33 - We've Almost Won

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height



This song makes me drunk with emotions^^^



Ray swallowed as he clenched and unclenched his fingers around the wheel, his knuckles white with tension. 

Ray had done a lot in his life but this was by far the most difficult thing he'd ever done. He could feel his jaw ticking with irritation and his palms were sweating with nerves. It didn't help that Danny sat in the seat next to him with her head down and eyes glued to her phone. It had only been a few hours since Vincent revealed all he knew and, despite everything that happened leading up to that, Danny was refusing to talk to anyone. 

She'd spoken to Rowan and even Gage, but as far as Ray went, only the necessary sentences had been shared between their lips. There was no kissing, no hugging, no lovesick looks or anything. And it made Ray feel like shit.

At first he was kind of sad about not having his love in his arms, especially considering he'd been worried shitless when she wouldn't wake up. Now though, after letting the tension between them build and trying to pretend they weren't currently on the edge of their relationship, he was just irked. 

He wanted Danny to talk to him, he did, but he had too much other shit on his plate to beg for her forgiveness. Even if he was the one that had been an ass and started the whole argument that got them to this point. 

Danny sunk her teeth down into her bottom lip, finally looking up only to focus on the ragged houses and tress that blurred past them as Ray drove. Her mind was reeling and there was a constant fuzziness in her stomach that made her feel like she was just seconds away from throwing up. 

Danny wasn't dumb. She knew the tension was building and maybe she wasn't helping it, maybe she was just being childish and dramatic by letting it build despite knowing what all was going on, that things had just taken another turn and it wasn't exactly a turn for the best.

But how could she just let everything go when the last thing she remembered was Ray screaming at her for having hope for their future? Despite it being a memory, the words were still fresh in her aching brain and the sting they came with hadn't lessened any. And now that they knew Sammy's real goal and were so close to intercepting it, Danny couldn't help but wonder where that left her.

If she was the key piece to getting the will, what would happen once she turned it over? Sammy would know she no longer had it and it probably wouldn't be long before the men beat Sammy all together.

So where did that leave Danny?

Would Ray still her want her then? Surely she'd gotten on his nerves and now that it was all gonna be over she was no longer his burden to carry. She didn't doubt his love, just his intentions to prolong it. Because no matter how much they loved each other, Danny just couldn't handle ending up like Rowan and Rico. She didn't want to be trapped in an endless game of tug of war as they two of them fought to hold onto to something that was doomed from the beginning. Ray had plans for his future that clearly didn't involve Danny or any real commitment for that matter.

So, was their a point of trying to break and then mend and then break her again as she tried to fit Ray into her own?

Sighing, Danny watched as Ray pulled over to the curb in front of a three story apartment building. The area wasn't that nice, still a little sketch, but it was better than the neighborhood Ray had first taken Danny too. The one where she found out he lived. 

The apartment building was only three stories and made of brick. Each apartment had a patio facing the street and the door to the building was gated in you either needed to have a key or to be buzzed in.

Not realizing Ray was already out of the car, Danny was flustered when her door was open and Ray stood in front of her with an expectant look, waiting for her to get out. 

Danny swallowed.

Ray wore black running sweats that hugged his calves and had the white lines down the sides. His shoes were all black and simple and he wore a long sleeved black shirt that was hidden by an army green park with fur on the hood. He had one arm over his shoulder as he held their bags and his face was beaten from a fresh fight.

But he looked good. He always looked so good.

"Are you sure they won't search here?" Danny asked, hugging her jacket closer to her as she followed him towards the front gate.

Ray simply nodded instead of speaking and Danny couldn't help but grimace, eyes downcast as she sighed and swallowed the lump in her throat. She hated arguing with him, but both of them were too stubborn to apologize. 

Ray clicked the button to be buzzed up and a few seconds later a familiar voice came over the little speaker.  After a few hushed words from Ray, the doors buzzed and Ray pulled the gate open for Danny to step in first. They made their way all the way up to the third floor and Danny had to hold in a chocked gasp when Ray reach over her to knock on the wooden door, his body heat suffocating her smaller frame. Glancing up at him, her face flushed a deep shade of red when she found his lips only a few inches away from her face and his eyes already on her. 

She cleared her throat, a silent plea for space, but Ray deliberately ignored her and Danny swallowed, praying whoever was on the other end of the door would hurry up and open it because her resolve was cracking. 

"Danny I-"

The door was flung open and Danny couldn't help but scoot back into Ray as the heavy smell of weed hit her full force. In the open frame of the door stood a woman who looked to be in her mid or late forties. She had long blonde hair that had clearly been damaged by dye over the years. She wore nothing but an oversized white t-shirt and her legs were bare and crossed as she leaned against the door, an cigarette hanging from her lips which had been twitched up into a cocky smirk. 

"Ha, well look what the cat dragged in," the woman said, her voice horse and only adding age to her already aged appearance. She wasn't ugly really just....old. And not in the natural aging way, but the kind of old that looked like a side affect of some sort of addiction. 

Danny felt Ray tense up behind her and looked form him back to the woman ahead of her, her own eyes widening when she finally saw the resemblance. 

"Are you gonna let us in or not?" Ray asked and Danny couldn't help but reach behind her and grab his hand when she heard the strain in his voice. Ray absolutely hated his father, but Danny knew form the few conversations they had that his relationship with his mother wasn't much better.

"Come give mama a hug and kiss first."

"Sheryl you can't-"

"Now Ray."

With a clenched jaw and fist, Ray didn't fight the grimace on his face as he gave Danny an apologetic look before slowly tearing himself away from her and stepping forward. The woman who called herself his mother grinned widely before holding her arms up and wrapping them around Rays neck and pulling him down and into a tight hug, one of her feet kicking into the air like the girls in all those cheesy romance movies. Danny frowned and couldn't have hidden the shocked look on her face even if she tried. Ray's mother just cheered silently, still clinging to him as she pulled back and cupped his face in her hands, kissing him harshly on his lips.

Instead of a mother and son reunion it looked more like a girlfriend and boyfriend seeing each other after a long time and, had Danny not been so disgusted, she wold have been jealous. 

"Thats my handsome boy. So tall and sexy, just like your father was."

Not being able to take it any more Danny cleared her throat and Sheryl's head snapped in her direction, a glare on his face that Danny had no problem matching.

"I don't think we've met. I'm Daniela, Ray's girlfriend."

"Hmph. Ray doesn't have girlfriend's sweetheart."

Peeling herself off of her son, the woman walked further into the apartment until she disappeared and Danny's attention snapped to Ray who face had formed into a cold mask to no doubt hide his feelings. 

"Does she always touch you like that?" Danny asked, fighting to keep her voice at a whisper. When Ray didn't respond Danny thought she was going to flip her shit. "Ray has she....has she ever..."

"Molested me?" Ray hissed and Danny could feel her skin loosing all color as she paled, a soft frown on her face. Just when she thought she knew everything about Ray and knew just how hard of a life he had to live, she was slapped in the face with this. It wasn't normal for a mother to touch her own child like that. Danny just prayed the question hanging in the air wasn't true. that the vile woman hadn't hurt Ray in that way.

"No, she never goes further than a kiss and few compliments," Ray finally said and Danny felt her muscles go lax, a sad breath coming out in a dry sob as she fell against his chest. "Look, we'll only be here for a day, two at most. We just need a discreet location until we get that will and confront Sammy. You let me handle my mother and you just focus on remembering where your mother put that necklace when Vincent finally sends us a picture of what it looks like."

Danny swallowed the bile in her throat as that fuzzy feeling she had only increased. She was clenching her eyes shut trying to get over what she just saw, but she couldn't get it out of her memory. She knew Ray's mother was neglectful and selfish thought his childhood, but had he had to deal with that too? Sexual harassment from his own mother?!

As if done with conversation, Ray pulled away from Danny and turned his back to her as he walked inside, leaving her standing dumbfounded in the hallway for another moment before she was able to follow.

When she stepped inside the first person she saw was Cruz and she remembered him not only as the club owner, but as Rowan's pimp. He looked up from the game he was watching and Danny shuddered at the perverted look in his eyes as he looked her up and down. He smirked, and thats when Danny remembered the last time they spoke he offered her a job as one of his call girls.

"Hey pretty girl, I remember you. Still looking for a job?" He stuck his tongue out and flicked it, implying a sexual innuendo that made Danny downright cringe. Ray's mother, who was curled into his side, laughed loudly before biting down on one of her long, leopard print acrylic nails. 

"We're only staying for a night," Ray blurted suddenly, practically blocking Danny out with his body as he stepped in front of her. 

"This ain't a hotel we're running here, kid. Go somewhere else," Cruz dismissed.

Ray ignored him and reached into his pocket, pulling a wad of cash out and dropping it into the pile of cigarettes and weed on the coffee table.

Cruz looked at him, then the money, then him again, and didn't say anything else. Clearly the conversation was over and Ray led Danny past the kitchen and towards a door that was right across from the bathroom. The room they entered was small and just barely had enough space for the large queen bed that was in it. There was a single dresser and a closet that was already filled with clothes, but the besides that the room looked un-lived in and the bed untouched. 

Ray was silent as he set their bags down in the corner before turning to face her. "I've got to go make some phone calls. You can use the bathroom without asking and you can shower as well. You have to pay if you wan't food though so if you get hungry just text me and I'll pick you something up. Gage went to go check on Aubree like you asked and she's fine. No on has messed with her."

"Where are you going?"

"I've got things to do Danny."

"Because of Vincent and Sammy?"

"Yeah, because of Vincent and Sammy."

"When will you be back?"

Ray paused at the door frame, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he starred at the floor. He knew Danny didn't want him to go, and he understood why, but he needed a minute to cool down and a moment to just.....to just be away from everything.

"Just text me if you need anything."

With no further time spared, Ray turned on his heel and left, closing the door shut behind him.


~


Danny groaned softly, turning and prying her eyes open as the bed dipped next to her and immediately she was surrounded by body heat. Bare skin pressed against her t-shirt covered back and arms snaked around her waist, pulling her into a body she'd come to memorize as Ray's. 

"Ray?" she whispered, her voice scratchy from sleep. She reached for her phone that was tucked under the pillow and flinched when the brightest of the screen blinded her, the time reading 4:30am. What the fuck? Rolling over, Danny flinched again when Ray breathed and the strong smell of alcohol hit her nose. "Oh my gosh Ray," she groaned, turning away from his face for a moment. "Are you drunk? Where have you been?"

"Yes......drunk...so not drunk...Ray's not drunk.."

"Oh Ray," Danny sighed and Ray simply laid there as Danny sat up and quickly turned on the light. She climbed out of bed and looked down at Ray who looked barely conscious and was still wearing his jeans and shoes. Sneaking to the kitchen, she quickly got him a bottled water before coming back and ordering him to drink as she struggled with the laces of his boots. She kept his socks on since it was so cold but pulled his jeans off before lifting his legs off the covers so that she could tuck him in. Ray was speaking, but his words were incoherent. "Jesus babe, how much did you drink?" Danny muttered softly, her voice noting but nerves as she brushed his damp hair from over his forehead. 

Ray grinned, rolling so that he was hiding his face in the crook of her neck and pulling her on top of him, lazily tossing one of his legs over her own. For Danny it was a tad bit uncomfortable, but she didn't fight him as he nuzzled into her neck. He kept speaking, kept muttering words Danny still couldn't understand but felt were important. They'd been laying together for about ten minutes before Ray's speaking turned to whimpering and then eventually all out crying as Danny felt his tears slide down the crook of her shoulder, soaking the t-shirt she wore which was really his anyway. 

"Ray," Danny whispered, wrapping her arms around him and swallowing her own tears as Ray's whimpers turned to all out sobbing. His shoulders shook in Danny's hold as she held him tightly, never asking him to stop or questioning what was wrong. She let him cry and didn't bother to wipe her own tears as they slowly streamed down her cheeks and mixed with his own. It hut her, to see Ray breaking like this when all this time he'd been so strong.

But she didn't judge him for it or even offer any comforting words because she knew whatever she had to say would be worthless. Ray was dealing with demons of his own and she was just glad he trusted her enough to break down like this for her, whether he was drunk or not.

"-orry....I'm s-so sorry Danny...." he hiccuped, his arms squeezing so tightly against her that she was afraid she'd wake with bruises. She didn't complain though and just nodded, letting him get it all out. "It hurts so much....fuck it hurts Danny. It hurts so much. Why can't I just be normal? Why does everything have to hurt?"

"I don't know Ray, I'm so sorry that I don't know. But I love you okay? Even when everything hurts I love you Ray and nothing and no one is going to change that. Not you, not Rico, not Vincent, and not not even Charlie Brown. You're mine and I'm gonna be strong for you when you're weak. I'm sorry if I've only been adding more pressure to your already full plate. I just love you so much."

"I love you Daniela. You're the only one who doesn't hurt me. I love you. Please don't l-leave me. I love you. I love you so much."

"Shh, shh it's okay Ray. We're almost done. We've almost won...."







Vote~Comment~Share!

I love you my little mobsters!



You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net