Sandcastles
By Beyoncé
Words written like this are lyrics from the song.
It has been a month since you and Raph broke up. You avoided the lair, dodged phone calls, and ignored the constant feeling of guilt and regret in the pit of your stomach. Why should you feel guilty? He's the one that cheated.
Why should you feel anything besides joy for breaking up with the turtle who broke your heart; for ending the toxic relationship you had.
You kept asking yourself why. Why should it be this way and not that way? Why did you have to fall for the muscular hot head in the first place?
~~~~~
It was a typical New York night: gloomy, loud, and full of ninja clans, gangs, and alien robots battling it out. You were having car trouble.
Of course, you thought to yourself, my car breaks down the same night a new season of (favorite show) starts.
You slam your fists against your steering wheel in frustration. You picked up your phone to dial your parent/guardian for help, but that's when you realized they were out of town. You cursed under your breath and looked out of the window. A few blocks away there was a Midas that might be able to help you solve your problems.
You pulled on your jacket and began walking down the street. Cars buzzed by, a select few honking and cat-calling at you.
"Get a life, perv!" You angrily called out to the man who tried to convince you to spend the night with him.
You grumbled as you watched him continue down the road. He turned right down the next road.
Just before you could reach your destination, a pair of hands snatched you from the sidewalk and pulled you into an alleyway. You struggled against the kidnapper as he tried to lift you up.
You purposely went limp, making your body weigh heavier in his grasp. He growled and struggled to heave your body to his car. When he wasn't paying attention, you punched him in the no-no square and tried to run away.
He sank to his knees from the pain, but managed to grab you by your foot. You plummeted to the ground.
"You little..." He rambled off a series of insults at you. Little did he know, his yelling attracted a certain already angry turtle.
A soft thud erupted behind the two of you. Your attacker, whom you now recognized as the perv from earlier, turned his attention to the sound. You kicked him in his face and scrambled to get back up.
"Now why exactly do you idiots always think it's a good idea to bother people?" A voice came from the same area as the thud.
A second later, he was knocked out on the ground in front of you. You nudged his limp body with your foot. "Stupid piece of shuck."
"Are you alright?" The voice asked. Two green orbs looked fiercely into your (e/c) eyes.
"I would say yes, but my car is still broke down. Thank you for saving me, seriously, but unless you know how to fix up a car, you can go now."
"Well, that was a great thank you." The person said sarcastically with a slight chuckle.
"Maybe if you showed your face, I could thank you properly." You crossed your arms, a small smile on your face. "And if you know how to fix cars I will forever be in your debt."
The figure sighed. "Fine, but I'm only showing you what I look like 'cause I don't feel like fending off bad guys for you all night."
He stepped into the light. You were surprised to see that he was a mutant turtle, but then again, you just saw a mutant tiger last week. You took this opportunity to mess with him.
"Oh my gods... You're Shrek! How iconic!"
He scoffed. "Do I look like a flipping ogre to you? Honestly, the one time I try to be nice-"
"Calm down, I was joking." At this, he rolled his eyes and smiled, showing off his bright smile.
"Now where's this car you were talking about?"
~~~~~
Ever since that night, you two were inseparable... or at least you thought so. A year of love, a year of arguments, and a year of friendship with the turtles ended abruptly that night.
No one knew Raphael was cheating. Leo assumed he was out with you. Donnie figured Raph was lovestruck. Whenever Mikey asked about where he was going, Raph told him he was going with you.
They should have known something was up when he first met Mona. The way he looked at her; the way he admired her after the first battle when they went back in time.
They were all worried the world would end. They all worried about their loved ones and significant others they left back on Earth, but no, not Raph. He talked of staying in space, starting a new life.
They should have known.
~~~~~
You were wondering why Mikey texted you to come to the lair ASAP. You rushed to the lair and met three pairs of worried eyes. Your boyfriend was nowhere to be found.
Mikey asked the question that was on all of your minds. "Where's Raph?"
"What do you mean where's Raph?" You blinked.
"He was supposed to be with you! That's what he told us!" Leo exclaimed.
You sighed and sat down in the bean bag next to the three brothers. "I haven't hung out with Raph in a week. We barely talk now."
Donnie shot you a confused look. "What do you mean you barely talk? He's on the phone all day with someone and he's out every night after patrol."
"Have you forgotten that I spend eight hours of my day at school? And you guys finish patrol at like two a.m. I'm probably still doing homework at that time." You fold your arms.
"Who else would he be talking to? Where would he go?" Mikey fell back into his seat.
All of your phones dinged at the same time. Casey was requesting a Group FaceTime with you guys.
"Casey..." Donnie grumbled. "What's up?"
"Donnie, shut up and look at this." He put the camera on Raph, who was standing in front of the swing sets at the city park with someone. "Why is he here so late?"
You heard a feminine voice giggle in the background. "I'm sorry, is that a girl I hear? Please tell me that's April."
"Come on, (y/n), my voice isn't that deep." April said through the phone.
Before you could respond, everyone but you gasped. Raph sat down the next swing, revealing another mutant, a girl mutant.
"What are we gasping for?"
No one responded.
"Please tell me she's a long lost cousin."
Still, no one said a word.
"Guys..." your voice cracked as you watched your boyfriend kiss the mysterious mutant girl that everyone but you seemed to know.
"(Y/n)... we swear we didn't know." Leo hurriedly said.
You just sat there in shock. Mikey hugged you, but you didn't react. Finally, Casey stopped Raph and his mistress. He jumped back from the kiss and noticed the phone was pointed towards him.
"Please tell me (y/n) isn't on the phone." Raph said as he ran up to his best friend.
The all too familiar boop-boop-boop of the phone echoed in your ears your entire way home.
~~~~~
Raph has been trying to communicate with you ever since. He's been leaving you voicemails, countless text messages, he even wrote you letters.
You read and listened to each one, but you didn't think you were ready to come back. You told him that you couldn't get back with him.
But that was all about to change.
~~~~~
Once again, your car was having troubles. You pulled over to the side of the road and called Donnie. The phone rang a few times before it picked up.
"Hey, Donnie. I'm having car problems again. Do you mind helping? I'm outside of the old jewelry store on 8th Street."
You couldn't hear his response, but he ended up hanging up before you could ask what he said.
Fifteen minutes later, a knock on your window caused you to almost jump out of your skin. You opened your door to find not Donnie, but Raph. You quickly tried to shut the door, but Raph caught it and wouldn't let go.
"(Y/n), please listen to me. I've been trying to reach you for a month!" He begged with saddened eyes.
"Well, you shouldn't have spent so much time trying to get with Mona. Honestly, did I mean nothing to you?"
He walked around your car and sat in the passenger seat. "You mean the world to me. You always have and always will. I-I made a mistake and got caught up with Mona. I didn't know how to say no to her. I'm sorry your heart is broken 'cause I walked away, but I didn't walk away, baby. I could never leave you."
When you didn't respond, he continued. "I thought Mona was great and got too caught up in having a sparring and fighting friend that I let it go too far. Trust me when I say that she's nothing compared to you. When I found out she fell for me I didn't know what to do."
"Seemed like you thought kissing her was the right thing to do." You huffed.
Raph tried to grab your hand, but you pulled away. He sighed and continued. "(Y/n), that night we kissed it meant nothing to me. She kissed me because she knew Casey was recording. The only reason I spent so much time with her is because I was scared she would hurt you if I left her behind. All my efforts were in vain because she... I still hurt you in the end."
He reached for your hand again. You let him hold it this time. "I love you (y/n), across the galaxy and back. We literally traveled through the universe and nothing changed the way I feel about you. Nothing can ever make me stop loving you. I'm sorry, baby."
"Raph, I know I promised that I couldn't stay with you. But every promise don't work out that way. I forgive you. Just please don't ever give me a reason not to trust you again."
He kissed your forehead and hugged you tightly. He pulled back with a bright smile on his face. "Now, let's fix your car."