Nightingale

"We could come to the hospital after school to do our homework then come home with you," he suggested.

Her eyes went to him in surprise.

He looked down at the beauty... drooling on his shirt, and smiled gently. He looked at Suzanne and saw she was stifling her laughter. "I want to be with Sam, in every way, but I think we have time. I think it would be better for us to ease into this. We don't have to experience everything right now. There are so many expectations on us already. We need to graduate with top grades and, helping each other; I think that's going to be so much easier than individually. I-I need to know how to live in your world." He gestured to the big TV. "This is all so unreal to me still. I'm having trouble accepting it."

Suzanne had tears of joy and relief in her eyes. "We will be here for you, Raphael. So will Gary. You can ask us anything."

"You like Gary?" Raph asked her curiously.

Her mouth dropped open as she'd realized she'd walked into that question. She looked at him cautiously.

"I'm not judging. I think, for a cop, he seems pretty nice," Raph offered.

"Yes. Yes, he is," she said with a warm smile and a little blush.

Raph just nodded and looked back at the TV.

Suzanne went upstairs and returned with the track pants and a pair of scissors.

"Thank you," he said and yawned.

"That's my cue to tell you it's time for you to go to bed," Suzanne said with a cheeky smile.

"First, I have to wake this one." He looked at her completely relaxed yet still lovely face. "Sam. Time for you to go to bed."

"NNNNUUHHH," she moaned as she woke to look at him blearily. She looked down at his shirt and saw the pool of drool she'd left there. Her eyes went huge. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" she gasped as her face turned deep red.

She looked at him and saw he wasn't revolted or repulsed. He was smiling at her embarrassment. "It's your fault for making me so relaxed!" she said haughtily.

Raph snorted as he pushed himself to his feet with a wince.

"The laundry room is just off the kitchen. There is enough for a white load, so if you want to give me that shirt, I'll add it in and get it started tonight." Suzanne suggested.

Raph nodded, undid the top buttons, then tugged it up and over his head. He handed it to Suzanne, who was looking at his bare chest, hard muscles, and smooth skin.

"Good night, mom!" Sam said as she also gawked at Raph's body.

"It's time for you to go to bed too, young lady. School night," Suzanne said, tearing her eyes away to snag Sam's sleeve, tugging her towards the stairs.

"But, but, but..." Sam whined as she pointed to Raph. He grinned at her.

"Good night, Sam. See you in the morning," he said, and just for fun, he bounced his pecs at her. She broke free from her mom and rushed back for a kiss. She squeezed herself tight against his muscles, and he gave her a tender kiss. As the kiss ended, Suzanne took another grip on her arm and tugged her away.

"Moooooom!" Sam groaned, but they left. He heard them start the laundry then head up the stairs. Suzanne seemed to be telling Sam about their earlier conversation, which was good.

Raph picked up the track pants and scissors. He made his way to his bedroom and measured the pants against his legs to ensure nothing would be hanging out of the pant leg. Then he trimmed the legs off. He got undressed and slipped on the new shorts. Not a fashion masterpiece, but they'd work for pajamas.

He went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth, and washed his face. Then he returned to slip under the covers of his wonderfully soft bed. He smiled as he thought of the two lovely ladies trying to make his stay as comfortable as possible.

Raph knew it was early days, but so far, so good. The potential for it to get better was there as well.

Sighing, he slipped out of bed and plugged in his cell before climbing back under the covers. He glowered at the device. He wondered if having a cell was going to prove to be an annoying leash.

Chapter 22

Sam was excited about going to school. The normal worry she felt about maintaining her grades no longer made her nerves buzz. She had Raphael to help her as she'd help him. They were going to finish this year as a team.

She was feeling a little nervous about what they were going to have to deal with at school. Raphael shut down Stephie at the mall pretty quickly, but there were a lot more kids in the school. She didn't care what they thought of her, but they could still make their day rather unpleasant.

Her mom dropped them off, and once more, she stood at his side as they faced the school.

"You okay?" he asked

She smiled up at him. "Yes. You?"

"Never better. Let's go."

She admired Raphael's profile as they made their way into the school. He looked so damn sexy in his new black dress shirt, tight grey jeans, and black boots. His black cane was a lovely accent. Especially as he wasn't leaning so heavily on it today.

They made their way through the hallways to her locker first. Someone had written spick lover on the door. Sam blinked at the words as she heard giggles from down the hall. She looked at Raphael. "That's not how it's spelled, is it?"

He shook his head and smiled at her. "No. Idiots."

She exchanged her books, and they made their way to his locker. They stopped to stare at the bent door. Someone had used a crowbar to bend the top down. The top of the door and the metal around it was badly scratched and dented as if the vandal had done it blindfolded. There was also the strong whiskey scent and a puddle of it on the floor under the locker.

Principal Jasper approached, looking apologetic.

"Mr. Graves, good morning. I'm afraid someone vandalized your locker. Did you have any personal items inside it?" the man asked with a pained expression.

"No, just some textbooks. I keep my stuff with me—"

"See! He's carrying drugs in his backpack!" Mr. McConnell barked as he lurched out of his classroom doorway where he'd obviously been listening in.

Sam looked at the man in shock. He looked awful! Bloodshot eyes, wild hair, rumpled clothes, and—she pulled back at the reek of booze, sweat, and vomit. He was trying to get at Raphael's backpack with his right hand while keeping his left behind his back.

"Mr. McConnell! Pull yourself together!" the principal scolded.

"What's that in your left hand, Mr. McConnell?" Sam asked loudly, and he turned to her with hate in his eyes.

Raphael glanced at her, then spun the teacher and pulled the man's left hand out behind him towards the principal.

"Let go of me, you fuckin' gorilla! AHH!" the teacher yelled as Raphael squeezed his arm. Harold's hand spasmed open, and he dropped the bag of pills at the principal's feet. Jasper looked down in surprise and bent to pick up the drugs. Raphael released his arms, and the teacher stumbled a few steps away.

"Harold?"

"They're his! They were in his locker!" the teacher gasped desperately.

The principal looked to Raphael apologetically. "Let your teachers know your textbooks need to be replaced, and they should speak with me. I'm very sorry for Mr. McConnell's behaviors."

"What about the... booze in his locker!" Harold yelled, stepping closer.

"You mean the whiskey you seem to have bathed in?" Jasper exclaimed.

The gym teacher looked at the principal and Sam like they'd gone mad. "What's wrong with you that you can't see him for what he is? He's a monster! He's a destroyer of dreams!" His voice was becoming shrill, and a crowd was gathering.

"Seemingly only yours," Raphael said.

With a scream of rage, the teacher reached into his pocket and yanked out a small pistol, but Raphael was already moving. He yanked Harold's right arm straight up, and the gun went off. The sound was deafening in the enclosed space, and bits of ceiling tile rained down on them. The crowd watching the drama screamed and ran.

Snarling, Raphael squeezed, and Harold screamed in agony as the bones in his wrist snapped and splintered. He continues to crush the joint until the man fainted and slumped to sit on the ground, held up by his destroyed wrist.

"Mr. Graves! Release him at once! It was a starter pistol!"

Sam eased forward and gently took the small gun from the teacher's limp hand and looked at it.

"It's a real gun," she said in surprise. She touched Raphael's arm, and he let go, letting Harold thump to the floor like a rag doll.

"What?" the principal gasped.

"Look at the ceiling!" Raphael shouted, pointing up, and again, Sam calmed him. She handed the gun to the principal, picked up Raphael's dropped cane for him, then pulled out her cell. She called the number Gary gave them.

"Sheriff Cooper." The audio was hollow, so he must've been on hands-free.

"Hi Sheriff Cooper, it's Sam Harris."

"Sam, what's happened?" he asked, instantly alert.

"There's been a shooting at the school."

"WHAT? Are you all right? Is Raphael okay?" the man exclaimed through the phone. She heard the sound of his car accelerating and the siren coming on.

"We're fine. Mr. McConnell had a gun and tried to shoot Raphael."

"Shit. How is he?" Gary asked cautiously.

"He passed out. I think his wrist is broken. Badly. He only managed to shoot the ceiling in the hallway before Raphael disarmed him." She saw Mr. Jasper kneeling with his cell held to his ear. "The principal is calling for an ambulance."

"Hang tight; I'll be there in a few minutes." The line went dead.

She looked up at Raphael and saw he was scanning the faces in the crowd, looking for other challengers.

There were no takers.

-=-

Wally was standing at the back of the crowd, but he'd heard what his coach said, and he believed him. Graves was a monster. He ruined everything! It had to be his fault that Roxanne was dead. She lived in the same complex as him, and if the rumors were true, his whore of a mother was found with Roxanne. She probably murdered Roxanne! Like son, like... mother? Whatever, she was a monster too!

Graves also hurt Victor! He fucked Victor's mom! Who does that? Victor's dad was in prison too! That fucking monster sent so many of his friends to the hospital! Now it looked like he'd hurt the coach, bad! Someone had to stop him!

He'd keep an eye on Raph today, and if he had the opportunity, he was going to take him down.

-=-

It wasn't until after the lunch period that Raph's day got back to normal. He'd given the sheriff his statement and answered the same questions again and again with one of his deputies. It was only Sam's calming presence that kept his anger in check. Now he'd been through three afternoon classes, and his day felt like it might be settling back into a regular routine. He hung back and let the other students file out. He paused when he heard his phone buzz—a text from Sam. He slowly touched out a message. Bus stop across stret and hit send before he noticed the typo. He frowned at the phone.

"Shit!"

"A strong emotion for an emotionless piece of technology," Margaret Picton said with a happy smile.

"Oh, sorry. I sent the message before fixing an error," he grumbled. Then he looked at the woman. "I'm so sorry for what you went through because of my crazy neighbor."

She nodded and gave him another smile. "It's over now. All is forgiven."

"But not forgotten," he said with a grim expression.

"No, never forgotten," she agreed softly. Then she gave herself a shake. "Life moves on, and so should we. Have a good evening, Mr. Graves!"

He smiled at her as he moved to the door. "You as well, Ms. Picton."

As he stepped out into the hall, the school felt like it was almost empty. The students made their way out after last class like rats fleeing a sinking ship. He walked towards the staircase with a frown on his face. His knee was feeling better today, but stairs were still a pain. He made his way to the top and was just stepping off when he heard the rapid thump of heavy feet behind him. Margaret screamed as Wally slammed into his back, launching him out over the stairs to crash down on the landing and crash against the wall. He dropped to the floor, stunned by the impact, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead.

"Back off! He's mine!" Wally yelled back at the teacher from the top step. He turned to face Raph, who'd rolled onto his back to stare up at him. Wally grinned down at him, then took two steps and launched himself into the air to slam feet first onto Raph's chest.

But he wasn't there when Wally landed. Instead, he'd rolled aside and braced the black cane against the floor, the handle catching Wally between his legs with his full body weight.

The aluminum cane bent slightly from the impact, and Wally collapsed into a fetal position, nursing the agonizing pain in his groin. He moaned in misery from nausea and the sharp pain in his balls.

Raphael painfully pushed himself to his feet. He'd managed to put most of his weight onto his right leg when he landed, so his left knee wasn't too bad, but he'd hit the wall pretty hard.

Margaret rushed to the top of the stairs and gasped when she saw Raph standing over the big man.

"Good night, Margaret," Raph said, holding her eyes with his. She nodded slightly, then walked away to take the far staircase, leaving him to do what needed to be done.

Raph looked down at the brute. Wally was going to be trouble. He was too stupid to give up and was too confident of his strength to scare off easily. He leaned down to listen to Wally moan. "What am I going to do with you, Wally?"

"I-I'm gonna kill you." Wally ground out between his teeth. "Like you're crispy whore mom."

Raph almost stomped on Wally's neck. As satisfying as that would be, he wasn't going to jail for murder. Wally wasn't worth it.

Emboldened by Raph's lack of retaliation, Wally decided to up the ante. "After I kill you, I'm gonna fuck Sam. The whole team is. We're all gonna fuck her tight ass."

Raph froze. No one hurt Sam. He slammed his fist into Wally's temple, bouncing his head off the floor. Then he leaned down and took a painful grip on Wally's ear.

"Do I have your attention now? Listen carefully. Roxanne Sparks was a psychopathic murderer. Even still, she was far too good for you, and now, you're never going to have her. Not that you ever stood a chance. She was too big a fan of my cock."

He'd gauged Wally's state of mind perfectly. Wally gave an agonized roar of rage and despair from deep in his chest as he struggled to get up. "Pitiful. Even at your very best, you were never going to have that skank." A crazed look came to Wally's eyes.

Raph made his way down the stairs and leaned on the bent cane as he walked down the hall to the front entrance. He could hear Wally coming after him in a staggering shuffle.

Raph exited the building and looked for a good spot to take Wally down. He was going to beat the man to within an inch of his life for threatening Sam. He needed witnesses to see Wally instigate the fight. He looked to the bus stop across the street and saw a group of women surrounding Sam.

All thought of Wally left his head as he set course for Sam. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt her!

He reached the sidewalk when he heard Wally burst out of the front door.

"GRAVES! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!"

The girls around Sam jerked away from her as they looked back across the street, wary expressions in their eyes.

Raph glanced to his left and saw the school bus taking on its last two passengers and, in the distance, a car approaching. Glancing right, the road was clear. He heard the heavy breathing of Wally, who was pushing through his pain, trying to catch up.

Now.

With a final glance at the school bus, he stepped off the curb and walked calmly towards the bus shelter across the road, where Sam and the group of women stared back in fright. He held Sam's eyes and saw worry then puzzlement in them as he made no effort to run. He heard Wally's gasps drowned out by the roar of the bus surging out into the roadway.

He took three long steps in quick succession and saw Sam's eyes widen in horror as the women around her screamed. Wally's scream abruptly stopped as the bus rolled over his body before coming to a squealing halt.

Raph continued to walk calmly towards the bus stop while the crowd swarmed past him. He held Sam's eyes to see if she'd reject him.

At first, confusion filled her eyes. Then shock, as she realized he'd known what would happen. The brief moment of doubt in her eyes sent a shot of pain through his heart, but that look quickly faded as her intellect worked the problem of Wally as he had. Her shoulders pulled back, and confidence returned. Finally, he saw acceptance in her gaze. A huge surge of relief swept through him.

Sam pulled out her phone and made a call.

Chapter 23

Graduating Day finally arrived, and Suzanne was beaming with a wide smile as she watched Raphael accept the scholarship award from Mr. Jasper. He'd worked so hard for it! She glanced to her left and saw Gary smiling and clapping as well. She loved this man, and she knew he loved her in return. She was going to have to do something about that... soon!

She faced the stage again and waved at Raphael, who nodded awkwardly to her in return as he made his way across the stage, no sign of a limp now as he was fully healed.

He'd become the perfect houseguest. He kept the house clean, much to the concern of the housekeeper, Maria. The woman had been informed that Suzanne would be selling the home and ending her contract anyway once the kids left for university.

Raphael was quiet and polite unless it was necessary not to be. He was always the one to answer the door when someone rang the doorbell or knocked. He had a wonderful way of turning away even the most persistent solicitors.

While not a talented chef, he made yummy breakfasts for them every morning.

Best of all, he and Sam had kept their promise to each other. They helped each other study, and both graduated at the top of their class.

Sam told her privately that they'd made another promise. This one was to refrain from having sex until they'd achieve at least the first of their goals. And they'd managed it. It wasn't easy for Sam as he was a very good kisser apparently, and he made her knees weak when he gave her those intense, smoldering looks.

Tonight, after the graduation ceremony, Suzanne was taking everyone out to dinner. She'd just decided that after dinner, it was time to see Gary's place. Raphael could drive Sam home in her car. She smiled at Gary, and he caught something in her look that made an eyebrow rise in question. She just blushed and looked away.

The ceremony came to an end with a loud cheer, caps flying into the air as the graduates smiled and laughed. Susanne saw Sam kissing Raphael off to the side, separate from the other students. While all of her friends had shunned Sam after she chose Raphael, Suzanne knew Sam had no regrets. After the tragic crippling of Walter Peterson, the rest of the school populace kept their distance from the couple. Even the name-calling and dirty looks stopped, apparently. Suzanne snorted to herself. It was almost like they were terrified of Raphael, as if he'd pushed that boy under the bus.

Shaking her head, Suzanne stood up with Gary and moved to meet her daughter and her handsome partner.

Then she noticed another man approaching Raphael, and she gasped as she froze in place.

"What's wrong?" Gary said instantly.

All she could do was point.

-=-

Raphael was tingling from Sam's kiss. She still had the most amazing lips he'd ever caressed with his own and looked forward to many more.

He was glad the ceremony was over. The envelope containing his scholarship was in his pocket, and he was finally free of this school. The path ahead was finally clear.