2-14: I've Told You Now

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"You seem upset, Mrs. Campbell."

Rain's eyes drifted up from the water that surrounded her, landing on the servant that Thorne insisted follow her around. His name was Lewis, and he was from France. He spoke with a heavy accent, but he was one of the nicest people she'd met in Europe thus far. 

She smiled softly at him, shaking her head and looking back out over the water. 

"I'm okay, Lewis."

She came to this dock a lot, to clear her head. It was almost Christmas, almost time to fly home for the holidays and see her family.

And see Ryan. 

Who's calls she had been avoiding for the last month. 

How was she supposed to tell him what she'd agreed to? How was she supposed to break herself apart from him? She wasn't even sure she knew how to do that. With all the times she had already tried and failed, she thought maybe it was impossible.

And Thorne... He was always busy. And when he wasn't busy he was with her, yes. But it didn't feel like he was actually there. 

But he always had to know exactly where she was. It was disquieting the tabs he kept on her whereabouts. Like he didn't trust her. And she'd never done a single thing to break his trust.

Almost on cue, her phone began to vibrate in her lap, and she picked it up, staring at the screen. Ryan's name was on the notification, along with a new text message.

-Are you coming home for Christmas?-

Rain sighed, her exhale coming out in white clouds from the cold. It's one reply... What could it really hurt?

-I am.-

She waited for any kind of response for at least half an hour, beginning to shiver in the cold, London, December air. But nothing came. Her phone remained as silent as the water and wooded areas around her.

I guess that's all he wanted to know.

She pushed herself to her feet off of the dock, smiling at Lewis again.

"I'm ready to go home, monsieur."

He half bowed to her, gesturing toward the car behind them that he had left running. He opened the back door and she climbed inside, her eyes on the water until it disappeared from view.

When the car pulled up to the house she shared with Thorne, he was already waiting outside. The front lawn was thick with frost and his breath danced on the air like hers had at the lake. She climbed out of the car, giving him the same smile she gave Lewis.

But it faded quickly as soon as he spoke.

"Where were you?"

His voice was calm, but that tone was there again.

"I was at the lake. Lewis was with me, you can ask him."

"It's December, Rain. What were you thinking?"

She looked at him, puzzled. His arm wrapped around her waist and he ushered her inside before she even got a chance to say goodbye to Lewis.

"I sit on the dock, I don't get in the water. Why are you freaking out?"

The lock of the door echoed in the room as he slid it shut, turning to face her.

"Because you could have fallen in. You could have slipped and went under.

And I don't want anything to happen to you."

His eyes almost seemed concerned, like they were carrying something. She was fighting so hard, since the night they were married, to see that feeling in his eyes. Right now was close.

"You were worried about me?"

He raised an eyebrow, approaching her slowly. When he reached her, he put both of his hands on the top of her arms, sliding them down to take her hands in his own.

"Why is that a surprise? I married you for a reason."


Rain nodded, his hands somehow colder than hers even though they had both just been outside.

"I know, Hawthorne. But ever since we returned from our honeymoon, I've barely seen you."

She dropped her eyes to the ground, her voice quiet.

"I kind of thought I was fading into the background for you, just like with everyone else."

The cold touch of his fingers found her chin and he lifted it to look at him.

"You could never fade for me. You're the most important thing in my life, Rain. 

I'm never letting you go."

He bent to kiss her, and his lips were as icy as his touch. But it didn't feel wrong. No matter how cold he was, she found warmth in him.

Even when it made no sense.

"I love you, Hawthorne."

The corner of his mouth turned up, and he nodded once.

"And I, you, Rain."

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Rain was in California three hours early, and she fully intended to surprise all of them with that fact. Thorne pulled their bags out of the trunk of the taxi and handed the driver an amount of money Rain had no idea the numeric value of.

Money never seemed to matter much to him. It was like it was never ending in their lives.

He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest, running a hand through her hair.

"You look beautiful. Are you excited to see your family?"

Her eyes brightened and she smiled up at him, nodding.

"I am! I miss them, a lot. And I feel like I've been gone forever, even though it's only been four months."

She was married to a man after being away from home for four months. That really did sound crazy and she could almost understand her family's feelings on the matter.

Almost. Until he looked at her. 

And then all reason faded away.

Eden opened the door before she even got to it, hugging Rain as soon as she was within arm's reach.

She cast one look at Thorne, nodded, and pulled Rain away from him. As they walked through the living room and towards Rain's childhood bedroom, Eden stopped. She looked at Rain and sighed quietly, glancing down the hallway to see if anyone could hear her.

"You're safe with him, right? He's making you happy and things are okay?"

Rain's eyes widened a little in surprise, but she nodded, a smile on her face.

"He is, momma. I didn't lie to you when I said that I loved him."

Eden looked skeptical, but she nodded anyway.

"I know what you said, Rain. But I still worry about you."

They got to her room, and she pushed the door open, nostalgic almost. It still looked exactly how she left it.

She stepped inside and turned around to face her mother, pushing her shoes off by the door.

"I'm okay, mom. I promise. He's wonderful."

Eden's face was clear with her distaste but she shoved it down, forcing a smile.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it. But don't expect me to be his friend. It's not in my genetic code to be nice to people I don't like.

You must have gotten that gene from your father."

Rain couldn't help but laugh as her mother walked away, because she was right. Eden wasn't nice to hardly anyone. Unless they were family, or close friends, she didn't bother. 

And Xavier was nice to everyone. Within reason. Just like his youngest daughter.

Thorne came through the door a little while later, and Rain had already made herself at home again on her bed. He looked at her once, putting their bags in the closet.

"Your brother is... interesting."

Rain's eyes brightened and she got off the bed in seconds.

"Thaddeous is here?!"

The excitement was clear in her voice and she made to move past him, but he didn't move.

"He is, but he doesn't seem like the most polite. Does that run in your family?"

Rain thought he was joking at first, but quickly realized that he wasn't.

"Thaddeous has some problems, but I love him. He's my little brother. Just like you have yours."

Her voice was defensive, and it was written all over Thorne's face that that wasn't okay with him, but he didn't say a word.

"I'm going to go and see him, now."

She said the words cautiously, stepping away from him and through her door. She stopped a couple of steps away at his words though, looking over her shoulder.

"Careful, Rain."

"Careful?"

He nodded once, taking a seat on the edge of her old bed.

"Yes."

She couldn't read his tone, or his meaning. She wasn't sure that she wanted to.

"Okay, Hawthorne."

She turned back for the hallway and walked away, shaking the feeling of forboding out of her skin. 

What was going on with her husband? Something was changing, but she couldn't place it.

And it was beginning to get unsettling.

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The sun broke through the windows above Rain's bed on Christmas eve, and she tried to keep it out of her eyes. But it was to no avail, it woke her every time like clockwork. She sighed, turning over to see if Thorne was awake too, but he wasn't there. The spot next to her was empty.

The clock on her bedside table read eleven AM, so it wasn't even as early as she thought it was. She'd overslept more than she had in years.

She sat up, looking around her room, but it was empty too. Faint noses carried to her room from downstairs and she sighed again, walking over to her closet. 

By the time she made it downstairs, the noise was louder and the amount of people who had been down there must have doubled.

Kiara, Rae, Discord, Storm, Thaddeous, her parents, Thorne. Everyone was gathered in her living room. And to her surprise, it almost seemed as if they were getting along.

Except for the disdainful looks Discord kept throwing Thorne's way.

"Hello."

It was like the word startled all of them.

"Rain!"

Kiara made her way over to her and she already smelled like alcohol. That's right, Christmas eve was her birthday. Of course she did.

"Happy birthday, aunt Kiara." 

Rain pressed a kiss to her cheek and smiled, walking over to her husband. She took a seat next to him on the couch and he placed a hand on her knee, the hint of a smile on his lips. he pulled her close to him, whispering in her ear.

"Good morning, beautiful."

Before she could respond, however, her mother walked over to her, hands on her hips.

"Rain. I need a favor from you."

Rain hesitated. She couldn't imagine what it was, but her mom already smelled like alcohol too. Was this really fun for all of them?

"Okay... What is it?"

Eden pulled her car keys out of her pocket and tossed them on the couch next to her, clearing her throat.

"Kiara left all of the presents she was supposed to bring at her house, and you're the only one who hasn't been drinking. Can you go and get them?"

Rain squeezed her eyes shut, groaning under her breath. She was barely awake. She didn't want to drive.

"I... yes. Fine."

She grabbed the keys and got to her feet, looking down at Thorne.

"I'll be right back.... I love you."

He barely seemed to acknowledge her statement, taking a drink out of the cup he was holding.

Why does everyone want to drink today?

She looked at all of the other faces in the room, but no one seemed to pay any mind to her at all as she headed to the front door.

Background noise in everyone's lives. Even Thorne's. 

Will I ever get used to this?

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Rain walked around to the back door of Kiara's house, looking under the mat for the key they'd always kept there. But it was missing. 

"Ugh. How exactly do they expect me to do this when I can't even get inside?"

She searched her pockets for her phone for a few minutes before realizing she'd left that at her old house too. She groaned in frustration again, kicking aside a rock on the ground next to the door.

She'd have to keep looking for it. She couldn't go back empty handed. She was already enough of a disappointment. She walked over to the edge of their pool, bending down to look under the cushions of the chairs there. But it wasn't there either. 

"This is stupid. Thanks for all your help, mom."

The sound of a soft laugh behind her surprised her so much she turned around too quickly and her balance tipped backwards, toward the water. She was under the surface before she even saw who it was, and her aggravation just seemed to grow when her head broke back into the air.

How was she supposed to explain this?

And why hadn't the Hunter's drained the pool in the first place? Not that her landing on concrete could have gone much better.

She came face to face with a pair of lavender eyes when she reached the edge of the pool and almost went under again from surprise.

"Ryan?"

He was laughing again, which is what caused this mess in the first place.

"I thought you were supposed to be the epitome of grace, miss ballerina?"

She scowled, treading water. It was thankfully seventy something degrees in California in December, but she still didn't want to be swimming in all of her clothes in the backyard of her mom's vampire best friend.

She made her way over towards the shallow end of the pool where the steps led out of it, wringing the water from her hair. She stopped a few feet away from the steps and looked up at him, her voice questioning.

"Why are you here?"

He didn't even hesitate, sitting down on the edge of the pool next to her. 

"Well. I didn't think you'd want me at your parent's house."

Anxiety dropped into Rain's stomach and she shook her head, her voice small.

"No, Ryan it isn't me. I miss you."

She didn't even mean to say it. It slipped out of her throat before she could think twice of it, and she wanted to drown herself in the pool beneath her.

His face was equal parts confused and shocked when he responded.

"What do you mean it isn't you?"

Rain hesitated, staring out over the now calm water of the pool.

"Thorne doesn't want me to talk to you. He thinks you're in love with me and that it's unacceptable for us to be friends."

Ryan stared at her. She didn't see it, but she could feel it burning her skin.

"And you listened to him?"

Rain broke her eyes away from the water, finding his gaze. And he didn't look mad.

His eyes radiated something else completely. Hurt.

"I don't want to lose him, Ryan."

 Ryan shook his head, running his hand through the water. Like it was nothing. Like he wanted to be in it. 

Maybe he was drunk too.

"But you're okay with losing me."

"I didn't say that!"

Her words were loud, and she took a step back in the water from the shock of it, almost slipping again. But Ryan was in the pool, reaching out to her waist and steadying her in the blink of an eye.

"Thorne is right for once, Rain."

He removed his hand from her waist, leaning back against the concrete edge of the pool. 

"He's what?"

Her words were quiet, almost broken apart.

"I told you that he's right."

He maintained eye contact as he spoke, and she almost didn't hear him.

"I'm in love with you."

Almost didn't. But she did.

She couldn't process what he was telling her. Because it couldn't be true. Not after the way he'd acted. Not after the rejection. It couldn't be.

Ryan sighed, turning around and lifting himself out of the pool he had willingly gone into. Like somehow it made it better that Rain had fallen in. He held out a hand to her and after a moment, she took it. Her pulled her to her feet next to him, but he didn't let go of her hand.

"I've told you now. 

Now you know."

It sounded like an affirmation to himself. Like it changed something.

He pulled her grip from his and took a key out of his pocket, dropping it in her hand. The one to the house she had been looking for.

"Now you know. And you can do what you need to with that information I guess."

He turned around to leave, the last words he said drifting to her from the side of the house.

"I missed you too, by the way."
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