walked away.”

She looks into his eyes, her demons swimming in her eyes.  She knew that he had his own issues but she was too busy swimming in her own to be able to handle his at the moment.

REMI “I'm giving you an out, though. I want you here, don't get me wrong. And I want to be here but I don't want to force you to stay if you really don't want to be here.”

She leans in and delicately presses her lips against his cheek.  She leans into him a bit, almost sandwiching  Dash in between them. Ryan turns to give her a genuine smile as they look at each other before he places a soft kiss against her lips.

RYAN”Rem, I’m staying. You can try to push me out if you want, but I already decided that I’m not going to turn around and run from you just because you have a few demons.”

He had his own fair share of demons that have yet to come up in conversation, but those are a lot less tolerable. With his hand on Remi’s he slowly leans in for a deeper kiss, yet the sudden bark from the small protective pup stops him. Ryan looks down at the lively Golden retriever  that’s barking at him.

RYAN”Besides we need to teach this little guy some manner.”

Remi looks down at the pup who was looking up at the two of them.

REMI “I don't want you to go anywhere either...and he's fine. Just a puppy.”

She pokes Dash on the snout before looking at Ryan. She smiles softly at him before leaning in to kiss him again. Chuckling darkly into it Ryan grabs the pup and moves him out of the way before he pulls Remi over and he rests his back against the bottom cushions. Pecking at her lips he speaks between them.

RYAN”I’m not going anywhere without you.”

He looks deeply at her as he laughs at the way the pup jumps to get back on the couch with them. Shaking  his head he figures that they won’t get away with anything with Dash around.

RYAN” We can keep going after we put the kid to bed.”

She laughs softly before looking at the pup who wanted to be wherever they were. She gently lifts him up so that he's on the couch with them. She kisses the top of the pup’s head before moving to lay comfortably on top of Ryan.

REMI “But he's too cute to make him go to bed.”

She gently lays her head on Ryan's chest a Dash settles down in between them, literally.

REMI “Sometimes I think he's a cat.”

She grabs for a blanket, searching around the back of the couch.

RYAN”It’s a good thing he’s not. I’d be halfway through downtown two states over if there was a cat here.”

He chuckles yet he’s being completely serious.. Ryan’s phobia/allergies towards cats is both hilarious and serious. Breathing out he rests his head down and smiles while rubbing the back of his hand on Remi’s back. His other hand almost gets bitten by Dash before it could go anywhere else.

RYAN”But he is cute. I give you that one. He still needs to know how to share.”

She laughs before looking at Dash. She pokes his nose playfully.

REMI “He's just a baby, Ry. He doesn't know any better.”

She pulls him closer and gives Ryan her best puppy dog eyes, trying to mimic the same ones that Dash was giving.

REMI “And he loves you.”

Ryan hums his response before helping Remi with the blanket. Gently he pulls it over them with a  smirk on his lips as he tries to go for a kiss without getting seen. But that only gets stopped by another loud bark from the pup.

RYAN” Oh come on! He’s doing it on purpose now, admit it.”

This goes on each time Ryan tries to make a move on Remi. With Dash being her guard dog there is nothing he can do that won’t earn him a loud back and a gently nudge from the pup.

REMI “Dash, go to sleep. No more barking.”

She gives the pup a stern look before snuggling in closer to Ryan. She looks up at him as Dash watches him and gives him a yip.

REMI “I think he's telling you to keep your hands to yourself.”

She grins at him.

RYAN” But it’s not my hands that are touching someone.”

He smiles with a raised brow. Simply holding Rem, Ryan rests on the couch, lazily touching her soft skin while the others hand plays with the dog as a distraction. After how intense the moment between them way it was very welcoming to have some downtime.

RYAN”I’m proud of you.  I don’t know anyone that is as strong as you.”

With his eyes closed Ryan says in this calming moment between them.  Her cheeks flush a pink color as she listens to his voice.

REMI “I don't know if I'm that strong…”

She snuggles into him, getting comfortable as Dash finally settles down to go to sleep.

REMI “You learn to survive with what you've been dealt.”

She closes her eyes for a moment before looking up at his face.

 
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FLASHBACK TO 2011
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I was only fourteen years old and I remember sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, covered in my father’s blood.  I was in shock but the nurses hadn’t even acknowledged that I was there yet as they ran about, shouting orders.  My ears were ringing as I sat there, staring straight ahead with a blank expression on my face.  My father had been in a car accident and instead of calling for an ambulance, he had called me instead and I had gone to pick him up in the car that he gave me, even though I was only fourteen years old.  I had tried to get him into the car without startling him but he was pissed and had managed to cut me with a piece of broken glass on my arm.  I didn’t even know that he had cut me at the time.  I was numb to the whole experience, even when Eden rushed into the waiting room and saw me covered in blood.  She hadn’t known at the time that it was our father’s blood.

EDEN  “Remi!  Are you okay!?”

Eden cupped my face with her hands, looking into my blue eyes.  I just looked at her but I didn’t really see her.  Our father had lost a lot of blood and I was still in shock.  She tried to  get me to talk but I just stared, blankly ahead.  Eden had figured out that most of the blood was our father’s until she saw the cut on my arm.  I had noticed the panicked look in her eyes before she spun around and looked arond, trying to find a nurse before grabbing a blonde’s arm.

EDEN  “Nurse!  My sister needs stitches.”

The nurse looks over at me and then let out a scream of surprise to see just how much blood I had been covered in.  I just stared ahead again but the nurse called for the plastic surgeon, thinking that most of the blood was mine.  I let Eden and the nurse usher me over to a hospital bed and I let them clean me up a bit, still just going through the motions but not concentrating on what they were asking me.  I just felt numb.

NURSE  “Do you know what happened to her?”

The nurse had given up on me and went straight to talking to Eden, to see what Eden knew.  I had known that my father had been drinking heavily when he had the accident.  I knew that it was illegal for me to pick him up without getting an ambulance and I knew that I was going to be in trouble the minute he and I got home.  I knew that Edie wasn’t going to want me to be out of her sight but she didn’t have much grounds to stay; it was her mother’s week to have her.  I had been surprised that she had even been there to be honest.

EDEN  “No.  I only know that our father was in a car accident and she brought him here.  I don’t know how she got the jagged cut on her arm.”

The nurse purses her lips, wanting more information but not getting any from the two of us.  She then pages the plastic surgeon.

NURSE  “Typically I’d have just a surgical intern give her stitches but the cut is jagged and I don’t think she’d want a horrendous scar.”

EDEN  “Thank you.”

The nurse walked off to go page the plastic surgeon and Eden had looked at me, a worried look on her face.  She grabs my hand in hers and squeezes it, trying to get a reaction out of me but nothing came.

EDEN  “Remi, you have to tell somebody.  I know he did that cut.”

I just shook my head no.  What good would that have done?  I would have gone into foster care and then I’d be fucked either way.  At least this way, I could still pretend that I had a normal life and my father didn’t use me as a sex toy.

PLASTIC SURGEON  “Hello there, Remington Grayson?  I’m Dr. Nate Tebow, no relation to Tim.  Let me take a look at that cut.”

I looked at him, a bit in awe of how attractive he was and offered him my arm.  He was drop dead gorgeous.  He smiles at me, the warmth of his smile making my own stomach feel as if it was a pot filled with jelly.  He looks the cut over and smiles before grabbing a syringe filled with lidocaine.

DR. NATE TEBOW  “This might hurt but this is going to numb your arm a bit so I can stitch it up.”

I watch with interest as he carefully pushes the needle into the wound and injects the medicine with the syringe.

DR. NATE TEBOW  “That feel okay?”

I nodded my head, my eyes transfixed on him as he began to stitch the cut up.  Eden rolled her eyes, irritated at my behavior.  Or more irritated at the fact that a minute a good looking doctor had been the only one to get me to snap out of my trance.  I watched as he stitched me up and watched how the sutures brought my skin back together.

REMI  “That looks hard.”

Dr. Tebow looked up at me and smiled a kind smile, the kind that reached the eyes and I had blushed, my schoolgirl crush pretty evident right then.  I looked away and at Eden as she rolled her eyes at me in irritation.

DR. NATE TEBOW  “It’s not too hard but I’ve had a lot of practice, Remington.”

REMI  “You can call me Remi…”

He smiles again at me and I try not to blush again as he finishes up.  I watch as he puts some sort of ointment on it before covering the wound with a non-stick bandage.  I looked over at Eden, who shakes her head in slight annoyance at me and I jerk my head up as my father stumbles into the ER where the Doctor was cleaning up.

HENRY GRAYSON  “What the fuck are you doing to my daughter?!”

He marched over to the bed that I was sitting on and he looked irate.  He must not have been injured too badly in the accident if he was up and walking about.  I looked away from my father, not wanting to catch his attention.

DR. NATE TEBOW  “Your daughter had a cut on her arm and I stitched it up.  She will need to come back in in ten days to see if the stitches can come out.”

My father didn’t seem to care that he was in a hospital and was making a scene; in his mind, I was his property and he didn’t like when people touched me.

HENRY GRAYSON  “Don’t touch her again.  Let’s go Remington.”

He grabbed my arm that didn’t have the stitches and tugged me off of the bed.  I glanced at Eden, who appeared concerned but I only wanted to know if I was the only one that noticed he didn’t even acknowledge his other daughter.   I knew he didn’t and I knew that he had flown into a blind rage when he had seen the doctor’s hand on my arm.  I knew I was in trouble before he had even walked over to me and I was only scared of what was going to happen in the car because I knew he had an idea.

HENRY GRAYSON  “Get in the car, you worthless slut.”

He pushes me into the passenger’s door and I yelp as it bumps into the stitches and he gives me a glare that made my blood run cold and I just got in the car, not wanting to cause him any other issues.  I put my seatbelt on as he starts the car.

HENRY GRAYSON  “No need for that belt, slut.  You’re not going to need it.  You’re going to make it up to me for taking me to the hospital for stupid stitches.  And if you want to run your mouth, you can use it for something else.”

REMI  “I didn’t say anything!”

I yelp as he backhands me with one hand as he drives and I cup my cheek with one hand, the tears burning in my eyes.

HENRY GRAYSON  “Don’t backtalk me, bitch and get over here, now.  You know what I want.”

BACK TO PRESENT TIME.

<text align=right> <p align=”Right”>

I sat on the bed, staring at the small barely there scar before looking back at the man who was passed out in my bed.  I wondered if he remembered me and I wondered if there was a small chance that Johnny would be pissed if he knew about it.  I run a hand through my hair before grabbing the man’s wallet from the end table and flip it open to look at his license and smirked.  It read: NATHANIEL TIMOTHY TEBOW.  I wasn’t going to steal from him but I thought it was ironic that exactly five years ago to this day, he was the one stitching my arm back together.  I hadn’t told him that he had been my doctor five years ago but I wanted to know if he remembered me.  But first, I needed a fix.

I climb out of the bed, carefully before grabbing my little ‘kit’ and going into the bathroom.  I’m in there roughly ten minutes before walking back into the bedroom area of the hotel room I pretty much lived in.  I jump as I see him sitting up in bed as I put my kit away.

DR. NATE TEBOW  “Good morning...you going to come back to bed?”

Of course he wanted more; every many typically did.  I climb back into the bed and move closer to him before straddling his lap.

REMI  “Do you ever remember working in Hawaii?”

He grunts a bit as he situates himself underneath me a bit.  He looks at me and frowns a bit.

DR. NATE TEBOW  “How’d...you know….I worked in Hawa--ii?”

I could tell he was trying his best not to be a bit creeped out or at least trying to maintain everything else that was going on.

REMI  “Because I used to live in Hawaii.  And when….”

I pause as I squirm against him a bit.  And then show him the small, barely there scar on my arm.

REMI  “When I was fourteen years old, you stitched my arm up.  I had such a crush on you for the longest time.”

I lean down and kiss his lips as he smirks against my lips before the door to the hotel room flings open and in walks Eden.  I squeal and pull myself off of him and wrap a blanket around my naked body.

EDEN  “Remington Emilie, I have not heard from you in a week, are you still ali--.”

Her eyes were wide when she sees the naked man in my bed and I glare at her before Nate scrambles to cover his junk.   I just wrap the towel tightly around my body.

REMI  “GET out, Eden Rae!  You shouldn’t even have a card anymore!”

She looked bewildered and a bit surprised that I was in the throes with the man or about to be when she walked in.

EDEN  “We are leaving for Canada tomorrow for the show.  Be ready.”

She didn’t say anything else before leaving the room and slamming the door behind her.  I think it’s safe to say she’s a bit upset.  But I didn’t care as I had a doctor to see.  Or do.



ON CAMERA

<text align=right> <p align=”Right”>The girls are seen walking into an Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt dessert place with the camera crew following them.  Remi was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement.  Eden tried to contain her own energy and her sister’s but it didn’t seem to be working as Remi bounced over to the machines and grabbed a bowl before putting some Cotton Candy flavored Frozen yogurt in a bowl and then Eden put some chocolate frozen yogurt in a bowl and some chocolate mint in the same bowl.  Eden puts a few toppings on her and Remi just puts rainbow sprinkles on top of her cotton candy froyo before they paid for it.

REMI  “This shit is the best.”

They found a corner table and sat down to eat.  Eden shakes her head at Remi before she takes a bite of her own froyo.

EDEN  “Shouldn’t we be focusing on our match, Remington?”

REMI  “What match?!”

Eden gave her little sister a look as she takes a spoonful of the froyo.  Remi shrugs her shoulders before taking a bite of her own froyo as well before stealing a bit of her sister’s.

REMI  “OH!  You mean our match against those two new girls with their manager who used to be apart of the company ages ago?”

Eden gave her sister a look and then nodded her head.  Remi shrugs her shoulders a bit, offering the camera a smile.

EDEN  “Don’t you think we should be spending more time in the gym, rather than eating frozen yogurt?”

REMI  “No-pe!  Frozen yogurt is better than being in the gym.  And how come you’re not attached at the hip with your little lover boy.”

Remi raises an eyebrow at her sister and then smirks before taking another bite of her froyo.  She moans at the taste, overly enjoying the food.  Eden rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

EDEN  “WE have a match on Sunday, Remi.  Don’t you think we need to prepare a little bit?”

Remi shakes her head no and puts another spoonful of her Cotton Candy flavored frozen yogurt in her mouth.  She looks around and then shrugs.

REMI  “Why can’t we just enjoy frozen yogurt, Edie!?  Why does it always have to be work, work, work, work with you!  You’re like that stupid, fucking annoying Rihanna song!”

EDEN  “Because!   It can’t always be play, play, play!  Remington, if we want to be taken seriously in the SCW locker room, we need to start applying ourselves better in the ring.  And that doesn’t mean fucking Johnny or Ryan whenever you get the chance!”

Remi pouts a bit before shrugging her shoulders.

REMI  “Ryan Keys and Johnny Tsunami are fucking hot, okay!?  And if I want to fuck them I will.  It’s my choice, Eden Rae.  I don’t tell you not to go do married stuff with Caleb.  Just don’t get knocked up because I will NOT be babysitting for you.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t like kids; babies just reminded me of a horrible time in my life and I didn’t think I would be okay with being around them without being a basket case.

EDEN  “Remi, this isn’t about Ryan, Caleb, OR Johnny!  This is about our match against Lust 4 Life.  You know, Alyxandra Drake and Paisley Tyler.  I don’t think you even realize how serious our match is.  We could get another shot at the tag team championships if we apply our skills right!”

REMI  “We SHOULD be the tag team champions right NOW, Eden Rae.  But don’t worry about that right now.  I just want to have fun.  Shouldn’t you want to have fun?  Or do you have too much fun with Caleb?”

Eden sighs, not sure how to get her sister into the match more.  But she didn’t know that Remi was on a high and didn’t care about anything but the froyo in front of her.

REMI  “Hey, Edie.  Do you remember that time when I was fourteen years old and had to get stitches?”

Eden frowns as she was confused just a bit as Remi didn’t often bring up things that happened in her past.  Eden slowly nods her head, remembering one of the times that it wasn’t that bad.

EDEN  “Yes, I remember.  Dad had to get his head stitched up.  And you were covered in his blood…”

REMI  “I fucked the doctor that stitched me up.  He was in Vegas this past week and somehow fate made us run into one another.  Apparently he has a thing for tattoos and vibrant hair.”

Eden just shakes her head, not wanting to hear about her sister slutting around.

EDEN  “Can we please just focus on the match and not who you’re fucking?”

REMI  “Fine.  So, we have a match on Sunday against two new girls who we really don’t know much about.  What do you want me to say, Edie?  That we’re going to win.  Because our track record isn’t looking very good right about now.”

Eden looked either shocked or upset at what Remi had to say and Remi couldn’t decipher the look on her sister’s face.

EDEN  “We have a chance to redeem ourselves, Remington!  Doesn’t that mean something to you?!”

REMI  “And what if we don’t redeem ourselves, Eden?  What does that make us then?  Big fat failure turtles!?  I mean, seriously, think about it.  What if we lose and this is just a ridiculous way to get our shit together or get the fuck out of the locker room.  I want to win against Lust 4 Life and I don’t think putting all our fucking worries on camera is a good idea!  Can you just fucking shut up about it!?”

Remi didn’t care if she was being harsh or not.  She wished Eden would worry more about what happens if they didn’t redeem themselves on Sunday but not out loud as she had.

EDEN  “I’m sorry.  I’m ready to face Lust 4 Life and I thought you’d be a little more into talking about it; especially in front of the camera.  But no, Remington, you had to be a fucking bitch and ruin everything.  I hope you get your head out of your ass because I can’t deal with your shit right now.”

Eden gets up and throws her container away before walking out of the store, leaving Remi sitting there.  Remi just shrugs and finishes eating her frozen yogurt.

REMI  “Whatever.  I’ll be ready on Sunday.”

Remi sits there, eating her froyo as the scene fades to black.