Beautiful Mess (Book II)

Chapter one

[Two years later]

"You are home to me, and I love coming home."

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•Rae•

I wake up to the familiar warmth of the morning sun trickling in through the blinds. My eyes are still closed as I soak in the warmth of my covers. I bury my face in my pillow and stretch my hand towards my left. My hand is met with an empty pillow, much to my disappointment.

"Ugh, why does he always have to leave so early?" I mumble.

"Actually, I'm still here." His amused voice has me opening my eyes instantly.

I can't help but smile at the sight of him. He's wearing the dark denim jacket I bought for him last week.

"But I won't be for long," he continues. "I'll leave after I make you breakfast."

"You look hot." I say the only thing running through my mind.

He grins at me as I push the blanket off of my body, missing the warmth as soon as I did. "Well, you should see yourself."

I glance down at my oversized hoodie and shorts while dragging my feet out of bed. "Yeah right."

Hot is the last thing I look when I wake up in the morning. But he never fails to shower me with compliments whenever he gets the chance.

He leans in to kiss me as I pass by him, but I quickly put my palm on his forehead to push him back. "After I brush my teeth." I state, slowly making my way to the bathroom in my half-awake state.

It's beyond me how in the world he manages to find my morning breath... tolerable. But then again, his whole being is still a mystery to me.

I stare at my reflection in the mirror as I brush my teeth. I realized it didn't look that good on me right after I cut my hair chin length. But my goal wasn't for it to look good on me anyway. I just wanted a change after sporting the same boringly straight hair all my life. I got the haircut when Kyle and I moved in together six months ago. It was like a symbol of a new start for me.

Because the day I started living with him was the real start of my new life, not the day I was released from the mental hospital.

I take a quick shower, curl my hair like usual and walk out of the bathroom feeling refreshed. But I won't be fully awake until I have breakfast. Kyle has no problem leaving without eating anything whenever he's late to work. I always wonder how he even manages to function properly.

I rush to the kitchen and find him preparing my meal in a hurry. This is the best part of my day, to be honest. Him making me breakfast while I rant about how boring or amazing my day ahead will be, depending on my mood.

"I'll hang out with Jess after work. If you'll be able to make it, we can call Trevor too."

"I can't today," he says, quickly placing the food on my plate. "Jason called me earlier to let me know he'll be having dinner at his girlfriend's house to meet the parents. I have to cover his shift."

I pout and he kisses me good bye before rushing to the door. "I'll miss you!" I shout as he closes the door behind him.

"I'll miss you more! Way more!" he yells back and I laugh to myself. Our neighbors probably find us extremely annoying.

*  *  *

The dance floor isn't visible as wall to wall people are dancing to the club music. I always feel out of place here, but this is how I usually spend my free time because Jess and Trevor love to hang out here.

Being in a room with flashing lights where you can't hear yourself think let alone talk to someone else is draining at times, but it's distracting as well. And I will always welcome a distraction from my inner turmoils.

Seeing Jess push her way through the crowded dance floor, I wave to her.

She smiles as she rushes over to me. "You look stunning, Rae!"

"Thanks. You too," I say as we hug.

She plops down on the stool infront of me. She sits so close, practically on top of me so we can be able to hear each other. "Where's Kyle?"

"He said he had to cover for his co-worker. What about Trevor?"

"Who knows." She rolls her eyes, and I immediately know they had a fight.

"What happened now? Things were fine yesterday." I sigh.

Jess and Trevor are a great couple, and their love for each other is evident. Even though they fight a lot, they always make up the very same day, strengthening their relationship in the process. Jess is the most impatient person I know. And Trevor... well let's just say you'll need to be incredibly patient to put up with him sometimes.

"He said I needed to 'stop drinking all the time and focus on our future'. He seems to think I'm too old to be 'partying every weekend'. Like seriously? I'm only twenty! I'm still fucking young!"

The bartender leans closer to us and she orders two shots of tequila. I usually order a single beer and sip from it until it's time for us to leave. I've never gotten drunk before and I don't plan to anytime soon.

Jess seems to be on the verge of tears after she downed the two glasses as quickly as she could. "I mean why the fuck is he acting like this? I've been this way when he first met me. And years before that. Why does he suddenly want me to change? He can just say so if he wants to break-up."

"We both know that's the last thing he wants," I assure her calmly. "He just... wants a proper future with you. You know, a family..."

Her eyes widen as she blinks. "A what?"

"Jess, you guys will get married some day, won't you? So he just wants to make sure you take your relationship seriously."

She becomes quiet for a moment, and then shakes her head furiously. "I don't want kids. I mean, I'm not ready for that kind of responsibility yet."

"It's okay. There's no rush, you guys are still young. I'm just saying you'll build a family together some day. So just talk to him about it and let him know you want it too but that you're not ready yet, okay?" She looks away and I lean towards her. "You do want to, right? Eventually? If you don't.. you should let him know."

She nods. "Enough about me, how are you guys?"

"Kyle's been working really hard lately. I rarely spend time with him because of my studies and volunteering in the hospital on top of it, but the fact that we live together made things a lot easier."

"Gosh, I'm so jealous. You guys are relationship goals," she mutters, motioning for the bartender to get her more drinks.

"I have no doubt you guys will move in together too. It'll happen as soon as Trevor gets that job he's applied to. You'll see."

"Wait, why are we back to talking about me?" She glares at me, and I chuckle in response.

She rolls her eyes. "Anyway, how's... you know, your sex life?"

"Jess!"

"What, don't tell me you're embarrassed. It's a normal thing between two--"

"Jeez... please stop," I say looking away as I feel the blush creeping up on my face.

She laughs at me for a solid two minutes before regaining her breath. "Seriously Rae? You're twenty-one! Will you ever stop acting like a twelve year old please? Jesus!"

"Not everyone's as bold as you, Jess," I mutter, sipping my beer.

"Whatever. Be that way. Kyle will gladly fill me in on all the juicy details anyway."

I look at her horrified and she bursts out laughing.

"I'm kidding, you can breathe now. He's literally my brother. You think I'd want to hear about those details? Ew. I just love seeing you blush."

Huffing, I look away. But I'm glad she cheered up and started annoying me like she normally does. Even though she's Kyle's sister, we're closer than they are and I love her to death. Trevor and her are the only family Kyle and I got, and we treasure them more than anything. After all, family isn't always blood.