It was a privilege, waking up beside the person you loved and adored. It was more than just something special having that person wrap their arms around you, Raye thought admiring the way Brienna's tiny arm was flung across her chest, while her head laid against her shoulder.
Her messy hair was pushed all the way in her face and Raye didn't complain.
The fruity scent of her shampoo was especially what she missed most about having Brie's hair in her face. The way each locs of curl would brush against her cheek would always stir up a smile. It's what she'd missed having spent such a long time in the hospital and there were much more.
The way Brie would hog most of the bed just so her petite self could sleep horribly, her tiny snores that sounded like she was whimpering rather than snoring, the way there'd always be a smile on her face the first thing in the morning— Raye missed it all.
Looking down at the sleeping girl whose supple lips were puckered made her heart swoon. Her gaze had pinned itself onto the engagement ring on her finger and the sight of it made an even wider smile crack across her face.
Her wife, she thought brushing her fingers against the girl's hand, causing her to stir just a little in her sleep.
That was such a beautiful moment for Raye, enjoying the small number of shadows that fell on the girl's face due to there being a lack of light. It was really early in the morning and their room was still partially darkened.
Raye could hear most of the world waking up, as very light traffic could be heard moving up and down in the street below. That mood felt right again after being deprived of it. The feel of Brienna's soft skin against hers was everything it had ever been and more. To spend the rest of her days living with it was something she was looking forward too. To raise a family with this phenomenal woman was all she ever wanted. To make her happy until the end of their days was her only intention.
Placing a small kiss on the tip of her nose, Raye smiled one last time before deciding to try and get a few minutes more sleep before the girl was up and flouncing around the place.
She was also looking forward to that.
* * *
"I'll get it," Brienna was rushing to answer the home phone as it rang, echoing in the distance. Raye was somewhere in the living room doing only God knew what but she heard the phone as well, though leaving it to the energetic girl who shot for it.
"Hey, mom," the girl spoke after noticing the caller's ID, a genuine smile appearing across her face. Flashbacks of the day before made her feel even happier than she was.
"Sweetheart," Brian answers and immediately the girl realized that it wasn't her mother.
"Dad, hi, what's going on?"
"Not much, I'd just call to see how you guys were doing,"
Looking around the entrance to the kitchen Brie could see Raye moving around. It felt good having her home again. Although she wasn't one hundred per cent herself, she was slowly getting there and it was nice to see her improve she thought.
"We're doing good. How's Mom? I know she was a little tipsy last night and I was wondering how you guys made out?"
"She's fine, I can promise you that." The older man laughs a little remembering quite fondly his wife being slightly inebriated on their way home. She wasn't the type that drank alcohol unless she felt the need to. He figured last night was one of those worthy nights. It made it interesting to watch.
"That's great,"
Raye had glanced her in her direction while she spoke and it made butterflies dance in the pit of the girl's stomach. It was a feeling she'd been exposed to numerous times but never got used too.
"Is Raye around, can you put on the phone for me? I wanted to talk to her about going on a fishing trip with me and a few friends."
"Yeah, she's right here and I'm sure she wouldn't mind."
Taking the phone away from her ear, she turned to Raye.
"My dad wants to talk to you,"
"Okay." With the phone suddenly in her left hand now, the taller girl placed it to her ear and spoke immediately.
"Hey there Mr Paulson,"
"Is there any way you could go somewhere a bit more private?" He queries as soon as he heard the girl's familiar voice.
"Yeah of course," she replied and started to casually stroll out of the kitchen with a warm glow on her face. She did it calmly but inside so many signals were going off in her head as she tried to figure out what exactly could be so important that Brienna's father needed her to move away from her.
Her gut had told her that it was possible danger but for the sake of not sounding like a true pessimist, she shoved the feeling back down where it came from.
"I'm trying to be calm about the whole thing. I've even hidden it away from Celeste so that she wouldn't freak out."
"Freak out, why?" Raye's brows were now treaded due to a surge in anxiety. She was praying to whatever being in the sky that nothing bad had happened to either of Brie's parents overnight.
"We received a mail early this morning but it wasn't like our usual mail," Brian mentions. Those were all the words Raye needed to hear before her having concluded what happened. Her jaws stiffened from mostly anger and she gripped the phone even closer to her ear.
"What did they send you?"
"A note written in blood, attached to the feet of one of the two birds with their heads torn off."
Closing her eyes and sighing at the information, Raye's heart rate sped up. She needed to clench her jaw tightly to restrain from spewing profanities all within the older man's ear. She didn't want to seem disrespectful or anything.
But Quinn! He was like a fucking leech sucking on the skin of an undeserving person, she thought to herself.
"What did the note say?"
"Birds of a feather," Brian recited before he too sighed. "Look, I know stuff like these happen a lot but I never thought we'd have to worry about it. I'm not blaming you Rachel, but as a father, I'm now concerned about not only my family but you as well."
"I'm really sorry Mr Paulson, I swear," Raye says, moving further away as she whispers. Brienna catching wind of any of this would cause her to turn the whole house upside down and she was trying to avoid it at all costs.
It's like there couldn't be peace in her life without hell having to intervene Raye thinks to herself. They'd almost gone a year without any interference but now everything just kept on popping up one after the other like sores and she was sick of it.
"I would tell you to report it to the police but they'd never be able to help you, ever. I'll have someone come over and take it away so that I can show it to uncle Luca. I can't leave now because I don't want Brienna to suspect anything."
"Of course, but don't you worry too much. I know my way around a shotgun." The man confides and Raye would've chuckled to that under a different circumstance but not right that instant.
"Hopefully it never calls for that. Whoever did that, I'm sure, was just pulling a sick and twisted prank." She lied. She knew there was no prank just reality. Quinn and the others were still holding onto their animosity and she'd expected them too and she was praying for months that he would never target any of the innocent people in her life but apparently, the man simply enjoyed that more than anything else.
Coming off the phone with the older man, Raye sighed heavily gazing out into oblivion. She was angry now, livid actually. They'd put up with so much from the Irish simply because they didn't want to start trouble but Raye felt like being nice wasn't cutting it anymore.
She'd only had a few seconds to think before Brienna was there snaking a hand around her waist, hugging her from behind. A smile appeared across her lips but truly Raye's heart was aching.
"So you and my dad are going fishing huh?" The girl questioned and Raye turned around, cupping her cheeks. Looking into the girl's grey pools made her feel guilty. Guilt over hiding so much. Guilty because she'd dragged her and her family into all this danger because she was in love. It wasn't just her world anymore, but both of their worlds had collided and not in the best way at all.
Pushing the heaviness aside, Raye knew that playing nice wasn't going to be the deal anymore. She didn't even forget that the man almost had her killed.
