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ALL I DO. { irl }
seeing as nobody besides matt even knew about niola's family in the first place, she didn't exactly feel comfortable explaining her decision in front of everyone. so she pulled matt back into his bedroom and sat down on his bed with him to explain things. again.
"well?" he asked, impatiently awaiting her clarification.
he didn't want to sound pushy or anything, but he was worried. what the fuck made her think that this was a good idea? she knows that living with her father – especially alone – would be hell for her. and he loves rayne. really, he does. but niola needs to think for herself every once in a while.
"listen," niola said softly, "i know that it seems like i'm going insane, but i swear i have a plan. but i need your support in order to do this."
matt instantly wants to help her in any way possible. "what is it? i'll do anything."
niola explains that her plan is to show the judge her burn wound. first of all, her father doesn't know that he even left a mark; second, he was so fucking high on the hard drugs he was doing that he wasn't even fully aware that he injured her so badly.
niola explains that she asked for matt's support because she needs him to unwrap the wound. this is because a 2nd degree burn can heal within less than a month whereas the court could possibly take up to three months for the divorce to be discussed.
matt is weary at first, not wanting her to be hurt anymore. but he knows that the ointment would do it's job to speed up the healing process. and niola needs to slow it down for proof of abuse.
she knows that her father won't risk hurting her again until then because he won't want the judge to know about his abuse. that's why niola agreed to live with him – she knows she'll be fine for the next month or so.
"i thought you just had to sign some papers to get a divorce?" matt questions. "why would this have to be taken to court?"
"if there's a disagreement between the couple, there might be a trial if it's severe enough." niola explains.
"why would there be a disagreement?" he asks. "won't you mom be happy to get away from him? even if she still loves him, won't she prioritize her children and finances?"
"yes." niola says. "but she'll fight for custody. and that's where the disagreement will come to play."
matt was a little worried about asking so many questions, especially since this topic is hard to talk about. but niola is answering his questions and filling all the gaps very patiently. she's not annoyed at all.
"are you nervous?" matt asks, placing his hand on top of hers.
"yeah," she admits, looking at the floor. "what if the judge takes my father's side? what if rayne and i are stuck with our dad forever?"
"that won't happen." matt promises. "if you show them that wound, they'll know what an asshole he is."
a smile tugs at her lips and she looks back up at matt. she grabs both of his hands and pulls him close to her before giving him a soft kiss. "thank you."
"for what?"
"everything."
"rayne?" chris says for the hundredth time, trying to get the small child to calm down and look at him. "ray, what's wrong?"
she's sitting on the floor rocking back and forth, too stuck in her own head to focus on anything going on around her. at first, everyone decided it would be best to leave her alone and allow her to process this at her own pace. but then chris noticed that she was crying and struggling to breathe steadily.
more than anything, chris wants to help her, but he doesn't know how because he's not sure what's wrong. all he knows is that her father is a dick.
nobody else is in the living room with them. matt and niola are in his room. nick is in the kitchen making awkward small talk with their dad. and camille is using the bathroom.
"hey," he says again. he's been trying to avoid touching because he doesn't want to startle her too badly, but he's not sure how else to get her attention. so chris hovers his hand over her shoulder and gently presses it to her skin. when he touches her, she jumps. she looks up at chris through teary eyes. "wanna talk about it?"
he sees the way she hesitates before answering him – like this is something she's either not allowed to talk about, or something she doesn't fully understand. "i can't."
"that's okay," chris says, "do you want a hug at least?"
rayne's eyes light up at the request. she doesn't wait before throwing herself into his arms and sobbing into his chest. she clings to his shirt like a fish to water. chris runs a hand through her hair as he assures her that everything will be alright.
he picks her up off the floor and carries her to the couch and continues to hold her in his arms as she cries out all of her frustrations.
.∘◦❀◦∘. a/n : i absolutely LOVE rayne and chris's relationship so so so so much bc he's literally the father figure she always wanted (but instead she was born to that price of shit 😁) ◦∘.❀.∘◦
