Another chapter? What can I say, I felt bad for abandoning this story and felt a sudden burst of inspiration to continue? (i lowkey teared up while writing this chapter bc i think its so adorable… Also Raven seems kind of out of character in this chapter, but for me, it just represents how she could be if she werent in such a horrible situation. It shows her that she could potentially be happy one day )
The feeling in Gar's stomach from when Raven's father showed up at his house still haunted him. He was expecting a call or text from Raven, but two days later and she'd yet to try to contact him at all.
Now it was monday morning and as Gar stopped to pick up coffee on his way to school, he heard a ping from his phone.
Hey Gabby,
Would you be able to give me a ride to school?
-Rae
Before Gar could even ask her why she called him gabby, he received another text
G,
My dad says hi
Rae
Garfield was just around the corner from the school, and getting Raven would definitely make him late, but if he would backtrack for anyone, he'd backtrack for Raven. He sent her a quick text saying he'd pick her up on the corner of her street, and set off towards Raven's house.
When Gar pulled up, Raven was waiting, headphones in her ears, so she didn't hear him pull up. Gar took this as an opportunity to admire his crush.
Today she wore a pair of black distressed skinny jeans, and a sweatshirt that looked particularly familiar.
At this point Raven noticed Gar, and hopped in the passenger seat.
"Hey, sorry about the whole Gabby thing, my dad is being really weird after the other day, so I had to change your contact on my phone to Gabby," Raven explained, biting the nail of her pinky as she spoke.
"Is that my sweatshirt?" Gar asked, a slight blush in his cheeks
Raven, looked down at the apparel in question and also blushed.
"Yea, um I guess Rita put it on me when I um.. Stayed at your house that night, do you mind, I can give it back?"
Raven hoped he'd say she could keep it for two reasons. One, she wasn't wearing anything but a bra underneath so that would be awkward, even if a part of her did want to be shirtless with Gar. And two, it made her feel safe. All she had to do was breath it in and it's like how Gar held her that night. Not that she would ever admit this to anyone.
"Keep it, it looks way cuter on you anyway," Gar smiled, looking down at his fingernails.
Raven isn't quite sure what on Azarath persuaded her to do this, but she leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you," she said quietly snuggling into the sweatshirt.
"Though, I'm not wearing anything underneath this so you really missed out on that one,"
Gar coughed, "I changed my mind! I.. I want my sweatshirt back, that that sweatshirt it um means a lot to me,"
Raven winked, and began to slowly lift the sweatshirt. Gar's eyes widened as every centimeter of fabrique uncovered skin. But just before the sweatshirt reached her breasts, she let it fall back down and laughed at Gar's shocked face.
Gar's blushing was now pinker than gum, so he cleared his throat and began the drive to school.
"So what happened after your dad came and got you?" Gar asked breaking the silence.
Ravens eyes went dark and her grip on the sleeves of the sweatshirt tightened. Gar took notice of this and drove right past the entrance to the school.
"Gar, what are you doing? You passed the school"
Gar gave her a playful smile, "Wanna play hookie with me, Raven Roth?"
Raven looked shocked at first, but then laughed and said, "Fuck it,"
Gar wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and said, "And by it, do you mean me?"
Raven leaned in over the center console to garfield so that he could feel her breath on his neck, "Only if you're lucky"
Garfield just about slammed on the breaks while Raven laughed at his reaction. The two continued to joke as Gar drove them to who the hell knows where
"Why won't you just tell me where we're going?" At this point the two had been driving for about an hour and Raven couldn't possibly figure out where on earth he was taking her.
Gar shrugged his shoulders, "Somewhere far away where no one will find your body after I rape and murder you,"
"It's not rape if it's consensual… Also not murder, more of an assisted suicide."
Gar blushed at her first comment, but Raven could see the slight concern in his eyes at the second. His mouth opened as if to say something, but ultimately nothing came out.
"Gar," Raven said her hand on his shoulder, "Just say what you wanted to say."
Of course it wasn't really about saying anything. What Gar really wanted to was to kiss her. Yes the two had been flirting the whole car ride of things much more intense than a simple kiss, but saying and doing are two different things. He didn't really want to say anything. He wanted to take her pain away, he wanted to make every bad thing that has ever happened to Raven and change it so it had happened to himself instead. And if there were words to express these desires, well, Gar just wasn't aware of them.
So instead he said, "How are you feeling?"
Raven took removed her arm from his shoulder and rubbed her eyes. She wished she could tell Gar what's been going on. That things with her father have never been worse. That he was forcing her to share his bed. That he treated her like his wife. But what would he think of her if he knew? Would he still be able to look her in the eye? Would he still be able to make flirtacious jokes, or would he be disgusted at the sight of her, of her impurity, that the man that took her virginity was her own father. Would he be disgusted that she let's it happen, that she's given up?
So instead she said " I'm okay."
Gar knew that was far from the truth, and he wished he could say that. But it was hard enough to get Raven to opem up as much as she had, he didn't want to push her away.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?"
Raven gave him a small smile, "I know, and maybe one day I will,"
Gar smiled warmly back at Raven as he pulled the car into a small clearing on the side of the road.
"Gar why are we pulled over on the side of the road?" Raven looked at her friend in disbelief, they'd been driving for almost two hours and Raven had absolutely no idea where they were.
"You'll see," Gar said as he unbuckled his seat belt and exitted the car. Raven rolled her eyes, but followed suit wondering why on Earth she liked this boy.
Gar took Raven's hand, and when she made no move to pull it away, he held it firmly and motioned for her to come with him as he led her into the woods.
"Is this where you take all of your murder victims?"
"No, baby, only you," Gar said with a wink.
Raven, to Gar's dismay removed her hand from his, and used it to punch his arm
"Ow!"
"Don't call me baby," but even as Raven said that, she slipped her hand back into Gar's and leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked.
They walked in silence for a bit, and while Raven wanted to demand Garfield where he was taking her, she found herself not wanting to break the silence.
Gar may have been quiet, but his mind was racing. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. He couldn't help but feel as though he was floating in the clouds with Raven's hand in his and even though she took her head from his shoulder, he could still feel it there. As if when she took it away she was taking a piece of him with it.
A few minutes later, they walked to a break in the thick forest. Behind the trees hid a lake surrounded by hundreds of different wildflowers and a single green bench. Gar led Raven to the bench and noticed a plaque fixed on the back.
"In loving memory of Mark and Marie Logan,"
"My mom and dad grew up here. When we visited the states, my mom and dad would always take me here. I haven't been back since we put the plaque up."
Raven turned him to face her. "Gar, this is beautiful, thank you so much for taking me here."
Suddenly it was as if magnets were slowly pulling the two together, until Raven put her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. Gar placed his arms on her waist as he deepened the kiss.
Raven was the first to pull back, and rested her forehead on his, her breath heavy. Gar smiled and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, took her hand and sat her down on the bench. He put his arm around her and she laid her head on his chest letting the beat of his heart melt away all of her pain.
"Gar?" Raven asked, as if she needed some verification that all of this was real.
"Rae?"
Raven looked up at him and smiled, placing her hand on his cheek, and kissed him softly. Gar smiled into the kiss.
But before things could heat up again, Gar's phone began to ring.
"Hello?"
"Garfield Mark Logan why on Earth are you not at school?"
Raven could just make out Rita's voice screaming at Gar over the phone.
"Ri-Mom, Look I'm sorr- he's what? Fuc-crap, we're on our way," Gar's expression became hard as he pulled Raven and himself off of the bench. "We have to go."
"Gar what's wrong?" Raven asked, catching Gar who had already made it back to the path
"I'll explain it when we get to the car."
Gar's face seemed stressed, so Raven didn't push the matter. But, rushing through the woods became increasingly difficult with the injuries that she had sustained from both Slade and the past weekend with her father. Gar noticed Raven beginning to fall behind, so he stopped to make sure she was alright.
"I'm fine- Ugh!" Raven winced in pain as her ankle gave out, and had Garfield not caught her, she would have found herself face down on the ground.
Gar lifted her jeans to see her ankle and was taken aback "Raven your ankle looks even worse than it did the other night," He continued to lift her jeans just to find an array of more bruises, each bigger than the last. "Take off the sweatshirt."
"Gar," Raven pleaded
"Raven," he said more softly, "please."
When she did, he unlike in the car, didn't even glance at her breasts. He barely noticed the black lacy bra Raven had on, but what he did notice had him almost in tears.
His fingers traced every last bruise that adorned her torso, and every time she winced, he died a little more inside.
His eyes moved to her arms, and then to her wrists and finally to her eyes. She tried to hide the tears welling up in her eyes, looking away to avoid his stare .
"Rae, look at me," Gar said, taking her chin ad facing her towards him. First he kissed her forehead, then both her cheeks. His lips grazed past her own and placed a gently kiss to a bruise on her collar bone. He kissed every last visible bruise, from the one peeking out from the small of her back to one just above her left breast. He kissed the scars on her arms, and the most recent cuts, until he made his way back up to her face, and kissed her tears as the came down her cheeks. He grabbed his sweatshirt from her hand, and slipped it back onto her, taking note that it really did look cuter on her.
"Come on," Gar said gently, "Let's get back to the car." As he said this, he lifted Raven into his arms and carried her the rest of the way.
Sooooooo what do you think? What do you think Rita told Gar on the phone? Will Raven push Gar away now that he's seen her bruises? Or will she finally be able to do what needs to be done in order to be happy? Find out next time…. (which hopefully won't be in a year but who knows…)