The Baby Between Them

Chapter Two

"Hey Rae. Wait up!" Rae paused and turned, watching as Hunter jogged to catch up with her. She had conflicting feelings in her stomach as she watched him get closer. The usual tingles when he was near, but also annoyance that he hadn't let her storm out of the hospital to kill Edward.

"Is Nash ok?" She asked, looking down the hall behind him.

"Same as two minutes ago, don't worry." He replied with a smile. "Turned his light off as my cue to bugger off." He added with a chuckle. Rae laughed and shook her head.

"Sounds about right." They were both quiet as they walked towards the exit. "He's bad this time. I can't remember the last time he couldn't talk because of an attack." Rae said sadly as they walked through the automatic doors and into the afternoon sunlight outside.

"Hey..." Hunter placed his hand on her arm, stopping her from walking off. The fact that it gave him an excuse to touch her was just a bonus. He couldn't let Nash have all the fun. "He'll be ok. Yeah it's been a while since he's had an attack this bad, but it's not his worst and I got him to promise me that he'd let them give him steroids this time."

"Thank you." Rae smiled. "So what's with this?" She reached up and touched the stubble on his face. She'd never known Hunter Hughes to be anything but clean shaven.

"Thought I'd try something new."

"I know it doesn't mean much coming from your brothers annoying best friend, but I like it. It suits you." She smiled again and gave him a wink before turning and starting the walk to her house.

"Hey Rae?"

"Yeah?" She asked, turning back to look at him.

"Is it safe?" Hunter knew that she'd know what he was talking about. It had been the same for her since she was born.

"You know my house is like a pot luck dinner. It's a surprise what you'll find." She gave a shrug. "But she hasn't touched me in nearly two years. Between Rick keeping her away from me and my evasive manoeuvres, it's been ok."

"Let me drive you home?" Hunter asked, but even he couldn't tell if it was a question or a statement.

"I'll be ok Hunter. Promise." She said, turning away from him. Hunter walked over and stood in front of her tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Don't make promises you may not be able to keep Raegan." Her eyes glazed over slightly as she looked up into his. Why him? Why did her heart have to beat so much harder for her best friends brother? There was plenty of other guys in town. Ones at her school even. Ones closer to her age, who wouldn't get in trouble if they looked at her in a certain way or made flirtatious comments like the few Hunter had made this afternoon. "And you're not annoying." He added.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Raegan stood up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck. He stiffened momentarily at the contact. Even though they'd know each other their whole lives, they'd never hugged before. He quickly relaxed though and seemed to melt into the embrace, holding her tighter than she'd ever been hugged before.

"Thank you for caring." She said into his ear. As much as she didn't want to let go, she unwound her arms, kissed him on the cheek and walked away.

Hunter watched her go, knowing how stubborn she could be and also knowing that seeing a police cruiser drive up would likely bring her more grief and until she was ready to do something about the abuse at home, there wasn't much he could do. He and his Dad always tried to get her out, but she always went back. No matter how many times he and Nash had pleaded with her to press charges or move in with her father, like her sister Lily had, she wouldn't.

* * * * *

"Hey Gigi. You hungry?" Rae cringed at the nickname that her stepfather used for her. She hated it, but liked him, so dealt with it.

"Hey Rick. A little. What's on the menu?" She asked politely. Out of the two other people that lived in this house with her, he was the nicer one. Strung out, high or drunk, Rick was still nice and when he was here, her mother wouldn't touch her. As much as Rick loved Sasha, he refused to let her hurt Rae if he could stop it, but he couldn't help what happened when he was at work.

"I made my special chilli. Extra spicy, just how you like it." Rae's stomach rumbled in response and they both laughed.

"Judges have spoken I guess." Rae giggled.

"Awesome! Your Mum's out on the couch, so it's all ours." Rae opened the fridge and grabbed a gingerale for herself and picked up a beer for Rick. "Nah. I'll have a gingerale too please." He said from the table behind her. She turned and gave him a look, but swapped the beer for a soft drink. He gave her a sad smile and a shrug. "Your Mum didn't tell you. Hell... She probably forgot about it, but last weeks bender after the footy grand final, I nearly killed someone Raegan." Rae gasped as she handed him his drink and sat across from him. "I tried driving Damien home. I relied on my tolerance for alcohol too much. Put too much stock in myself I guess." Rick opened the drink and had a mouthful. "Can you grab the corn chips? I forgot to." Rae nodded and went to the pantry. "We were in his car." Rick continued. "I ran a red light that I didn't even see and hit a young lad on a bike. Luckily in my head I was going faster than I actually was. The witnesses reckon I was only doing maybe forty in the eighty zone just outside of town." He moved the food around on his plate, but didn't eat any of it. "I sobered up hell fast when I saw him laying on the ground on one side of the road and his motorbike all busted up on the other side. He's got a broken leg, cuts and bruises, but he's ok. Nothing like that's ever happened to me before though. No consequences to deal with, you know?" Rae nodded, but didn't say anything. "This was a real eye opener. Sheriff Hughes coulda thrown me in jail, but he got me into this outpatient rehab instead. I go to it every afternoon after work. If I don't show up for even one day or if I fail any of the drug and alcohol tests, they throw me in the pinch and I'm done."

"Yeah so now he's boring!" Sasha groaned as she stumbled into the kitchen. The singlet she was wearing was only covering one breast, not that she seemed to notice or care. She went to the fridge and grabbed a six pack of beer. "Dinner's sorted!" She announced with a smile, holding the drinks into the air like a trophy. She then laughed and made her way back to the couch.

"Don't listen to her." Rae said quietly, reaching across the table and patting his hand. "I'm proud of you for accepting the consequences and taking responsibility. I like you better when you're sober anyway." She gave him a wink before digging into her bowl of chilli. Rick laughed and mumbled thanks with his own mouth full. "Holy shitballs!" Rae spluttered and gulped down half her can of soft drink in one go. "Emphasis on the extra spicy there Ricky boy!" They both burst out laughing and then made small talk for the rest of dinner.

"You head up." Rick said, nodding towards the stairs as they cleared the table. Sasha hollered at the TV.

"You sure? I'm happy to clean up."

"You're the kid in this house Raegan and I swear you've been raising us, rather than the other way around. I'm gunna help out more around here. I promise. Plus she's getting rowdy and you shouldn't have to deal with that. I'm sure you've got homework."

"Yeah I do. Thanks Rick." Rae walked over and gave him a quick hug before heading to the stairs.

"I've got the early shift at the factory tomorrow, so I'll see you when I get home." He called out. Rae stopped halfway up the stairs and smiled.

"Goodnight." She said, turning to the safety of her locked bedroom door. Thank goodness she had the main room with ensuite, so she didn't have to come out again to shower.

Sasha hated having to go upstairs for anything other than to scream at Rae when she was in a mood, so she and Rick had turned the downstairs guest bedroom into their room and used the downstairs bathroom as their personal one. Rae didn't mind though. She loved having the entire top of the house to herself. Luckily the walls were thick and her room was at the far end of the house, so Sasha's ranting and their parties when they felt like having them, didn't disturb her too much.