Chapter 35 - The Favour?

Chapter 35 - The Favour?
Raine

Raine woke with a start and instantly sat upright in her bed. She was breathing rapidly, sweat pouring from her and causing her hair to stick to her face and shoulders. The duvet had been kicked to the bottom of the bed, most likely from her thrashing around in her sleep she figured.

She looked down at the clock on her bedside and groaned loudly when she saw that it read 08:30. She grabbed the duvet and pulled it over herself as she fell back on to the soft mattress, her head lightly hitting her pillow.

This always happened on the nights after Maria had drained her during a full-moon. She was plagued with nightmares and they weren’t simple nightmares that scared little kids from their beds to seek the warmth and love of their parents. No, these nightmares were memories of her past. Moments that constantly replayed, where she should have done something or stopped someone, but didn’t. Always the same; the same outcomes and the same regret that filled her once she opened her eyes to the present day.

It was the residue hatred from Maria, Raine was sure of it. The Siren loved to inflict pain, especially to those standing in her way. She could never hurt anyone close to Raine physically, but Raine was convinced that it was her who was making her see her nightmarish past when she was at her most vulnerable; asleep. She just knew, somewhere in the recesses of her mind, Maria was laughing at her misery.

It only lasted a couple of days after a full-moon, but it was the part Raine always dreaded the most. She knew that she was secured and could never physically harm anyone, Sigmund wouldn’t allow it. But the visions in her sleep, they were a fresh hell every time. Hard truths she could never escape and mistakes she had to live with her entire life. Scars that travelled deeper than her flesh and Maria knew it, she had a VIP pass into those memories and knew Raine better than any other ever would. Raine was happy she couldn’t communicate with her, for she knew the Siren would remind her of these constantly in an attempt to drive her insane.

She glanced at the clock again, debating whether it was worth trying to sleep again or if she was better off getting up and just trying to function throughout the day with little to no sleep. With an exhausted sigh she decided there was no point trying to sleep because she knew she would just dive head first back into her nightmares and she’d rather avoid that. But she also wasn’t leaving her bed anytime soon either, she may have sweated a bucket load while in her sleep but her bed was still the comfiest and safest place she could think of and she was determined to stay wrapped in her duvet.

She was just considering popping a book open to read and to help her forget her horrifying nightmares when there was a soft tap at the door before someone turned the door knob and popped their head in.

“You’re awake!” Joe stated the obvious in a shocked tone.

“I am capable of waking up in the morning.” Raine huffed, throwing him a disapproving look.

“I suppose you are.” He chuckled, fully entering the room and closing the door behind him. “It’s just, I’ve seen more flying pigs than I’ve seen you awake before noon.”

“Haha, so funny!” Raine growled. “And pray tell why you have blessed me with your presence so early on this fine morning?” She asked, sitting up with her back against the headboard and her eyebrow rose questioningly.

“Ah, right…that…” Joe muttered nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

Raine watched him carefully. Joe seemed to be stuttering and unsure of how to speak to her, which had never happened before. He wouldn’t meet her eyes as she looked up at him and he kept on rubbing the back of his neck, which he only ever did if something bad was happening or going to happen.

“Joe!” He jumped when she suddenly called his name and finally looked her in the eye again. Raine patted the side of her bed, inviting him to sit by her which he cautiously did. “Joe, is everything okay? You seem…not Joe like today.” She commented, causing him to chuckle under his breath at her.

“Not Joe like huh?” He muttered. “I guess I don’t really feel like me, the last couple of days.” He sighed, rubbing his neck again.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, making sure to hold his eye contact this time.

“It’s complicated…” Joe struggled.

“Maybe I can make it un-complicated.” Raine smiled.

“If only you could!” Joe chuckled, but there was no humour in his voice. He closed his eyes tight for a few seconds before looking back at her with ones threatening to cascade with tears. “I need to ask a favour.” He swallowed, trying to keep his emotions at bay.

“Anything!” Raine vowed, even before knowing what the favour was.

“I know it’s your weekend off and your probably still exhausted from the full-moon…you probably just want to rest…” Joe started babbling, clearly trying to stall.

Instead of saying anything back to his constant babble, she simply placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a meaningful look. He stopped his babble immediately and stared back at Raine, his eyes seemed like they were searching hers for something urgently and it looked like he found what he was looking for. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before again opening them and smiling at her.

“I need you to come to the VIP Lounge performance tonight.” She nodded along, encouraging him to elaborate a bit. “Not to perform, I could just use some moral support…in case someone shows up…” He mumbled the last part.

“I will be there!” Raine replied as soon as he stopped speaking. She hesitated and watched him carefully before also asking. “Who are you afraid is going to show up?”
Joe looked away from her and down at his hands. Whoever it was clearly made him uncomfortable and he looked like he’d rather not talk about them. Raine was about to retract her question when he started speaking in a low whisper.

“Someone from the past…” Joe choked the words out.

Raine knew instantly what he was referring to, his past before Runagate. It was the past Joe must be running from, like everyone here. She didn’t know the details but she had always suspected that Joe might have been running from a someone rather than a something, though she had never broken the unspoken rule and had left him to his own devices when the subject ever arose. Even now, she was hesitant to try and get him to talk about it; it was none of her business after all.

“Joe, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’ll be here for you though, no matter what you want to do.” She assured him with another smile.

He finally looked up at her again and though there were now tears streaming down his face, he smiled back at her.

“Thank you Raine.” He said, placing his hand over the one she still had on his shoulder. “But I think I want to talk about it. I’ve held it in for so long, I feel like I’m about to burst and I just need to say the words to someone to help me release some of this stress.” He sniffled. “And you are the person I trust the most, so I know if I tell you things will somehow feel better.” He smiled at her.

Raine felt a strange twinge in her heart as she gazed lovingly back at her friend. To be trusted with this information was something unheard of here, even Sigmund didn’t know most of their stories. She was so touched by Joe’s gesture, she couldn’t help the tears that began to spill from her own eyes as she felt the bond of their friendship grow even stronger.

The moment Joe saw her also starting to tear up he pulled her in for a warm and tight embrace and she gladly hugged him in return. They didn’t say anything for a long time and just sat holding each other; there was no awkwardness, only the love of two friends trying to comfort one another.

Eventually they pulled apart and after they rubbed away the tears with their hands and the edges of Raine’s blanket, Raine settled back against her head board as Joe prepared to reveal to her his mysterious past.