I'll Come Running

Chapter 17

Rafe softly grinned like a little kid as he watched the love of his life walk up the stairs that night. He made his way to his room, which was on the complete opposite side of Jessie's, unbeknownst to her. The master suite was actually hidden behind one of the "pantries" on the far side of the kitchen. After all, this house did belong to Ward Cameron, who would have every reason to hide where he sleeps.

Rafe pushed the door open to the pantry that housed all the kitchen appliances, bypassed them to go straight for the shelf behind it. With a gentle nudge of one of the shelves upward he was able to unlock the secret door and push it open, revealing a lavish bedroom with a king sized bed, his and hers chairs at the end of it, and of course a massive flat screen tv overlooking it all. No windows of course, again, because it was hidden. Rafe didn't mind, but he did worry about Jessie being alone on the other end of the house not knowing where Rafe was. He had to shrug it off, after all, he had security.

Rafe fell into the soft bed wrapped in an all black feather down duvet. The day he had at first felt like a nightmare, but it eventually turned into a dream. More than that, a dream that he had dreamed of for four years. His love had finally returned, giving him a brand new reason to live again. Despite the last four years being filled with prestigious meetings, endless money, and proud father son moments, Rafe still never felt the same freedom that he did when he was with Jessie. Now he had a shot at that again, and he wasn't going to waste it.

The truth is, Rafe knew from a very early age that he was never meant for the life Ward handed him. He didn't like it. He felt trapped. He was trapped.

As Rafe laid in bed that night his mind wondered and he reminisced about him and Jessie.

***

It was the morning after Jessie was attacked by her worthless father. Jessie woke up wrapped in Rafe's arms in his bed. She was awoken by the sunlight peaking through the curtains. Shit. Normally she's gone long before the sun comes up, that way nobody knows she's been there.

Jess immediately shot up frantically, hurting herself in the process. Oh yeah, she was still very bruised. She winced in pain and grabbed her side. Rafe stirred at the sudden movement and snaked his arm once again around Jessie and groaned. He opened his eyes to see her sitting up, he matched her movements.

"What're you doing?" Rafe stuttered through a groggy voice as he put his arms around Jessie and buried his face in her neck, still clearly waking up. He also seemed to whine like a toddler.

"The sun is up and I'm not gone." Jessie hissed. "I should've snuck out of here before the sun came up like normal and now your dad is going to see me and-"

Rafe shut Jessie up by grabbing her jaw gently and kissing her passionately. It hurt Jessie a little bit but she didn't dare to complain. She grabbed the hand that was on her jaw and held it ever so slightly and deepened the kiss. As much as Jessie didnt want to, she finally broke away, leaving Rafe clearly annoyed.

"Your dad is going to see me." She said plainly as she threw the cover off of her to stand up.

"I don't care anymore, Jess. I'll deal with him. I'm not afraid of him anymore." Rafe simply stated as if it was a well known fact. Jessie stopped in the middle of looking for her clothes to turn back to Rafe. She had never heard him speak like that before. Even during nights like midsummers, Rafe still showed a reverence for Ward. This time the tone in his words just felt different, like a switch had flipped last night. Jessie didn't know if she liked it or not.

"You're serious?" Jessie asked looking at Rafe with furrowed brows.

"Yes, Jessie. I'm not afraid of any person that comes between me and you." Rafe assured her.