Raphael didn't show up. I glanced up at the clock that now read 2:30 A.M. He would never show up this late, which only meant one thing. He stood me up. Why should I be surprised really? He has someone now, he doesn't need me anymore.
I stood from the couch and dragged my fleece blanket behind me. Truly defeated I flopped down face first onto my air mattress. Damn was this thing ever uncomfortable. If I hadn't been so stubborn before, I would be in his bed. I would be in his arms and MonaLisa would be the one sleeping alone. Tears were stinging my eyes and I was trying my hardest to keep my sobs quiet. That's when it all really hit me. I want him. I want him more than anything else in the world. He's meant for me and I'm meant for him…Our spark is undeniable. It was like we were put here just for each other.
But I can't have him.
I tried to cease my crying when I heard a knock on my door. After glancing at my reflection in the camera on my phone, I deemed myself ok to answer the door. I pulled it open to see Whitley, Clara and Tori standing on the other side. They looked a little disheveled and flushed in the cheeks.
"Have a good night at the bar?" I asked as I took in their party worn state.
"We did, we danced pretty much all night." Tori replied with a giant smile.
I followed them away from my bedroom and into the kitchen. Meeting in the kitchen was becoming somewhat of a ritual. Mostly because we all really love the Golden Girls and they always had conversations at the kitchen table, so we figured we should too. We each pulled up a stool and Whitley grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge.
"So Raphael stood me up tonight." I said as I chugged the wine she poured for me.
"Is that why your eyes are so red and puffy?" Whitley asked as she filled my glass again for me.
I hung my head in shame, "Yes." I sighed. "I know, I'm being stupid."
"You're not being stupid, Sarah." Clara placed a comforting hand on my arm. "You're not used to him having someone. He's not going to be available to hang out all the time."
"I know. That's why I said I was being stupid. I understand that he's with Mona and that he'll be spending most of his free time with her. But that doesn't make it any easier. I guess I'm spoiled." I attempted to laugh.
"I'm sure he has a good reason for not showing up tonight." She replied.
"Yeah. You're probably right." I decided to change the subject. "Shouldn't you get some sleep, Whit? Your parents are going to be here in the morning."
She put her face in her hands and groaned. "I know, don't remind me."
"It's going to be okay." Tori tried to console her. "We're all going to be there for you. Besides, your parents are awesome. There's no way anything bad will happen."
She let out a sigh of relief, "Yeah. I'm just being paranoid."
"Trust me, I understand. I don't plan on telling my mom about Mikey for a while. She keeps asking me when I'm going to get a boyfriend." Tori laughed.
"Same here, I'm terrified to tell my parents about Donnie." Clara spoke.
"You'll know when the time is right." Whitley told them. "I just don't have time anymore to wait for the right time. I don't want them to have heart attacks the day of my wedding."
After drinking our wine we all retired for the night. None of us wanted to admit it, but we were all incredibly nervous about my aunt and uncle arriving in the morning. This must be how they felt the night before I met the guys.
I switched off the lamp beside me and set my alarms on my phone for nine in the morning. Before I put the phone down though, I pulled up the text message conversation between Raphael and myself.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard before I quickly made the decision to text him. My fingertips flew across the touch pad as I typed out,
'I missed you tonight, I guess you were busy.
Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow.
Goodnight xoxo'
I immediately regretted my decision to send the text. Groaning inwardly, I tossed the phone onto the stack of books I was currently using as a bedside table.
Bright sunshine poured onto the city as the sun began its ascent into the sky. Leonardo was already out and on his way to Whitley's apartment. The other brothers, excluding Raphael, would be making an appearance only if things between Mary, Jeff and Leonardo went well. The plan was simple, if they reacted badly to him, he would leave so that Whitley could maybe reason with them alone. The group of friends were in high hopes that that wouldn't be the case.
After traveling from rooftop to rooftop he came to hers. Leonardo climbed down the fire escape and jumped onto the balcony. He peered into her room, he didn't see her at all.
"Probably having coffee," He thought to himself. He had gotten there a little early.
Whitley had told him to wait until her parents had been there for a good thirty minutes before showing up. The blue masked turtle had been so nervous about meeting his future in laws that he couldn't sit around at the lair. He sat down on the balcony, he would wait here for now. Until she came to look for him. The alley below was dark and quiet. Leo was grateful that the side of the apartment building Whitley lived on faced an empty street.
He had only been sitting on the quiet balcony for a short time when he heard a commotion coming from the alley below. At the sound of a woman screaming, Leo readied his katanas and leapt from the balcony. The commotion was being caused by a tall man sporting a purple dragon tattoo. He had a couple, a man and a woman, cornered at gunpoint and he was demanding the woman hand over her purse.
"Hand it over and no one gets hurt." He was yelling and waving his gun.
"Of course." Leo muttered to himself before he crept through the darkened parts of the alley to grab the man from behind. He tossed him into the brick wall, knocking the man unconscious.
The people he had been harassing stood in apparent shock as they tried to register what had just happened. Leonardo hadn't been seen by the couple.
He grabbed the purse that the crook had pulled from the woman's arms and tossed it back to her. Never once coming out of the shadow cast by the building.
The petite blonde spoke into the darkness, "Thank you, whoever you are." Before the terrified couple scurried off and away from the alley.
Leonardo smiled to himself before climbing back up to the balcony.
I actually got up with my alarm this morning. A truly incredible feat for me, since I usually sleep through at least three different alarms. My sleep had been restless though and I felt like I hadn't really slept at all. I was nervous for Whitley. Not only was I nervous for Whitley, but I was stressing out over the whole thing with Raphael. Why did I have to realize I loved him after he found someone else?
Maybe that's why I realized it.
While I was getting ready for the day I checked my phone every few seconds to make sure I hadn't missed a text from him. He hadn't texted me back, but I had to reason with myself that maybe he was still sleeping, it was early after all. Given the chance, he'll sleep till the afternoon. I smiled to myself as I ran a mascara wand over my lashes.
I almost poked myself in the eye when Whitley opened the door to my room and frantically asked, "How do I look?"
She looked beautiful. It was obvious she was trying to look her best for this meeting. Her blonde hair was loosely curled and lay just past her shoulders. She was wearing a simple cotton dress, but the bright pink color made her look like she was literally glowing.
"You look gorgeous, Whit."
She smiled, "You really think so? Leo loves this color on me." She wrung her hands nervously, "I hope everything goes well today."
"Listen, I know it will go okay. When your parents see how happy you are, they're going to forget that he's a talking mutant turtle." I said with a laugh as I went back to applying makeup.
Her phone started ringing, "Its mom. She said she'd call when they got here."
Taking a deep breath she put the phone on speaker, "Hello?"
"Sweetie, we're here. Jeff is just parking the car and we'll be up." Mary practically yelled through the phone.
Whitley and I both winced at her loud voice that was still thick with a creole accent.
"Okay, see you soon. Love you."
"Love you!" She exclaimed before the call ended.
"Well she sounded excited." I snorted.
"A little too excited."
I followed Whitley into the kitchen where we sat in a state of pure stress. Tori and Clara joined as well. We were all practically staring holes through the door, waiting to hear a knock.
"What's taking so long?" Whitley said quietly as she glanced at the clock on the microwave. "It shouldn't have taken Jeff thirty minutes to park the car."
Just as she was about to pull her phone out to call her mom there was the long awaited knock that came from the other side of the door.
In a flash Whitley was out of her stool and at the door. She stood on her tip toes to see through the peep hole before pulling open the door. Aunt Mary stepped into the apartment and pulled her daughter into a very tight hug. I could almost hear her back pop from across the kitchen.
"We were mugged just outside, you know. You need to get out of this area Whitley. I've told you more times than I can count." She nagged.
"Wait, what!? You were mugged?"
Mary waved her hands dramatically, "Don't get all flustered, we're fine. Some nice person helped us out. That still doesn't change the fact that you need to move."
When my aunt caught sight of me, she walked over to me and squeezed me in a tight hug, almost suffocating me in her boobs.
"How are you fairing, sweetheart? Do you like it in the city so far?"
"Yeah, Aunt Mary. It's great here."
"Met any nice guys?" She winked at me.
"Uh…." I blushed scarlet.
Sensing how uncomfortable I was becoming, Whitley swooped in to save me. She pulled Mary away and placed a cup of coffee into her hands.
"Mom, before Leonardo arrives, I need to say something." Whitley began.
"Okay…we're listening, honey." Mary replied as Jeff came to stand next to her.
"The reason you haven't met Leo yet is because he's different. I just hope that when you meet him you can look past his outward appearance."
Mary looked to be at a loss for words. Tori, Clara and I tried desperately to fade into the background. This was getting off to a very awkward start.
"Baby, if he makes you happy, I don't care what he looks like." She placed a loving hand on her daughter's cheek. "Is he good to you?"
"He's wonderful to me." She replied.
"When you think about your future, do you see him in it with you?"
"Yes."
"Then honey, that's all that matters." They hugged and Whitley was busy trying to keep her eyes dry. "So where is he then?" Mary finally said as she pulled away from the hug.
"He's uh…he's…give me a second." She disappeared into her room where we could hear whispers and the sound of her window closing.
Mary looked to me and I simply shrugged my shoulders. It felt like an eternity before we heard the door to Whitley's bedroom open. I heard Tori suck in a sharp breath before nervously running her hand through her sandy blonde hair.
Whitley and Leonardo stepped into the kitchen hand and hand. "Mom, Jeff. This is Leonardo."
Both their mouths fell open.
"It's nice to finally meet both of you." Leo said as he stepped forward to shake Jeff's hand.
And with that, my Aunt Mary promptly passed out. Her coffee cup shattered as she hit the floor. Spilling coffee all over her shirt and the hard wood.
A few hours had passed and she had yet to wake up. Leonardo had decided to leave. Whitley had told him that she would call him once she gets some time to talk to her mother alone. I stayed with her. We sat at the edge of her bed, waiting for Mary to wake up. Jeff was sitting in the living room talking to Tori who had told him the entire story of the turtle brothers. He was actually handling it surprisingly well. We hoped that him accepting Leo would help encourage Mary to accept him as well.
"I can't believe she fainted." Whitley sighed as she glanced at her mother, who was sleeping soundly against the pillows on her bed.
"You can't?" I asked sarcastically.
"I mean…ok, yeah I can believe it." She replied. "I was just hoping she wouldn't. Did you see how upset Leo was?"
"Yeah, but he seemed better when Jeff talked to him."
"I'm surprised with Jeff. He's usually so…vanilla. For him to be the one to support us first, is something I would have never expected."
Just then Mary began to stir.
"Whitley?" She asked, her voice thick with confusion.
"Hey, you're finally awake."
"Was…was that real?" She finally asked.
"Yes, mom. It was real."
"I…I.." She faltered. "How?"
"How is he real or how did he and I get together?"
"Both. I think." She said as she sat up against the headboard.
"Should I go?" I asked as I went to stand.
"No, Sarah. Please stay." Whitley placed a hand on my knee.
Whitley began to tell the same story I had been told by Master Splinter. She told her mother how they came to be and how she and Leo had met years ago.
"The way you two met…it reminds me of how Jeff and I were saved just after parking the car this morning. Do you think it could have been Leonardo that stopped the man from running off with my purse?"
"Yes, it was him who saved you. He told us about the incident after you passed out. Jeff talked to him for a good half hour actually." She paused. "It's his job to save those in need. Especially if that means he gets to take down a gang member in the process."
"I'm sorry I fainted sweetie." I watched as the two once again embraced in a hug.
"It's okay, I'm just glad you want to get to know him better."
"So…is…" She seemed to be searching for the right words to say, "What is he exactly?"
I laughed and Whitley blushed a bright shade of red.
"He's a turtle."
"And he has brothers? Are they all turtles?"
"Well his brothers are. His father is a rat."
She swallowed hard, "He's a rat?"
"He is, he's so kind and calm. I think you'll love him once you meet him." Whitley assured her.
"I hope you're right." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Tori and Clara are dating two of his brothers, you said?"
"Yes, they are. They haven't been together for nearly as long as Leo and I. But they're really serious couples. I'm sure they'll end up married one day in the future."
"How many brother does he have again?"
"Three. Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael."
"Will they be making an appearance tonight as well?"
"Michelangelo and Donatello will be." Whitley replied.
I jerked my head up to look at her. "Raphael won't be coming?"
Mary looked at me with a curious expression. "Are you and Raphael...?"
"No!" I basically yelled before quickly regaining my composure. "I mean, no, no we're not dating. He has a girlfriend. Another mutant."
"There are more mutants?" Mary asked aghast.
"More than I can even count." Whitley replied with a small laugh. "I'm going to call Leonardo now, so he can make his way back over."
"I'm going to grab my phone." I quickly stated as I left her room.
I had left my phone lying on the counter in the kitchen. I quickly punched in my security code to see if he had texted me back yet. It was almost four in the afternoon, surely he should have texted me back by now. But he hadn't. I shoved the piece of technology into my pocket before turning to Clara who was busy chopping onions. Since she was a chef, Clara was the one who usually did all the cooking.
"Do you think Raphael is avoiding me?"
"Do you want my honest opinion, or a lie?" She asked as she adjusted the black framed glasses that sat on the tip of her nose.
"The truth. I don't need you to lie to me."
"I think he is avoiding you. It would make sense if he is. He wanted to be with you, things were complicated, now he's with Mona. It's understandable that he would feel a little awkward about it."
"Clara, I love him." I all but blurted out.
She quickly turned her attention away from the chopping block. "You love him?" Her mouth was slightly hanging open at my revelation.
"Yes. I'm head over heels crazy in love with him." I replied as I buried my face in my hands.
I felt Clara's arms wrap around me. She hugged me as I tried not to cry on her shoulder.
"Why didn't you tell him?" She asked as she poured me a glass of wine.
"Because when I finally admitted to myself that I loved him, it was too late. He was already with Mona." I stated as I knocked back the glass of red wine.
She tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear before simply replying, "I see."
"What should I do?" I asked her, feeling almost helpless.
She looked conflicted. "…I don't know. As much as I want to see you and Raphael together, I just can't tell you to go for it. I'm sorry but I wouldn't want to see MonaLisa get hurt. She's my friend too." Clara responded.
"I understand." I answered. I truly did understand what she meant and the last thing I wanted to do was put Clara in a tough spot. Or drag her into this mess at all for that matter.
"I wouldn't feel right about breaking them up. Plus, I'm not sure if I even could. He seems to really like her. He's probably over me already." I paused, feeling my heart sink as I spoke the words. The despair made my skin tremble.
Then a terrifying feeling raked through my body.
I felt the spirit of the wolf move inside me. But I fought it. There is no way I would let my feelings get the best of me. The wolf wouldn't beat me. During the fight I tried to think of all the things in life that I love. I thought of my mom, Whitley and my friends. I thought of Raphael. Only the thought of him right now was too much.
Winning the fight for now, I changed the subject before I could have a complete breakdown. "Mary is awake."
"She is? How is she?"
"She's better. She's ready to get to know Leonardo. The guys should be on their way any minute."
"That's great. I was really hoping to get to see Donatello sometime tonight."
"Is there anything I can help with?" I asked her.
"Actually yes, do you think you could mince some garlic for me?"
"Sure." I replied before picking up the knife to chop the garlic.
When Leonardo and the others arrived at the apartment, Mary did something that shocked us all. She hugged Leonardo, and welcomed him to their family. I had never seen him look so happy. This was the exact thing we had all hoped for.
We enjoyed the beautiful dinner that Clara had prepared before having a late night cup of coffee with a deck of cards. We told stories about growing up on the bayou and Michelangelo did one too many bad movie impressions. All in all it was a great night. And I was able to keep my mind off of him for the majority of it.
When things were winding down for the night, only a few of us remained at the table. Uncle Jeff had fallen asleep on the couch hours ago and Tori was trying desperately to wake up Mikey, who was snoring loudly in the recliner.
"Leonardo, I meant to ask you…" Mary spoke, "Did you happen to save anyone from being mugged today?"
He smiled and laughed a bit, "Yeah that was me. I thought you looked familiar. I never would have thought I'd have to save my future mother-in-law before actually meeting her."
"Mother-in-law." Mary repeated the words. Almost like she was getting used to the words coming from her lips. "I'll be happy to call you my son-in-law, Leonardo."
He seemed at a loss for words.
"I'm so happy right now. Mostly I'm relieved, but I'm absolutely ecstatic too." Whitley grinned as she kissed Leo on the cheek.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into a tight hug. The display of affection made me ache inside.
"Well, I think its bed time for me." I said as I stood from my chair to stretch.
"I think we're going to get some sleep too." Whitley replied as she yawned.
"Good night everyone." I waved as I turned to leave.
"Night, Sarah." I heard Whitley, Leo and Mary say as I walked to my room.
Once again I settled into my empty bed. I pulled out my phone and put on my headphones. Fleetwood Mac's beautiful music filled my ears. Stevie Nicks had saved me once before, maybe her voice could save me again.
Dreams was my favorite song by them…and the lyrics had never hit me as hard as they did now.
'Now here you go again, you say
You want your freedom
Well who am I to keep you down
It's only right that you should
Play the way you feel it
But listen carefully to the sound
Of your loneliness
Like a heartbeat drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering what you had
And what you lost, and what you had, and what you lost'
A/N: Lyrics aren't mine! They belong to the wonderful band Fleetwood Mac, if you haven't listened to them I highly recommend it! Stevie Nicks is my muse! Also, Turtles aren't mine! I only own my OC's. Nothing else, sadly. Leave me a review and let me know what you think! xoxoxo