𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐒 - jj maybank

- 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

𝗥𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 over to apologise the next day. He was hungover, hungry and emotional. He said something along the lines of ʼMy dad is stressing me out and I'm going to kill myselfʼ. Obviously he didn't straight-up tell his girlfriend that he was thinking of committing suicide — he wasn't manipulative —, but it sounded a lot like he was.

Kaci knew Rafe had some issues at home. His addiction issues, his tenancy to quickly get violent and angry, his mood swings — she knew he wasn't okay. And she had always been there for him. For years, he went back and forth through good and bad phases, and Kaci was always there to hold his hand when he got out of it. Of course, when they were arguing she got harsh — she wasn't going to let someone treat her badly — but if he poured his heart out to her, she wasn't going to turn him away. Never.

She loved Rafe. She always would.

But now she didn't have only herself to think of. She couldn't afford to put her baby through something as big as his tantrums. She couldn't look after him while raising a whole child. She couldn't let her baby grow up around such bad energy. And, still, the baby wasn't even his.

When Kaci slept with JJ, she was on her own spiral. Her brother had gone missing, her parents were acting strange and she and Rafe were on a break. Obviously, all that stuff wasn't a good enough excuse to cheat on him. Obviously, what she did was wrong. She knew that. She did. But in that time, when she was feeling so low, it felt like JJ was the only person in the world who cared for her. And that was a stupid feeling because he didn't know her enough to care for her. But that was how she felt.

JJ was nice to her. She was so rude and obnoxious, and he was still so nice. Nicer than any boy had ever been to her before. The way he looked at her made her feel like she mattered; the way he spoke to her made her feel like she was worth something; the way he listened to her made her feel like she was heard. So what happened happened, and there was nothing in the world she could do to change that.

But Kaci was soon coming to the end of her secret pregnancy, and she knew — she knew by the way he had been acting lately — that Rafe was close to a breakdown. That soon, he would snap. And she didn't want her baby being hurt in the process. She didn't want her baby to be the thing that drove him to the edge.

Because Kaci loved Rafe. And Rafe loved Kaci. She didn't want to put anymore hurt onto his soul.

So, when he came crying to her the next day, she let him in. They watched movies all night — all of Rafeʼs favourites — and fell asleep in each otherʼs arms. It was the first time they'd done that in a while.

"I love you, Kace," he mumbled, kissing her knuckles.

"I love you, too, Rafe." She smiled lightly at him, admiring the golden glow on his face, the bruise on his eye.

"I promise to never get like that again."

She knew it wasn't true — that he would break it eventually — but at least he was trying. If he was going to try, so would she. For now.

"You better not, or I'll give you a double one," she said, pressing her finger against his black eye.

He chuckled, taking her hand from his face and putting it on his lap. "I'm gonna fucking kill that Maybank kid, though."

Kaciʼs smile disappeared as Rafe turned back to watch the TV.

𖧷

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 of shouting woke Kaci Flores from her perfect slumber. Things were good.

Rafe left around two am that morning, and he didn't ask for sex once in his whole stay. He let Kaci have her space, stayed calm and content and went home the second he was told to. When things were good between the couple, they were really good. Good enough to fantasise about their future together. Good enough to forget about all the bad times.