Hurricane Love

Fourty Eight

'I don't want her to get to know Deano, thanks very much,' Ryker said.

'Oy!' Deano cried. 'What's wrong with getting to know me?'

'You're a fucking twat who only comes around here when you're broke and want to skeeze drugs off my mum,' Ryker replied.

'Now, now,' Deano said, slowly and sternly in a very threatening tone, as his smile dropped and he stood to his feet. 'Don't start coming at me, son, because I won't hesitate to floor you in front of your pretty little girlfriend.'

'You can't even fucking see your hand in front of your face, mate, you're that off it,' Ryker said, scowling at him. 'Sit the fuck down and carry on as you were. We're going upstairs.'

'Yeah, well make sure you use a fucking condom because I ain't ready for fucking grandkids yet,' Donna called, as Ryker ushered me out of the room and the sounds of Deano and Donna howling with laughter again echoed through the house as we hurried upstairs.

The laughter disappeared as we stepped into his room and shut the door and I hovered on the spot as he pulled off his jacket, threw it over the chair and sat down on the bed, dropping his head into his hands.

'Ryker?' I mumbled.

'I shouldn't have brought you here,' he said, keeping his head down. 'She's a fucking embarrassment.'

'There's nothing to be embarrassed about,' I said, moving towards him and dropping to my knees, pulling his hands from his face so that he looked up at me. 'I've been here before. I've met her before. I knew what to expect.'

'That's besides the fucking point,' he sighed. 'We go to your house and even after all of the shit I've pulled, your mum still made me feel welcome that day I stayed; she cooked me dinner, she let me lounge around with you, she talked to me, got to know me, she was nice to me and I didn't even deserve it. I felt more at home than I ever have here with my own mum. It's so shit for you that you don't get to receive the same treatment when you come here as I do at your place.'

'It's not shit,' I told him, lacing my fingers through his as I moved my face closer and looked at him seriously. 'It's just the way it is.'

'It's fucking terrifying,' he said, his eyes creasing up as he looked back at me. 'I don't know why the fuck I thought it was a good idea to come.'

'What's so terrifying?' I asked. 'You know I'd never judge you or your mum.'

'I know you wouldn't,' he sighed. 'I just worry that it could scare you off. I don't want you to fear coming around here so maybe it's best I don't bring you at all. The type of people she has here...I just don't want you around them.'

'Then we don't have to come,' I said. 'If you want me to be here with you, I always will, this will never ever scare me off. I'm not with you for any reason other than I love you. We can just stay up here and be away from them but if you don't want me here at all, we can go to my place. If you feel at home there, then you can come anytime you like.'

'I really do have nothing, Amelia,' he told me. 'No loving family to invite you into, no fancy house for you to stay over at...I don't even have proper friends, just dickheads who I would never want you to be around. I will, however, look after you and make sure you're as happy as you can possibly be. I'll do everything to make sure you have everything if I can make that happen and I'll be here for you no matter what.'

'I know you will,' I whispered, placing my hands around his neck as I pressed my forehead to his. 'That's all I need.'

'I can't change who I am and where I come from but I'm doing my best to change where I'm heading,' he said. 'I'm going to make something of myself so we can have a future and so that I can give you everything that I can't give you now.'