Heather and Raven

Frantically Waving A Soaked Hoodie Around

For a few seconds, I'm so surprised that I can only stare at him. He looks like shit, to be honest. His hair and clothes are plastered to his skin, and his eyes are red. He looks... Way smaller than he actually is, and it's that thought that pulls me out of my stupor.

"What are you doing here?" I ask. Then I remember he's still standing in the freezing rain and step aside to let him in. "Jesus, Raven, come in. You're gonna catch pneumonia if you stay out there."

I'm not sure if pneumonia is something you catch, but it doesn't matter. Raven doesn't reply but he does come inside. I gesture to the couch and run back to the bathroom for another towel. When I return to the living room, Raven is still standing in the middle of the room, soaked clothes dripping on the laminate floor and wringing his hands.

"You can sit down," I say as I hand him the towel. He does sit down, but makes no move to actually use the towel. I go to sit beside him, close enough that I can see he's shaking. I'm not sure if it's from the cold, or something else. "Raven, is everything okay?"

As I speak, I rest a hand on his arm, and that's when he looks over at me.

"I'm sorry," he says in a hoarse voice. His eyes dart to the floor and before I can ask what he means, he continues. "For showing up here unannounced, I mean. I should've called. I just..."

"What?" I ask. "What's going on?"

He shakes his head and gets up. "Never mind. This is stupid. I shouldn't have come here. Sorry, Heather."

He makes for the door, but I'm faster and step in his way. "Raven, you're not leaving here like this. There's obviously something wrong and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but you're in no state to wander around during a storm."

As if the weather wants to emphasize my point, there's a sudden clap of thunder. It's way closer than I anticipated: the tide must be going out, keeping the storm around. Raven glances outside, where the rain is streaming in sheets down the windows, and absently nods. He sits back down and finally starts drying himself to the best of his abilities. I leave him alone for a bit and go into the kitchen for some hot chocolate. While I'm at it, I toss a frozen pizza into the oven.

Raven, looking even more disheveled but also somewhat drier, looks up when I push the mug of hot chocolate in his hands.

"I'm warming up some pizza," I tell him. "Should be done in fifteen minutes."

He looks up at me when I don't say anything else. "You're really not going to ask?"

I shrug. "I don't want you to feel pressured. You look bad enough as it is."

It earns me an incredulous huff of laughter. "Gee, thanks."

I reach over and ruffle his damp hair. I'm just glad I was able to coax a smile out of him. But it disappears as quickly as it came on and his eyes dart back to the floor.

"Remember what I told you about having some family business today?" he eventually asks in a low voice.

Between the rumbling thunder and the rain and wind beating down on the house, I barely hear him. "Yeah."

He does that absent nodding thing again and then sighs. "Well... My parents told me that my biological mother wants to get in touch with me."

I don't know what to say. I don't even know if I'm supposed to say anything. Raven honestly looks as if he's forgotten that I'm here.

"That's... Heavy," I comment eventually, and Raven's entire body gives a quick jerk, like he really did forget where he is. "Do you want to get to know her, or not?"