Stay With Me ✔

34.

I look down the hall towards my mom's bedroom, the door is closed and there's no light coming through the cracks, so I take that to mean that she is asleep. I close my own door, leaving it slightly ajar and then creep down the hallway towards the old guestroom that now belongs to Rave. Although my mom adores Rave, her one rule for the two of us was that we sleep in our own beds at night. 

Ever has been staying with my mom and I for the past few nights, but Rave was released from the hospital this morning and tonight is his first night here. Ever seems to be adjusting well, aside from the fact that the morning after her first night, I found her sleeping on the couch in the living room. When I asked her about it at breakfast, she said that the bed was "too comfy."

Since everything happened two days before winter break, Ever and I skipped the last two days of school and spent all our free time with Rave at the hospital while my mom spent countless hours talking to judges and social workers arranging for Ever to come live with us. 

Rave talked to the police and told them everything, starting with the day his mom left. He had asked me to stay in the room with him, and with my hand in his, I heard him tell his story a second time - adding new details and facts that he hadn't told me before. It broke my heart even more the second time. 

After hearing everything that both Rave and Ever had to say, a judge granted my mom permission to foster Ever, and since Rave was eighteen, the decision to move in with us was entirely up to him. 

The police are looking for their dad and the other men that Rave described as being his attackers, but so far they haven't found them. Andy's brother says that he knows the names of the men that are responsible, but he doesn't know where they are hiding, so for now we're just waiting. 

While Rave and Ever don't care about their dad, and don't particularly care if he's found - we need him to sign the paper that says he gives up his parental rights to Ever. We need his signature so that they can finally be free of him and the life they desperately want to leave in the past.

Now as I slip into Rave's new room, closing the door quietly behind me, I hear "If you're here for a late night booty call, you're going to have to be gentle with me. I just got out of the hospital."I don't need to see his face to know that he's smirking.

"Shut up." I slide into the bed and under the blankets with him as he stretches out his good arm and tucks me into his side. I make sure to not put any pressure on his injured ribs as his fingers tangle in my hair out of habit. 

"Can't sleep?" He asks, his green eyes looking down at me. I see something in his eyes I've never seen before - peace. Despite the bruises, cuts, and bandages on his body right now, Rave is at peace - all his worries are no longer a problem and he and his sister are both safe and happy. 

"No. What about you? Why are you still awake?"

"I was just thinking." 

"About what?" 

"Everything." 

"That's vague." 

Rave rolls his eyes at me before the soft green color stares back at me, a million thoughts and emotions playing out in his gaze. "I was thinking about you, Ky, and this house and everything that's happened in the past few days."

"What kind of things were you thinking?"

"I was trying to figure out what I did that made me worthy of you and everything good that you've brought in to my life. You changed everything, for me and for Ever, and I don't know how I'll ever repay you or your mom."

I raise a hand to his face and feel the small amount of stubble, a result of him not having shaved in the past few days. His bruises are fading to a lighter shade of purple and the swelling has gone down, almost completely unnoticeable now. "Rave, you don't have to pay us back, we're happy to help. I love you and I love Ever, I want you both to be safe and happy."