ALWAYS {A Ryden MPreg}--House Of Memories: Book Two (Wattys 2016)

anywhere but here

POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING: this chapter features a scene of domestic abuse. Do not continue reading if you are easily triggered.

Brendon whimpered in his sleep, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead. Ryan rubbed the boy's chest, trying to comfort him. Brendon started screaming, and Ryan's heart broke again. He lightly shoved the younger boy. "It's okay, Brendon," he whispered. Brendon was crying at this point, his gut-wrenching sobs filled with pain. Ryan turned on the light and shook Brendon a little harder this time. The younger boy hiccuped once then woke up confused and disoriented.
"Wha?" he mumbled, wiping his face.
"You were screaming and crying in your sleep, Bren," Ryan said softly. Brendon shrugged and pulled his shirt over his head. "I dunno why...I think i was having a good dream," he whispered, getting out of bed.
Ryan looked at him with concern. "What's wrong?"
The younger boy rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Relax, Ry. I just need to pee," he said as he walked out of the room. Ryan took his phone off the nightstand and unlocked it. No messages from Keltie (surprise, surprise). He frowned. There was, however, a message from Pete Wentz, one of Brendon's best friends.
hey ryan, its pete. i was just wondering if maybe i could come by later to see B?
Ryan sent a hasty reply. fine. whatever.
He set his phone down just as Brendon walked back into the room. The pregnant boy looked kind of shaky. "Hey...you alright?" Ryan asked gently. Brendon nodded with a smile that didn't quite reach his chocolate eyes, slowly getting back in bed. "Just tired, I guess," Brendon sighed, placing a hand on his expanding belly. These past few weeks, ever since he had started showing, Brendon was acting a bit differently. On more than one occasion, Ryan found the younger boy just standing there, caressing the bump with a starstruck smile on his face. Ryan thought he had never seen the boy look so fucking beautiful as he did in those moments. Brendon yawned and snuggled up to his boyfriend. "I love you, Ry," he whispered as he fell asleep. Ryan didn't say it back.

Brendon was woken the next morning by someone whopping him over the face with a pillow, over and over again.
"Hey!" He protested, trying to cover his face. "The fuck?" He asked, then grinned. It was his best friend Pete.
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" Pete smirked. Brendon groaned and got out of bed.
"I'm up, I'm up," the pregnant boy whined, running a hand through his messy hair. "Wh...when did you get here?"
Pete gave a wicked grin. "I've been here all night, watching you sleep," he purred. Brendon's jaw dropped in mock terror. "Just kidding. I got here maybe twenty minutes ago? Ryan said I could accompany you guys on your appointment."
Brendon grinned. "Oh." He wandered into the kitchen where Ryan, Mikey, and Gerard were all sitting around the table, drinking coffee.
"Good morning," Brendon said as he stifled a yawn. He put a hand on his tummy and smiled.
"'Mornin', mama!" Gerard held up his coffee and grinned.
"How are you feeling?" Mikey asked.
"Fine, I guess," Brendon murmured as he stroked his bump gently, a tear spilling from the corner of his eye. Ryan stood up and walked over to Brendon. He kissed the younger boy on the mouth and placed a hand on Brendon's belly.
"Have you guys thought of any names yet?" Pete asked. The pregnant boy blushed.
"Well..." he began. Ryan interrupted him.
"No, we haven't," the older boy said rather brashly. Brendon sighed.
"I've been running a few through my head, actually," he admitted. Ryan looked at him in surprise.
"I...I thought we were gonna wait till we found out their genders?"
Brendon shook his head. "I'm not sure I wanna go today," he whispered.
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Then why the fuck are we going to get another damned ultrasound today? Why the fuck are all of our friends here? Wait. These are all YOUR friends! Why can't I ever have my friends over?"
Brendon's smile dropped, as did his spirits. "Um."
"Yes?" Ryan said impatiently. "Um..."
"I'll tell you why," Mikey snapped. "Dallon, Jon, Spencer, and Andy are all fucking losers, Ross! All they ever do is sit around and get high and drunk. Do you really want people like that around your pregnant boyfriend?"
Brendon kept his gaze on the floor, chewing on his bottom lip.
"I deserve to hang out with my friends! I'm inviting them, dammit!" Ryan said bitingly. Brendon took a shaky breath and looked into Ryan's eyes.
"H-he's right...I don't want them here...and I hate when you're high off your ass, Ryan."
The older boy spluttered, trying not to lose his temper. "They're not gonna do that here, I promise," he sighed.
"There'd be nothing to invite them to, anyway. I don't feel that good. Maybe we can go another day," the pregnant boy whimpered.
"For fuck's sake," Ryan said, getting in Brendon's face. Gerard got to his feet.
"Cool down, Ryan," Gerard said calmly.
Ryan gripped Brendon by the tops of his arms and shook him violently, the younger boy's head rolling forward and backward on his neck like a ragdoll. Brendon was sobbing, trying to pry Ryan's long fingers loose. "I-I'm sorry, Ryan, I just don't feel good."
"You're hurting him," Gerard said. Pete got up and walked over so he was standing directly behind Ryan. ""Let go of him, Ross," Pete said coolly. Ryan shoved Brendon away from him. The pregnant boy lost his balance and fell, smashing his face on the counter as he went down. Brendon sat up, blood trickling from a gash on his forehead. "I'm sorry, Ry."
Gerard and Mikey rushed to help Brendon to his feet. "Not cool, dude," Mikey muttered as he handed the younger boy a wad of paper towels. Brendon nodded in appreciation and pressed it to the cut in an attempt to staunch the bleeding.
"Mind your own fucking business!" Ryan hissed, grabbing his keys off the table. "I'll be in the car, Brendon. You'd better be cleaned up and outside within five minutes," he trailed off darkly as he walked out. Brendon whimpered and walked into the bedroom, getting dressed in a daze. He sighed and walked out to the kitchen where his friends were waiting. "Well, let's go, I guess."
They walked out to Ryan's car in silence. Brendon got shotgun, and the other three piled into the backseat. Brendon turned to face his boyfriend.
"I'm sorry, Ry," the pregnant boy whispered, his voice strained.
"Whatever. My friends are meeting us there." Ryan growled.

This time, they'd gotten a bigger room. Brendon was laying in the bed, asleep, as they waited for Dr Martinez. Sitting by the door were all of Ryan's friends; Gerard and Pete were sitting by his bedside. Ryan held the pregnant boy's hand, unable to look into Brendon's eyes. Mikey couldn't stand being in the same room as Ryan's friends, so he'd excused himself to go smoke a cigarette.
The doctor wheeled the cart into the room, and Brendon slowly woke up.
"What happened?" she asked, eying the cut on the boy's face as she lifted his shirt.
"He fell in the kitchen this morning. No big deal," Ryan said dismissively. Gerard and Pete held their tongues.
Dr Martinez squirted the jelly onto the boy's belly, then placed the probe.
"Here's a baby boy," she said, then moved the probe to the other side of the bump. "And another boy. Wait," she frowned, her brow furrowed. "I was wrong about twins...there's a baby girl in there as well!"
Ryan jumped to his feet and cheered. "Woo! Party at my place!"

A/N: I apologize for the update delay. I will do my best to update more frequently, but hey, I'm only human. So, how do you guys like the story so far? Hang on tight, because the next few chapters are going to be pretty intense. Love to all my readers!