When He Leaves - R. Cameron

23 𝑖'𝑚 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠

𝑖'𝑚 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛
𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠

summer of '19

Rory stared at him, not even thinking to answer Rafe because he was on her couch. She didn't think he would be in her house ever again. He continued to look back at her. "Rory."

She cleared her throat and walked toward the kitchen. "A little." She finally answered and turned the light on, quickly changing her mind when her eyes throbbed. She turned it back off and opened the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water.

She had heard him walking but did not expect for him to be directly behind her. She blinked up at him, seeing the concern in his eyes. "And you drove like this?" He asked and opened the water for her when he saw that she was struggling, handing it back.

"I did." She muttered and went around him, drinking half of the water before leaving it on the counter and making her way upstairs. He followed her, to which she groaned at but was thankful when he kept his hand on her lower back as she made her way up the stairs. She probably would have fell if he hadn't been there.

She sat on her bed in the dark, taking off her the shirt she had on, leaving her in a think tank top. He turned her lamp on, knowing it wouldn't hurt her eyes as bad. "Were you at the Boneyard?" He asked, leaning against the wall. He watched her closely, not used to her being like this.

"Yeah." Rory nodded and stood up. "I looked for you. You never showed up."

He sighed, hearing the dismal tone in her voice. "No, I was busy. I didn't think you would've been there anyways."

"I'm going to take a shower." She muttered, unbuttoning her jeans shorts and pushing them down her legs. She nearly tripped over them but caught herself on the wall with her hand.

                      He watched with tension in between his eyebrows and forehead. "You need help?" He asked and followed her inside the bathroom.

                     Rory pulled her underwear down her legs, leaving her tank top on. "Like you care." He never took his eyes off her face, too concerned to be thinking of anything else other than her well-being.

                      "I do care." Rafe said and went around her to turn the shower on. She watched him for a moment before attempting get the tight tank top over her head. She sighed, feeling vulnerable and embarrassed to be struggling in front of Rafe, naked.

                       She felt his calloused hands slide over her arms under the tank top to pull it over her head. He tossed it to the ground and looked down at her, his lips in a thin line. She crossed her arms over her bare chest. "Why are you here?" Her voice broke at the end, and she was squeezed her eyes shut before looking away from him.

                     "Because I want to be here." He said and then pushed the shower curtain aside, "Let's talk about this after you take a shower."

                        "Were you with someone?" She asked, so far from thinking about what she was saying. She sounded desperate right now, but at the moment she didn't realize it.

"What?" He asked. She sighed and looked into his eyes. "You said you were busy. Were you with someone?"

He smoothed his hand over her back and pushed her toward the shower. "I was with my dad." He reassured her and she nodded, stepping into the shower. He closed the curtain and she could see his shadow through it as he leaned against the wall, resting his head back. "Tell me if you need help. I'll be right here."