𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄

ꜰɪꜰᴛʏ

"Okay, but—"

"And I'm not the type of person to make someone feel bad for something I've already forgiven."

He let out a breath of air and hung his head on his neck, leaning into her body. For someone who had been through a series of fucked up things, to forgive an action so similar to her history, so easily was not only remarkable, but it made him proud. The Rayne he knew a few months ago would have held onto this grudge—she would have taken it to her grave.

But the Rayne that existed before him now was an almost fully blossomed flower; she had survived so much and instead of letting that tear her down, she was starting to use it as a means of expression. She understood Mason because while their traumas were different, they were still alike. Rather than letting her past change her, she was using it to connect with others.

It was fucking beautiful.

"We are so lucky to have you," he said against her chest.

"I know," she let out a snort of laughter.

Rueben lifted his chin and pressed his lips onto hers, pecking just a couple times. Rayne laughed a little more as her hands grabbed his face, pulling him in deeper. The love he had for this woman was brilliantly underestimated in such mundane movements, but that same feeling swirled in his body, like an endorphin created in her name, was something he'd never rid of.

"Okay, okay," she pulled back, "Let me go talk to him—stop distracting me."

"I would, but he left ten minutes ago."

"Oh," she frowned, "Where did he go?"

"Kai's, I think."

Rayne looked at him sideways; he shrugged back. He knew what she was thinking—why the hell would Mason go confront the person, in person, who gave him the letter, yet refuse to read it? He chose to have a face-to-face conversation regarding the topic that set him off for the last week or so; it almost sounded silly now that he was thinking about it.

But he wasn't Mason, and neither was Rayne—whatever he needed to heal was his prerogative; their only job was to be there for him whenever he gained the courage to fall back on them.

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

"Probably tomorrow—I think he plans on drinking."

"He's going to spend the night?—"

A knock on the door interrupted her statement. The two of them shared knowing looks as he invited whoever was on the other side in. Taryn popped her head between it and the threshold, blinking at them with her dark brown eyes; she spoke exactly what they thought she would.

Emiko's here.

"Coming."

Rueben pushed off the bed and grabbed Rayne's hand once they were both standing. She squeezed lightly and gave him a reassuring smile, letting him know that everything would be okay, no matter what happened during this talk.

After another second of preparation, the two of them parted from this bedroom and headed toward the living room. Now that Emiko was back in town, they could finally go through the second half of the encryptions and determine the truth about their siblings.

They would have done this much sooner, but she had to go back to San Diego for the week and pack up her sister's things; now that her lease was up, she had to move her apartment to a storage container. At the same time, she took Tripp to his yearly doctor's appointment; since she was in town, she figured she'd just get it out of the way.

It only took her a week to do, but it still weighed him down.

Rueben sat down in the single chair, Rayne on his lap. Kaiser buttoned the jacket of his suit before sitting on the couch cushion closest to them; he understood that this was a private conversation for now. Until they got a grasp of the situation, it was best to discuss it with the parties affected.