“You don’t have to be blood to be family. Sometimes, loyalty is thicker than genetics.” –Trent Shelton

My Interpretation: Rafa did not always get it right. But he learned. He showed up. He stayed. & in a lifetime full of men who only knew how to leave – that makes him a goddamn miracle.

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🔥 Rafa

Grady’s cousin.
Should have been a name I forgot.
But somehow, he carved out this small, sacred place in my memory –

& stayed there.

Rafa was not loud internally.
He was not the middleman.
He never tried to smooth things over or justify Grady’s bullshit.
He just… showed up.
Steady. Curious. A little protective in that way men are when they actually pay attention.

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He never asked for my trauma story.
But when I hinted at it?
He did not flinch.
Did not change the subject.
Just listened – with this kind of quiet grief like maybe he had carried a few ghosts too.

In a world full of men who needed context to care – Rafa never did.

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We did not start off this strong.
I was better friends with one of his exes.
He was not the best to her.
But he got better.
Because he had to.

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Then life hit us both.
His mother died.
Mine died.
A week apart.

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He lost his girl.
I had just left Cade.
& suddenly – it was just us.

We held each other through it.
Not with hugs & crying on shoulders.
But with dark humor, roasted egos, & taco nights.
& that worked for us.

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Rafa & I?
Always platonic.
Let me be loud about that for the people in the back.
We have never crossed the line.
We do not even look at each other that way.
It would be like dating your cousin’s emotionally exhausted ex-sister-in-law.
We are repulsed by the idea.
But goddamn, we ride hard for each other.

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We have even thrown punches.
Literally.
Institution-raised hand-to-hand combat kind of energy.
We scrapped.
& Cade?
Cade just stood there.
Bug-eyed.
Didn’t even step in.
Classic.

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These days, Rafa’s softer.
Calmer.
A family man.
He is engaged now marrying a woman who does not take his shit, & I adore her for it.

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Anytime I visit, he knows
I expect tacos.
Every. Single. Time.
That is the deal.
That is the rule.

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He is one of the very few men who has seen me completely unfiltered –
& not once made me feel like too much.
He is not just family.
He is chosen family.

& I am proud of him.
In a way I never thought I would have to say out loud.

Xoxo ♡