Day Five

Prompt: "Blame" [three days]
Part 3 of 3

"Rafe hasn't taken his eyes off you all night. It almost seems like he thinks if he blinks, you'll disappear," Talia said as they sat in the Brady Pub knocking back beers over clam chowder. Rafe was up at the bar ordering another round of drinks, but his eyes continually strayed to the table and to Jada. "I hope everything is okay between you two."

"I think he's just still shaken up by what happened the other night with Ava Vitali," Jada said, tracing the lip of her bottle with her pinky finger and giving Rafe a little smile.

"God, I feel that! When Shawn came over to tell me you'd been held hostage by that crazy lady, I freaked out! You could have been killed, Jada. The Ava Vitalis of the world make the Colin Bedfords of the world seem like puppy dogs. Thank God you're alright. I mean, you are alright, aren't you?"

Jada nodded. "Yes, I'm alright, and Ava is locked up for good where she can truly never hurt anyone again. Now Rafe just needs to accept that he wasn't to blame for this."

"Why would he think he's to blame for what Ava did?"

"I guess it doesn't hurt to tell you. He and Ava have a rather colorful history. They used to date in the past and things ended badly between them. He thinks she went -"

"Cuckoo?"

"Well, yeah. He thinks she acted out because of his actions."

"Oh, come on. I don't believe that for a minute."

"Neither do I, which is what I told him, but it's going to take some time for him to believe it deep down."

"It's like how I blame myself for what Colin did and what he made me do."

"You need to try to let that guilt go, sis. Otherwise, it will keep eating you up inside. It will take away all the good emotions you could be experiencing. I know that it's easier said than done though."

"I wish Shawn could hear what you just said. He still feels so guilty for what happened to his father, and that definitely was not his fault."

Jada raised an eyebrow at her sister. "Talia, that's the second time you've mentioned Shawn Brady in the past two minutes. Is there something you want to tell me?"

"What? No!" Talia said quickly.

"Are you sure? Come on, little sis. I know all about your one-night stand. So does Rafe. And Shawn's wife too, for that matter."

Talia blushed. "Not my finest hour …"

"I just don't want you to get hurt here. Tell me. Are you falling for him?"

"Shawn? No! I don't know. Maybe…?"

"He's married, Talia, and from what I understand, he and Belle have a long history of breaking up and then reconciling. I don't want you to get caught in the crossfire."

"I know, I know. I don't want to get hurt either." Talia balled up her napkin. "I wish I could find somebody who doesn't come with any baggage."

"Honey, there is no such person."

"What about Rafe?"

"You heard what I said about his history with Ava, didn't you? Not to mention, he was married to Nicole Walker who was married to my ex, Eric Brady…"

"But your feelings for Rafe… I mean, they're not complicated. Because I think you know exactly how you feel about him."

Jada swallowed hard. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Jada, I think you've fallen madly in love with the guy."

"Well, now…"

"And seeing the way he looks at you and acts around you, I'd say the feeling is definitely mutual."

"Talia…"

"Maybe you should just tell Rafe the truth about how you feel."

"Tell me the truth about what exactly?" Jada started in surprise at the sound of Rafe's voice. He had arrived at their table with their drinks.

She stared up at him, her cheeks warming as their eyes connected for a long moment. Oh god, yes, she was in love with him. But Talia was wrong about it not being complicated. Love was complicated. Feelings that ran this deep, were complicated and messy as hell.

Jada smiled shakily as she accepted a beer. "The truth is that uh, I'm not really a huge Cubs fan," she fibbed.

Talia shook her head at her sister.

Rafe clutched his chest. "You're breaking my heart, Jada," he said.

Jada sighed. Better his heart than hers…