Ruth hadn't prepared herself for any company for the night.

There wasn't a lick of make-up, a breath of mental preparation, a pair of sweats, a bra- nothing. She didn't even get the chance to pull herself together as she stared wide-eyed at the man behind her frazzled state. Her lips had fallen open in the midst of her shock, her fingers clenching tighter and tighter around the door knob.

Before Ruth could even attempt at uttering a name- any name at this point, the man before her, with his sad eyes and frowning lips as his hands were tucked deeply into his pockets, spoke before she could.

"Can I talk to you?" Raffo murmured, his gaze scanning over her features.

Wordlessly, she moved to the side, silently encouraging him to enter. He walked passed her and into their apartment, muttering a low 'thanks' on his way in. Ruth was still at a loss for words, so she trained her focus on closing and locking the door behind him instead of finding the right words to say. An y sort of prolonging she could find, she wanted to do.

But she knew she couldn't prolong the situation. Not when a part of her was relieved to see him there with her, to see him wanting to talk and hopefully answer any questions she had for him. Raffo's situation was serious and needed to be treated as such.

Ruth used that thought to take in a deep breath and turned around to face Raffo, who sat on the couch with his elbows resting on his knees. The repetitive bouncing of his knee made her tilt her head curiously, as she slowly made her way over to him, her nerves jumbling tightly in her clenched stomach. When she sat on the couch beside him, she made sure to stay a good few inches away, through her attentive eyes stayed trained on him the entire way over. She clasped her trembling hands in her lap, unsure of what was to happen.

And when he finally looked up at her with those pretty brown eyes of sadness, something inside her chest broke.

"I'm sorry for Friday," he said, quietly. "None of what happened with Roger was your fault. I want you to know that."

Ruth grimaced in dismay. "I shouldn't have just shown up—"

"Phoenix told me she went to the park and that you just wanted to see her home," Raffo interrupted, his voice soft. "I really appreciate you doing that for her. You didn't have to . . . and you did. There was nothing wrong with you wanting to make sure she was safe."

Ruth stayed silent.

"What happened that day was Roger's fault. Nobody else's," he continued. He caught Ruth's questioning eyes briefly before turning his gaze to his fingers that clenched and unclenched three times until every knuckle was cracked. "Roger isn't—he's not my father. He's my mother's husband and the father of my two sisters, but he's not mine. He never has been and never will be."

His voice hardened, hatred dripping in his voice as his nostrils flared. Ruth quietly listened to whatever Raffo had to tell her. She'd save her questions for after he was finished if she had any. Raffo needed her ears, not her mouth. And she'd give him whatever he needed in his time of uncertainty and pain.

Sometimes, a person just needed you. They don't want to hear the words you have to say or the advice nobody ever asked for in these situations where they aren't asking for help. It's the unspoken words, the lending ears, that speak the loudest. A silent support that spoke so much louder than anything anyone could say.

So that was exactly who Ruth was going to be for Raffo. For however long he needed it.

"My father left for the military a few years after I was born," Raffo began, his face carved out of stone. His crumble came from within. "He was everything to me. I remember seeing my mother smiling and dancing Fancy Shawl. I remember watching my father tell stories of animals in the woods through hand shadows on a wall and explaining my family's travel to Oklahoma through the Trail of Tears. He knew the right words to say all the time and loved us—loved me."

There was a brief pause, as if what he was going to say was going to be graver. Darker.

"Like I said . . . he was everything," he echoed, eyes vacant. "Then one day he just . . . found someone else in his unit. He wanted a new wife to dance with in the kitchen at night, a new son to tell shadow stories to after his other one got too old for them. He wanted a life without us. Five years is too fucking long for someone to be around, I guess. So, mom left him in Arizona where we were stationed after I was born and came back to Oklahoma so we could be with Svpokni. And we were fine here for awhile. Four years, actually."

There was a heavy pause, a darkness that lingered in every corner of the small living room space. Ruth swallowed thickly.

"And then she met that fucker," Raffo scoffed, his hands clenching into tight fists. "She was working at a bar in the casino and he just happened to be the one asshole she got on with. Next thing I knew, we were moving in with him a few months after my mom became pregnant with my first sister, Ava. And that's when everything just . . . fell to shit."

Raffo leaned back against the couch, closing his eyes painfully shut. The Adam's apple in his throat bobbed with the thickness of a harsh swallow. "I never liked him. And neither had Svpokni. Especially when I came to her house with my first bruise at eleven, right after Ava was born."

"It only got worse from there. Bruises, broken bones, cuts. I stepped in for mom and Ava when he got angry, and it wasn't until Svpokni took me in for a few years that it wasn't as often. But then when she- when she died I had no choice but to move back in with mother. She can't take care of my sisters on her own. Not when fucking Roger spends all of their money in the casino or on alcohol like the cheap bastard he is. She could never afford to leave him, not that she'd ever want to. She needs what little money he gives her to take care of Ava and Phoenix when she can."

Ruth's heart clenched at the thought of Raffo being trapped in a situation he couldn't get out of. Her soul bled for the vulnerable man who sat crumbled and wounded before her. His jaw was shaking now and she just wished she could take his pain away from him.

"Everyone around here knows Roger's a piece of shit, but only a few know the extent of it. That's why Mirana and I were so close as kids. She knew everything and understood it all. She helped me and helps with the girls if I need it. I don't like . . . I don't like needing someone's help," Raffo opened his eyes and looked over at a speechless Ruth. The emotion spinning in the depths of his brown eyes made her lips quiver. "The thought of someone that I care about helping me, only to get hurt by that fucker is . . . shit, Ruth; it's unbearable. I can take it. I've always taken it. But seeing you so close to that happening it just—it broke something in me. When I went off on you, I did it—"

"To protect me. You wanted me to leave before he could get the chance to hurt me," Ruth finally spoke, her voice soft.

He nodded his head, his eyebrows furrowing. "I never would have let that happen, but I couldn't risk it. I couldn't risk you, Ruth. You getting hurt . . . because of him . . . I can't live with that."

"But he hurts you," she whispered brokenly, as her voice shook. "How can you expect me to keep quiet and pretend like it's okay? To be like Mirana and act like it's safe for you to return to that place every night just to get hurt? I—I can't just let you go back to that. I won't!"

Raffo's shakily released a breath as he reached across the short distance between them to caress her wet cheek. She hadn't realized she had started crying again until the tears flowed into the crook of her nightshirt and his thumb wiped the lingering ones on her cheekbones away.

"Don't worry about me," he said firmly, though his voice was gentle. "I have everything handled. I know what needs to be done, and I need you to trust that I know what's best. I'm fine, and I always will be. I just need to save up more money—"

"Let me help you then," Ruth interjected desperately, holding onto his hands tightly. "I'll get a job and I can—"

Raffo shook his head sharply. "No. I have to do this on my own. He's never raised a hand to my sisters or my mom, so it doesn't matter how much time I need to take. I have a plan and I know what to do for my sisters. That's all that matters."

"No it's not," she croaked. "You matter too!"

A sad smile tugged at the edges of his lips. The padding of his rough thumb rubbed her skin soothingly. "Just trust me, aiukli. Can you do that?"

"I—of course I can. But—"

"Good. Then that's all I'll ask of you, Ruth. Just trust me."

Ruth's eyes overflowed with more tears and she shook her head, sobbing harshly. Raffo drew her forehead against his with his hand still holding her face to him lovingly. She pushed herself completely into his arms and gave him the biggest hug she could muster, her body falling into his lap as she wrapped both arms around his neck.

His lips delved into her hair, his fingers holding onto her damp curls. He held onto her for dear life and she never wanted him to let go. She could never let him go, especially now that she knew the truth. He was being abused, but he was an adult and wanted to make his own choices on how to handle it. Though she felt powerless, and wanted to report the asshole, she knew he had this handled. He needed the money to support his family enough without Roger. She had to trust him; even if it killed her to do it.

Raffo had a plan, and she supported him enough to believe he'd see it through. He had to see it through.

"Thank you," he whispered in her ear, his voice light with relief. She wrapped her fingers into his hair and held him to her. "Thank you, Ruth."

"Just—just please be safe," she whispered back, pulling back to look into his face. Overwhelmed with agony, she lurched forward and pressed her lips to his.

Raffo's fingers dug into the sides of her waist tightly, almost possessively, like she was what tethered him to the earth instead of gravity. His mouth was hot and eager against hers, pushing his desire, his fear, his broken sorrow all into her as if she herself wasn't feeling these things. But she'd carry the burden for him that night. If he needed a distraction, she'd gladly give it. If she was what he needed, she'd give herself to him without question.

When his tongue snaked between Ruth's parted lips, she melted into his deep massage. He twirled her into an everlasting dance that she never wanted to end. She'd do anything to keep him there, anything to prevent him from going back. She wouldn't relax until she knew he was safe. And the only way to ensure that, was to keep him with her, as selfish as that was.

Raffo needed her that night and she needed him.

"Stay with me," she begged against his lips, her voice thick with longing. "Stay with me tonight."

Ruth's fingers pulled at his sweatshirt and shoved the thick material over his head. Her fingers were desperate to find the warmth under his cotton shirt as she gathered the fabric in her bunched hands. Raffo's rough hands found her thighs that surrounded his waist and gripped her tighter to him.

"I'm not going anywhere," he breathed into her. When he pulled back to look at her, she watched his eyes flicker with a bright warmth that left her breathless. "I'll always stay with you."

Ruth's hand skimmed the side of his face until her thumb caressed the half-moon of his lower lip. "You swear it?"

He tugged her closer to him by the hem of her shirt, staring up at her with half-closed eyelids and parted lips that were already starting to swell. She shivered at how gorgeous he looked below her.

"I swear," he promised, kissing the corner of her lip. His thumb rubbed at her heated skin and a ripple of pleasure crashed into her body.

She pushed her lips back to his, coaxing him into a passionate kiss that neither one of them could resist. She didn't know when he decided to take her to her room, but she was more than grateful for it. Though the girls wouldn't be back for a few more hours, she wanted privacy in her own space.

And from what she gathered, so did Raffo.

*****

notes: translation (from choctaw to english)

♡ aiukli - beautiful

♡ svpokni - my grandmother