It was 12:30PM. Rae had gone inside the hospital, and had told Finn to come inside around 1:15PM. Well, that was after the two of them had a discussion about Finn actually staying in the first place. Rae had argued that he could've gone to the chippy, go to the CD store two streets away, anything. But Finn had argued back that he wanted to be here when she came back, and that his own CD collection was fine to keep him company, as he waited. The mousy blonde haired male was gently tapping the bottom rim of the steering wheel, as he listened to his music. And Rae was currently sitting in her therapy's office.
*RAE'S POV*
"How're you feeling today?" Kester asked, taking a seat opposite me.
I couldn't seem to hide the smile on my face, as I shrugged.
"You seem happier since the last time I saw you. Care to elaborate on why?"
Letting out a happy sigh, I grinned,
"Me and Finn are together!" I beamed.
Kester smiled at me, an actual genuine smile,
"Congratulations. Looks like you won then, hm?"
I furrowed my eyebrows together in confusion,
"What?"
"With Chloe. Isn't this the boy that you were both fighting over?"
I nodded,
"Yeah. She now wants Archie." I rolled my eyes.
Nodding slowly, Kester leaned back in his chair.
"Go on." I encouraged him. "Say what we're all thinking."
"She sounds like she's the sort of person that needs to have someone in her life, that can help her feel better about herself."
I raised my eyebrows at him. He can analyse Princess Chloe in his own time! I thought to myself. Taking a deep breath, I looked down at my lap, as I heard Kester clear his throat,
"How've you been without your mum being here?"
I looked up at him and licked my lips,
"Great." I answered.
Kester stared at me, waiting for me to continue. When I didn't, he asked,
"Have you been spending time with Finn?" I nodded. "What're you hiding, Rae?"
I sighed,
"Finn is staying at my house until mum and Karim come home."
He stayed quiet for a few seconds,
"Does your mum know this?"
I nodded,
"Yeah."
"And how's that been for you?"
I smiled at the question,
"Normal." I admitted. Kester smiled at me. "I feel like I'm not ill, or recovering, or hiding, when I'm with him. We have so much in common, and he's always making me smile."
"Wow." Kester said, smiling. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were in-"
"Love?" I asked him. "I am. We are."
He didn't say anything for a few seconds, and that got me worried. Was he going to tell me that I wasn't ready for this kind of commitment? I knew it'd be bollocks, because I'm the happiest I've ever been.
"Rae, I'm not the one to tell you how to live your life. I'm just here to find a cure to why you did what you did. I'm not here to judge you, Rae. Now, why don't you tell me what's been happening with Finn."
I stared at him, debating what I should and shouldn't say. Taking a deep breath, I shrugged.
"What do you want me to say?"
"What have you been up to?"
I paused for a few minutes, before answering,
"We've mainly been listening to music." I admitted. "He made me a mixed tape." I added with a smile.
Kester smiled back at me,
"It's a lovely gift, is a mixed tape."
I nodded,
"I know." My voice sounded dazed. "He told me he loved me on the night of mum and Karim's wedding."
He raised his eyebrows at me,
"Did you say it back?"
I bit my bottom lip gently and shook my head,
"Not at first."
"Have you said it now?"
I nodded,
"Mhm. We say it all the time." My cheeks blushed a light pink colour.
Kester's smile widened,
"I like seeing you like this, Rae." He admitted with a nod.
"Yeah?" I asked him.
He nodded in reply,
"Have you been to see Tix?"
The mood had taken an unexpected twist. My face fell and I shook my head,
"No." I mumbled. "I saw her through the window yesterday. But I couldn't go inside." I admitted, shaking my head.
"Were you scared to see her in such a fragile state?"
I shrugged slightly,
"I've been in before. I shouldn't be scared." My eyebrows furrowed together.
"Sometimes it takes time to accept what's happened. Dr. Nick told me that you're still blaming yourself. You shouldn't be doing that, Rae. Don't put that much burden on yourself. It's been coming for a long time now. We warned her."
I let out a deep sigh,
"So I was told."
*FINN'S POV*
It had been almost an hour since Rae went inside. Turning off the engine, I opened the car door, climbing out, and I shut the door behind me. Locking the door behind me, I then walked over to the entrance, stuffing my keys into my jeans pockets, and then keeping my hands slid inside them. Walking inside the hospital, I let out a sigh, trying to remember the way we went to see Tix. I promised Rae that I'd meet her outside her best friend's room. Giving up on my memory, I walked over to the receptionist,
"Hi, I'm here to see Tix?" I shook my head apologetically. "I'm sorry, it's my girlfriend's best friend. I don't really know her."
The middle-aged, black haired woman smiled politely at me,
"Yes, I know who you mean. Is your girlfriend's name Rachel Earl?"
Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, I nodded at the woman,
"Um… y-yeah. How did you know that?" I asked in confusion.
"Rachel came over here before her appointment and told me that you were going to come in around an hour looking for Tix. She said you may or may not remember. She gave me a descriptive profile on you, and now here you are." The woman let out a small laugh. "Go down the corridor, turn right at the end, up the stairs and she's in room 41."
Smiling politely at her, I felt relieved that Rae had thought about the idea of me forgetting the way there. Walking down the corridor, I began to follow the woman's instructions.
Finally arriving at the ward five minutes later, I heard footsteps in the distance, and muffled voices. Looking over my shoulder, I smiled seeing Rae and a male. Turning round to face her,
"Alright, you?" I asked her, my smile still on my face.
Rae's head turned in my direction, and she smiled at me, her face instantly lighting up at the sight of me. My stomach did an unexpected flop as she did, and I saw the male beside her analyse both of our facial expressions, before a smile of his own appeared on his face. When Rae and the male stopped in front of me, he held out his hand,
"Hello, Finn. My name is Kester. I'm Rae's therapist."
Smiling politely in his direction, I shook his hand,
"Nice to meet you." I replied. Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I decided to take a leap of fate. "How's my Rae doing then?" I asked, my face and voice filled with concern.
Rae's cheeks flushed a deep pink I noticed, as I glanced at her in the corner of my eye. I smiled to myself, watching her look down to the ground, as she shuffled on the spot. Kester, her therapist, smiled at me,
"She's getting a lot better, actually. I'm very pleased with her progress. I'm just happy to see that she's happy, and that's a lot because of you."
I smiled at him, shaking my head and letting out a small laugh,
"No idea why."
I looked at Rae, seeing that she was rolling her eyes, making me chuckle quietly to myself. Did I really have such an effect on her? The thought made my heart race.
"Finn, I'm not just saying this because you're standing right in front of me, or because Rae is here, as well. But, you seem to have had such an impact in Rae, which is helping her recovery. When you get mentioned, she's either talking about the love you both have for music, the way you look, etc. Well anyway. You and the gang that you hang around with are a big impact on her recovery so far. So thank you for that."
Nodding, I let out a small, embarrassed laugh, before looking at Rae,
"Then, you're welcome."
Kester turned to Rae, placing his hands on her shoulders,
"Now, Rae. You can do this, all right? Just go in there, and speak to her. It's just like you're both awake. Or you're at a sleepover, and she's fallen asleep, okay? She can hear you, the doctors have said. You're going to be okay, I promise."
"I'll be in there with you." I promised her, reaching out and taking her hand.
Rae gave me a smile, squeezing my hand gently, as I led her over to Tix's room door.
*RAE'S POV*
We walked in slowly; -Kester stood by the window, and Finn stood behind me-. He closed the door behind us both, our hands still together, as I headed slowly over to the bed. I swallowed slowly, feeling the lump in my throat rise, and my eyes beginning to well up with tears. Looking over her body, from head to toe, I noticed that her whole body appeared fragile. A choked sob left my mouth, and I felt Finn move closer to me. I felt him stroke my back gently, as I walked us both over to the chair by her bed. Collapsing onto the seat, I finally let go of Finn's hand, hiding my face into my hands, sobbing hard as I did. I felt a brush on my leg, and peaking out of my hands, I noticed that Finn had crouched down beside me,
"Hey." He whispered softly. "Tix won't want to see you like this, would she?"
I sniffed, shaking my head sitting up, and I rubbed away my tears,
"N-No." I choked.
Letting out a small smile, Finn took my hands and he brushed his lips along my knuckles softly,
"Speak to her, Rae. She needs you more than anything right now."
I nodded, sniffing and I looked up at Tix. Taking in her pale and fragile features once again,
"Hi, Tix." I said quietly, my voice breaking as I spoke.
Standing up, I took my hands away from Finn, and I moved closer to the bed. I let out a small, shaky laugh, wiping away her face from her face,
"They better be feeding you right, Tix. Otherwise I'll give 'em a bit of Tix's good ol'charm." I teased, laughing slightly. I sniffed, wiping my nose with the back of my hand and I glanced at Finn, whose eyes were on me. I smiled slightly at him, and then I looked back at Tix's body. "What have you done, eh? You silly fucking bitch." I smiled to myself. I sniffed again, stroking my fingertips along her cheek softly. "I've got Finn here with me." I said gently. "I must've said something nice about you, as he insisted on coming to see you."
I heard footsteps shuffle closer to me, and as I looked to my side, I noticed the tense look in his face. Placing my hand on his arm, I smiled at him as he looked at me,
"You don't have to say anything." I told him. "If you don't want to. Just being here is enough for me."
Finn returned the smile, before looking over at Tix's body. I notice him swallow slowly, and then I saw his face soften, as he became lost in his own thought. And then it hit me: his Nan. Sighing to myself, I frowned and shook my head,
"Finn, I'm sorry…" I trailed off, as he shook his head.
"Don't be, Rae. I'm fine."
Liar. I told myself. I rolled my eyes at him, before holding his hand and entwining our fingers together, moving closer to Finn as I did.
"Do you wanna go?" I asked him gently.
As Finn turned his head to me, I noticed that his eyes were beginning to fill with tears,
"Do you mind?" He asked me, his voice breaking at the end.
I smiled sympathetically at him, and I shook my head,
"You go outside, and I'll be right out, yeah? And then we'll meet the gang at the pub, and we'll drink away our sorrows."
We both let out a carefree laugh, before he nodded, leaning closer to me and kissing my cheek softly. Taking his hand away from me, he ran his hand through my hair, walking over to the room door, opening it up, and walking outside; closing the door behind him.
Taking a deep breath, I looked back down at Tix's body, tears pouring down my cheeks,
"Okay, it's just me and you now, yeah?" I sniffed, taking hold of her hand. "I-I need you to make me a few promises now, okay? You need to wake up, Tix. I miss ya. I miss ya so fucking much. It ain't the same without you. I need you to wake up, so we can talk about boys; talk about Finn, and Danny." I paused, laughing a little. "And don't you try lying to me, lady. I know you like him." I sniffed, stroking my thumb over her pale knuckles. "I want to tell you about stuff. Private stuff. Y'know, all the things that we've discussed in the past. So, if you promise me you'll wake up, I promise to let you be the first person I tell. Well, except from Kester, of course."
Sniffing, I leaned down, kissing her forehead softly, a tear dropping onto her cheek as I did. Standing up, I let go of her hand, walking over to the hospital room door. I noticed that Kester had gone now. It was just Finn standing there. He slid his hands out of his pockets, holding out his arms for me. Walking out of the room, I walked straight into his arms, hugging his waist, and I smiled to myself feeling his arms around my body. Kissing the top of my head, Finn murmured against my head,
"Let's get you home, yeah?"
I sniffed pulling out of the hug, and I nodded, wiping away my tears,
"Sounds good."
They arrived at the bar twenty minutes later, and the gang shouted over at them,
"Wahey! Look who finally turns up!" Chop hollered over, as we took a seat.
Rolling my eyes at him, I moved closer to Finn, him wrapping his arm around my waist. I leaned my head onto his shoulder, and I noticed that the gang's eyes were on us. Swallowing slowly, I averted my eyes down to my thigh, feeling Finn's fingertips stroking along my right thigh: IGNORE THEM. He wrote to me. Biting my lip, I looked up at Finn, meeting his gaze, and we both shared a smile.
"What's with you two?" Chop asked, folding his arms over each other onto the table, leaning over to us both.
Finn furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion,
"What the fuck are you talking about?" He asked, taking a cigarette from the table.
"You and Rae." He informed Finn, picking up his pint. "Every once in a while, I notice that you both do this thing."
"What thing?" I asked, my voice sounding more defensive than it first meant to.
"I dunno." He said exasperatedly. "Once Finn looks down at his lap, you do too. Wait…" He trailed off with a smile. He pointed at us both, wagging his finger slightly. "You two ain't doing the dirty under the table are you?" He grinned mischievously at the two of us.
Izzy scoffed and slapped Chop's arm,
"Would you stop it?!"
My eyes widened, as I lifted my head from Finn's shoulder,
"Chop that is disgusting!" I proclaimed.
Looking at Finn, he blew out the smoke from his mouth as he laughed, his eyes on me. Rolling my eyes, I folded my arms over my chest, knowing that my cheeks were burning red. I couldn't decide if it was because I was angry or embarrassed that Chop would even insinuate such a thing.
*FINN'S POV*
Shaking my head, I wrapped my arm around Rae's waist again,
"Leave my Rae alone, you dirty bastard." I grinned at Chop.
Giving me a sly wink, Chop howled with laughter, taking a drink of his beer,
"Alright Raemundo, I'm sorry!"
Rae didn't even reply. Instead, she kept her gaze low on the table, and I watched her, my eyebrows furrowing together with concern. The gang noticed, and then they glanced at me, and I shook my head; signalling them to let it go. Turning their gaze away from the two of us, I leaned down and whispered in her ear,
"You alright?"
Rae looked up at me, smiling small, and she nodded,
"Yeah." She said quietly.
"Liar." I mumbled.
Sighing lightly, Rae's gaze lowered to my thigh, and she wrote: FEEL EMBARRASSED. she admitted. Smiling apologetically at her, I kissed the side of her head softly, before taking my arm from around her waist, rising to my feet,
"Chop Meister? Next round, yeah?"
Shooting him a look as I nodded my head over to the bar, Chop nodded and rose to his feet, the two of us walking over to the bar. I picked up a beer mat, turning it around in my hands, and then I glanced over my shoulder, noticing that Izzy had gotten Rae's attention. Looking at Chop, I smacked the back of his head,
"OW!" Chop shouted, looking at me like I'd gone insane. "The fuck was that for?!"
Shaking my head at him, glaring at him as I did, I turned my body to face him,
"Fucking saying something like that." I said, my tone filled with disgust. "Has Izzy taught you nothing, mate?"
"What you on about? You mean with Raemundo? Nah, she knows I'm joking, man!"
"Oh yeah." I started sarcastically. "Because after that pleasant conversation, she seemed right as rain, didn't she?" I carried on, just as sarcastic.
Chop looked over at the table, and then back at me, sighing with a slight frown,
"What did I say?"
I sighed, stepping closer to him, speaking in a lower tone,
"She went to see her friend Tix in the hospital today."
"Awe, shit man. Why didn't you tell me?" Chop sighed, a frown appearing on his face.
I shook my head,
"Just forget about it, mate. She'll be alright soon." I promised him, turning my attention back to the bar.
