With Which I Misbehave

Even though she’d just endured another tearful goodbye with the man she insisted she only refer to as Brian, Rayven’s face held a permanent dreamy smile. Walking on clouds to her dorm room, she knew there was no way she was coming back next semester. She wasn’t sure how, but he’d agreed to at least hear her out over Christmas. Maybe flunking all her classes would convince him. No, that would just piss him off.

Rayven wasn’t worried about it, though, as she seemed to not be able to worry about anything in the world at the moment. Their weekend together had been the stuff out of romance novels. They didn’t step foot outside the house for those four days she’d been home. She tried to tell herself that he was slowly accepting the inevitable--that they’d end up together.

The raven-haired woman knew how twisted that was, knew the fact that she so easily already knew this in her heart was really fucked up. But she also gave zero fucks.

*

The next day after class, Rayven met her friends at the quad like she normally did. Except they weren’t there. Shrugging, she headed back towards her dorm room to study. At her door she was met with Chris, who looked distant and upset.

“Hey Chris, what’s up?” She opened her door and he followed her in, sneaking the lock when she wasn’t looking.

“I need to talk to you.” The broody emo crossed his arms and looked down at her, something like hurt in his brown eyes. Rayven sat on her little twin bed and started taking her laptop out of her bag, raising a brow at whatever it is he could possibly want.

“We all saw your goodbye hug last night when he dropped you off. I’ve heard you on the phone with him. I know you like teasing me and messing around because I remind you of him.” Chris leaned over and grabbed her wrist, the look in his eyes instantly going from puppy to crazy, “In fact, I followed you home to record hours of evidence of you fucking your own father.” He grinned wickedly, “Some pretty fucked up shit you’re into. I bet I could spend one night living up to him. How about it, Princess? Or I go to the cops.”

Rayven slapped him before she could gather a coherent thought, “Don’t you dare! You’re fucking sick, Chris! Get away from me!”
When she started kicking, he straddled her to keep her still, fighting her back onto the sheets, “I’m fucking sick?! How ‘bout I take what I want anyway?!” He swiftly backhanded her and clamped his hand over her mouth, “What you get for being such a fucking tease, Ray. Go ahead and call me Brian, I won’t mind.” His lips twisted into that evil smile again before she finally got a free hand and punched him in the balls.

He fell back onto the ground as she stood up and kicked him, “You’re not half the man he is, fuckhole.”
Chris scrambled up and away from her, glaring back at her, “Whatever. It’s too late. I’ve already sent the files to Eva and Tina. Even if you make me erase them, they’re probably already going to the police, even though I asked them not to. That sick fuck will rot in jail.”

Rayven balled her fists, tears starting to gather in her eyes, “Get the fuck out!!”

The second Chris stumbled out, she stuffed her laptop and the picture frames of them together into her backpack and hurried out the door. As she carefully looked around for prying ears after she’d gone out the back way, Rayven put her phone to her ear.

“Brian?” Her heart was pounding a million miles a minute, scared beyond her mind’s comprehension of losing him, losing what they had.

“Rayv? You alright? You sound scared.”

“Da-...Brian, they know! About us! He said they’re calling the cops on you! I’m sorry, I don’t know what to do!” Desperately trying to keep it together, she finally erupted in tears.

Shock and horror filled Brian’s heart. He should have known this day would come, but he was too busy being in absolute denial. Fear gripped him as his mind went into flight mode and made one decision after another.

“Rayven, listen to me. Use the credit card to rent a car if you can and drive here as fast and safely as you can. Otherwise, take the bus. Make a mental checklist of the bare necessities you need from home. Make the list as short as you can, as we need to leave as soon as possible.” Running his hand through his hair, he began making his own checklist.

“Leave?!” Where would they go?
“Yes. Leave. Is your passport from that trip last year still good?”
“I-I think so.”
“Good. I’ll start getting some things together and we’ll go as soon as you get home. It’ll all be okay, Rayven, I promise.”

She let out a huge breath, not realizing she was waiting for him to say just that, “Uhhkay, Bri. I-I’ll do my best.” Her finger ended the call, her mind in a foggy state of uncertainty. Shaking herself out of it, Rayven hurried towards the closest car rental.

*

Brian attempted to keep their baggage from looking too much like they were running, but that was hard. They didn’t really need very many clothes--he could buy those. So he’d tried to find every keepsake that was just too important to leave, any private information that would help lead them to him, and his most precious pair of handcuffs that weren't metal.

First, he bought them plane tickets. Second, he went to the bank and got out as much cash as they’d let him--citing that he was buying a classic car he’d found for a steal. Third, he’d almost passed the fuck out. They fortunately only lived about an hour away from the airport, but their flight wasn’t for hours. He figured they had plenty of time, really, but didn’t want to risk anything when it came to this. He knew the police would probably take their time getting to a call like that, maybe thinking they were getting prank called by college kids. But once they saw that footage? He’d be a dead man. He probably wouldn’t even make it to the jail. He knew exactly what he’d do to a guy doing those things to his own daughter.
Brian tried to focus, tried to think of everything. By the time she walked in the door he was frayed mess.

He wrapped her tightly in his bulging, shaking arms, his tears falling in her hair. Her little hands clenched into his chest, finally letting the relief of his warmth surround her and calm her. While she knew they weren't out of the woods yet, Rayven felt immediately safe in his arms. He knew he should ask her if this is really what she wanted—but hell, he knew the answer. Quickly wiping at his face, Brian urged her towards her room. He knew he should give her at least a few moments of privacy, “Hurry, baby girl. Flight leaves in a few hours.”

Instead of asking where they were going, Rayven just hurried up the steps. She didn’t care where, just that she was with him.

***
Rayven drove as Brian made a few calls in the passenger seat. As much as he wanted a last ride on his Harley, he’d had to leave that behind, probably never to see his things again.

“....I can’t thank you enough, man. We most likely won’t be there for a couple of days. I’ll call you when we get off the plane.”

“Brian, where are we going?” Rayven finally asked.

Now that most things had been taken care of, he turned off his phone and removed the battery, “Hand me your phone.”
Once she’d done so and he’d done the same to it, he tucked some hair behind her ear—making her smile for the first time that evening, “I’m taking you to a friend’s place that lives in the country in Ireland. We can lay low there until we figure things out. Would you like that?”

Her face lit up, which made him finally smile tiredly as he took her hand in his and kissed it.

It wasn’t until they were seated on the plane that Brian could even begin to relax. Part of him was absolutely terrified during baggage check, when they boarded—that something would happen. That he’d been added to some database and they’d find him. But it was a non-stop flight and now that they were on it, he could breathe a little easier. His paranoid nature had paid off—a Swiss bank account already set up that he’d transferred most of his money into. He’d been a lucky man career wise and as long as they lived modestly, his money would last for years. And he’d have her all to himself.

Brian leaned his head back, “You want a drink, Rayv?”
She smiled back, just as relieved they were in the air and headed away from all their worries, “Sure.”

When they each eventually had an Irish whiskey in their hand, Brian touched his plastic cup to hers—his puppy brown eyes sparkling, “To Ireland.”

As they both drank, the older man noticed one of her cheeks held a little bit too much color, and of the wrong kind. Things had been so hectic, he hadn’t noticed. His brow knitting, Brian softly touched her high cheekbone.
Rayven had all but forgotten about the incident, having been in fast forward panic mode for hours now. They were both surprised when she flinched away.

Brian seethed and did everything in his power to stay calm, “Who. Hit you.” His mocha eyes fired and his nostrils flared, every muscle in his body tensing with rage.

She shrank back in the seat, knowing full well he shouldn’t make a scene, “Bri, it’s not a big—“
He reeled it in and put a single finger under her chin, pinning her with a look that turned her to butter. How protective he was being of her--was always of her--was a huge part of what had gotten them in this mess. It was undeniably irresistible.



“It was Chris.”

Rayven winced as she watched him internally freak out. And that wasn’t even the whole story. Brian ran a hand down his face, shielding his eyes for a moment as he collected himself. That kid had assaulted his daughter and he was leaving the fucking country. He pulled it together and grabbed both her hands in his.
“Is this the...the kid? That told you he knows?”

She licked her lips and soothed a hand over his, “Yes. He...tried to blackmail me into having sex with him, so I fought him and he hit me. I--”
Instead of blowing a gasket, Brian thrust the armrest up out of the way to wrap her in a tight hug, “Baby, that’s….I’m so sorry.” He whispered into her hair as he stroked it soothingly with his long fingers, “How did you get away?”

“I kicked him in the balls and told him to get the fuck out.”
They both chortled as Brian kissed her temple, “That’s my girl.”

Rayven leaned back and sipped her drink, making a face, “So how do you know the people we’re staying with? Work?”
Eyes going back to the floor, he sighed, “Rayv, there’s some things we’ll just have to wait to talk about until we’re on the drive there.”

Brian still couldn’t help but feel like all the eyes and ears on the plane were on them. He knew he was most likely being paranoid, but he also knew he could not possibly be too careful until they were firmly buried in another country where no one had any idea who they were.

The adrenaline of the last few hours began to calm and left Rayven with questions she wasn’t sure she wanted the answers to. While all she wanted was to have him all to herself for good, it all seemed much too good to be true. Would they be found? What would they do for money?

Forcing herself to look out the window instead of staring at him, she told herself he knew what he was doing…

*
Rayven waited patiently as the car made its way out of Dublin and into the countryside. He was falling apart at the seems: running his hand through his hair, eyes bloodshot, repeatedly licking his lips until they were chapped.

Brian wasn’t nervous about what they would do next or if they got caught. Now that they’d made it safely away from the airport, he knew they were in the clear. That fact unfortunately could only put to bed some of his concerns. Now he had to tell her things that he felt made him less of a man, and definitely not a father.

“Bri?”

Her beautiful voice broke the silence and he finally looked her way. The fear in her eyes made him forget all his reservations. Grabbing her hand, he kissed the back of it and squeezed.

“Rayv...I’m sorry I’m quiet and that I couldn’t tell you these things sooner.” When he paused to take a long, nervous breath, Rayven furrowed her brow. Brian ran a hand down his face, “The months without you, babygirl...they weren’t pretty.” His beautiful brown eyes stayed focused ahead, his face breaking in an empty laugh, “I had no idea what to do. You’ve always been there. And after what we’ve been through...I couldn’t handle it.”

“Brian,” She surprised him by putting her small hands around his, “Whatever it is, you can tell me, you know that.”

His quick glance at her softened his heart and his face, making him smile tiredly, “I began scouring the internet for people like me, like us, something to validate my feelings for you without making me the predator. There were dark nights where what I found only made me want to end everything because I felt like you’d be so much better off without me…”

The thought made Rayven swallow hard, her eyes pricking with tears before he forged ahead.

“I thought that maybe if I found another outlet that I could get past it, so I forced myself to date a little. It always ended terribly and only made me feel worse. Until one day, I found a site.”

This made Rayven blink and smile, “A site? What kind of site?”

When she focused on that detail, and not who he had dated, he couldn’t hold back his relief. Grinning wide, his hand squeezed hers back, “After passwords and questionnaires and getting past one roadblock after another, I found a few men who helped me--a lot. One of them, lives in Ireland.”

“So...they’re just like us?”

Brian nodded and kissed the back of her hand, “Just like us, darling. This man helped me see that even though our situations aren’t ideal and probably wrong, they’re understandable. You’re a consenting adult now, Rayven, and we love each other. He got snipped for his love, just like I’m going to for you and I’ll make sure you’re taken care of, just like I always have. Sound good, Princess?”

***

Notes

I apologize for both the lack of posting AND for the lack of sex in this chapter, lol! But the next one will be worth the wait, Synners!

What's better than one daddy? Why two, of course.