Marley frowned in the mirror, ever since the incident Thursday night she had been on edge. Luke had texted her multiple times, trying to explain or apologize but she wasn’t hearing it and every message was instantly deleted. She still felt uneasy knowing he was just next door. She couldn’t believe she had spent so much time and trusted him only to be put in this situation. She still wasn’t sure how to react, what to do or who to tell. She just felt sick, and stupid and once again naive. She was so glad to see Ryder though. Somehow, no matter what she was feeling or going through, Ryder could always make her feel better. He didn’t even have to try, it was just who he was. She just wanted to lay in his arms and forget everything else. But with the scratches on her chest, and how jumpy she had been the past 24 hours, she worried Ryder would know something was up - and she could only imagine how he’d react if he knew what had really happened. So she zipped her sweater up over her tank top, hiding the mark - and spent a couple moments smiling in the mirror and putting on a face. When she saw Ryder’s car pull into the driveway, she headed downstairs to meet him at the door, feeling a small sense of relief now that he was there.
Ryder immediately took off to Marley’s after football practice. Thankfully since it was Saturday, he only had one 3 hour practice instead of the two a day practices he normally had during the week. Practice had been brutal, so he was glad to see his girlfriend after not being able to see her since the weekend before last. Pulling up into Marley’s driveway, he smiled when he saw her standing at the door. She had been acting weird the day before, but he didn’t want to seem paranoid so he didn’t think too much about it. Maybe she was just having an off day or something. “What’s with the sweater?” He asked, raising a brow as he pulled his girlfriend into his arms and kissed her softly. He missed the taste of her lips and the way they felt against his. “I missed you,” he said, leaning in to kiss her again. He couldn’t get enough of her and after not being able to kiss her for nearly two weeks, well he was definitely going to make up for lost time.
Marley returned Ryder’s smile as soon as he emerged from his car. Looked down at her outfit for a moment before shrugging a little. “It’s kind of cold in here.” she said simply as she placed a soft kiss against his lips, keeping it chaste before wrapping her arms around him tightly, immediately feeling herself relax in his embrace. “I’ve missed you, too.” she said sincerely. She kissed him back once again, before pulling away from his embrace, taking his hand in hers. “My mom is gone to the grocery store with my grandma, so we’re alone for a little while at least.” she smiled distantly, “Are you hungry? I can make you something, if you want.” she said, wanting to stay busy. Usually they would take advantage of what little alone time they got at her house, but the last thing she needed was her sweater coming off.
Ryder furrowed his eyebrows a little at her explanation. Then again, it was October already and the temperatures were starting to get cooler. He was also probably still a little hot from football practice, even though he had taken a shower before he took off. Ryder nodded when she said it was just the two of them for a while, which was something he was glad for. It felt weird doing things with her while her mom and grandma were home and he was respectful enough not to start anything either. He frowned a little when she asked him if he wanted something to eat, knowing they weren’t going to have alone time for that long. “I can eat later,” he smiled as he walked inside, his hand still in hers. “Right now I just want to take advantage of the alone time that I have with my girlfriend.”
Marley smiled, leaning in to plant another soft kiss on her boyfriends lips. “I don’t know how long they’re going to be gone, though.” she clarified, half genuinely and half making an excuse so that things wouldn’t go too far. Still, she lead him upstairs to her room. Even if they were just hanging out, she’d rather them have privacy. Once they were in her room, she sat down on her bed, cringing a little as her phone vibrated against her night stand. “How was practice?” she asked, ignoring her phone. She’d check it later, in case it was Kitty or Unique.
Ryder knew she had a point. But still, whenever they were short on time like this, they didn’t hesitate to waste any time. Maybe she wasn’t up for it? It wasn’t like he was going to pressure her or anything if she wasn’t in the mood. It was just the fact that she had been acting weird that was bothering him. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he agreed as he followed her up to her room, still a little confused. He sat down next to her on the bed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “It was alright. Coach Bieste was a little more tough on us ‘cause a couple of the guys were out with a bug or something,” he shrugged, looking at her phone that was vibrating on her nightstand. “Aren’t you going to answer that?” He asked, he didn’t miss the expression on her face when it had started vibrating and now she was ignoring it, which was kind of weird since they weren’t doing anything.
Marley nodded, glad to have changed the subject. “Oh, at least you’re getting sick, right?” she smiled, running her hand gently over his cheek. “At least now you get the weekend to just laze around and relax. It’s not like there’s much to do around here.” she shrugged, not really wanting to go out and about around town anyways. She turned her attention to her phone, but shook her head. “No, i’m with you. I’ll just check it later.” she said, dismissively.
Ryder shook his head. “Nah, I’m good,” he smiled as she ran her hand over his cheek. “They probably just got food poisoning anyways,” he knew a couple of the guys from the football team had gone out to eat after the game last night. He was glad that he had opted out in not going. “C’mon you’re always posting things on Instagram that you, Luke, and Emily do whenever you hang out, it seems like there’s a lot of things to do around here,” he gently nudged her shoulder. “There has to be something around here that you haven’t shown me yet,” he told her, drifting his eyes over at the pictures she had up on her walls. He smiled when he saw a picture of them from prom last year. “Either way, my weekend’s already a million times better since I get to spend it with you,” he smiled, lacing their hands together.
Marley smiled in return, “Good.” she said happily, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. She wrinkled her nose a little when he mentioned food poisoning. That definitely didn’t sound like fun and she was glad Ryder had avoided it. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t get it, even though you’d know I’d have to come take care of you if you did.” she said playfully. When she mentioned Luke, Marley’s gaze fell a little. “Yeah, there’s a few places I guess but I just want to stay in tonight.” she insisted. She kept her eyes on their hands as they interlocked their fingers together. “I’m so glad you here.” she replied, leaning over to rest her hand gently on his shoulder, the neck of her loose fitting sweater hanging off her body a little as she cuddled into him. It felt perfect just to lay against his warm body, her thumb gently running back and fourth across his hand as they remained interlocked.
Ryder chuckled when she said she would come take care of him if he had gotten sick. “Well as much as I would love to have Nurse Marley come and take care of me, I wouldn’t want you to get sick,” he said. He was kind of surprised that she wanted to stay in, but he figured she was still feeling under the weather. “Well we can just watch movies and cuddle, and you can just show me some other time. I mean there’s no point in rushing to show me everything, right?” After the long week that they had, it was probably better if they stayed in and relaxed anyway. “I am too,” he smiled when she cuddled against him. He looked over at her when something caught his eye and moved to get a better look. “Crap, Marley. What happened?” He asked as he moved her sweater down some more, noticing the scratches on her chest. They didn’t look like something that she had got on accident, they looked intentional. “Who did this to you?” He asked, his anger flaring up. “Was it Luke?”
Marley laughed a little, “Babe, I’m glad you’re worried about me but I don’t think food poisoning is contagious.” she teased, nudging his shoulder playfully. She nodded, staying in and watching movies sounded perfect, all she wanted to do was relax and enjoy what little time she had with him. The weekend seemed so short by the time Sunday came and he had to leave to go back to Lima. “Right, besides, I think I remember you promising you’d watch Sleepless In Seattle with me. It’s a classic.” she said, grinning. Marley felt her stomach clench when she felt Ryder move her sweater, clearly seeing the mark on her collar bone. She pulled back a bit, using her hands to close grasp her sweater closed and cover the mark. She parted her lips to answer his questions but no excuse came to mind. It was just blank, and the last thing she wanted to do was blatantly lie to him. She could see him becoming visibly angry as it was, and he didn’t even know what happened. “Ryder…” she said simply, trying to think of something to calm him down. “It’s not…” she sighed, “I’s not as bad as it looks.”
Ryder gave her a sheepish smile. “Oh. Still you shouldn’t have to see me all gross and sick looking instead of my handsome self,” he joked. He realized how hypocritical he was being since he was always quick to offer to take care of her whenever she was sick. He didn’t mind possibly getting sick because of it, she was worth it. “I did, didn’t I? How can I miss the movie that inspired our amazing kiss on top of the Empire State Building?” He mirrored her grin. Ryder pulled her hands away when she started to hide the mark even though he had already seen it. “If it’s not as bad as it looks then why did you try to hide it from me?” He asked. She didn’t deny that it was from Luke, so he was like 99% percent sure that he had done it. “What happened?”
Marley smirked a little as he joked, “You’d still be your handsome self to me.” she retorted. He was always there for her whether it was emotionally or times when she was ill, and she wouldn’t hesitate to do the same if he needed it. She grinned wide remembering their night on the empire state building. “That night was pretty amazing.” she reminisced. When Ryder reached for her hands to see the mark left on her, Marley shook her head. “Ryder, stop.” she said, feeling a little overwhelmed. She had no other explanation to give besides the truth. “It’s… We were hanging out the other night and…” she furrowed her brows, looking down at her her bed instead of making eye contract. “It turns out you and Kitty weren’t so wrong after all” she whispered under her breath, her hands were a little shaky as she remembered what had happened in the car. “I cut off all contact with him, I’m not going to talk or hang out with him anymore. It’s fine.” she tried to reassure him.
Ryder stopped his hands when she told him to, he had already seen enough anyway. He noticed her expression when she tried to explain and that only made his anger flare up even more. She looked scared, he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to know what happened exactly. “Dammit,” he said under his breath as he got up from the bed, his fists balled up in rage. “He’s a dead man,” he said before he walked out of the room, with only one destination in mind. He didn’t even see if Marley was following him, he didn’t care. The only thing he saw was red. As he made his way over to Luke’s house, he starting pounding on the door repeatedly. “Whitmoore!” He yelled, not caring if there were other people in the house. He was going to make sure Luke understood to never mess with his girlfriend again.
Marley could physically see Ryder’s form change. Her wasn’t generally violent but he was protective, and she knew that. Her feelings of anxiety and fear quickly became nothing but worry. She jumped up off her bed as he left her room, knowing exactly where he was going. “Ryder….” she cautioned, trailing behind him, trying to keep up. This was the exact thing she was trying to avoid and now it was happening. She took a second to slip on her shoes before she chased Ryder of out the door. “Ryder, don’t! He’s not worth it.” she insisted, as she watched him knock on the door. She felt her heart sink when the door actually opened and Luke stepped out. He was the last person she wanted to see but he wasn’t the point right now - it was making sure Ryder didn’t do anything stupid. “Ryder, please. I am begging you just come back to my house and we can just talk.” she pleaded with him, knowing the moment Luke stepped out it would only be downhill from there.
Ryder wasn’t one to think things through and normally did things on impulse- which often got him into trouble- so when he found out that Luke had hurt his girlfriend. The one person who meant the world to him and never wanted to see hurt, well he wasn’t going to let that go. He loved her more than everything and it killed him knowing that someone hurt her like that. He could vaguely hear Marley running after him, but it was too late. He had only one thing in mind and that was to make sure Luke paid for what he did to her. The moment Luke stepped out of his house, Ryder immediately pushed him hard against the door. “You’re going to pay for what you did to Marley, Whitmoore,” he snarled, his fist connecting with the older boy’s jaw. This time nobody was going to stop him until he got what he wanted.
Marley felt sick, “Ryder!” she yelled as she watched him attack Luke, throwing a hard punch. She could hear his first connect with his jaw and she jumped a little. It wasn’t long before Luke retorted, using his fully body to shove her boyfriends body to the ground. “Get off of him!” she yelled, grabbing Luke’s shirt and making a failed attempt to pull him off, only to get pushed back. “What the hell?” she heard an angry voice behind her. It was Julie, Luke’s sister - who clearly had no clue what was going on. Marley could only assume she was the only one home, any parents would have been out by now. Julie ran back in the house, Marley assumed to call someone. Marley was more worried now, about her boyfriend. “I didn’t do anything to your fucking girlfriend, man. But trust me - if I wanted her on her back I’d have her there.” Luke retorted, it was clear who he was and who he was pretending to be around her were two very different people.
Ryder used all his strength to shove Luke off of him before he switched their positions where he was now holding the older boy down. He was thankful for all those wrestling moves his cousin had taught him all those years ago. “Marley, get back inside,” he said as gently as he could, finally acknowledging his girlfriend but didn’t take his eyes off of Luke. He didn’t want her to get hurt again. “I knew you were bad news. I warned her to stay away from you,” he spat out as he threw another punch. And then another. If he wasn’t already fuming with anger, what Luke said next would have definitely done it. “You son of a bitch,” he growled, before grabbing his throat and cut off his air supply as he banged his head repeatedly against the ground.
Marley knew Ryder went well but there was no way she was leaving the situation. He had to know that. She brought her hands to her head, unsure what she could do besides try and reason with him. When Luke let out his snide comment, Marley knew he was just edging Ryder on, trying to get in his head. She had never, ever been scared of Ryder before in her life but watching Ryder as he wrapped his hands around Luke’s neck and smacking his head against the ground struck fear inside Marley. She could see Luke’s face turning red, his aggression against Ryder becoming more defensive rather than offensive. “Ryder, stop! Ryder please.” she pleaded with him, emotion thick in her voice as she stood there feeling helpless, watching as Luke struggled for air. “Ryder, he can’t breathe!” Grabbing his arm she tried hard to pull Ryder off her neighbor. “Get off my brother you psycho” Julie called out, standing in the doorway with her phone in hand. Marley faintly heard sirens in the distance and despite not wanting the police to be involved, she was glad they were on there way before this went way, way too far.
Ryder sighed when Marley didn’t go back inside her house, even though he knew there was a slim chance that she would listen to him. He kept his hold on Luke until Marley’s pleas brought him back to reality. Crap. What was he doing? He loosened his hold on the older guy, allowing his girlfriend to pull him up. He could hear the sirens getting closer and he inwardly cursed at himself. He really didn’t want the police to get involved. “I’m sorry,” he told his girlfriend, pulling her into his arms and kissed her forehead. “I just lost it,” he added, just as the police had arrived behind them. “I’m sorry,” he repeated in a whisper
Marley hugged Ryder tightly, scared for him. It seemed in the blink of an eye things had become so intense and crazy and she feared for how this played out. Luke laid on the ground, he was still conscious but he had a nose bleed and a gash on his lip - along with a possible minor concussion from the blows he took to the head. “It’s okay.” she tried to reassure him, hands a little shaky as she watched the police cruiser pull in. It wasn’t long before Julie emerged from the house, eager to tell the officer all about how Ryder had assaulted her brother on their property. “It wasn’t like that.” Marley argued, keeping her hand tightly interlocked with Ryders. She knew there wasn’t much she could say in his defense, they were on the Whitmoore’s property.
Ryder kept close to Marley, wrapping his arms around her. He knew there was no way he was going to walk out of this one. As the police officer got out of the cruiser, he looked down on the floor where Luke laid and swallowed thickly. He was going to be in big trouble. When Marley spoke up in his defense, he couldn’t find his voice and just watched as Luke’s sister continued to explain what had happened. “Look, I was just sticking up for my girlfriend. I mean this guy hurt her,” he gestured towards Luke’s conscious state. “If I’m going to be charge with assault, shouldn’t he be too?” He asked. A million thoughts were running though his mind in that moment, his heart beat was beating rapidly. He watched as the police officer spoke to his partner and then wrote something down before looking up at him. “We’re going to have to take you in,” he said, taking out his handcuffs as he started walking towards him. Ryder let go of Marley once the police officer started handcuffing him. This wasn’t happening. He had a clean record and now in a flash, that was all gone. He couldn’t imagine what his parents were going to do to him once they found out. As the police officer put him in back of cruiser, he looked towards Marley and mouthed “I love you” to her. Everything felt so surreal.
Marley ’s thoughts raced as she tried to think of some way, any way to fix this. When the officer told Ryder that they were going to have to take him in, Marley’s heart sank for him. She didn’t want to let go- she didn’t want to let him handcuff him when he wasn’t the criminal here. “Wait…” she pleaded with the officer that was cuffing him before turning to the unoccupied one. “Wait, this isn’t right. He was protecting me. I can explain it all but Ryder’s not the one that should be getting arrested here!” she argued, being a little more strong willed than usual. The officer seemed unphased by Marley’s pleas, she assumed from his point of view it was just another teenage girl defending her boyfriends actions. After all, they had chosen to step on Luke’s property, therefore they were technically in the wrong here. “If you want to file your own report, feel free to come down to the station and file one but the fact of the matter is that the person who resides in this household is clearly injured, and your boyfriend is responsible for it. It needs to be reported, that’s my job. Like I said, if you want to file a report of your own, you can - but there’s nothing else I can do for you.” the officer explained sternly, before heading back to the cruiser. Marley felt tears well up when Ryder was being put in the back of the cruiser, mouthing ‘I love you’. Once the door was closed and the car began to pull out, Marley turned on her heels and ran back to her house to find Ryder’s keys. She’d call her mom on the way there and explain everything. She didn’t care how long she had to wait, she’d be at that station for him when he got out. He was in this mess because of her, and she couldn’t imagine what his parents were going to do when they found out. She felt worry and fear for them and prayed this was all some horrible nightmare they would both wake from.
