He poked his head around the door; his breath quickened, aware of the sound of his own heart beat hammering in his ears as he peered into the darkness.

"Rae?" He almost whispered.

A dim glow from the lamp post outside came through the crack in the curtains and allowed Finn to see an outline in the far corner of the room. It looked like someone was laying in the fetal position on top of the bed cradling their knees up in front of their chest.

Finn cleared his throat and called her name again. "Rae?" He growled trying to make his voice sound stronger than he felt, but he didn't quite manage it.

The figure stopped rocking and they lifted their head and squeaked. "Finn?" There was a moment's pause. "Is that you Finn? She whispered as she looked in his direction.

He cleared his throat again fearful that his voice would give away his fears for her wellbeing. "Yeah it's me girl. I came ta see yer." He stepped further into the room crushing some cartons that had been discarded onto the carpet.

She spoke again. "Is it really you?" Rae sniffled as she sat up on her bed looking over to him.

"Yeah it's really me girl. I thought you called. And I thought you might need us. Well and I wanted to see yer." Finn blurted.

Rae let out a sob and then calmed after she breathed deeply. "I thought I were dreaming when I heard yer voice. I can't believe yer came. I didn't even say anything when I rang. I dunno what I expected from you, so I put the phone down when yer answered and ran back to me room. I don't deserve anybodies help. I ruin things." Rae began to sniffle again.

Finn ran straight towards her and almost tripped on the mountain of litter that covered her floor. He didn't stop to see what it was, he suspected it was food wrappers anyway. But he didn't care at that point, he just needed to throw his arms around her and tell her he was there for her. "I love yer girl, I always be there for yer if you need us." He gripped her tightly. He held her head to his chest and stroked her hair long hair.

She lifted her head to look into his eyes. "What? Yer still love us? After everything that happened? She questioned with confusion apparent all over her scrunched face.

He nodded and made to hold her hand but she flinched when he touched her. He knew from the familiar feel of the fabric that there was a bandage on her hand. He remembered with shame the last time he saw her with a bandage on her hand; she had been scraping the back of her hand on a wall to cope with her feelings and punish herself, and he didn't say a word. He was too scared she would push him away if he questioned her. But she did that anyway; he should have said something.

Finn didn't retract his hand, instead he embraced her fingers with his own. "Of course I still love yer. If you need us I'm here. I don't expect anything from yer. I just want yer safe." He panted and looked to the side and attempted to wipe his tears away without her knowing.

She leant across him and clicked the switch on her bedside lamp. They both blinked as their eyes adjusted to light. She looked poorly. Her eyes were bloodshot red with dark circles below, her clothes were stained and crinkled and her gorgeous hair was greasy and stuck to the side of her face. He could tell she hadn't showered for a while. He suspected that she didn't want to put herself in danger. She had told him once that scolding herself with hot water was always her first outlet for her self punishment.

Finn gulped as he tried to hold back his tears. It was too much to see his vibrant Rae so lost and broken. They both reached for the other to dry their eyes and that's when they smiled. They smiled a genuine smile that came from true affection for one another.

Rae motioned to the sweet wrappers that lay all about her room and then to herself. "I think you can see from this mess, I've not been coping very well." She tried to joke but her joy didn't reach her eyes.

Finn was relieved that just one hand was bandaged and pointed to it. "When did this happen?" He managed not to cry any further when he questioned her.

"Last week. I haven't been handing my work in on time, well I haven't done any of the work. My tutor said that I lost me place on the course. Which I don't care about. I realised after a week of being ere that I weren't ready. But I haven't got anywhere else to go. What am I gonna do?" She sobbed again and placed her head back to Finn's chest.

He pulled her close and continued to stroke her hair. "You shoulda rang us the moment you knew it were wrong to be here. You can come back wi us now. I'll kip on the sofa and you can have my room.

She lifted her head again with tear filled eyes. "You'd really do that for me?"

He smiled his familiar, kind, close mouthed smile that made his cheeks squeezable and his eyes sparkle. He nodded. "Of course I would. How-about you get your stuff together while I clean the place up? We can go straight after?

She returned his smile. "I think we both know I can't go any where looking like this." She motioned down her body. "So perhaps you could tidy round for us while I get cleaned up. We can leave after we've rested?" She motioned to her bed.

"Ok girl. What ever you need. But for the record you always look great to me.

Rae smiled and pecked him on the lips. "Thanks for being you Finn. I'll leave the bathroom door unlocked in case you're worried about us." She smiled at him them turned and walked to the bathroom. It wasn't a cheeky invitation; she knew he knew why she hadn't showered and she wanted to settle his mind. She was letting him know that she was going to be ok.

The end