Farm Girl Has Bad Boy (#3)

Chapter Twenty-Six

“I know you’re mad at Emery,” Raffie starts, trying to meet my eyes while I stare into my cup of hot chocolate. “But you have to understand why he acts the way he does.” When I don’t respond, he continues, not wanting me to avoid this conversation. “Look at how his dad treated him when you met him and even before that. He would lock the kid out of the house for days at a time when he was only ten.”

My heart feels like it’s breaking inside my chest. I only knew a small chunk of Emery’s past, and here I am listening to more and biting my tongue to keep from crying.

“River.” Raphael reaches across the couch and puts his hand gently on my knee, which is resting against the back of the couch. “Emery’s dad showed him love through the pain and suffering he gave him. By know you realize how messed up he his, but look at how he’s treated you. Even though he may have hurt you, I bet he’s stilled done some things the right way. He’s trying, considering he has no one to help him.”

“My dad and I try to help him,” I whisper back, still staring at the marshmallows in my cup swirling in dark circles.

“You yourself can’t help him.” I look up to meet his eyes, which are staring at me seriously. I open my mouth to object but Raffie shakes his head. “River, tell me something. Why are you afraid of thunderstorms?” My eyes grow wide in shock and a knowing smile creeps across his lips. “Don’t act like you aren’t. You’ve been shaking so much that I know it’s not from what happened today.”

With downcast eyes I mumble my response. “My twin sister died in one.” I expect Raffie to apologize or say he’s sorry for what happened like everyone still says, but he doesn’t. Instead he waits for me to look at him again.

“See? You can’t help someone else, River, if you need help yourself. You and Emery are both stuck in the past.”

I lean my right cheek tiredly against the couch, thinking about what has been said. Raffie says a few other things before flipping on his small TV and turning down the volume. Slowly, my eyes begin to close and soon I fall asleep.

“River,” a voice calls from far away. “Wake up!” I ignore Raffie and turn my head into the couch so I can fall back asleep. I feel exhausted, like my eyes have only been closed for a few minutes. “Get up,” he sighs, grabbing my shoulders and gently shaking me.

My eyes fly open and instantly glare at him. “I was sleeping, you know.”

Raphael rolls his eyes. “Your dad is across the street, looking in the boarded windows of Emery’s house, you know.”

I throw myself to my feet without thinking and instantly cover my eyes as everything swirls around me. Once I’ve rubbed my eyes and steadied myself, I head towards the door and slip on my shoes when I realize I still look like a ridiculous pregnant gangster.

“Raffie, I’m still wearing your clothes.”

He shrugs, picking up a plastic bag from beside the couch and handing it to me. Inside are my soaked clothes, which make me shiver at the thought of even putting them back on.

“You can keep them until I see you again,” he smiles, gently flipping up the hood of his sweater onto my head.

“I’ll make sure to invite you to the birth,” I laugh, gesturing to my stomach. Raffie chuckles and wraps me in a tight hug. At first it feels awkward, but after a few seconds, it feels like Raffie’s a friend I’ve had my entire life.

“Just hang in there,” he tells me, pulling back. He opens the door and gives me a grin. “It was nice seeing you.”

“You too,” I smile back, stepping into the rain. I start speed walking across the lawn towards my father’s truck, which is parked on the road in front of Emery’s house.