29 - Dark

Ryan Miller had spent the last hour driving around the streets of Buffalo looking for Anna. It was almost midnight and he was exhausted, but he didn't care. She said she was going home, but the truth was, he was the only one with a key- the spare was still on the countertop when Derek had left it days before. Better yet, Anna didn't know the way.

She'd taken off so fast, and of course, the street had to be crowded. It was ridiculous. Ryan wasn't sure where she went, so he took a guess. It had to have been the wrong way, because otherwise he wouldn't be still looking for her.

Where would he go if he was Anna? Ryan wondered to himself. In a city that she didn't know. That was a toughie, he had to admit.

And then it hit him.

By the time he pulled up at the train station, he didn't have to go look for her- Anna was seated outside on a steel bench, staring at the ground. Ryan parked the car and got out, walking over to her gingerly. She shifted over so he could sit next to her. Maybe now she had simmered down.

"Fuck my life..." Anna said slowly.

Ryan sighed, his breath visible in the cold air, "No, no..."

"Ryan...I don't know what to do anymore," Anna said, her face covered in tears, "I feel so lost. I just wanna go home...but no one wants me anymore."

Ryan mumbled, "I do..."

Anna looked at him, shivering in the cold air. He took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders.

"Whoever said I have a girlfriend was lying," Ryan said, "Because I have been single for almost four years now."

Anna looked at him, "Really?"

"Yes, really," Ryan replied, "And...that night in Pittsburgh, I was a virgin." He blushed a bit. "I'm letting you know, just so you don't think the worst of me."

"I don't," Anna said, "I'm the one I don't like right now. I mean, I got myself fired for something stupid, wound up pregnant because I was drunk off my ass-"

"That last bit is my fault, too."

"Yeah, I guess I can blame you a bit."

They laughed. Ryan liked seeing her smile, however brief it appeared.

"I'm sorry about all this," Anna told him, "Really."

"You don't have to be."

"I mean it," she continued, "My body was telling me to go for something that wasn't mine, and I wound up messing up your game, and our relationship..."

"We have a relationship?" Ryan's eyes widened.

"...well, er, something like that," Anna shrugged, "I don't know. We're living together and I'm having your child...not to mention the past few nights we've been...you know..."

"Yeah..." Ryan chewed on his bottom lip, "You're really good, by the way."

"What?"

Ryan blushed, "I mean...what we did. What you did felt good."

Anna touched his hand, "Thanks...what you did was nice, too."

They were quiet for a few moments; the sounds of the city like music.

"Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"I know we should stop having sex all the time...because it's probably not good for your game or for the baby, but...would it be ok if I kissed you every now and then?"

Ryan was pleasantly surprised, "Um, sure. I'd like that, actually."

Anna pursed her lips, "Do you think that...maybe...we could give this a go? For the sake of the baby?"

Ryan let his hand clasp around hers. Anna felt a sense of security around him. Perhaps that was why she was so upset with what Mercedes said. Ryan protected her, and she felt like she needed that.

"I don't think it would hurt to try."

Anna fell asleep on the way home, still wearing Ryan's jacket. He carried her in the house and upstairs; dressing her in her pyjamas and tucking her into her bed. Clicking on the hall light, Ryan yawned and wandered to his own room to sleep.

The next morning, Ryan woke up to find Anna didn't stay in her room- instead she was in his, snuggled up next to him, sound asleep. He realized that as he had slept, his body had moulded around hers, like two perfect circles entwined.

Yeah, he thought. Maybe they should give this a go.