After Nevaeh, Raelinn, and Jeordie managed to get the guys out of the basement they all cooked up a quick meal and sat at the dinner table to eat.
"Hey, where's Raven?" Munky wondered out loud. He had noticed she was the only one missing at the dinner table.
"Pass me the corn."
"Last I saw her she was in the living room talking to herself." Raelinn chuckled, passing the corn to Jonathan.
"Jeordie, go get her." Nevaeh ordered. Jeordie was about to protest when Munky spoke up.
"I'll go." he offered, standing up from his seat. Head glared at Munky's back as he walked away. Why was he so interested in Raven, all of a sudden? It was probably nothing, he assured himself. After all, it was just Munky being, well, Munky. He was just trying to be nice, was all.
"So, Jeordie. It's almost your guys' birthday, what do you want to do this year?" Nevaeh asked her son.
"I dunno, ask Raven." he replied, playing with his food.
Raelinn questioned him. "You're finally turning eighteen, don't you want a party?"
"Maybe." he shrugged.
"When's your birthday?" Head asked. What he really wanted to know was when Raven's birthday was. Maybe he could get her a present or something to make up with her.
"Two weeks from today." Jeordie informed.
"We leave in a week, so I'm assuming you'll celebrate it in the city?" David guessed.
"Yeah." Jeordie nodded.
"Aren't you gonna invite us?" Fieldy asked, studying Jeordie's face.
"Yeah. You guys are all invited." he announced, blushing at Fieldy's gaze.
"Cool. We'll be there." Jon assured.
As Munky walked into the living room he spotted Raven. She was curled up in the middle of the room, hugging a pillow. He quietly walked towards her, thinking she was asleep. But as he got closer he noticed she was slightly shaking. When he reached her he heard her softly sobbing. Munky kneeled down next to her and lightly tapped her shoulder to get her attention. Raven froze at his touch, she had thought she was alone. She quickly wiped away her tears with her shirt sleeve and sat up.
"Did you need something?" she asked, avoiding eye contact. She didn't want him to see that she had been crying. Crying was a sign of weakness and she didn't want anyone to think she was weak.
"I came to fetch you. Everyone's having dinner, come join us." Munky said.
"No thanks. I'm not hungry."
"You need to eat." he stated.
"I said I'm not hungry!" she yelled. Munky stared at her trying to figure out what her problem was. She looked more sad than angry, so he dismissed her sudden outburst.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." she mumbled.
"Then, why were you crying?" he tried to make eye contact with her.
"I wasn't." she lied, looking down at the carpeted floor, away from Munky.
"Your eyes are all red." he pointed out.
"I was smoking weed." she explained.
"I heard you crying." he stated. Raven sighed. Why couldn't he just drop the subject?
"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked her.
"No." she whispered. They stayed silent for what felt like hours but was merely a few minutes. Munky knew she wasn't going to open up to him, but he also knew he had to somehow make her feel better. He knew she wasn't okay, she needed reassurance that someone cared about her. And if she didn't want to talk about it then he would just have to show her he was there for her some other way. He did the only thing he knew would help. He pulled her in for a warm hug. Raven was taken aback by his action. Why was he hugging her? Did he feel bad for her? She started to tear up at the thought. She tried to pull away from him, she didn't want his pity. But he only hugged her tighter, he wouldn't let her go. She couldn't deny how safe she felt in his arms, eventually she stopped struggling and gave in to the hug.
