Savior

'Hey Mom!' I heard him say as he walked out of the room.

'What?!' I heard myself shout as I bolted straight out of bed and right on my feet. With that one word, my mellow and dreamy state was shattered as a boulder of fear and panic came crashing through my mind. Did he say Mom?! I stumbled after Ray blubbering nonsense until we reached the kitchen, where he raised his hand to silence me, and motioned for me to return to the room. I stood there panting and dumbfounded, and attempted to voice an objection, but failed. I scurried back to the room and paced back and forth while biting my lower lip and twiddling my thumbs. What will they think of me? What will they say? Will they approve? What will they do if they don't like me? All these questions flashed through my mind as I plodded around the room thinking of the worst case scenarios that could happen at our first encounter. I could imagine it all. Their scrupulous examination of every detail of my appearance, their looks of disgust and disapproval, the things they would say once they had privacy. My mind was thrown into chaos as I desperately tried to assess the situation. Ok, first of all, I needed to calm down! I abruptly stopped and took deep breaths as I tried to calm my pounding heart. I could hear the blood rushing through my ears, the lump that formed in my throat, and what felt like a hunk of metal that took place of my stomach. I plonked down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering what will happen. I was truly afraid of meeting his parents, seeing that I wasn't someone from a big shot family; instead I was a abused emo kid with a alcoholic father and a dead mother. I immediately winced and gritted my teeth as I thought of my mother. Such painful memories did not help with my mood at that moment, then again, thinking of her death and the reason why she died never help at all. I blinked away tears as I turned on my side and stared at the ticking clock with grim anxiety. The minutes were ticking by, teasing me, mocking me. Just how much time has passed? It seemed like an eternity, but it could have been five minutes for all I know. The last thing I wanted was for Ray's parents to disapprove of our relationship, I didn't even know about their standing with gay people! Ray never talked much about his parents, and when he did, it was just simple and basic tid bits of information that did not tell me much about their personality. Rich, successful, but barely ever at home, that was all that I knew of them. Pictures were scarce, and I presumed that the reason for that was the result of their absence at home and in Ray's life as well. I sat at the edge of the bed as I ran my fingers through my hair and let out a groan of frustration. This was killing me! I glanced over at the clock and praised my luck. The sauce would have been done simmering already. I did a silent cheer and pumped a fist in the air as I quickly leapt off the bed, hoping to catch a sliver of their conversation. I silently stepped down the stairs as I listened for Ray's voice, but I heard nothing but the clinked of glass. I didn't know what to feel at that moment, fear, relief? I felt fear because whatever they were talking about, would be unknown to me if it was something bad, but relief because then I wouldn't have been there to hear it. I made my way downstairs and padded to the kitchen, and arrived in time to see Ray down something from a short glass cup.

'Ray?' I said softly as I walked slowly into the kitchen. His head quickly snapped into my direction as he jumped.

'Oh, sorry to startle you,' I said timidly. Quickly, Ray washed out the glass and his mouth as he rushed over and pulled me into a tight hug. I felt myself gasp as I could feel that he was upset about something. Were they talking about me? Did they disapprove?

'What's wrong Ray?' I whispered as my bottom lip quivered. What if I was no longer welcomed here? What if they did not approve of our love?

'They're not coming home for thanks giving....' He said grimly as he gave me a squeeze. I breathed out a silent sigh of relief when I heard that, but now, Ray was upset.

'What do you mean?' I asked.

'They're not coming home in time...' he repeated glumly.

'What? Why?' I asked, feeling a bit surprised myself. I mean, I wasn't all hyped up about them coming home now, but I would think that maybe I would be ready to meet them by the time thanks giving rolled around. Besides, I would have thought that they would at least return home to spend thanks giving with their son!

'They're working...' he mumbled as I gently rubbed his back and kissed him on the cheek.

'Aw...I'm so sorry...' I replied. I really didn't know what to say for this, I didn't know what I could say to comfort him. Obviously he was looking forward to at least having some time with his parents, but they decided to trade it just to make more money.

'It's...not right...' I stated s I pulled away from him and quickly turned off off the stove and stirred the sauce a bit. I could feel anger rising in my chest when I said that. How could they do such a thing to their son? At least spend some time with him for christ sakes!

'I know...but let's not talk about it...please?' Ray pleaded softly as I opened my mouth to say more. I sheathed my sharp tongue, and walked over to Ray and pecked him on the lips as I hugged him.

'You hungry?' I asked gently. He shook his head no and silently laid his head on my shoulder. I softly patted his back, and took his hand and led him upstairs and pulled him onto the bed and held him tight. I heard him let out a sniffle. Alarmed, I looked up at his face to see his eyes were glistening. How could they do this? I repeated this question over and over. This was the first time I've ever seen him absolutely crushed, so much pain and sadness was written on his face, couldn't they see how much he loved them? Couldn't they spend some time home for once? Couldn't they see how much they were missing, how much their son was growing up, couldn't they see this at all?

'Don't worry....maybe they'll change their mind,' I said hopefully as I tried to give him some hope. I hated seeing him so down, and like how he was there for me, I was going to be there for him.

'I'm sure they will change their mind, it's a month away! They still have time,' I tried once again. I stared intently at Ray and saw that my words had minimal effect. I breathed out a sigh as I stared back into Ray's chest. I felt so helpless. I didn't know what to do in this situation, I never saw Ray down before! I was so use to being alone, I never really had to cheer anyone up but myself, and even those were mostly failures. I glanced up at Ray's face, and saw that he was just string off into space, lost in his mind somewhere. I wonder what he was thinking about. Maybe reminiscing of the times his parents were there? I really didn't know what to do, so, I did what I did when I couldn't say a word. I unwrapped my arms from his body, and held his face in my hands, and gave him a warm, tender, and long kiss. At first, he was unresponsive, but a few seconds in, he kissed back, and as time passed, he became more responsive. Our lips were crushed together as his hands went to the back of my head and his tongue invaded my mouth. I could hear him breathing in deeply as he kissed me, his chest heaving as I could feel a tear land in my hand. I hated it so much; I hated to see him in so much pain. I pulled my lips from his and kissed along his jaw line, feeling his 5 o clock shadow pricking my lips, till I reached his ear.

'I love you Ray...and I'm sorry that you parents couldn't come...but I'm hoping that we can still have a great thanks giving,' whispered, and returned to his lips.

'I love you so much,' he rasped as I pulled my lips from his. I smiled softly at him, and gave him a peck before burying my face into his chest while listening to his heartbeat. It was calm and slow, and his breathing returned to normal and his eyes were dry. After a few minutes of silence, I felt him give me a pat on the back, and I gazed up to a gentle smile that had formed on his lips.

'Thanks babe,' he said simply, and kissed me on top of my head. I smiled back and went up and gave him a peck. It still amazes me on how fast he can bounce back on his feet.

'I know it'll be a great thanks giving...and I think you know the answer' he said as he rolled over so I was on top. I cocked an eyebrow at him, and stared, signalizing that I wanted a precise answer.

'Because you're going to be there you dork!' He said happily as he squeezed me against him. I laughed and kissed him.

'You're so sweet.' I said softly.

'Not as sweet as you,'

'Lies,' I accused.

'No, it's the truth.'

'Uh huh,'

'Why can't you believe it?' he said with a chuckle.

'If I was sweeter than you, then everywhere I go people would get cavities,' I laughed. I had to admit, that was kinda corny.

'Regardless, I think you're sweeter,' he said as he kissed my neck. Things went silent for a moment as I felt myself blushing.

'You're blushing, I can feel the heat,' Ray breathed as he sucked on my neck. I playfully shoved his face off my neck and rolled off of him and sat against the headboard and crossed my arms.

'Still blushing,' he teased as I covered my face with his hands. It made me happy knowing that he was back to his old self again, he was so optimistic, something that I obviously wasn't.

Come on now, don't be like that,' he growled as he took hold of my wrists and pulled them off my face before kissing me. I giggled and shied away as he lowered my wrists as he kneeled in front of me and nuzzled my neck.

'You wanna know why you're so beautiful,' he whispered in my ear. I felt myself freeze up when he said this. I didn't think he would bring that subject up again, but then again, was he going to finally tell me why he was so attracted to me? Was it lust? Or did he love me just for me. Whatever it was, I was about to find out.