Author note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and/or followed the story. I hope you all enjoy!
Rae's eyes filled with tears as Finn sat back down. Finn saw the tears falling down Rae's now red cheeks, and attempted to hug her. Rae backed away shunning Finn's outstretched arms which, no doubt, offered comfort and love.
"Finn stop. Every time we try to do this, someone gets hurt. Whether it's you, me, Aiden, Amber, our friends…I'm always hurting someone," Rae stressed.
"Rae, this isn't on you. Amber is my girlfriend, and I should have talked to her before I kissed you, but I'm not sorry about what happened. I know how it sounds, but I care about you. I want to see where this goes," Finn admitted.
"We know where it goes. It will always end up with someone getting hurt. I haven't been back for a full day and already I am causing mayhem wherever I go. It's too much Finn," Rae whispered.
"Rae, please. Tell me you don't feel the same way. I've been waiting for these feelings to go away for years, but they only get stronger. Please don't go away from me again…I can't handle it," Finn pleaded.
"I'm sorry Finn, but I just need time to think. It's not that I don't want to be with you, it's just such a difficult decision to make right now. I need to go…"
Rae rushed out of the restaurant feeling sad, confused, and full of guilt. She walked three blocks before the weight of the entire situation caught up to her, and her mind started to race. 'Shit, I just kissed my best mate. Fuck me, now his girlfriend knows; I've destroyed their relationship. Shit, I have to tell Aiden. Will he have me back? Do I want him back? What about Finn? That kiss meant everything to me, and now I've walked out on him. I walked out him without a ride back home. Shit. Shit. Shit.'
Rae found a nearby bench on the sidewalk and collapsed onto it. For a while she contemplated who to call. She thought about calling Aiden, but she wasn't ready for that conversation just yet; she thought about calling her mother, but she wanted to feel better, not worse, about the situation. Ironically, the person that she wanted to speak to most was Finn, but she didn't know what to say after walking out on him at the restaurant. Finally, she decided to call Chloe; Chloe always knew what to say in situations like this. As she waited for Chloe to drive up, Rae wiped her tears to avoid the stares of passerby. It took Chloe less than ten minutes to pull up, and Rae immediately hopped inside.
"Thank you so much for coming. I don't know what I was thinking leaving the restaurant without a ride back," Rae began.
"Yeah, what happened?" Chloe asked. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but you look pretty upset. Just let me know if I need to beat someone up for you," Chloe offered.
Rae smirked, feeling slightly better. "Finn and I were at lunch…we started talking about old times….then he looked at me with those eyes…..and we kissed. Like a hard core make out session Chloe," Rae admitted.
"What? Finally! That's amazing Rae…so then why are you crying?"
"Well, before I had a chance to say anything about it, Amber walked in," Rae said.
"What did Finn say when he saw Amber?" Chloe asked.
"He didn't really say anything. Not at first anyway. After she left he said that he would speak with her, and that he wanted to be with me," Rae explained with a dazed look.
"What do you want Rae?" Chloe asked.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. Even though he's royally pissed with me, technically I'm still with Aiden. Aiden grounds me, and makes me feel like I should be more responsible. I've been trying to prepare for the day when we have to move in together and settle down," Rae explained.
"You don't have to do anything. It's alright to walk away from someone if you're not sure about what you want. Don't get yourself trapped in a relationship just because you're too afraid to walk away," Chloe warned.
"It's not that I'm afraid to walk away. What does it say about me if I am not able to make it work with Aiden? We have our problems, but I finally feel like I'm getting my life together. Ever since I broke up with Finn, I haven't had a relationship last more than 6 months. Aiden is the first guy since Finn that I've felt a connection to. It's not perfect, but we have made it work," Rae argued.
"Ok, and how does Finn make you feel?" Chloe prompted.
Despite herself, Rae found herself smiling. "Finn is just….huuuuuuuhhhh. It's actually hard to explain. Finn is the kind of guy that you always love. He's gorgeous, sweet, gorgeous, has that 'Rebel without a Cause' vibe, gorgeous, loves great music, and more gorgeous, but that's not all he is to me. Finn understands me, and he is always there when I need him. For a long time I hated so much about myself, but Finn has always seen the good in me. He makes me feel stronger than even I realize," Rae explained.
"I think you know what you want, and I can't tell you either way. Whether it's being with Aiden, being with Finn, or being by yourself, I just want you to be happy. Don't base your decision on anything else, but what's best for you. You know I will support you either way," Chloe replied with a warm smile to Rae. Rae smiled back appreciating for the first time in a long time why she and Chloe were still best friends. They were both their own version of disarray, but they knew how to pull each other out of utter chaos. Chloe pulled up to Rae's childhood home. They both noticed Aiden's car sitting in the driveway, and Aiden sitting on the front step. Rae looked out of the window still unsure of what she was going to say to Aiden. "Thanks Chloe. I'll see you tomorrow morning before the wedding." Rae stepped out of the car and waved goodbye before slowly walking up the driveway to Aiden.
"Hi," Rae said quietly. Rae looked down at Aiden, but could not read his expression.
"Hi," Aiden replied. After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, Aiden stood up. "Listen, Rae, I want you to come back to Bristol with me after the wedding."
"Aiden, please…stop I have to tell you something," Rae began
"Rae, you don't have to explain. I've been thinking about it all night. Everyone has a past, and I get why you wouldn't jump to tell me about Finn right away, but I don't think that this is the right place for us to settle down…" Aiden explained.
"Aiden, just stop…" Rae said, tears starting to form in her eyes.
"You can move in with me. I know you just got a job here, but you could easily find another one back in Bristol. I want us to have a life together…we'll get married somewhere down the road," Aiden suggested hopefully.
"Finn and I kissed," Rae practically screamed.
"Wait, what?" Aiden asked confusedly.
"We kissed….about an hour ago," Rae admitted with tears streaming down her face. "It just happened. We didn't plan it or anything…we were talking and….I'm so sorry Aiden," Rae finished.
"I thought you were ready for something real. I thought you loved me. So that's it then? Do you love him?" Aiden asked.
Her mind raced with all of the things that she wanted to say to him. 'I care about you.' 'I want things to work out for us.' 'Let's move in together.' 'We'll run away together and live happily ever after.' There were so many things that she thought she should say, but she couldn't bring herself to express any of them. In the end, she didn't want those things at all. She wanted a stable life, but she couldn't have those things with Aiden. Rae looked at Aiden and saw the hurt in his eyes. She had to look away before she answered. "Yes, I think I love him."
Aiden looked away in anger. "Alright then. Good luck in Lincolnshire. I hope Finn can help you move all of your stuff. Goodbye Rae."
Without another word, Aiden climbed into his car and pulled off. Rae watched him speed off down the street. All she could do was take a deep breath, turn around, and head into the house. Rae passed her mom in the hallway. She could hear her mother speaking, but she could not register the words being spoken. Rae strolled up the stairs opened the door to the guest bedroom and collapsed on the bed. There were no tears, just a hollow feeling. Rae buried her head under her pillow to drown out any noise. She wasn't sure how long she laid there; it could have been a few seconds, a few minutes, or a few hours. Rae was vaguely aware of Karim and her mother peeking in on her a couple of times. Finally, Linda came in and sat next to her on the bed, and began stroking Rae's hair.
"Rae, I know you might not be up to talking right now, but I need to know if you're ok," Linda expressed.
Rae turned over to look up at her mother. She really appreciated how her mother could come in and be there for her at just the right time. "I'm ok mom," Rae reassured. "Aiden just left. We broke up. I told him that I kissed Finn…by the way I just kissed Finn earlier today," Rae confessed.
"I thought something might be going on. With Aiden not coming back here last night, and Finn being downstairs now, things seem a little topsy-turvy." Linda said.
"What?! Finn's here now?" Rae exclaimed.
"Yeah, he got here a few minutes ago looking very distressed. Are you here or should I tell him to piss off?" Linda asked.
"Yeah….I mean no! Don't tell him to piss off. Ask him to come upstairs. Never mind, I'll go talk to him myself. Rae rushed out of bed and down the stairs….
To be continued.
Author note: I'm thinking the next chapter will be the last one. Lots of Rae and Finn. Thanks again for all of the support :)