Romance RP

Ryan replied, "I'm not.  That captain is clearly more dangerous.  But just because someone's not physically abusing you, that doesn't mean that emotionally abusing someone isn't as harmful."

He had to think of something to get through to Lycoris and then getting an idea, he continued,

"I remember a time when Bryan and I didn't get along.  I hurt him and when I realized how wrong my actions were, I deeply regretted being such a terrible person towards him.  No matter what differences there are between us, I had no right to take my anger out on him."

He glanced at Lycoris, wondering if his words were getting through to her.

Lycoris remained quiet for a while more then took a deep breath, and said,

"That's good to know. I-I don't know bad things were between you and Bryan but...but I don't think things could have been as complicated as they are between me and Nerine. Not that I am admitting anything of what you say about her. But I am just telling you."

Ryan nodded and replied, "Yes, I would have to agree with you there.  However, no matter what has happened between the two of you, there's no excuse for siblings to hurt one another.  Just remember that, ok?  Even if someone justifies hurting you, there's never a good reason for doing so in the first place."

Lycoris was convinced that even if Ryan was right, she loved her sister far too much to speak out against her. And she felt that she'd hurt Nerine in the past too, so hurting her now was justified.

She replied, "I don't understand why you insist that Nerine hurts me. I never said or showed so."

Ryan sighed and replied, "The signs are there, Lycoris.  Almost everyone has seen them-it's just that no one has wanted to say anything.  Only Alex seems to be blind to the entire situation.  You know, I don't want to have to resort to telling him..."

He figured that he could make a bluff and imply that he'd tell Alex what was going on even though he really wouldn't do such a thing.

Lycoris' heart almost skipped a beat as Ryan said what he did, and looking terrified, she replied,

"W-What are you talking about? Tell him what exactly? You-you have no proof of what you claim and I-I didn't say anything. What would you tell him?"

Ryan could see that Lycoris was buying into his bluff and he casually replied,

"Oh I'd just tell him my suspicions about Nerine emotionally hurting you.  It'd be enough to get his attention, at the very least.  But I could avoid telling him if you'd open up to me.  That's all I really ask."

Lycoris looked really shaken by this, and terrified that Alex might know, and that Ryan could really do that. Slowly, she said,

"N-No, you-you can't do that...If Alex just suspects something like that, things might get bad again between him and Nerine and-and...You just can't do that."

Ryan replied, "Well, I really don't want to but I'd have no choice if you aren't willing to be honest with you.  Or at least not shut yourself off from others.  If you promise me that you'll try to open up more and let others in, then I won't tell Alex anything.  He won't be any the wiser."

Lycoris' tears trickled down again and she didn't know what to do. She felt teared between telling Ryan everything and between continuing to deny things, but feared that he could really go with his threat. She quietly replied,

"But this is only got to do with me. I am the one who chooses to keep away from everyone else. It's my choice. No one's got anything to do with this. Not you. Not Alex. No one."

Ryan saw how upset Lycoris was getting and he felt bad for causing her pain.  He reached out to hug her and gently replied,

"I'm sorry, Lycoris.  I'm sorry for hurting you like this.  Please forgive me.  I just worry about you and I'm not the only one.  I don't want you to be alone to deal with your problems on your own.  No one should feel like they need to."

Lycoris didn't know whether Ryan's apology meant that he wouldn't go with his threat or not, but she only knew that she couldn't talk any longer, for she feared what she could say if Ryan remained around any longer and she talked in her state. Pushing him away gently, she said,

"Please, please leave me alone. We'll talk later. Please."

Ryan sighed and replied, "Ok, we can talk tomorrow.  Again, I am sorry for hurting you and don't worry-I won't tell Alex anything."

He leaned in and gave Lycoris a kiss on her forehead and then he reached out to pet the puppies and said,

"You two look after Lycoris, ok?  She needs you both."

The puppies barked in reply, as though promising to look after Lycoris.

Lycoris didn't say anything, and waited silently for Ryan to leave. She couldn't understand whether Ryan was really going to tell Alex and backed out when he saw how upset she got or if he was just bluffing from the beginning.

Anyhow, she needed to calm down before she could talk anymore and she hoped she would be calmer by tomorrow.

After petting the puppies, Ryan gave Lycoris one more hug and said,

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lycoris.  Please try to get some rest."

He then let go of her and left her room.  As he walked down the hallway towards his and Lisianthus' room, he sighed to himself.

Meanwhile, the puppies walked over to Lycoris and gently gave her kisses on her cheeks, wanting to make her feel better.

Meanwhile, Lisianthus had finished talking to Avi and went back to her and Ryan's room, waiting for him to arrive. She hoped that he was able to talk to her and get some sense through her.

Ryan arrived at the door to his and Lisianthus' room and upon opening the door, he saw that Lisianthus was already inside, waiting for him.  After he closed the door behind him, he smiled sadly at her and said,

"Hey, beautiful.  Did you wait long for me?"

Lisianthus returned Ryan's smile and replied, "No, I arrived here only a little ago."

Noticing the sadness on Ryan's face, she grew worried and asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Ryan sighed and replied, "I think I only made things worse."

He took a seat beside Lisianthus and then began telling her what had happened when he talked to Lycoris up to the point where she cried and he apologized for upsetting her.  His heart felt heavy and saddened as he knew that he was the cause of Lycoris' pain but yet he had only wanted her to open up rather than isolate herself.

Lisianthus listened carefully as Ryan told her what happened and she could understand why he felt upset. After he was finished, she sighed but patting his hand gently, she said,

"Hey, don't blame yourself, ok? You were just trying to help. Lycoris was probably just already upset so maybe that's why she was just too sensitive. But I am sure once she calms down, she'll be better."

Ryan nodded and replied, "I hope you're right, beautiful.  I guess I pushed too hard but I really wanted Lycoris to open up to me.  I didn't expect that she would keep hiding things or even going to the point of defending Nerine."

He sighed and then said, "How did things go with Avi?"

Lisianthus sighed and replied,

"Well, he's fine but hurt and worried about Lycoris. He doesn't understand why she's been pushing him away recently although he really just wants to help her. I tried explaining to him that it's got nothing to do with him personally and although he's convinced that it's nothing personal, he's still feeling a little hurt as he thought they were close."

(Sorry for the delay. Lunch and mum, as usual. XD)

(Ahh no problem.  ^^)

Ryan replied, "I don't understand why Lycoris is pushing Avi or just about everyone else away.  Could Nerine be telling her to do so?  That seems like such an awfully cold thing if that were the case.  There was a time that I didn't like Bryan but I would have never pushed to a point to have him isolated and all alone."

Lisianthus sighed and replied,

"I don't know. But I don't like what she's doing. She'll end up hurting herself badly this way and I want to help her before that happens. But she isn't even letting anyone try to help her. I don't understand why she is doing this to herself."

Ryan sighed and replied, "I don't understand, either.  Lycoris should know that we want to help her because we care about her.  Does Nerine's opinion really matter that much to her?  I don't know...Maybe we should try taking a different approach to all of this."