Bonded

Chapter 5

Devon quietly closed the front door of his home, hoping that he wouldn't wake up his parents. He was in no mood for another lecture from his father about how much of a disappointment he is. It had been three days since Rebecca had run away and he was exhausted looking for her. He was beginning to really worry. She had disappeared for a day or so in the past, but this time it was different. Devon missed her. He missed the feel of her smaller hand in his. He missed her lectures on what the teachers at school got wrong. He missed seeing what crazy thing she did next with her hair or her clothes. The worry was slowly driving him insane.

Devon shook his head and chuckled to himself. If he thought he had it bad, Greyson was even worse. Greyson was beside himself with worry. He had skipped school to look for her. He had driven around the LA area day and night hoping to get a glimpse of her. He needed to know she was alright. He had done all of this while he was fighting off some sort of flu bug. Devon had finally put his foot down and told Greyson he had to get at least one night of sleep or else he was going to tell Amanda. Devon may not be the biggest fan of Amanda as a person, but as Greyson's girlfriend, she would be able to reign him in.

Entering his bedroom, Devon was startled to see his little brother, Dean, sitting at his desk playing on the computer.

"You aren't supposed to be in here. If you messed up any of my stuff, I'm going to end you," Devon loved his little brother, but the kid tended to break stuff.

"Shhh," Dean whispered. "You'll wake her up."

Devon turned his attention over to his bed. There in the middle of a pile of decorative pillows was Rebecca. She had curled herself up into a tight ball. The plaid comforter was pulled up to cover most of her small body leaving just her forehead and an explosion of blue and green curls visible. For the first time in a long time, Devon took a full breath. She was here. She was okay. Devon couldn't help but wonder where she had been and why she suddenly looked so very small.

"When did she get here? Does mom know?" As he spoke, he took off his shoes and moved closer to his brother.

"No. She waited until mom left for her meeting before knocking. I came up here with her. She didn't say much, just curled up and fell asleep."

"Thanks, Little D. Now get to bed before mom finds out you aren't there." Devon ruffled his brother's hair and watched him walk out of the room.

Devon slipped under the covers and slid as close to Rebecca as he could without waking her.

"Rebecca. Doll Face?" He whispered as he brushed the hair away from her face. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the bruises.

Rebecca opened her large green eyes to be greeted by Devon's smiling face.

"Hey." She saw so much love and worry in his eyes that her heart hurt.

"Hey, Doll Face." Devon had spent the last three days trying to find her. Now that he had, he had no idea what to say.

"Dev," she started.

"Are you hungry? Thirsty? Are you... are you hurt at all?" Devon asked.

She smiled a small smile at his concern. "No. I'm okay."

"Are you? Are you okay?" Devon reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

Her eyebrows drew together as if giving the question serious thought. "I'm... I'm something close to okay."

Devon cupped her face and kissed her forehead. "Becca, where-"

She cut him off before he could finish. "Dev, can we do that thing? The thing that I like?"

Devon gave her a hundred megawatt smile. "Of course, Doll Face." He pulled the blanket up and over both of their heads. Then he wrapped his arms around her small form pulling her close to him.

"You warm enough?" He felt her head nod on his shoulder. "And is it dark enough?" There was another nod on his shoulder. "It's just us. We've got a safe little bubble thing going on here. Are you ready?"

"Devon," she whined.

"Okay, you sure you're ready?"

"Devon."

He chuckled at her desperation. "Alright, okay, um.... Let me think... Oh! What did the fish say when it ran into a wall?"

"I don't know, what did the fish say when it ran into a wall?"

"Dam!" Devon couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. He felt Rebecca bury her head in his chest and groan.

"No? Okay... two muffins were sitting in an oven, one muffin said to the other muffin, 'Wow, it's pretty hot in here.' The other muffin shouted, 'Wow! A talking muffin!'"

"Seriously, where do you come up with these?" Rebecca snuggled closer to her boyfriend.

"I am gonna get you to laugh. I've never failed before."

"No, you haven't. You always make me laugh. I don't think I have ever thanked you for that."

"Becca," Devon began. "You don't laugh enough. I know you don't like talking to me about a lot of stuff and you know I won't push. That was our deal from the beginning. But, if me telling you dumb jokes helps you laugh more, I will Google every joke site on the internet until you laugh."

Rebecca kissed his check.

"You are gonna have to go see Grey, you know that, right? He's really worried about you." Devon spoke softly.

"I know," she sighed. "He is gonna be so pissed."

"I think he will just be glad you are alright. Anyway, he is really sick so he may not have the energy to be really pissed at you."

"A sick and cranky Greyson? That is definitely something to look forward to" Rebecca started banging her head against Devon's shoulder.

"We both love you. We only want you safe."

"I know. I love you both too."

"Alright... so, where were we? ... Right. What did the left butt cheek say to the right?"

Rebecca sighed. "I don't know, what did the left butt cheek say to the right?"

"You crack me up!" Devon laughed loudly.

"What is it with boys and butts? Why do they think they are so funny?"

"You are really making me work for it this time." Devon rubbed his hand up and down her back.

"I tend to make things difficult. It is part of my charm." Rebecca finally let the warmth of Devon's body and the peacefulness of the dark relax her.

"Your charm won me over," Devon kissed the top of her head. "What did the rubber band factory worker say when he was fired?"

"Oh geez, I don't know. What did the rubber band factory worker say when he was fired?"

"Oh, snap!"

Rebecca allowed a bubble of laughter to escape before giving in and joining Devon and dissolving into a fit of giggles. Devon's heart swelled at the sound. Pulling her body flush against his own, Devon savored the moment.

"Becca, when is the last time you slept?"

"You just woke me up." She pointed out the obvious.

"You know what I mean, Doll Face." Rebecca couldn't see it in the dark, but she could hear the eye roll in his voice.

"I don't know, it's been a long couple of days." She did know that she was exhausted.

"Well, I haven't been sleeping because I was worried about you. Why don't we both try and get some sleep?"

"Dev?"

"Yeah?"

"Kurt is a lucky man. He better know how awesome you are."

"He does. Now sleep."

**********