Finding Rayna

Chapter 23

Monday came too soon. When my alarm goes off, I groan and roll out of bed. I went to Williams' room and checked on him. He is still asleep, so I jump in the shower and prepare for the day. I then wake Conner up. I walk to Willy's room, take him out of his crib, change his diaper, and nurse him. Once he finishes eating, I get him dressed for the day. Then head to the kitchen, where I start a pot of coffee. Then grab the bowls, so Conner and I could eat some oatmeal before leaving. So I put the water on for the oatmeal.

When Conner finally made his way to the kitchen, he walked to me and kissed me. "Good morning, kitten. How did you sleep?"

"Good morning. I slept great. I made oatmeal for breakfast, sat, and ate. We must leave in a few minutes to drop William off at mom and dads. Then when we get to school, I need to set up my PowerPoint for the assembly."

Conner takes a seat beside me after kissing Willy on the cheek. "Are you nervous about letting everyone know about your past? I know I would be."

"Yes, I am. I am also excited. I hope this will give both the guys and the girls insight into sexual assault. If my story helps one person, then it will all be worth it."

"I can't wait to see you do this. I think it will be wonderful. You are my hero."

"Thank you, honey. Knowing that you and Emma will be there will help me greatly."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else. I will always be here for you and William." Conner tells me before he kisses me, stands up, gathers the dirty dishes, rinses them off, and puts them in the dishwasher. "Let's drop this little guy off at your parents' so we can get the school day over."

"I agree. I am ready to be done with this semester and putting up with Allison's crap. Plus, I have the college classes I will be working on. Life is going to get crazy, I think." So I say, picking William up and grabbing his diaper bag. I walked to the door, slipped on my tennis shoes, sat on the bench, and waited for Conner to catch up. Once he did, we walked out the door, making sure he locked it, then we climbed into the car and went to my parent's house. Once there, Conner got William out of the car seat and carried him into the house. At the same time, I grabbed his diaper bag. "Mom, dad, we're here," I yell as we walk in the door.

"We're in the kitchen, Princess," dad yells back.

Conner and I head to the kitchen. "Good morning, Sarah and Ryan," Conner says.

"Good morning to the three of you. How were your first few nights in your home?" mom asked.

"It was good. We ate dinner, cleaned the kitchen up, and watched a couple of movies," I say. "William slept well. It was nice getting to spend time together as a family."

"Not having to worry about Cain was nice. We didn't even talk about him at all last night. We are going to be fine," Conner says.

"The assembly is today. I hope it goes well."

"Princess, you will do great. Do not let anyone take away everything you have done over the last year. Everything that you have gone through makes you the person you are today. You are an amazing woman, Rayna."

"Sweetheart, just tell them the truth and don't hide things that are hard for you to talk about; you will do great. Now you both need to get going. You don't need to be late the first morning after you move in together."

"Okay, I love you both," I say, walking over to William, cuddling in Sarah's arms, and kissing his head. "Mommy loves you, Willy."

Conner kisses William, saying, "Be good for nan and papa; I love you, little man."