/ /Hey guys! Sorry about the last chapter being so short, I felt like it was kind of a filler chapter seeing as though we are kinda half way through the story. This chapter was a bitch to complete because there has been so much going on in my life, that I kept getting super distracted. So I am apologizing ahead of time if it's a bit choppy... It is setting up some story points that will come into play in Ch12 ... hope you like it still -V / /
Raven: Regular
ESP: Italic + phone convo + flashback dialogue
I wake up feeling much more rested than usual. So much has been going on, I'm surprised I've been able to sleep as much as I have. The clock says 12 noon. Damn! I have slept long. Just then I hear a short, stunted snore. Loki. A deeply drawn smile stretches across my face as I roll over to look at him. His black, coiffed locks drape over the side of his face as he drools into the pillow. What a fantastic sight! I roll back over and grab my phone off my dresser and snap a shot of Loki's dapper demeanor. I can't help but snort a smile to myself as I look at the photo as it stills on my screen. That's a keeper. I lower the phone at the sight of the rest of him. His broad yet slim shoulders moving slowly up and down with each breath. So amazing. I run my eyes down his back to the hem of his black and grey plaid boxers. My God he looks so sexy, even if he is drooling into the pillow. My finger makes its way to the hem draping gently under the elastic band. I noticed his body stir a bit at my touch.
He groans an intrigued mewl, "Don't start something you cannot finish my dear," he says through the pillow.
I giggle coyly to myself, "I was simply admiring your godly physique my love,"
He positions himself behind me, fitting his legs over mine and hugs me tight, "Oh is that all?"
I smile at the notion as he descends on my lips. I will never get tired of kissing these lips; never. I steady myself as I reluctantly deny his advance, "Oh trust me, I would love to show you that that's not all, but I have so much to do today,"
He grips me tighter, "It can wait," he whispers into my ear before gingerly nipping at it.
I revel in the chilling sensations it has created, "Urgh, Loki you are not making this easy for me,"
"That's the idea," he hisses.
I turn to him, "I really do have a lot to do today, come on, you're coming too,"
He pouts that puppy dog face he knows I can't help but love, "Alright, I guess if I can spend a whole day with you that's ok too," I hope he knows that one day he'll probably kill me with those faces he makes.
I climb out of bed and throw on a pair of black capri leggings and a grey razorback tank. I furrow my hair and head out into the kitchen. Loki follows suit throwing on a black beater and grey cargo shorts. Toby greets us at the door as always.
"Oh I'm sorry buddy, you must be starving," I say to him as I've usually fed him by now. He all but hisses at me at the sound of the can opening.
"So what do you have to do today love?" he asks.
"Well today's payday so I have to go grocery shopping for one, cuz having 3 people here now, there's no food in the house, I have to put gas in my car, I have to pick up my dry cleaning for work, ya know, a bunch of stuff," I say playfully.
"Oh yes, food shopping. It is getting a bit sparse in your fridge," he laughs as he points to it.
"You mean OUR fridge," I reply as I place my hands on his hips.
He replies by pulling me into him, "Indeed my love," he says as he plants a kiss.
"Ya know something?" he looks at me head cocked, "I will NEVER get tired of that," I say as I beam a smile.
He places his fingers gently under my chin, "Neither will I my love," he replies.
"Now let's see if the Irish princess wants to come with us seeing as though her vacation has started today," I say as I make my way to her door. It's open a crack which means, fair game.
I guide the door open slowly. It takes me every bit of energy I have to stop myself from laughing at the sight before me. She is sprawled out left to right across her bed. Her long auburn locks cascading over her face and off the bed. Her pillow is on the floor below her head as her hand dangles down and barely touches it. Then, the funniest part of the whole scene, her legs are out and tangled in the sheets as her butt is hanging out, hugged by a pair of black undies sporting the Victoria's Secret PINK logo across it. Oh this is too easy. I look over at Loki and press a finger to my lips as I sneak back out across to my room and grab my phone. I snap a picture of the hilariousness before me before handing the phone to him.
"I'll make good use of that later. Now, watch this," I whisper.
I tip toe over to her derriere, raise my hand up high and slap it down on to her butt. A loud crack lets out as she is completely shaken out of her sleep.
"WHAT THE FU-" she screams before she flips backwards off the bed amidst her own flailing.
At this point Loki and I are completely engulfed in laughter, "Ha! That's what you get for sleeping so late!"
She is now, frantically trying to free herself from her sheets. When her head finally makes it way free, she slams her hands down on the puddle of sheets and lets out a loud stunted grunt. Her hair is completely out of control messy. Then she shoots me that look; that evil burning look. I look over at Loki, laughing and notice him looking over my shoulder wide-eyed for a split second as I feel Alice spearing me onto the bed. She has me pinned face down as I wrestle with her.
"Urgh, dammit Alice!" I shout as I feverishly try to free myself, but to no avail.
Then I catch out of the corner of my eye, her hand high up. Oh no! Here it comes. Loki is standing there with his hand over his mouth trying to hide his laughter. *Whack* Her hand comes down with such force it sends shock waves through my entire body.
"Ha! Now we're even!" She says as she climbs off me and sashays out of the room to the bathroom.
I squint and hard press my lips towards her and huff. Then look up at Loki, "You just stand there," I say sternly yet playfully.
"Oh, my dear, far be it from me to get in the middle of your playful quarrels with your roommate," he replies hands raised.
I stand up and pull my leggings down a bit to reveal the seething red hand print on my posterior, "Oh is that so," I say trying to sound serious but I can't.
He gently places his hand on my butt and rubs it a bit, "Better my dear?"
I half-cock a smile, "Yea I guess." I head back out and knock on the bathroom door, "Hey, you wanna come with us to the grocery store and stuff?"
"Yea sure, gimmie a little bit to get ready," she replies as I hear the water turn on.
Just then my phone rings. I turn and grab it and it's the police station.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Officer O'Connell, how are you?"
"John! I'm good. How are you?"
"I'm doing ok. So listen, I was doing some thinking about the whole Tim situation. It's completely obvious at this point that Victoria is going to make things very difficult no matter which way we go and no matter what we do. I've seen this before all too often. These punk kids break every law under the sun and their rich, well-connected mommys and daddys, or whomever, come in and bail 'em out. Then when it comes to sentencing they get slaps on the wrists and ACD's or in some cases they walk! It really pisses me off! In any case, my thought is that you guys should come down to the station and press charges of your own; individually. I mean the charges filed by the city are one thing, but maybe if you guys file charges of your own, it might prevent him from getting off so easy. It's not a guarantee but it's worth a try," he explains.
"Yea, sure, I guess. I'm willing to try anything at this point to make sure he gets his just-rewards,"
"Ha, I hear you on that. So why don't you guys come down to the station and we can get rolling on the paperwork,"
"Sure thing. We'll be there in a little bit,"
"Ok, see you then. Bye,"
"Bye,"
I hang up the phone and stow it in my bra.
"Who was that?" Asks Loki.
"It was John, he wants us to come by the station today and press charges against Tim. He thinks if we do that, it might be able to prevent him from getting off so easily,"
"Well that sounds great! Whatever it takes Raven, he will pay for what he's done,one way or another," he drapes his arms around me and pulls me in tight. Alice comes out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel as a cloud of steam billows out behind her. I explain to her what John has just told me. She retreats into her room to get dressed.
"I just wish this whole thing would just go away," I say as I gaze up at him, but it more or less feels like I'm looking through him for all the thoughts going through my head right now.
"My dear, all you have to do is say the words and I could very easily take care of it," he replies with an eyebrow raised and a sly smile.
"What do you mean, like kill him? As titillating as that sounds, it's not that simple here on Earth. There are rules and whatnot. I don't know, I just wish he would move away or something. I just want to be able to go about my daily life without having to worry about him; without having to worry about looking over my shoulder wherever I go. Truth be told, I wish I never met him in the first place," I cannot help but to now find myself in a bit of a depression. I've never really had the best choices in men, well, except for Loki, but he is completely different from anyone Earth could ever hope to offer. It all plays back to the same old cliche, they seemed so sweet in the beginning, then they turn into something more; or less.
He plants his hand atop my head, "Just know I would do anything you ask of me. You are my everything and I will protect you at all costs,"
"You have no idea how much that means to me to hear you say that knowing full well that you mean it. You truly are amazing Loki,"
"As are you Raven," he says as his hand rejoins his other around my waist and he rests his cheek on my head.
"Alright guys let's get going, the sooner we go, the sooner we can hope to get this over with," chimes Alice as she comes out in a black and white flowered sundress.
We all head out to my car and hop in. We pull into the parking lot at the police station.
"How many times do you think we'll need to come here?" I say over to Alice with a nudge.
"Ha! Hopefully a million times if it'll keep that psycho away," She says as she playfully sashays into the front door.
I make my way to the glass window to the left. There's a different cop there this time; an older cop. His face ridden with lines from many years of police work. His salt and pepper hair perfectly coiffed like it's straight out of his past.
"How can I help you folks today?" he asks in a raspy, elderly voice.
"We're here to see John O'Connell," I reply.
"Sure thing, let me buzz him for ya. What's your names so he knows who's here,"
"Raven Cosentino,"
Hey picks up the phone, "Hey John, got a Ms. Cosentino here to see ya. Ok I'll tell them," he hangs up the phone, "He said he'll be right out, he's just finishing up something,"
A few minutes go by and he comes through the large glass door, "Hey guys! Great to see you again! Come on in!"
He seems bubblier than normal, oh well. We make our way to his desk.
"So what do we gotta do now?"
He slides over a pile of paperwork to me, Alice, and Loki, "I know it looks like a lot, but these reports, I took the liberty of typing myself. These aren't your standard issue charge reports, I tailored them specifically for your case. I had my lawyer sister-in-law help me with them. They may not stop them, but they may slow them down."
He said sister-in-law in a funny way; barely though. It took me a second to even notice the break in his tone. I look briefly at his left hand and notice an indent from where there would normally be a wedding ring, but no ring. I cock my eyebrow a bit and stow the thought. We fill out our paperwork and hand it back.
He pauses a minute as he pulls our paperwork from in front of us, "I don't know why, but I feel very strongly about this case,"
I look over at Alice and Loki, puzzled, "What do you mean?" His eyes seem to vanish in on themselves, almost like water going down a drain. He stares at his left hand in a far away daze. I look back at Loki then back at John, "John? Are you ok?"
He pauses a moment more before coming to, "Huh? Oh my God. I'm sorry. I-I lost my focus there for a moment," He gathers the papers hurriedly before stopping his hands atop the pile of papers. He closes his eyes and sighs, "There are some things about my life, that make this case personal for me,"
Now I am completely intrigued, "Like what?"
"It's a long story, and this isn't the best venue. I'll tell you what, Camron and I go to O'Mally's every Thursday night for drinks and pool, why don't the 3 of you join us,"
"Who's Camron?" I ask.
"Camron's my partner, the man that was with me the other day,"
"Ohhh. Makes sense. Well, um," I look to Alice who presses her lips and nods slightly, "sure we'd love to. What time you wanna meet?"
"Well I'm out of here at 7 so I'll meet you guys there at, say, 9?"
"Sounds great! We'll see you there!" I say shaking his hand.
He walks us out to the lobby and we head to the car.
"What do you think that was about?" Alice asks as she pulls her sunglasses down off her forehead.
"I don't know, but from the looks on his face, he didn't look too happy. Plus when he said 'sister-in-law, his voice kind of changed. I don't know, maybe we're reading to far into it. In either case, he's probably going to tell us tonight,"
"I picked up on it too. Something was definitely different about him after he mentioned his 'sister-in-law.' The look on his face was very distant and morose," Chimes Loki. I look up at him and shrug my shoulders.
A few hours pass and everything on my to-do list is done. Grocery shopping is done, gas tank is filled, dry cleaning picked up. I love productive days like this. We make our way into the house with bags and bags of groceries. I may have gone a bit overboard, but with Loki's 'other-worldly' appetite, I didn't want to take any chances on us running out any time soon. We bought everything; steak, chicken, pork chops, fish, even bought a spiraled ham just because it was on sale. Even bought a bit of junk food this time around. Nothing crazy, just some cookies and chips. Normally I would never buy them because Tim always made me feel self conscious about my weight. There were so many times when I found myself almost starving just so I wouldn't gain any weight for fear he'd say something. Jesus Christ! Listen to myself! If I ever heard someone say something like that out loud, I'd think they were crazy. Yet here I was, a victim of an emotional crippler. One whom I hopefully never have to deal with ever again. Amidst my thoughts of my flawed taste in men, I look over at Loki who is helping Alice put the food away. I think to myself, like I have many times already, that I am so lucky to have him in my life. Everything about him is just, perfect. Everything from the way his hair looks, down to the sound of his laugh, to those indescribable green eyes of his.
"I feel you staring at me Raven," thinks Loki to me as he is obscured from view by the fridge door.
"Damn you're good. I was just thinking about all the things I love about you,"
"And what did you decide," he responds as he stands up.
"I don't have enough time to say them all," I reply with a wink and a smooch on my lips.
He huffs a laugh before returning to the groceries.
"I'm gunna shower first, since I take the longest, and then start getting ready,"
"Alright my dear," he says smoothly.
I retreat into the bathroom and get into the shower. As the warm water trickles over my body, I can't help but think about everything that has been going on. My mind going in a million different directions; the night at the campsite, the black eye, the night at the mall, reconnecting with my mother, that horrible day on the front lawn, the firey night between Loki and I, his gift to me. As I close my eyes imagining that night, I run my hand up to my chest to hold the emerald heart. I still can't get over him buying it for me. It's so beautiful. He truly is amazing. The words of that night play over and over in my head; I have fallen madly in love with you Raven. His voice echoing in my head like a pinball. The sound of it so sweet to my subconscious. Then today; what John said; This case is personal to me. I find myself completely intrigued to what he meant by it. He seemed pained by the thought. This is probably not going to be good, but who knows. I calm my mind as I finish up my shower and head into my room. I drop my towel and open my closet door and feel Loki's phase behind me as he wraps his arms around my waist.
"Look at my goddess in all her glory," he whispers as he kisses my neck.
"Why hello there. Where'd you come from?" I say as I spin round.
He looks up and cocks his mouth into a smile, "Ehehe, space, actually,"
"Haha, you're too funny babe," I reply.
He walks over to the bed and lays on his stomach propping his head up with his hands looking at me, "You look amazing naked you know,"
I blush a bit at the thought, "Ha! Likewise," I reply with a wink.
"So what are you going to wear?" he asks as he rolls onto his back with his head hanging upside down towards me.
I look to my closet, "I don't know yet," I rummage through it and find the perfect outfit. Aha! I pull out my canary yellow tube top, black skinny jeans and black sandal flats and throw them on the bed.
"Very colorful choice my dear," he says as I've noticed the tube top is splayed across his face.
I turn and bust out laughing, "Oops I wasn't looking when I threw them," He sits up and simply smiles. I get dressed and throw on my jewelry and check myself out in front of the mirror.
"Wow that outfit looks so much better on you Raven,"
"Thanks! Yea, um, funny thing about this outfit. I bought it on a night Tim was supposed to take me out to dinner, he ended up getting drunk and passing out and completely forgetting about it," I sink my head a bit.
He cups my chin lifting it, "And now you're wearing it for someone who genuinely appreciates you and would NEVER do anything like that," he leans in and kisses me. I hear a knock at the door.
"Come on you two, quick neckin' and lets get going!" shouts Alice from outside the door.
"Oh ha ha ha. We're coming!" I roll my eyes to Loki and head out.
"Woah! Nice outfit there bumblebee," says Alice as she widens her eyes and giggles.
"Say what you will Alice. I think she looks beautiful no matter what," he says wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
"Haha, I know, I was totally messing with her. She knows I like to pick on her even though I love her," she bumps my shoulder with her fist and heads up the stairs. I look at Loki smiling shaking my head.
We get to O'Mally's and it's packed! We make our way through the crowd to find John standing up in the corner booth waving for us.
"Hey guys! Glad you could make it!" He says as he gives me and Alice a hug and shakes Loki's hand. He motions to Camron, "This is my partner, Camron Shaw. The craziest Scot' you'll probably ever meet! Camron, that's Raven Cosentino, Alice McMurphy, and Loki Odinson,"
"Pleasure to officially meet you all," he replies in a heavy Scottish accent.
"Pleasure, Camron," I reply.
"Come! Sit down, sit down! What would you all like, first round's on me," he says. He seems to have gotten started without us with his buzz.
"I'll have a vodka cranberry, Loki'll have a Bud Light bottle," I look over at Alice.
"I'll have a Jack and coke," she replies.
"Perfect! Janelle," he motions to the waitress walking passed him, "can we get 2 more Guinness', a vodka cranberry, Bud Light bottle and a Jack and coke, and put that all on my tab, thanks hun,"
"You got it Officer O'Connell," she replies with a smile as she walks away.
"So, how are all of you this evening?" he asks.
"Good, I guess, can't complain," I reply. Loki and Alice reply similar answers.
"Glad to hear it! So anyway, yea your case is getting a ugly again," he says as he sips his drink.
"How so?" I reply.
"Well after you left I filed your charges against Tim, and I got a phone call from Victoria. She went on and on about how the charges are unwarranted and without merit and all this bullshit. I swear that woman is the devil in heels! I've met my fair share of hot heads and big shots, but so far, she is taking the cake and running with it! Long story short, she is basically claiming the charges are false and is motioning them to be dismissed, but I won't let him get away that easy. I put in a call to my sister-in-law, who said she'd represent you guys free of charge. She's had some dealings with this woman before so she knows how and where to hit her. Hopefully she can pull through for you guys,"
I feel a slight pain in my forehead as I pinch the bridge of my nose with my fingers, "I swear I wish I never met that man. He has become the very bane of my existence. Wait, did you say she'd represent us for free?!" Janelle comes with our drinks and I take a huge gulp of mine.
"Yes, I did. And yes she will. She's like me, a firm believer in justice; something that is sorely ignored too often in this country. Our founding fathers are probably rolling in their graves at what we've become as a society. It really is fucking sad. Rapists and murderers and thieves and drug dealers are getting the royal treatment, whether they're getting off easy with their sentences or not even being tried at all based on a technicality, a fucking flaw in the system! Or there's times when a case goes completely off the radar, swept under the rug, out of sight for noone to see," the look in his eyes at this point is one of sheer anguish and sadness.
Camron places his hand on his shoulder, "Hey, John, take it easy ok? It's alright,"
He takes a deep breath and calms himself a bit, "I'm sorry guys. I just get worked up sometimes, plus the alcohol, and everything,"
"It's ok, I agree totally with you," I reply.
"Yea me too, it's totally cool John," chimes Alice.
"So, the main reason I wanted to come here to talk was to tell you a bit more about myself as it pertains to this case," he takes a big sip of his beer.
"You sure you want to go there O'Connell?" says Camron.
"It's cool Shaw, it would make things much more clear if they knew,"
"If you don't want to talk about it, it's ok," I say to him softly.
"No, it's ok, I want to tell you guys," he takes another sip of his beer, "It all began 10 years ago. I was 29 and I had been married to my wife, Melanie for a hair under 5 years and we were expecting our first child. She was my everything. No other woman ever came close to what she gave me. She was my rock, my other half, my queen. At the time, I was working as an electrician for my older brother's company making very good money. Sure it was hard work, but I had a baby on the way and had to focus on providing for my family," I notice his eyes start to glaze over, "One day, we were working at a job site about 2 hours away, some big mansion outside the city by the coast. I had checked my phone briefly to see what time it was and noticed there was a text from her. It simply read, 'Call me when you get a sec 3.' We were so busy I decided to call her when I went on my break. 3 hours later I got a call from the police telling me there had been an accident at my home, that my wife had been shot. Words cannot describe the thoughts that went through my head at that time. I ran to my brother's truck and sped home. When I got there, there were cops, firetrucks, ambulances and yellow tape everywhere. There were men with CSI jackets and cameras, police, on-lookers, then the atom-bomb; the coroner's van was pulling up. I ran to one of the policemen, shaking like a wet dog, 'What happened?! Where's my wife?!' I demanded. 'Are you Mr. O'Connell?' he asked. 'Yes goddammit! Tell me what happened!' He looked over at the other officer before responding, 'Mr. O'Connell, your wife has been shot. She was alive when we arrived on the scene, however,' he paused. I grabbed his shoulders and shook him, 'HOWEVER WHAT!? WHAT?! WHERE IS SHE?!' I was in complete disarray. 'The EMT just called the time, she didn't make it. We did all we could to save her. I'm so sorry,' And just like that my world came crashing down. I fell to my knees and started to pound the ground. 'Where is she?! I want to see her,' I demanded. The officer helped me up and walked me over to the ambulance. As I turned the corner around the rear tire, I saw the stretcher; the white sheet covering her was soaked in blood. I reached over to the top of the sheet and peeled it back slowly. There she was; my beautiful wife; shot in the head, chest and leg. Her golden blonde hair completely drenched in her own blood. I just cried out in agony as I caressed her face. 'I'm so sorry baby!' Just then I heard Melanie's father's voice from behind me. 'John! John, what happened?I' I looked back a him and looked back to Melanie. 'Oh no not my baby girl! No! NO!' Then I over heard the police radio, 'We got the suspect cornered in an abandoned house on Rose Avenue; requesting back-up to 102 Rose Avenue; all available units; suspect believed to still be armed; proceed with caution.' That's all I needed to hear. I turned on my heel and walked back to the truck. The adrenaline was pumping through my veins so hard I thought I was going to explode. I could hear my father-in-law shouting my name through the pounding but I kept moving. I started the truck and drove the 5 blocks to Rose Ave and saw all the cop cars. I pulled up at the end and parked the truck. I grabbed my brother's pistol from under his seat and went around behind the neighboring house. As I made my way to the back door of the abandoned house, a police officer stopped me, 'Where you think you're going son?' he whispered. 'That bastard killed my wife and baby, I wanna know why,' he looked at me and shook his head, 'I can't let you do that,' I raised my gun up next to my face, 'You wanna stop me, you're going to have to shoot me,' and with that I turned away from him and proceeded into the house. 'Who's there!?' said the man. 'It's the husband of the woman you just murdered! Show yourself you coward!' Just then he laughed, 'Haha. John. Why am I not surprised you showed up,' 'How do you know my name?' I was completely lost at that point. Then a shadow came out from behind the door frame before turning to me. When I saw his face, I knew exactly who it was; Benny Jameson; Melanie's ex from high school. He was abusive towards her. Every time he was arrested, his lawyer daddy got him off with warnings and shit. She had filed a restraining order when she finally broke it off and she moved halfway across the country to escape him; unfortunately, he found her. 'Why Benny? Why'd you do it?' he just stood there with a sick twisted smile on his face, 'WWHHYYY?!' I screamed. 'If I couldn't have her, noone can,' No sooner than he said those words, he lifted the pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. Just like that. No justice. No happy ending. He had taken everything from me and took the coward's way out," he was completely broken down at this point. I didn't even know what to say. I look over to Loki and Alice who were equally stunned.
"John - I - I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry. That is just awful," I say to him as a tear streams from my eye. I am totally taken back by his story. I am at a loss for words. I look over at Alice who is just shaking her head with her hand over her mouth.
"Thanks guys," he sighs hard, "It was very hard for me after that. My entire world had been turned inside out. But I wanted to try to be strong; for Melanie. After that happened, I joined the force. That's when I met Camron. He's been there for me from minute one. He's helped me through my darkest hours. He even moved in with me for a while just so I wasn't alone to stew in my dark thoughts. He's a true friend," he says as he bumps Camron's shoulder.
"That's just the way I am. I am there for my friends and family no matter what the cost," replies Camron.
"Same here. I would do anything for Alice, known her my whole life," I say as I smile to her.
"Aww thanks girl," she replies.
"I knew becoming a cop was the right choice. I wanted to help people. I wanted to try my hardest to make sure that stuff like that doesn't happen again. It wasn't fair what happened to Melanie. Her ex had slipped through the cracks of our penal system and she and my unborn child paid the ultimate prices," his head sinks into his hands.
"I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like for you," I reply.
"That's why I feel so strongly about this case. It sounds all too familiar. I would hate to see him slip through and something happen. I promise you guys, anything and everything I can do to make this work, I'll do it,"
"John we greatly appreciate everything. You have no idea how much it means to me knowing you are dedicated to upholding the law," chimes Loki, whom had been quiet most of the night.
"Hey, knowing Raven has a guy like you around is pretty comforting; 'specially after how you handled those two last time," replies John.
"That goes without saying. I'd do anything to protect Raven and Alice," he says as he pulls me close next to him.
"Aww Loki. Nice to know I have a bodyguard," says Alice as we all laugh.
"So now you all know my inner termoil. Not a day goes by that I don't think about what happened. I know Melanie would want me to be happy, but it's so hard; I miss her so much," he shakes his head.
"But you said it before, Melanie would want you to be happy; to find someone new and start a new family and be happy again," says Camron.
He sighs, "I don't know, I guess you're right; but who? I mean, shit, I'm pushing 40 and I'm not getting any younger," he laughs a bit, which is good since he had been so sad this entire time.
"Well, if I'm not being too invasive, my mother is single, and a wonderful woman at that. I'm sure she'd love to meet you," I noticed John's eyes perk a bit at my admission.
"Really? I don't know, it's been so long since I've 'dated'," he replies.
"Hey, give it a shot. You are a great guy and you deserve to be happy," chimes Camron.
He relents to the notion, "Alright I guess. Gotta try at some point, right?" he takes the last sip of his beer before signaling to Janelle to bring another.
"I'll give her a call tomorrow and set something up from there,"
"Thanks Raven. Means a lot to me to just share my story and have people around me that want to help and be there for me; makes me feel great," he says with a warm smile.
"No problem John. You're alright too," I say with a big smile.
The night continues on with more drinks and stories. It was a good day and now so much makes sense. Hopefully things will only get better from here.