Care For Me ✔️

S E V E N T Y - T H R E E

L I L Y

—trigger warning—
mentions of suicide / abuse

"Did you win?" Rafe asked, plopping another handful of M&Ms into his mouth, "The court case I mean."

"I knew what you meant," I rolled my eyes. "I think we did."

"You think?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Mhm, they both got sent to jail for a long time."

"Did it make you feel any better?"

"Yes and no," I sighed, playing with the red sweets in my hand. "I found out some other things, things I wish I never knew."

"Do you want to share?" He asked, swinging his legs over the edge.

"We might be here all night."

"That's okay with me, I don't want to go home anytime soon." He admitted sadly, before cleaning his throat, sending me a small smile.

"If I tell you, can you do one thing?" He nodded, "Don't give me pity, I really don't like pity."

"Okay, no pity, I can do that." He smiled, opening yet another bag of M&Ms.

"You're gonna end up with diabetes," I laughed, watching as he pulled all the blue sweets from the bag.

"Dying of a sugar overdose sounds like fun." He grinned, staring at the sweets lovingly.

I shook my head at his antics, "I'll pretend you never said that."

"Why? It's true." He shrugged, "Anyway, it's better than how I think I'll die." He mumbled, his voice low and filled with sorrow.

"How do you think you'll die?" I asked, frowning slightly.

"Nu hu, you're trying to change the subject." He wiggled a finger at me.

"I am not!" I exclaimed, "I'm just curious," I shrugged. More than curious, his words slightly worried me. Well... more than slightly.

A sad smile graced his lips, the light in his eyes dimming slightly, "Lets make a deal, I'll share my demons, after you share yours."

I held my hand out, "Deal."

He shook it, "Deal."

So I told him... everything. Every single detail of my life; from my parents death, my kidnapping, the abuse, finding my brothers, I told him everything — minus Jenna's death. I shed a few tears in the process, but in a way, I felt lighter. I liked having someone I could confide in, someone that wasn't family, someone that didn't know me whilst the abuse was ongoing.

"Wow." Rafe whispered, his blue orbs brimming with tears, "Sorry," he mumbled harshly rubbing his eyes.

"You don't need to apologise for crying, Rafe." I told him honestly. No one should ever apologise for showing emotion.

"My tears don't mean I pity you," He told me quickly, "I don't pity you, if anything, I admire you."

I choked back a gasp, "Admire me?"