RYAN'S POV

Throughout the night, I woke up from Becca trembling violently in my arms. I did my best to help her get through them without waking up but wasn't always fortunate. Thankfully, none of them caused such a big outburst as the one Mike saw so they were over quickly and we were back on the pull-out sofa in no time. Matt returned sometime around three in the morning and gave us a look of concern and uncertainty – although he probably thought we were both sleeping. I'm sure he'd have a thousand questions for me to answer as soon as we are up though.

Having spent the last few hours awake but just holding my girl, I finally crawled off the 'bed' and met up with my two brothers in the kitchen around ten. I had texted Landon earlier this morning about driving up here to hang out with us and hopefully get Becca's mind away from Kirk for a while so I was looking forward to him arriving.

"Alright, let's hear it," I directed towards Matt while grabbing a glass of water.

"Mike already told me. I'm glad you brought her here." I must have looked shocked because he gave me a weird look and kept talking. "Don't be so surprised Ryan... I was there when you brought her to the hospital remember?" I suddenly got very angry but heard a small crash from the living room before I recollected too much of that night.

"Becs?!" Dashing into the other room, with my brothers on my tail, I scanned the area only to come up empty. Panic quickly filled my entire body and I did the first thing I could think of; I looked to the door of the apartment and saw it still neatly shut and locked.

"She's gotta still be in here," Mike said – voicing what I was thinking. I walked around the sofa bed and crouched down to peer in the tiny crack between the bed and the wall. My raven-haired beauty was cowering in the small space.

"Becs? Are you okay?" I looked up to see my brothers' concerned faces and nod my head to let them know I found her. Mike quickly left (no doubt recalling yesterday and the fact that we would need some privacy) but Matt stuck around to be nosy. Rolling my eyes, I turned my attention back to Becca. "Hunny it's okay, come here."

"Ryan?"

"Yeah baby it's me..." I held out my hand between the wall and the sofa bed because there was no way I would be able to fit. "Grab my hand so I can pull you out." Within a few seconds, her hand grasped my much larger one and I gently drug her out of the small space. Her eyes were wet with tears and hair matted around so I did what I always do, wipe her tears and pull her into my chest. "Did you have another bad dream?" Becca nods her head but remains tucked away.

I look towards Matt again to see him staring at us painfully but it seemed he was lost in his own thoughts instead of directing the emotions at Becca and me. He must feel my gaze and shakes his head slightly before giving me a sad smile and leaving down the hall.

"Sorry," a small voice whimpers from my lap.

"Baby it's fine. I'm here for you for anything – you know that." To show her how much I mean it I squeeze her tight within my arms until she's giggling and gasping to be let go. Now that there's a beaming smile on her face, I give her a quick kiss and stand us both up. "Landon's coming over to hang out today and he's bringing some clothes so you can shower quick if you want." Her face lights up when I mention Landon's name and try not to be jealous about it... I know how important their familial relationship is.

"Okay! What time is he getting here?" she asks happily.

I smile through the small amount of envy I feel just because she's happy now. "He'll actually be here in less than a half hour," I mention and she bolts down the hall to the bathroom. I assume she had a nice acquaintance going on with that room since she was so sick last time she was here...

---

Matt and Mike were deep in conversation when I entered the kitchen but quickly quieted down which made me quite suspicious.

"What's up?" I asked skeptically.

"Uhhh, I was just telling him about yesterday," Mike explained cautiously.

"Okay... about Becca's nightmares?" They both nodded so I sat down at the counter with them. "You can ask me questions but I don't feel that comfortable with sharing her private details."

"Does she get them often?" Matt asked immediately and I looked to Mike, thinking that he would have explained all this already.

"She used to a lot but they've died down. We've been doing good until we ran into her step-dad yesterday and they kind of came back full force." Matt didn't look surprised so at least Mike told him why we were here last night. "You guys already knew she's timid and everything – you also know the reason why, so I'm not sure why this came as a shock to either of you."

"We just want to make sure you're okay Ryan," Mike said and Matt butted in right after.

"Obviously you and Becca are meant to be together, we can all see that... and before you get upset: this isn't a lecture about making sure you actually care for her and don't just feel bad. We know you love her." My jaw dropped because I didn't even tell her that yet and Matt caught on. "You haven't told her yet have you?" I shake my head. "You should."

"I don't want to overwhelm her," I stupidly explain while blushing. (Hey, it's an awkward thing to discuss with your older brothers!)

"Ryan," Mike starts, "I'm sure she already knows it. I can even tell just by the way you look at her or act around her..."

"She just has so much going on and every time I think things will die down, they don't. I want to tell her, I really do but there's never a good time."

"You'll find the time," Matt says. "Anyways, we got a little bit off topic. We wanted to tell you that what you're doing for her is amazing and we know you two should be together but if you ever need someone to talk to – if you're ever overwhelmed with everything – we're here."

"And we'll stop with all the questions about Becca's personal life. She should be able to confide in you without us making a big deal out of it. If you need to stay here for awhile you can, no questions asked," Mike continued.

"Thank you." My brothers were so different than me but still understood how important Becca will always be to me. The fact that Matt is promising to chill on all the questions shows how much he trusts our relationship and Mike being all sentimental says the same. I hate that I have to break up this moment...

"Oh, by the way, Landon is going to be here in about fifteen minutes."

Matt's "okay" is silenced by Mike's obnoxiously loud sigh of disgust. He's never liked Landon because he never took the chance to know him. He thinks that Landon's quietness shows arrogance but it's the complete opposite.

"Mike," Matt warned, "Landon's coming over for Becca. Remember when she was sick? You can deal with him being here for a bit."

"Yeah, that's the only reason I didn't say anything... I know what he'd do for Becca," Mike grumbled before stalking down the hall to his room and shutting the door quite forcefully. I give Matt an inquisitive look so he can quickly clear things up before either Becca's done with her shower or Landon gets here.

"Landon's actions last time Mike saw him were very uncharacteristic and I think it freaked him out. He was the same straight-to-the-point asshole that Mike see's towards everyone except Becca. I don't know if he was upset that Landon was the only one who could comfort her or what but it really bothered him... Honestly I think he's just confused. He spend his whole life hating Landon and thinking he was rude but then saw him coddling Becca and holding her hair back while she was sick; it was quite odd, even to me," he explained. I understood where he was coming from.

"Yeah, I was surprised when they started getting along so well but I'm glad for it. They both seem happier and more stable since they can talk about things that nobody else has had to go through... Becca has another friend like that named Bentley. I'm not happy that she has some similar pasts with them but I'm glad they're there for each other... you know?" I was having a hard time putting what I was thinking into words but Matt nodded nonetheless. A loud knock on the door interrupted any further conversation that may have occurred as I went to let Landon in.

"Here," Landon grunted as he shoved a loaded backpack into my arms. "Some clothes. By the way it was weird digging through Becca's drawers..."

"Thanks. Matt's in the kitchen and Mike's locked up in his room." When I mentioned Mike, Landon just rolled his eyes and headed for the kitchen while I walked towards the bathroom with the backpack.

"Becs?!" I knocked on the door loudly since the shower was still running.

"Yeah?"

"I'm coming in alright?" I hoped she wouldn't make a big deal out of it but the long pause before her answer was making me nervous.

"Okay!" she finally yelled from inside the shower. I entered and shut the door behind me quickly. "Hey do you know if Landon brought a brush?" Her voice seemed much closer than I'd thought since her head was sticking out of the curtain and I jumped in surprise. She laughed lightly with a twinge of blush showing on her cheeks.

"I-I'm not sure," I said, clearing my throat after stuttering. The thought of her being naked behind that curtain and pulling it across her front made me hard – I couldn't help it. "I'll check though." Quickly sifting through the bag, my fingers caught on a few pairs of her thongs (which I would kick Landon's ass for ever touching) but found no brush. "I don't think he brought one..."

"Can you help me then?" she asked and batted those long eye lashes at me. "I can't see where this knot is and your brothers don't have conditioner. If you could just attempt to untangle it with your fingers that'd be awesome." I know she felt awkward asking but wanted to seem confident at the same time. Without saying anything – I don't think I could speak a full sentence at the moment – I move forward and she turns around so I can get to her hair. The problem is that she had to let go of the curtain to turn around and the entire back of her is on view. I focus on untangling her long hair but no matter how hard I try, my view keeps trailing down her spine to her perfectly shaped ass. Thankfully, the knot came out rather quickly but just as I was about to turn around, Becca beat me to it. Snapping my eyes shut after catching a glimpse of the glistening front side of her was seriously one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life. Her tiny hands, wet from the shower, reached up and easily caught the sides of my face since I was leaning down to see the knot in her hair.

"Becs..." I warned with a low growl. Her breath caught at the sound and she pulled my head down to meet with hers. Soon, her wet body was pressed up against me and I wished with everything I had that I wasn't dressed in gym shorts and a damn sweatshirt.

"Ryan?" she whispered into my mouth between deep kisses.

"Hm?" Becca pulled away for a second and suddenly blushed but wouldn't let go of my neck.

"C-can... Please..."

"Becs, what is it?" She was obviously nervous to tell me...

"Shower with me." Everything seemed to freeze around me and I said the lamest thing I could've possible voiced in that exact moment.

"Aren't you done with your shower?" What a fucking idiot – this was on a rapid speed repeat in my mind. I think I cringed in embarrassment but went into dreamland as Becca's face morphed into a sultry smirk.

"Yeah but I don't want to be done kissing you yet." She yanked me to her lips once more and her hands went to the seam of my sweatshirt which I pulled over my head at lightning speed.

"Babe we can't do anything. Not in my brothers' shower," I mumbled and stripped off my shorts and boxers before climbing into the warm shower. She immediately went red so I backed off. "Did you change your mind? I can leave Becs... it's okay." I turned to go but her hand grasped my bicep.

"I was just shocked I guess. I know we can't do anything – I don't think I'm ready for that yet anyways."

"Becs," I whirled around and hugged her close. "I wasn't insinuating that at all. I'm not trying to push you in any way hun. I will seriously get out of this shower right now if you feel uncomfortable, which you shouldn't... you're so beautiful." She laughed and looked up at me with that gorgeous smile.

"I'm not uncomfortable with this Ryan. It was nothing okay?" I nodded and tried to let it go but kept thinking it over until something suddenly clicked.

"Did you say shocked?" Her face goes even redder than before and her eyes bounce around the tiled ceiling instead of looking down or at my face. This was the perfect time to poke a little fun. "I told you it was huge... did you think I was lying?" With my signature smirk I pulled her chin towards me to look in her now wide eyes. Her mouth moved around but no words were coming out and I burst out with laughter. "C'mere." I pulled her in and we stood under the warm stream of water, heavily making out with our bodies smashed together until a loud knock resounded on the door.

"I didn't drive here to sit by myself... I could have done that at home!" Becca's blue eyes went wide in humiliation but I just chuckled and pecked her lips.

"Yeah, yeah," I answered for the both of us. "We'll be out in a bit." I leaned in so only Becca could hear the next part: "He can wait," then I kissed her some more.