JJ's biggest flaw was his recklessness, and his bad ideas. Honestly, that didn't seem that bad to Bexley.
Rafe's biggest flaw? Jealousy. Pure, uncontrolled jealousy.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
tw: funeral
When Bexley was a little girl, she got scared a lot. She wouldn't be scared of the dark, because she grew used it. She slept in it actually, when her mother would make her sleep out on the beach by their house, while she brought male suitors into the home. It'd be nothing but darkness, and a small amount of moonlight reminding her an enormous ocean was just a few feet away.
Normally, Bexley would spend the entire night outside. Her mother would wake her up in the morning to bring her in for breakfast. But one specific night Bexley recalled a man leaving early, only a couple hours after arriving. He got in an argument with Madelyn, and was kicked out.
The screaming she heard scared her more than darkness ever could.
Peering through the trees, Bexley could overhear the yelling between the two adults.
"Get out of here!" her mother screamed. "You sicko!"
"¡No me grites, you fucking whore!" the man yelled back. He had a car, which he slammed the door of once he got into it. He backed out of their yard, purposefully tearing up flowers Bexley had tried planting a few days prior with the wheel of his car.
"¡Pinche puerco!" her mother screamed after him, even after he disappeared.
Bexley was struck with fear again. She never understood why her mom would yell so loudly at such scary men. The little girl waited a few minutes, making sure he wouldn't come back. Then, she stood and called out, "Mama!"
Madelyn wiped a hand over her face. "Shit." It was supposed to be an easy night. Now she had to deal with consoling her daughter. She stepped towards the beach. "Coming, baby."
Bexley was visibly frightened. She begged her mother, "Can I please go back inside?"
Madelyn sniffed. She nodded. "Yeah, come here, baby."
Bexley went up to her mother, who kneeled down in front of her. The little girl lifted her arms up. Madelyn unclipped the life jacket that was on her. She always made Bexley sleep in a life jacket, in case the tide came up to where she was slept on the beach.
"What was he saying to you?" Bexley dared to ask her mother.
Madelyn had red eyes. "Mean things."
She then asked, "Why couldn't I understand him?" Bexley was never that smart of a girl. She learned things slow, far slower than the other kids. If she didn't understand something, Bexley would often just assume it was her own fault for not picking it up in school.
Madelyn sighed. She decided to sit in the sand for a few minutes, Bexley sat next to her, staring up at her mother.
Madeline scratched the back of her head. "He was speaking Spanish. You don't know Spanish."
This sent Bexley even more curiosity. "Why not? My teachers think do."
Madelyn frowned, and looked down at her daughter. "What? They think you speak Spanish? Why?"
