Rain walked into the kitchen quietly, the morning sun casting a pale wash through the high windows. He moved toward the marble island where a bowl of grapes sat glistening with cold moisture. As he reached out to grab some, a hand swooped in, snatching the bunch before he could touch them.
He looked up sharply. Cassidy.
Rain turned to walk away, already exhausted by his presence, but Cassidy shoved him back casually, the kind of shove that was meant to provoke.
"Cassidy, what do you want?" Rain asked, his voice tight, frustration clear in his expression as his brows pinched together.
Cassidy grinned, chewing slowly on a grape as he leaned on the counter with the confidence of someone who knew how to twist a knife.
"You are a good one, ain't you? How did you lay your hand on that girl?"
Rain's jaw clenched. He exhaled roughly through his nose. "Are you all not tired of talking about this yet?"
"Why would I? Me or Lane could have had the girl, but you went behind to date her."
"You and Lane do not even like Frances," Rain said, his eyes narrowing. "You just wanna fuck her."
Cassidy scoffed and straightened, his voice low and smug. "And so? What's wrong with fucking her?"
Rain's fingers curled slowly into a fist, the tendons on the back of his hand straining. A shadow passed over his face, fury was rising, and his lips trembled as he tried to restrain it.
Cassidy saw it and leaned closer, taunting. "What? You feel like hitting me? Do it! Go ahead and do it, let your brother see the kind of person that you are. Just a pretender."
"I do not care about how my brother looks at me. Do not talk about my girl that way!" Rain's voice shook, his chest heaving from bottled emotion.
"Your girl?" Cassidy laughed, his voice cruel and amused. He leaned in even closer until Rain could smell the sour tang of grapes on his breath. "Do you think that Frances would really want someone like you? She's a mischievous girl who loves to play around. She is just playing with you."
"No!" Rain's voice cracked. "Frances loves me genuinely, she has real feelings for me. I can see it."
"Oh wow!" Cassidy smirked, dropping his voice to a mocking whisper. "You expect a big bully who doesn't care about the feelings of her schoolmates to actually care about the feelings of a nobody like you? You're slow, Rain. Not even a real man. Do you see yourself and consider yourself a man when you always look like this every day, walking like you're gonna trip over your own legs?"
Rain's lips parted, but no words came. His eyes filled with tears, and his voice came out broken, barely audible. "Cassidy…"
Cassidy's smile widened as he delivered the final blow. "You are not even wanted. How many people love you in this house? None. Including your own father, he doesn't even wanna see you. Just wait till Frances finds out about all this. She will leave you immediately."
"She wouldn't," Rain whispered, shaking his head slowly, the first tear slipping down his cheek. "She loves me. For real. She would never leave me."
"Just keep feeding yourself that lie, okay?" Cassidy popped another grape into his mouth and chewed slowly, savoring the devastation he left behind. "Mum already promised to give Frances to me or Lane to date."
"I will never give Frances to you guys. Never!" Rain snapped, but his voice was filled with helplessness.
"You don't need to." Cassidy smirked. "Just wait till we tell her about your whole life story then you shall see if she will still want your slow ass."
With that, he turned and strolled out of the kitchen.
Rain stood still for several seconds, the silence crashing down around him. His fists trembled, his shoulders dropped, and the tears he had tried so hard to hold back poured freely down his face. His chest tightened painfully.
If Frances really finds out about how he's been treated… if she knows how unwanted he is… would she hate him?
The thought struck like a blade. He clutched his chest, trying to steady his heartbeat. "No! This can't happen…" he whispered.
He wiped his face hastily with the back of his hand and ran to his room, slammed the door shut, and grabbed his phone with shaking fingers.
Rain: "Cici, I miss you"
Frances: "I miss you too babe! Feels like I'm dying at home not seeing you."
Rain: "Let's meet up at the Sapphire Hotel."
Frances: "Sapphire hotel? Can an underage book in?"
Rain: "Fallon will handle it. Just come please."
Frances: "Okay! See me in few minutes!"
Rain rushed to change, his movements frantic. He barely heard his own thoughts as he slid into the backseat of the car.
Fallon glanced up from the front seat. "Boss?"
He rubbed his thighs nervously and finally muttered, "Can we… can we get a room at Sapphire Hotel?"
Fallon raised a brow and looked at him through the rearview mirror. "Sapphire Hotel?" he echoed, surprised. "Why do you wanna go to a hotel suddenly?"
"I wanna see Frances," Rain replied quickly. "I missed her and wanna be alone together."
"Then bring her home."
Rain looked out the window, his voice dropping. "Bring her home? They will eat me up."
Fallon clicked his tongue. "Oh. True." He grabbed his phone and made the call. Rain stayed quiet, heart pounding with anticipation and anxiety.
When they arrived, Rain wore a hoodie, pulling it low to avoid attention. Fallon walked ahead, taking care of the booking as Rain fidgeted by the wall, eyes darting.
The hotel staff escorted them to a luxurious room. The doors opened, revealing polished floors, a wide bed, and soft ambient lighting.
"Do you like the room?" Fallon asked, watching him closely.
"Oh yes! I like it," Rain said, a small smile breaking through his stormy thoughts.
"We'll always book here whenever you wanna see her. Is that okay?"
"Sure. I would love that." His voice was soft, grateful.
Once Fallon left, Rain sat on the couch, his leg bouncing anxiously. He kept rubbing his hands together, whispering to himself.
A knock startled him. He jumped up, his heart skipping as he opened the door.
There she was. Frances.
Radiant and smiling.
"Hey babe!" she said sweetly, and he pulled her into the room, shut the door, and crushed her into a desperate hug.
"Cici," he whispered, his voice barely stable.
She giggled and hugged him back. "Do you miss me that much?"
"I missed you like crazy. You can't imagine how much."
"We were in school together on Friday. Today is Sunday."
"It feels like eternity. I don't want to be separated from you, not even for a day."
"Me too!"
"Cici," he said, gently holding her face, his thumbs brushing her cheeks. "You are not gonna leave me, right?" His eyes shimmered with dread.
"Of course not! Why would I?"
"You don't think that I'm not man enough for you? You don't think I'm slow and undeserving?"
"Why would you say that? Since we started this relationship, you have always been the man. I have never complained."
"I know you never complained, but… do you ever think of me that way?"
"Never! I just find you cute."
"If you ever find any flaws in me… would you still stay?"
"What flaws could you have? You are perfect. I'm the crazy one with a lot of flaws here."
"Cici…"
"What's wrong, babe? What did you hear? Did someone say anything to you today?"
"No… no…"
She frowned and grabbed his hand, forcing him to face her fully. "Look at me, Rain! You look shaky. Why are you shaking? Did someone tell you that I'm gonna leave you or something?"
He nodded quickly, then broke, tears spilled from his eyes as he crashed into her arms, clutching her tightly, sobbing into her shoulder.
"Oh my God, Rain! What the hell have they done to you?"
"He said you wouldn't want me anymore… that you were playing with me… that you'd leave me. Frances, they're gonna take you away from me and give you to my cousins."
Frances almost laughed in disbelief. What kind of bullshit are they feeding this boy at home?! she thought.
She stroked his back gently. "It's fine. I'm right here, babe. Nobody is taking me away, and I'm never getting tired of you. I'm not playing with you either."
"Cici…"
"It's fine, stop crying, okay?" She gently released him and led him to the bed. Frances sat down and pulled him into her lap, letting his head rest there while she stroked his hair soothingly. His body was curled up, his chest rising and falling with each shaky breath.
"Tell me who said all these to you?"
"Cassidy did."
"Who the hell is that?"
"He is my cousin. My aunty that you met in school last time… Cassidy is her first child. He is 22, final year in college."
"He is 22 and stupid? Bullying someone younger than him?"
"He has always been like that. They never liked me. None of them did!" More tears streamed down Rain's cheeks. He turned again, hugging Frances tightly, his face buried in her belly.
"It's okay, babe. Calm down, okay? Can you tell me who wants to give me to your cousin or whatever they are?"
"It's my aunty and grandma. Lane has always liked you, so he hated me for being with you. Cassidy wanted you too, so grandma told them I will have to leave you alone for them."
"They're crazy! Am I some kind of object that they have to pass around?"
"I'm sorry, Frances! They talk about you this way, and I couldn't even do anything. I should have beat up Cassidy or something… but I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to do it."
"You don't have to do that. You are pure and kind, don't allow those things to ruin your innocence. You have me here. I will be your fist and hit the enemies for you."
"Frances, you don't look down on me?"
"I never did! And I never will."
"I'm the most hated in my family. Even my dad does not like me."
"Why is that?"
"Because my mum died after giving birth to me. So he never liked me. He doesn't like seeing me because I look like my mum. He always avoided me… even when he comes home. Everyone did. They always wished I was dead instead of my mum."
"What? Did your dad say all these things to you?"
"My grandma said so. She said that's how he thinks of me."
"Sounds like some made-up bullshit. She must be lying."
"If she was lying, why didn't my dad like me? If I text him, he never replies. He never calls. He does nothing but toss cards on my face."
"Babe, you do not have to mind any of those people, okay? They treat you like this because they're jealous of you. Don't allow them to make you feel less of yourself. They're just trying to project their own insecurities onto you. Look at the whole mansion, is there anyone more brilliant than you?"
"No."
"Is there anyone with a better look, better body, and better brain? No! From what I know, it's your father who held the Piper family up, that's why he's the head of the family, right? You are someone who never made life hard for others. You do your own thing and never bother anyone. What right do they have to criticize you?" Frances lifted his face, making him look into her eyes.
"Look at me, Rain. In my little teenage years, I have seen and unseen, I have dealt with a lot of people and I know how they think. If they can't have it, they would rather destroy it. They don't have what you have, so they wanna ruin you instead. Always put yourself first, your own feelings first and fuck what anyone says after. Your mother dying is not your fault. Nature took its course. Your social anxiety is not your fault. Those people are villains and your brain rejected them. As for me… I never looked down on you because of how your family is."
"You don't?"
"I definitely don't! Still better than me, right? Look at me, I'm just sixteen with no family. I only know myself and nobody else. I mean, not even one single family at all. I don't have parents either."
"Was it hard for you? Not having anyone?"
"Firstly it was hard. Then it got better and better. But now I have you, right?"
"Would you like to talk about it? How you ended up alone?"
"I would like to, but not today. We are here to comfort you, not discuss my own dilemma. You will know everything about me as time goes on, okay?"
"Okay, baby."
"I just want you to be good, okay? Your family members? I will deal with them when the time is right. But for now… let's be happy, babe."
"I will."
"Stop crying too. They don't deserve your tears."
"I will stop."
"I love you so much!"
"I love you too, Cici," he said softly and hugged her tighter, as if she were the only thing keeping him together.