The Witch's Toy ✔

6: dear god, raphael

I really didn't know what chased away all my restless nights of no sleep. It would be past three or four in the morning when my tired body could finally will itself to sleep and around seven when I'd wake naturally to prepare for school. Sometimes, I wouldn't be able to get even a wink of sleep, having stared up at the cream-colored ceiling for the majority of the night before sighing, giving up, and getting out of bed to study for the rest of the night.

Now, it seemed as if I slept too much. If you counted nearly forty-eight hours of rest "too much," which according to Raphael was completely normal.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I growled, pulling back a chair with clenched fingers. It screeched across the kitchen floor, making for an unpleasant morning. My knuckles were white, aching with the effort to not let them fly across Raphael's pretty face in a fit of rage. Suppressing the urge, I plopped down into the chair and crossed my arms across my chest angrily. I didn't even have half the mind to finish the schoolwork I had planned to finish yesterday if only a certain someone had woken me up then.

"You needed it, darling." He said, setting a teacup in front of me with raised brows. "Unlike external wounds, I can't just touch you once and call it a day. The heart is a different matter."

My face flushed a little redder, not wanting to think about what exactly he did to me to get rid of all the abrasions and cuts I had received from Mina and Azazel. Sighing, I watched as he took the teapot from the stove and started filling the cup before me. The familiar amber color swirled inside my teacup, steam rising from it. "I couldn't even finish my schoolwork," I muttered.

"No worries." Raphael pointed at my bag that was sitting in the seat next to me. "I did it all for you."

I blanked for a second, then sat up, eyes wide. "You what?"

He smiled, the corners of his mouth tilting up. His crimson eyes caught mine. "Darling, you think I'd let your teachers scold you? I skimmed through your notes and used your handwriting to complete everything." Shrugging, he took a biscuit from the table and bit into it, leaning against the kitchen counter. "It's more like busywork for you, anyways. You're quite the bright student who really doesn't need the extra practice."

I had calmed down considerably, tipping the cup to my lips. The scalding liquid went down my throat, warming me immediately. "It's only the result of boredom and sleepless nights."

"You underestimate yourself, darling. Even with hours upon hours of studying, not everyone can repeatedly get perfect scores on almost everything."

I froze, eyes traveling up to meet his before setting my now-empty teacup down. "Did you really have to look at everything?"

He set his palms on the wooden table, leaning forward. The same sweet smile was still on his face. "Call it bonding. I'm trying to learn more about this different 'Yu Rui.' I did just miss out on the last ten years of your life if you don't recall."

My mind wandered to that Saturday morning when he had studied my scars and commented on how he wasn't used to my current self. I covered my face with my hands, trying to not think about how I openly cried in front of him and actually let him hold me for God knew how long.

"What's wrong, darling?"

I had a feeling he knew exactly what was wrong. He just wanted me to admit he made me feel like this.

"I'm going to be late." Sliding out of my chair, I grabbed my bag and marched to the door, ready to fling it open and slam it shut in Raphael's face without so much as a goodbye.

I could hear his footsteps behind me, following me to the door. He grabbed my arm before I could reach for the door handle, taking my bag from my fingers before setting it to the side. I stood there, stock-still as he helped me into my blazer, zipped me into a long, padded jacket, and wound a scarf around my neck, tying it into a bow at the base of my neck. After stuffing lunch into my bag, he handed it back to me.