Chapter 23
Raven and Chelsea walked into the Baxter residence hand in hand; Raven and Chelsea had been holding hands openly since the park, and Chelsea didn't mind. Some people looked, and Raven knew that Chelsea noticed, but like Chelsea said earlier, they didn't matter anymore. Raven smiled, looking over at her girlfriend, happy to be with her again. Chelsea smiled back, but looked around nervously.
"Are your parents going to like, kick me out or something?"
Raven shrugged. "I don't even know if they're home yet." Looking at her watch she added, "Dad's probably still at the restaurant and Mom's picking up Cory." Then, Raven winced. "By the way, Cory knows."
"What?"
Raven shook her head. "Some kid very rudely told him I was a lesbian and he got into a fight."
"Aw. Is he okay?"
Raven nodded. "Yeah. He was kind of mad for a while."
They both sat down on the couch and Chelsea put her arm around Raven's shoulder. "Well, he was the last to know I guess." Chelsea rationalized.
"But we talked, and even though he was a little shocked that I was going out with you, he's cool with it."
Chelsea nodded. "That's good."
"Huh." Raven said, smiling, and Chelsea wrinkled her forehead with curiosity.
"What?"
"I don't know. I…I guess I thought you'd be freaking out about it."
Chelsea removed her arm from around Raven and began to pick at the nail of her index finger, looking only at her hands. "Yeah. Well, I'm not going to do that anymore. I've changed." Then, she looked at Raven. "I mean it; I'm not just saying it to get back with you. Losing you was…such an eye-opener. It made me see how important you are to me…how much I love you."
Raven nodded, her eyes glistening with fresh tears.
"That's why I'm so happy that you're going to give me a second chance. I don't know what I would've done if you didn't take me back." Chelsea said, smiling, grabbing one of Raven's hands and kissing it gently.
Raven smiled softly. "Well, you did try really hard. I mean, sky writers---"
"That messed up the message." Chelsea grumbled, pouting a little.
"But it was still beautiful and romantic. Everything you did was so beautiful. I'll never forget a single one."
Chelsea sighed. "It's a shame I had to do all of that to show you how sorry I was…and still am."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean…you deserve better than that. You should've gotten the flowers and the music and the sky writers--as stupid as they may be--from the beginning. I should give you flowers to show you that I love you and I care…not because I broke your heart."
"Chels, it's okay."
"No it's not. I was horrible to you. I never showed you how much I loved you until I lost you." Chelsea rambled, working herself up. "But that's not going to happen again. From now on, you're getting flowers every day---"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa there." Raven laughed, cutting Chelsea off. "Calm down Chelsea."
Chelsea opened her mouth in protest, but Raven put a hand up. She took both of Chelsea's hands in her own and said, "Look, I know you feel bad and I know that we can't pretend it never happened, but I love you. You can't continuously beat yourself up about it, I don't want you to. And you don't have to send me flowers to show me you care. Everything you've done is proof enough. Okay?"
Chelsea shook her head a little but Raven made a stern face. "Uh-uh? Okay"
Chelsea hesitated for a moment, and then sighed. Smiling a little she said, "Okay."
"Okay." Raven exhaled and then said, "But every now and then, flowers wouldn't hurt."
Chelsea smiled and looked away shyly. Raven gave her a quick peck on the lips before the front door opened. Both girls stood up as Cory walked in.
"Hey." Cory said, walking over to the girls. Cory looked from Raven to Chelsea and then back to Raven again, his eyebrows raised in question. From behind Chelsea, Raven gave him a subtle "thumbs up."
"Hi, Cory." Chelsea said lowly.
"I heard about you and my sister."
Chelsea nodded, looking at Raven and then back at Cory. There was a tense moment before Cory finally spoke.
"You know I love you baby, but you better treat my sister right…or else."
Raven's eyes widened to an almost impossible size. "Cory!" She screeched, appalled.
Chelsea heaved a sigh of relief as she nodded. "I promise. I'll treat her right."
"Good."
Then, Cory left for the kitchen. Raven turned, calling to him. "Cory, where's Mom?"
"Right here." Raven turned back to see Tanya standing in the door, sending Chelsea an icy glare.
Chelsea stomach started flipping like an acrobat and beads of sweat lined her forehead. 'Time to face the music,' she thought miserably. Hopefully, Tanya would go easy on her. That death look was sort of sending her a different message though.
Raven could feel the tension mounting in the room. She looked at Tanya, who slowly closed the front door and made her way down the small stair, walking toward Chelsea. Then she looked at Chelsea, who looked as if she were about to faint.
"So Chelsea," Tanya said almost threateningly, "How are you?"
"That depends." Chelsea meekly responded. She wanted to take a step back, but she was frozen to the spot.
"On what?" Tanya asked, moving a little closer.
"On your intentions."
Tanya raised her head a little, looking down on Chelsea. "Ah. My intentions."
Raven stood off to the side, pulling on her fingers in anxiety. What would her mother do? What would she say? What did Tanya have in store for Chelsea?
There were several moments of silence. You could cut the tension with a knife. Raven felt it pressing on her chest cavity, squeezing her heart.She wondered how Chelsea felt at this moment. She was probably dying.
After what seemed like an eternity, Tanya spoke up. "I saw the letter you wrote to Raven."
"You did?" Chelsea said, a dash of hope lacing her voice.
"Well, when I saw Raven run up to her bedroom and then run out of the house without saying two words to me, I figured something was up. So I went upstairs and found the letter." Tanya recalled, looking at Raven and then back at Chelsea. "And I hope you meant every word you wrote."
"I do, honestly." Chelsea answered quickly.
Tanya looked Chelsea up and down. Did she mean it? Could she trust her with her daughter? Could she be sure that Chelsea wouldn't hurt Raven again?
Chelsea cast a nervous sideways glance at Raven, who frowned. Raven stepped forward, clearing her throat. "I believe Chels Mom. I think she means it."
Chelsea nodded wildly. "Every word, Mrs. Baxter."
Tanya squinted. "Raven, are you sure about this?"
Raven smiled. "Did you see the message?"
Tanya shook her head. "What message?"
Raven grabbed Tanya's arm and led her to the front door, opening it and pointing to the sky. "Look."
Tanya moved a hand to above her eyebrows, shielding her eyes from the sun. She looked to Raven. "Who's Ray?" She asked, looking back into the sky.
"That's me."
Tanya snapped her head towards Raven and then peered in at Chelsea, who hadn't moved. She turned to Raven and whispered. "What?"
"Yeah, well…the stupid sky writer messed it up, but that's me. That's what Chelsea wanted me to go to the park. You can see it much better there. Mom, she really is sorry and she really does love me. I know it. She just got scared."
"She hurt you Raven. Can you be sure she won't do it again?"
"I can't be a hundred percent sure, but can anyone in a relationship be that sure? When you were dating Dad you guys broke up three times before you got married. And you got back together each time. Why is this different?"
Tanya looked back in at Chelsea. She still hadn't moved, but she was playing with the rings on her fingers. She sighed. "It's not different. I just don't want you to get hurt again."
"I know Mom. I'll be careful. I promise."
"There's no such thing as careful when you're in love."
"Yeah well…" Raven trailed off, not sure how to respond.
Tanya looked up at the sky one more time before walking back inside. Raven followed, closing the door behind her. Chelsea looked up at Tanya, afraid of what she had to say.
"If Raven forgives you…then I can forgive you too."
"Really?" Chelsea cried in relief.
Tanya nodded. "But you hurt her again and so help me I'll--" Tanya started but she was cut off unexpectedly when Chelsea wrapped her in a big hug.
"Thank you so much Mrs. B!" Chelsea squealed.
"Oh-oh-Okay Chelsea. All right." Tanya half-laughed and Chelsea let go.
"Sorry."
"It's all right." Tanya said, straightening her clothes out.
Raven walked forward and grabbed Chelsea's hand. Chelsea looked at her, grinningwidely. Tanya shook her head. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."
"Thanks Mom." Raven said warmly and Tanya smiled.
Then she left.
Chelsea collapsed on to the living room couch. "Oh my God. I thought she was going to kill me!"
"I thought so too."
Chelsea let out a long, slow breath, shaking her head in a daze. Raven squeezed her hand, inwardly laughing at Chelsea's expression. Then, Chelsea gasped and sat up straighter. "Oh, what about your father!"
"What about him?"
"Rae, what's he going to do?"
Raven shrugged. "I don't know. But he's staying late because he had to fire a waitress and hire a new one, so he has to train her. So, I don't think you'll have to face him just yet. And don't worry. My mom will soften him up before you see him."
"All right." Chelsea said. She knew she had to face both parents. It was really scary, but she had to do it to show Raven how committed she was this time.
"So, what do you want to do now?"
"Uh…get reacquainted with my girl." Raven said devilishly, standing up and pulling Chelsea up too.
"But Rae, your mother!" Chelsea whispered.
"Don't worry. We have like an hour before she'll come to check up on us. C'mon, I missed you!"
"I missed you too."
"So, what are we waiting for!" Raven exclaimed quietly. She didn't want her mother to hear that.
Giggling, Raven pulled Chelsea as they ran up the stairs to Raven's bedroom.