Show Me the Way

*Clears Throat* Oops. (Ch. 23?)

Hi! Elle here! So I just realized that I may have left out an entire story arc that people might have wanted to know about...

My bad!

I wrote the scene, but then I never actually put it in the story.

But if you wanted to read it, here it is:

~

"Where Ray Disappeared To"

I sat down on the bed with my back to Ray. He put his hand on my shoulder, and I looked over at him.

"Mikey?" he said. "I... I don't want to keep this from you anymore. I mean, it doesn't matter, but I know you don't like me keeping secrets..."

I nodded. Where was he going with this?

Was he about to tell me he was cheating on me?

Because if so, I was going to absolutely die.

And this time, I meant it.

"When I had to go away for that week, I was really with my family."

Family? Wait wait wait. This didn't add up. If he was with his family, he could have gone home for Christmas and Thanksgiving, but he didn't. Why not?

"I didn't want to leave, but I had to," Ray said. He paused. "I guess I'll just start from the beginning. My family has a lot of... problems. Lots of alcohol and drug abuse, things like that. There were three meth labs that one of my cousins was working in at one point. It's why I don't like to drink more than I know I can handle. Things like... when I hurt you happen. And I don't want to do that."

I nodded, letting him continue.

"And this goes way back in the family history," he said. "When I was three years old, our house got broken into by my aunt for cocaine and liquor. She was... She was also pregnant at the time. Then, when I was five, the police came knocking on our door at Christmas, looking for practically half of my family. It was really scary for a toddler."

I nodded again to show that I understood.

"I avoided my family for as long as I could," he said. "College applications were all over my room, I was that desperate to get as far away from them as possible."

As far away from them as possible, huh? Well, if they were on the other side of the state, he failed a little bit.

"Oh, and I should probably mention that my family isn't actually from New Jersey. None of them live here, either. They're all in California. That should kind of explain why I was gone for a whole week. And why I was already completely moved in when you guys were still loading. And the whole watch thing."

Well, yeah, that did explain it. I signaled for him to continue.

"Anyway, that phone call that I took in the bathroom? That was my dad. He was the most sane, but still not the best guy on the planet. So he called me and started talking about this bullshit 'Family Rehabilitation Program' for broken families. I tried to tell him that I got out of there for a reason and that I wasn't ever going back, especially not when those crazy assholes I'm kin to were going to be waiting for me. Then he started telling me about how everyone was 'getting clean' and all that. I finally said that I'd go, but only if I could stay in a hotel room the whole time. He agreed to that much."

He took a deep breath before continuing.

"So I flew out to California. That's why I wasn't able to text you for a few hours. But then I got there. I didn't expect everyone to be waiting for me. My always-knocked-up aunt, my alcoholic uncle, my meth lab cousins, the whole lot. They all wanted to hug me and say how much they missed me. I wanted to tell them to fuck off, but we were in an airport. I couldn't really. Anyway, my dad walked me out to his car, and he told me he'd payed for a hotel room for me for a week and everything, which was nice. We went by the hotel to drop off my bags, because the rehab program started that day. Anyway, he told me to leave my phone because I wouldn't need it. I told him that I would, but I kept it with me anyway because I wanted to try to text you."

He tugged at some of his hair and sighed.

"And I got to this rehab center. I didn't like it. It was creepy. But that's not the point. The point is that I'd forgotten to silence my phone, and my cracked-up aunt heard it go off. She's the one who robbed us. She freaked the fuck out, took my phone, and smashed it against a wall. That's why I had to get a new one."

He looked at me. "That's where I was," he said. "That's what happened. I'm sorry I kept it from you for so long, I just didn't want to worry you, I guess."

I threw my arms around him, even though I was shaking more than he was. Ray was so strong. He'd been through so much. He deserved so much more than what he had.

I felt him reach up and gently ruffle my hair. I sat up. "You alright, Mikey?" Ray asked. I nodded. "Are you?" I signed. He smiled sadly.

"Now that I don't have to lie anymore, yes," he said. He leaned forward and kissed me.

"And that's the whole truth."

~

Well, there's the completion of the story! I guess you could have left where Ray went to your imagination, but that's where it was intended to go with the story's plotline.

So I hope you enjoyed this little conclusion!

Until next time,
XOXO, E

P. S. I don't know if I mentioned my newest fanfiction, "Sing," so if I haven't, here it is. "Sing" is a take on the Danger Days era, and that's really all I can say without giving too much away. But you can go read that if you like. Or if you really enjoyed this, I've also written "The Sharpest Lives" and "House of Wolves."

Thanks for reading!