𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄

ɴɪɴᴇ

"And what did she say?"

"That she wanted you."

Rueben closed his eyes and exhaled softly, thinking it over. Of course, he wanted to walk in there and comfort her, but he wasn't sure what he could do for her. He was happy that if she was going to talk to anyone, it would be him, but he was just so angry over how she treated him and for going against what everyone else wanted and confronting Enzo.

When he opened his eyes, he knew what he was going to do.

He wasn't going to make excuses for her actions, but he also wasn't going to villainize her either. They just needed to have a conversation. There was a reason why she did what she did today; he just needed to give her a moment to explain that.

Would he like all of her answers? Probably not.

But would he still listen because that's what you do in a relationship? Yes.

"Thanks, Kaiser," Rueben tapped his shoulder as he passed him, "Take the day off."

"Uh – sir?"

He paused and turned around to look at him, "Yes?"

"Do you mind if I stick by for a little bit? I want to make sure she's okay."

A soft smile crept up the side of his face. While he could admit, that stupidly, he suspected there to be feelings between the two of them, he could now see how innocent it all was. Now, all he was, was elated that Rayne had someone like him to rely on. As a bodyguard, he didn't need to care for her above the job, but he was thankful that he did anyway.

"Yeah," he nodded, "I think Rayne would like that."

"Great," Kaiser sighed, smiling, "I'll be in the living room."

Rueben nodded gently as he left the room. After taking a moment to collect himself, he walked over to the bathroom door and pulled it open, slipping inside.

He kept his face toward the door, closing it again, engulfing himself in the steamy room. With one hand on the doorknob, and one hand flat against the wood of it, he inhaled deeply. The shower was loud behind him, but he knew that she would be able to hear him over it.

He wanted – needed – to say some words before he turned and faced her.

"Rayne," he said slowly, "I know you've asked for me, and while I'm here to help you, I want you to know that things between us are ... not okay. After this, I think we need to have a lengthy conversation about what we even want out of this relationship."

A few seconds ... then a few minutes passed without a word of response from her. Rueben, with his forehead now against the wall, closed his eyes in an attempt to simmer the irritation that was making its way around the blood vessels in his body. He had a lot of understanding for the woman behind him, but in a time like this, she couldn't even acknowledge him?– fuck that.

He spun around, "Are you just going to ignore me—!?"

Rueben stopped abruptly, shutting his own mouth at the sight before him. When Kaiser told him that she was going to take a shower because the rain had been cold, he thought that he meant a normal one. However, as he gazed upon her, he had to blink away the sheer surprise.

She sat in the center of the shower floor, unmoving; her legs were bent at the knee and pressed into her chest as she stared blankly straight ahead. She was still fully clothed, sitting directly under the stream of hot water – she hadn't even taken her shoes off.

The hoodie on her upper body seemed to be weighing her down, but it didn't look like it bothered her in the slightest. He could barely see her face, as the black fabric was on her head, covering most of it.