Eternal Blossom

After the few remaining stragglers left, Aiyana and her small dysfunctional group sat down around the fire pit with drinks in hand. Aiyana sat in Brian’s lap with her arm around his neck, her fingers running through the hair at the base of his neck. Rayne sat in Zack’s lap, still pouting a little that she didn’t get to land more than one punch.

Matt was already drunk, and leaning up against Hetfield who had his arm draped over the younger man’s shoulder conspiratorially as they spoke to one another in hushed voices.

“Let that drama go, man. That shit ages you,” Hetfield said quietly but confidently.

“I know, but I have real feelings for her,” Matt complained lowly, already feeling a buzz.

“Do you love her, though. Love is worth going through hell for,” Hetfield said like the guru that he was.

“I don’t love her, but I also hate being alone,” Matt huffed, knowing that the other man had a point.

“Look, I can tell you put up with a lot of shit. Just wait. The right woman will come along, and until that time, just enjoy being by yourself and get to know who you are without her again,” Hetfield said with a clap on his shoulder before walking off to refill his drink.

“Papa Bear, can you tell us one of your stories,” Rayne asked, feeling herself perk up at the prospect of a good native story told by a wonderful story teller.

“Papa Bear,” Matt asked, finally rejoining everyone else around the fire.

“Yona means bear,” Aiyana said with a smile, used to having to explain the nickname, “and he’s the Papa Bear for Rayne. ”

Zacky was still confused as to why Rayne was always referring to Yona as her Papa, and why she never mentioned her own dad, so he decided to finally ask since there was nobody else around but those who knew her best and his brothers.

“Why is he your surrogate dad,” Zack asked as he placed his chin on her shoulder, causing Rayne to instantly stiffen.

Rayne looked over at Aiyana and ran a hand over her face in exasperation. She’d avoided this topic for as long as she possibly could, and it looked like now it was time to own up to it.

In response to the look, Aiyana got up and walked over to pull her friend up into a hug.

“If you feel for Zee like I think you do you should trust him enough to tell him. It’ll hurt, but we’re all here for you,” she whispered into Rayne’s ear as they clung to one another in front of the fire.

Rayne nodded and patted her best friend’s round bottom as she let her go, mouthing a ‘thank you.’ The guys all watched, Brian confused, Zacky now concerned, and Matt inquisitive. Yona got up and placed a hand on her shoulder in support.

“After your story, I’ll tell your favorite,” he told her with a wink before he walked to the table still laden with bottles of alcohol.

Yona came back with a few bottles and handed the JD to Zacky, the Laproaig to Brian who had Aiyana back in his lap, and took the scotch with him back to his own seat. Matt sat beside James again, each of them already possessing large drinks that had recently been refilled.

Rayne cleared her throat and felt her nerves kick up. Snatching the bottle from Zack, she took a strong pull, not caring it was straight whiskey. If she was going to open old wounds, she would need the liquid courage.

Handing the bottle back to Zack, she began, “My father was a monster. From the age of three, he raped me almost daily. It wasn’t a ‘secret’ like it is in a lot of families. My mother knew, but the coward was just glad it wasn’t her that night.”

Zacky watched a tear roll down her cheek and he was stunned into silence. Reaching forward, he took her hand in his, trying to give her some kind of support as he kicked himself for bringing this up.

Rayne smiled and clung to his hand as she continued, “I was used to it, and had resigned myself to it until I was six, and Aiyana started wanting to stay the night at my house instead of always going to hers. I hadn’t told her or her family because they were my safe haven from age four on.”

Aiyana closed her eyes, a tear sliding down her own cheek at the obvious pain in Rayne’s voice. Knowing what was coming next, she looked at her father with sad eyes and then buried her face in Brian’s neck as if she could hide there from the memories.

“At eight, our moms talked and decided Aiyana would stay at our house for a weekend. My mom never said anything to her about my dad. The first night she woke up while he was using me, and she hit him with my bat. She was my hero even then,” Rayne croaked out, giving Aiyana a loving look for a second.

“He decided to ‘teach her a lesson’ and raped her despite how much I begged and pleaded and cried. The next night we were both scared, and he took Aiya to another room for more abuse. I didn’t know what else to do, so I ran through the house to call her mom and dad.”

Brian was rubbing soothing circles on Aiyana’s back, and placed a gentle kiss on her hair as she shook, reliving the night in her mind no matter how much she didn’t want to. When Rayne stuttered to an end, she knew she had to do something.

Taking a deep breath, Aiyana stood up and held Rayne in her arms while the redhead broke down, finishing the story for her cousin.

“Mom and dad came flying over. Words were said, a gun was drawn, and Rayne’s sperm donor shot at his wife, intending to commit murder-suicide since he knew he was busted. Mom jumped in front of her sister, and was also killed before the asshole shot himself. Daddy,” Aiyana paused to look over at her dad with a weak smile, “was making sure we were ok in another room. After court, and a lot of therapy, Rayne moved in with us, and we became a family unit.”

Yona stood up and wrapped his arms around both girls, hugging them to him as they cried together. The guys let them have a moment alone before standing and creating a large group hug.

When the tears were drying, and had stopped falling, Zacky spoke up in a very soft, hurt voice, “I’m so sorry, Rayne. I shouldn’t have asked. I should,”

“Zee, babe, it’s okay. It was bound to come up eventually. At least it was here, where I had everyone’s support,” she interrupted him with a sniffle.

He nodded and wrapped his tattooed arms around her in a tight hug, holding her to him like he could erase all of the bad memories if he only held her.

Aiyana looked over at them from Brian’s arms, and then looked up at him. Brian didn’t say anything, and just looked into her beautiful blue-grey eyes. They had their silent conversation without any words, and kissed softly before Brian sat back down, placing her back in his lap.

“I think you owe us a story, old man,” Aiyana said to her father with a smile, feeling better in Brian’s arms.

Rayne laughed softly from inside the lefty’s warm embrace, and kissed his chest, just nuzzling closer into him. Zack half smiled, and sat down with her in his arms still not ready to let her go.

Yona chuckled, and they all turned their attention to the older man as he began his story.

Notes