Raymond Smith

//Chapter eight//

In the following weeks you had your first boxing class, when you arrived you were a bit scared but used to new places and people from NYC. There were mostly men and they were all surprisingly nice, you felt comfortable and it was fun boxing with some of Mickeys men. The next day you had your first work day at the café and were so excited to finally make a living by yourself and you had always dreamed of working in a tiny café in England with a little black dress and a white apron making old couples happy by bringing them their tea and coffee. And that was exactly what the days working there felt like. Weeks flew by and you felt just at home again, you almost forgot your time in New York and the only thing you missed was Betty and the freshness of all the strangers in the city. But you got to know your brother better again and Raymond, you spent quiet a lot of time with him now and it was hard not to sometimes let your mind loose and fantasize and flirt and admire. But you had to follow the rules. After you brought a big mug of tea and two homemade scones to an elderly couple you went to the next table to take their orders. The table was in the opposite corner of where Raymond was sitting and right next to a window. You didn't look at the person while grabbing your small notebook and pen.
"Good afternoon, what can i get for y-"
Suddenly everything around you went quiet, all you could here was a quiet, constant beeping sound, everything started moving and closing in on you, your chest was so tight that you couldn't breath anymore. You almost stumbled backwards as you saw who was sitting at that table, a familiar lump started building up in your throat and it took you a lot of control to burst out in tears. A smirk you had seen way too many times formed and laughed at you again, those dark, psychopathic eyes stared you down as you heard the voice you tried so hard to forget again.
"Hey. Funny seeing you here."
You couldn't believe he found you. Again.
"I missed you."
He whispered. But you couldn't get a single word out. He got up very quietly and quickly and his hand reached for your arm but suddenly the place was filled by another hand. The smell you had woken up and fallen asleep to every night rose up your nose and comforted you in an instant, you felt safer and stronger as you realized Raymond was now standing behind you, softly holding your upper arm.
"Who's that? Your new boyfriend? A bit old of you ask me."
"Is he bothering you, darling?"
You were so glad Raymond was there, back in New York there weren't really many people standing at your side except for Betty but now that Raymond stood there, protecting you, you could maybe finally get rid of your year long stalker.
"Darling? Really? Did you get over me so quickly?"
He scoffed and tried to grabbed your other arm, but Raymond pushed his hand away.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave now."
He said while stepping next and slightly in front of you.
"I don't know who you are. And i don't care. But i am not leaving without her."
And with that the guy grabbed your arm and pulled you towards the door. You let out a small, scared shriek before you closed your eyes. You felt a hand on your shoulder, heard a punch being thrown and a groan in pain. As you opened your eyes again you saw Raymond holding your trauma causers arm onto his back, it looked rather painful for the guy, and his nose bleeding. The whole cafe went quiet and looked at them.
"If you ever come closer than 5 miles to her again your done. Do you hear me? I have many ways to kill you and get rid of your body in a matter of hours without anyone even noticing. And i am sure no one will look for you either."
He pushed him towards the door, opened it and pushed him out. He stumbled onto the street and started running towards his car, Ray turned around and told every customer to remain calm and continue their tea. He quickly walked over to you who was still not able to move, a few small tears rolled down your cheeks while you stared at the ground trying to process what had just happened. Raymond stopped closely in front of you, grabbed both of your shoulders and lowered his head to be closer to yours.
"You ok? Did he do anything to you?"
He grabbed your chin softly to make you look at him so he could check your face. You just shook your head and sniffed. He grabbed a tissue from his pocket and wanted to give it to you but before he was able to do so, you had pushed your arms gently trough the small space between his and his chest and wrapped them around his back, you gripped the fabric of his shirt and couldn't hold back your tears anymore. You took another step closer to him and pressed you face into his chest.
"Thank you."
You said quietly under your breath. Ray just nodded and stroke your back.
"It's alright."
He whispered.
"He's gone now."
You nodded and wrapped your arms even tighter around him, Raymond now placed his second hand on your shoulder and his cheek softly on top of your head while shushing in order to calm you down. After your ugly sobbing quieted down and you were able to speak again Raymond sat down at a table with you.
"Alright."
He said after sitting down in front of you and folded his hands.