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eliniei · 5 years

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Those Hard Days - Chapter 23

Summary: Rae’s brother always made sure she was tough as nails. But when her father flips her world upside down, will she find that there’s a limit on how strong she can be?

Warnings: Rape/Non-con (non-graphic, fade-to-black), child abuse, underage drinking, underage smoking, drug use, violence, major character death

A/N: Okay, this chapter took me SO LONG. I had no idea what to do with it until one morning at like 2am when the cat woke me up I was like. .....IDEA

AO3: here Fanfiction.net: here

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Chapter 23 - Relief

"You know each other?" Steven asked as her boyfriend made her way over to them.

"Sure do," Rae answered, holding back a sigh of relief at finally seeing his dumb face again. “This is Curly Shepard.”

“Oh, Shepard, huh?” Steven said, recognition filling his voice. “Ain’t been in town long but I’ve already heard the name. Gotta be pretty tough to kick my brother’s ass.”

"Haven’t seen ya in a bit," Rae said before he had a chance to respond, and started pulling at the thin hair ties around her wrist, looking down at her shoes. "Where ya been?" She stopped herself when she caught it and slid her hands into the back pockets on her jeans.

"Oh-y’know, helpin’ Tim keep the gang in line and-,” Curly started, but paused, looking at the other two. “Could we, uh, talk outside or somethin’?” He reached back and rubbed the back of his neck. A nervous tendency she’d picked up on years before. She nodded.

“We’ll be back,” she said to Carrie, who gave her an encouraging smile and nodded. He led her outside, away from the haze and the music, and they both sat down on the porch steps.

"So...I..." Curly looked up at her face and squinted. He reached to put his hand on her cheek, rubbing his thumb over the healing bruise on the bone. “What’s this?”

“Dad,” Rae responded and looked down at her lap. “He followed me home one day- came back later with a shotgun and a bunch of heroin in his veins wantin’ my brains to decorate the Curtis’s livin’ room wall. It’s been… an eventful week.”

“Shit,” he whispered, eyes full of worry. Just like the last time she’d seen him. She clenched her fists in her lap. “I hope you ain’t stayin’ there anymore.”

“No, I’ve been movin’ around a bit- stayin’ at Carrie’s this weekend.” He nodded and she looked down at her lap. "Are-are you mad at me?" Confusion spread across his features. “That night-” Finally, he seemed to recall the fight they’d had- and her saying no to him.

“Of course not,” he interrupted, quickly. “I was bein’ real- the boys are gettin’ a little unruly. And I thought...maybe you’d want some time...” He grabbed her hands, tightening his fingers around hers. “I didn’t mean…”

“It’s fine,” she said, unable to hold her sigh of relief back any longer. She lowered her voice to a mumble, red spreading across her cheeks. “I just missed ya is all.” Curly lifted a hand from hers and dramatically placing it around his ear.

“What was that? I’m hard of hearin’, you see and-.” She feigned anger and shoved him. It was hard enough he almost fell off the steps and into the garden.

“I missed ya, you stupid hood.” He laughed, his nervous expression replaced with that stupid cocky smile of his. In that moment, Rae wanted to slap that smug grin of his idiotic fucking face. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. She smiled and huffed a laugh through her nose. As he pulled away, his eyes travelled to her ear. He tilted his head and moved her hair over her shoulder.

“Pierce your ears?”

“Chrissy did it.” He smiled. “Do ya like it?”

“I think it’s beautiful.” He kissed her again, slowly.

"Anyway," he began again, after they’d separated. “Angel’s back in rehab.” She nodded, slowly. “I told Tim what happened. He said Dally’d bust his balls if we knew and we didn’t do anythin’ about it. Just thought you’d like to know.”

"Thank you, Curly," she said with a small smile. “I know it wasn’t easy.”

“It ain’t nothin’. You were right, anyways. Let’s just hope this time she’ll stay clean for more than two weeks.” The door behind them opened and Eric appeared holding two plastic cups.

"Looks like you guys could use these," he laughed. “Your conversation is far too serious for this party.” Rae eyed the drinks suspiciously. "It's just beer, kid." He sat down, uninvited, in a porch chair that was sitting near them. "So, this is her? The girl you were talkin’ about?" Curly went rigid and maybe a little bit red, but it was hard to tell outside in the dark. She stifled a giggle at his embarrassment.

"Yeah, Rae Winston," he replied.

"Winston? You ain’t related to Dallas, are ya?"

"Well, yeah, that’s my brother." She knocked back a bit of her beer. “How d’you know him?”

"Old buddies," he responded. “Went to grade school together when ya’ll moved here.”

"But- Carrie said you were new here?”

"Oh, just Steven. Mom and Dad were separated for a while. Now they’re back together so Mom moved herself and Steven here with us. Long story." She nodded her understanding. He stood up to head back inside. He swatted her gently on the shoulder. “Hey, tell Dally ‘hey’ for me, yeah?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks, kid.” He stood back up, breathing in the chilly night air and shouldered his way back inside.

“You ready to go back in?”” she asked as she turned back to Curly. He’d gotten over his embarrassment and that crooked smile was back.

“May as well,” he responded and helped her up. He curled his arm around her waist and led her through the crowd of people, looking for her friend. Finally, Rae found Carrie’s blonde curls among the masses as she was tipping back the last dregs of a beer.

“Rae!” she exclaimed, a bright smile on her face. Rae grinned, amused.

“Had a few, then?”

“It’s a party, ain’t it?” She set her cup down on the edge of the dining room table, but it tumbled to the ground. Carrie burst out laughing as she squatted down to pick it up, but she lost her balance and dropped to her knees. Rae watched, lifting an eyebrow.

“Uh, how many?”

“Only three or four, I think.”

“Take any shots?” Carrie giggled again, and he took that as a yes.

“Two-Bit dared me!”

“Oh, yeah, like that makes it any better,” she noted and reached out to lift her friend up by the arm. Curly bent down to grab the other arm. “Come on, up we go. You’ll get trampled if you stay down on the floor.”

“I told him you were here. He went off lookin’ for ya,” Carrie nearly yelled once she was on her own two feet again. The girl looked over Rae’s shoulder at the same time as she felt a tap.

“There ya’ll are!” Two-Bit’s drunk voice exclaimed. “Finally decide to loosen up a bit?” She turned and saw her rusty-headed friend standing there, beer cup in hand, goofy smile plastered to his face. She gave him a lopsided grin and crossed her arms.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, ya know, kid,” he started, but paused to chug down the rest of his drink. “It’s okay to have some fun once in a while, yeah? Curly, what the hell are ya doin’, man? Take the girl to dance or somethin’.”

“What, are ya, my dad, now?” he said with a shake of his head, but took Rae’s hand and spun her around. In the background, Carrie giggled yet again, and watched as Curly led her out into the crowd of people dancing around the living room floor as the quick beat of I Want To Hold Your Hand started playing on the record player. The Beatles would have to do.

“What about Carrie? She’ll be drunk off her ass soon,” she asked over her shoulder.

“She’s alright. I’ll keep an eye on her,” Two-Bit assured her, and laid his arm loosely across Carrie’s shoulders.

“You’re the one who got her drunk in the first place!”

“Fine, fine. I promise I won’t dare her to take anymore shots!” He lifted two fingers to his forehead in a mock salute. “Scout’s honor.”

Finally, Rae relented after giving her friend a look and turned back to her boyfriend.

A while later, they both laid on a blanket in the front yard while the party wound down. A second blanket was wrapped around their bodies to ward off the chill. Curly had pulled them out of a hallway closet and they both came outside to avoid the noise. Their empty cups sat beside them, tipped over in the grass. Curly had Rae tucked under his arm, and her head rested on his chest as they stared up at the clear night sky, watching the stars. Every once in a while she’d raise her hand to point out a constellation.

“And you see those four stars in a line right there?” she asked him, drawing her arm down, following the pattern.

“Yeah,” he said, softly.

“That’s Cygnus,” she started, and lifted her other arm. “The swan. It branches out like this-” She used her index fingers to show him the lines. “-to make it look like wings. It always looked like a pterodactyl to me, though.” She could feel his chest rise in a quiet laugh.

“I think you’re a swan,” he said, his voice drowsy. Rae sat up on her elbow, looking down at him.

“No way,” she retorted, a smile forming on her face. Her hair spilled over one shoulder and dropped down around his face.

“Yes way,” Curly shot back, raising his hand to tuck a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. “Beautiful.” He lifted his head to kiss her nose. “And graceful.”

“Graceful? Are you h-” Before she could finish, he caught her lips with his, cutting off her question. He kissed her slowly, gently rubbing his thumb over her bruised cheekbone. She leaned down farther to deepen the kiss and inhaled his scent. Cologne and cigarettes mixed in with a little beer. It was more intoxicating to her than the alcohol. She ran the fingers of her free hand through his greasy hair, nails lightly scraping his scalp. A small moan escaped his mouth.

When their lips parted, they laid on their sides, Rae’s head on his outstretched arm. She stared into his eyes and he pressed his forehead against hers.

“Would it be so bad if I wanted to marry you one day?” Curly asked, closing his eyes, his sleepy words slightly slurred. She wrapped the blanket tightly around her shoulders.

“I think I’d like that,” she responded, curling into him. Soon, his breathing evened out. She allowed herself to relax in the warmth of his body and floated into the easy darkness of sleep.

When Rae opened her eyes again, a foggy morning had started to rise. It seemed as though everything had taken on a blue tint, even the air. She sat up from their makeshift bed in the middle of the small front yard, Curly’s limp arm sliding down her waist, and peered around the lawn. They weren’t the only ones who’d passed out outside.

“Mm.” She turned to look back at him. “Is it morning yet?”

“Yeah,” she said, shifting so she was facing him again. “I should probably grab Carrie and head back to her house before Dally’s sixth sense picks up that I ain’t there.” He nodded.

“Yeah, Tim’ll prob’ly be wonderin’ where I ran off to. Better be in my bed when he wakes up.” He sat up. She leaned in to kiss him, inhaling him once more for good measure, savoring his smell.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll see you later.” Then, she stood and made her way inside to find her friend.

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