Ch 13
It was a rainy day in London as Garfield woke up to the sound of water hitting against the glass of their hotel room. It wasn't the only sound that passed through his ears as he heard his girlfriend Raven meditating in front of the window, floating in mid air. He smiled at the site before getting out of bed, stretching his limbs, and walking until he stood right next to Raven.
"How long have you been meditating?"
"A couple of hours."
"You're really nervous to meet them, aren't you?"
"I just don't want anything to go wrong."
"You'll be fine Rae. I'm sure if anyone is going to screw up, it will be me."
Raven smiled. "You're just trying to make me feel better."
"That's what boyfriends are for," said Gar as he hugged her from behind before making his way to the bathroom to shower.
Stepping down from her meditation position, her feet touched the floor as she looked out the window. The sun had come out, and she was hopeful it was a good sign as she went through the closet, picked out civilian clothes, and put them on. She also took out the holo ring Cyborg had given every Titan.
"You're thinking we should use them?"
Raven looked from the ring to her half-naked boyfriend dripping wet with a towel wrapped around his waist. "Uh um yes," she said as she blushed. "I don't want to startle them, and I don't want to draw attention to us."
"Good plan," he smiled before grabbing some clothes and disappearing back into the bathroom.
'He is so hot.'
'Lust?'
'Come you know you want him.'
'We have more important things to deal with then my needs,' she blushed.
"Are you ready to go?"
Raven came from her thoughts to see a stranger standing before her with blonde hair, blue eyes and civilian clothes. "Gar?"
"Yep, this is what I would look like if I never became Beast boy."
Raven came up to him and took the ring off. She smiled. "I've always preferred the way you look now Garfield," she said as his arms drew her to his body, holding her close when his lips met hers.
Garfield watched as his girlfriend nervously rung the doorbell of her relative's place. When she stood back from the door, she took a breath in and then out as she felt Gar's warm hand fall into his. She squeezed his hand, letting him know how much she appreciated the gesture.
"Hello, how can I help you?" asked a woman with black hair tied up in a bun and blue eyes.
"Hi, my name is Rachel Roth, and this is my boyfriend Garfield Logan. Are you Maiden?"
"Yes I am. What is this about?"
"Your sister Angela Roth was my mother," said Rachel as she saw the shocked expression on Maiden's face.
"Uh um come in," said Maiden as she stepped aside to let the couple inside her house. Leading them to the living room, the couple sat down on the loveseat while Maiden took the couch. "I always wondered what happened to my sister after she left home so young. I never thought she had a child. You look like her," she smiled and then realized something. "You said was, so she's gone?"
"Yes. When she left home, she felt lost, like she didn't belong anywhere. That's when she found a group that accepted her. She didn't know they were a cult at first that worshipped a horrible man. This horrible man tricked her into loving him with lies. Once she found out who he really was, it was too late. He had taken her with force and ended up pregnant with me. She escaped the cult and ended up on the streets. Feeling hopeless, she tried to commit suicide but she was stopped by a good samaritan, who took care of her and her child until the day my father came to try and take me away. I was able to escape him, but my mother wasn't. He killed her and my caregiver."
"Oh Rachel I'm so sorry," said Maiden. "I lost my sister, but you lost your mother. It must have been very hard for you."
"It was," she said as she felt Gar's arm around her, giving her the comfort she needed without words.
"Well I can see how supportive your boyfriend is of you," she smiled as the front door opened, making Maiden and the couple stand up.
"Maiden, I'm—He came into the living room to see his wife with a couple.
"Bedford," Maiden smiled. "This is our niece Rachel and her boyfriend Garfield Logan. Angela had a child."
Bedford smiled. "It's nice to meet you Rachel and Garfield. I imagine you'll both being staying here for dinner. My wife is a great cook."
"Yes you two must stay for dinner. We can get to know each other better," said Maiden.
"That sounds nice," Rachel smiled.
"Count me in," said Gar.
The couple followed Maiden and Bedford into the dinning room, and Maiden left to see to the dinner she had on the stove when the couple had arrived. Once they sat down at the table, Rachel saw a cross hanging on the wall and became uneasy.
"I can see you're admiring my cross," said Bedford as his wife came into the room to set the food down on the table.
Gar stood up from his seat. "Can I help you with anything Maiden?"
"No I'm fine dear but thanks for asking," she said as she went back into the kitchen.
"Anyway my wife and I are catholic and are faith brought us together. It helped us through some difficult times to like her sister's absence. She took it really hard."
"What about my grandparents?" asked Rachel.
"Your sister butted heads with them a lot, but they still cared about her. Honestly they were worried about her long before she left," said Bedford.
"What do you mean?" asked Rachel.
"She'd stay out late into the night and come home smelling of alcohol. I think she was depressed. Her parents and Maiden did everything they could but in the end, they couldn't help her," said Bedford. "I'm sorry you had to hear this from me."
"So, what did I miss?" asked Maiden as she set down the last of the food on the table.
"We were talking about Angela," said Bedford. "God rest her soul."
Rachel felt the rage in her threatening to come out, but she knew how to control it from all the years of meditation. She was surprised to feel Gar's emotional state in sync with hers, and it made her feel like she wasn't alone.
"Dinner looks great Maiden," said Gar.
"Thank you Garfield," said Maiden as she looked to her husband. "Bedford would you like to say grace?"
"I would love to Maiden," he smiled.
Gar looked to Rachel and could see the unease in his girlfriend's body, but he watched as she closed her eyes. He closed his eyes to and tried to tune out Bedford's prayers. Each word that dripped from his mouth was full of judgement.
"Amen," said Bedford and Maiden as they looked toward the couple. "I'm guessing you're both not religious," said Bedford.
"Well my parents were catholic but I'm an atheist," said Gar. "They didn't press their beliefs on me and taught me to believe in what is true to my heart," he said as he felt Rachel's hand hold his under the table.
"What about you Rachel?" asked Bedford.
"Agnostic," said Rachel.
"Well it doesn't matter," said Maiden. "I feel like I missed out on my sister's life, but I don't want to miss out on yours Rachel. I want to get to know and your boyfriend. He seems like a good man."