Crossed Paths // Ross Lynch

fourteen

Rydel woke up with a smile on her face, a real smile.

It wasn't forced in an attempt to show that everything was okay when it felt like the whole world was crumbling around her. It wasn't one full of laughter and joy, as if she was dancing upon Cloud Nine. It wasn't even one of just pure normalness, a smile for the sake of smiling. She was smiling because for once, she didn't feel stressed.

She didn't have the constant worry of the police finding them and taking them away darting around her mind. She couldn't hear the whispers and then the sudden screams of the voices in her head telling her that the house would fall to pieces one night by a single gust of wind and kill them all, the voices that drove her into a corner of the room with her head in her hands as she tried to steady her breathing and stop the panic attack from exploding inside her and taking over her entire body. She didn't have the constant threat of being seen, of being spoken to, of being laughed at and judged and ridiculed for everything.

No, for once in her life, Rydel felt a little bit more confident than usual. She wasn't stressed or anxious or worried, she was just content and happy and she felt a little bit more free. Maybe it was because she wasn't busking that day or because it was warm outside or maybe it was just because she had woken up in a good mood. But she felt happy for the first time in a long time and although it felt weird, she liked the feeling of it. 

She slumped on the sofa, playing with a loose thread that she had pulled from the waistband of her denim jeans. Although Rydel was happy, she was bored. Ross had gone out to busk on his own - something he regularly did in an attempt to 'get away from everything for a bit and clear his mind ' - and Ratliff, Rocky and Riker had gone for a walk into the market, trying their best to remain as innocent looking as possible.

Only Chloe was in the house, the only other girl there as well as the only remaining living person in the house that Rydel could actually hold a conversation with. 

After a couple of minutes of idly lying there on the squeaking sofa, she brushed a hand back through her long blonde hair before getting up. She rolled her shoulders back, loosening the stiffness that made her bones creak. With a sigh, she decided to get Chloe up and plan something for the two of them.

They had become closer in the four weeks that they had known each other and Rydel was desperate for the two of them to have a girly day out. Rydel had never experienced a day out with a girl - whenever she went out with her brothers, the day was full of fart jokes, crude remarks and the constant loud laughs that erupted from their mouths.

Rydel just wanted a day out with another girl - it didn't have to be Chloe, she just wanted a day out with someone of the same gender of her. Someone who she could confide in and not be laughed at for her secrets, someone who she could stare at cute boys with, someone who could give her advice on the clothes she found in the market or how her hair looked.

A smile creeping onto her lips again, she headed up the stairs, trying her best to remain as quiet as she could. She didn't really want to wake Chloe up, preferring to leave the young girl to sleep for another hour or so, but she knew she had to unless she wanted to go absolutely insane with boredom. She pushed the door of Ross's bedroom open and looked down at Chloe, who was fast asleep on the bare mattress.

She was curled up tightly in an effort to conserve hear, her knees tucked right up by her pointed chin. Her long hair was sprawled out across the mattress, long brown strands creating an almost halo effect around her head. As well as a vest t-shirt of Rydel's, she also wore Ross's gray jogging trousers, the legs absolutely swamping Chloe's thin legs so that the bottom of them curled up underneath her feet.

Rydel couldn't help but smile at her. Although she found it a little bit weird that her brother was dating her new found friend, was sharing his clothes and, by the look of things, had probably gotten undressed in front of her, she truly was happy for the two of them.