When Will I be Loved

 KC wanted to spend some alone time with Harley, but that would not happen with Brick around.

He hated this. He didn't like himself these days. And seeing Maddie didn't help either. Sure, they gave each other the silent treatment, but after a few days of not seeing Rafe around, he had to ask, "What happened?"

Of course, she was in the middle of doing her laundry, giving off a scolding vibe. He wasn't supposed to be here, but he didn't budge.

"Did you and Rafe break up?"

Again, nothing. 

He started telling her about losing his phone. He must have talked about the love of his life, his old phone, for a good five minutes before she nodded. She went on with her clothes but was very discreet about not letting him see her panties or bras.

"Didn't you hear, Rafe ran away," Maddie sighed.

"Ran away?" KC squinted. "What are you talking about?" He couldn't help but scowl.

"I'm not seeing him anymore."

"Oh yeah, that artsy dude," he told her he noticed. "What do see in him?" He couldn't help but crack up.

"A lot more than what I see in you," she didn't smile. It was as if it was time he knew he needed to shut up. 

KC then told her he and Ruby had broken up. "I don't even know why," he wasn't terribly sad about it, yet he felt a little lost without her. "She just kept asking me if I had anything else to tell her." He knew he was talking to himself. Maddie wasn't listening. But then again, when had he ever listened to her.

We went searching through thrift store jungles

 

It was not a good day. Yes, Riley needed to face this. She knew they should have been there when the baby was born. She'd wanted to be there so badly. She'd even made time to take the time off, but NO. Melissa had other plans. It was making Riley fidget now. If only she could have been there for Em and Yuki.

"It's not a big deal," Melissa shrugged. "It's a baby." 

Melissa said she'd gone through it with her sister. And really, she found it boring and horribly disgusting. She winked about it in a rather tragic way as they were on their way to Em and Yuki's from Iowa.

"But I wanted to know, I wanted to be there for the birth," Riley fretted.

"Oh, get over it, will you," Melissa finally looked at Riley in the passenger side. "They wouldn't have let you be there for the birthing."

Melissa sighed heavily. Riley looked out the window at the grassy landscape patched with old farms. She was practically in tears. She wouldn't dare want to be in a spat with her girlfriend. They never ever really argued. Well, because Riley always made sure not to disagree. That was it. But now...she wondered if she was really being honest.

"I want a baby," Riley blurted while she watched a car pass on the partly cloudy day.

"A BABY?" She thought Melissa might swerve and put them in the wrong lane. Riley held on tight. "Are you crazy?"

Riley shot her a look, thinking Melissa was the one being insane. Melissa steadied the car and it was quiet once again. But a minute or two later while Melissa focused on the interstate after the traffic slowed down she said, "Don't get me wrong. Being an Aunt is one thing, but ..oh God NO. I just don't have the patience for it."

"Not even if it's our baby?" Riley looked at her a bit hurt. 

"Technically, it would be your baby," Melissa squinted as she pushed a stray lock out of her face.

"Well, I don't know how much longer we can be together," Riley scowled back. She hugged herself wondering how she could possibly go through spending a day with Em and Yuki.

The one where he didn't go away

Cade hated to be troubling to Maddie. Of course, he asked around as soon as he realized Rafe was gone.

"He could have been gone all weekend long, before I knew," His face tensed as he talked to Maddie who was with Rainy at the library. "You must think I'm the worst brother in the world."

"Oh, we know who's the worst," Her blueberry eyes said it all. She wasn't surprised.

"I know, but neither my dad nor I were much help. We were giving him the silent treatment." He hated to tell her how they had a falling out and Rafe wanted Cade to leave. Now Cade wondered if it would have turned out differently if he'd gone to Mercer's.  He nursed his bottom lip.

"Did your dad call the cops?" Maddie wanted to know.

"He said he would give it day or two, you know, see if he can find someone who might know where he went," Cade said he didn't go on his scooter and there wasn't any money missing. He couldn't think he would go far. 

"I know he quit at the coffee shop," Maddie was even lipped about it. She took Rainy's hand then as if to let him know who she took sides with. Nothing was going to tear those two apart. She looked determined not to feel bad about Rafe.

"I'm sure he's fine," Cade wanted to believe. He was so mad at his brother, but he was worried too.

Maddie nodded and took her books. The two went off to the table near the magazines.

"It's OK to be upset," Rainy let her know.

"But I don't want to be," Maddie blurted. "He always wants to make it about..about Rafe."

She couldn't help to be a little bug-eyed. "He's so-"

"What?" Rainy looked puzzled.

"Careless." She pressed her lips tight. "He doesn't care what he's doing to his brother, or even his dad."

"You don't think he ran away...because of you, do you?" Rainy's question hung in the air as if Maddie need to stop thinking that.

"No," she snapped. "I don't believe it for a second. I really don't. I had nothing to do with it." She pulled a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Let me get you a Lemon Lift tea." 

Rainy got up then. He already knew her favorite brew. Unlike Rafe who would get whatever tea pod there was at the K-Cup station. After he left Maddie licked her dry upper lip. She winced then, thinking how chapped her lips were. Finally, a laugh tickled her throat. Oh yeah, she must have kissed Rainy every chance she had. And despite dry lips, she was happy.

I'll take good care of you

 Rafe couldn't say what he'd gotten himself into. Actually, he didn't know Ruby at all. But at least she had an extra bed at the dorm since her roommate quit classes and moved out.

Still Ruby was adamant about one thing, she hated KC.

"Look, isn't that a little harsh," it made Rafe uneasy. Of course, it felt strange speaking up for KC who he knew never had much good to say about Rafe and his music or anything for that matter.

"No, he just used me," Ruby was bitter and the only thing to satisfy her bruting was some cheap wine. 

Rafe knew it could be worse, but she was making herself sick. And the place was a mess.

"Don't you think I look like Harley?"

"Hardly." Rafe squinted. What was he supposed to say. He just knew Harley was Brick's girlfriend. They were a couple. "What do you know?" Ruby asked.

Oh, he knew. She'd ranted about it. How KC was so close to Harley.

"Maybe..maybe she's like a little sister he never had," Rafe nodded. He'd heard it in a song. However, he needed to figure out the meaning. There was her place to worry about. The laundry room back home had been more inviting than this place with a wardrobe of clothes pitched about like small tents on the bed and the floor.

"Precisely," Ruby pouted. 

It was then she told him she'd put a lot of effort in being the Ruby that KC needed.

"He said you were from Scotland," Rafe remembered, at least that much.

"My mother is from Scotland," Ruby whimpered. She squatted on the floor as if she might be some sort of strange custom and she lifted the cheap wine to her lips and drank like there was no tomorrow which alarmed Rafe so he went to her as if it was what someone would do if they cared.

Big mistake, she fell in his lap. The bottle slipped and what little was left trinkled out on the floor. Rafe looked at it as if it might be blood. She mumbled something about how her mum wasn't around anymore and her dad who was an officer in the Navy had a new family.

"Why couldn't you tell KC?" Rafe asked, but in his heart, he wondered why he couldn't talk about everything to Maddie, but then again she never talked about her own family.

"He would have run from me!"

Ruby's arms clung around his neck. 

"No one likes sad stories," she said and that's when Rafe knew the meaning of misery loves company.