“Are you a virgin?” Donley’s words echo in my head, growing louder and louder until, until it wraps around my organs and squeezes.
Why did he need to know this? What does he want with me? If I’m Brayshaw, why would he dare touch me?
I gasp, trying to breathe, but my lungs refuse to allow it. My vision clouds, the water beating into my eyes.
Or maybe it’s tears?
Slamming my palm into the wall, I growl, but it comes out broken and sharp, and my knees give way, sending me crashing against the tile beneath me.
With my knees bent, I drop my forehead to the floor.
My body shakes with what must be my own tremors, and I again gasp for air.
Two arms wrap around me and suddenly my back is covered, arms locked around my knees.
Victoria lays across my back, clothes on and all, whispering in my ear like I imagine a mother would a child and eventually my lungs expand and I close my eyes.
The irony, though, is closing our eyes is what puts us at risk.
Demons love to play in the dark.
Victoria rolls a joint while I brush my hair, staring out the window.
Raven Brayshaw.
What the fuck.
Donley, the bastard he is, worded himself real careful, purposely slipping in that he’d spoken to Rolland. Rolland, who just today asked his sons not to say anything, told them he couldn’t be at their game, because he didn’t want Graven to know he’d been released.
The sick fucking part? I believe Donley. I think he really did speak to Rolland.
So, what’s that say about Daddy Bray?
I frown. The boys won’t understand.
The flick of the lighter catches my attention and I turn around to find Victoria watching me.
“It’s ready.”
“Light it.”
She scowls but does it, and I drop beside her.
“Remember all that Brayshaw knowledge you dropped on me?”
“Don’t say it, Raven.”
“It was true. They’re like Robin Hood without the thieving. Dark knights in Dior.”
She scoffs, and I laugh.
“I read the name on Royce’s cologne.”
We both laugh.
“Do you like it here?” she asks, passing me the joint.
I take a long hit, coughing as I blow it out. I clear my throat. “I like them,” I tell her. “But ...”
“But it’s scary, too?”
I glare at the vaulted ceiling. “I don’t understand it. They make me stronger, but at the same time that strength wears like weakness.”
For every burden lifted, a new weight falls.
“It’s not easy to trust people when you’ve learned not to,” Victoria mutters.
“Yeah, but how can someone bigger and bolder than me, feel like a slip-up?”
“Because, Rae, you said it since the beginning, you wanted to run away from the world, hide in your own corner when the time came.” We turn our heads on the mattress to look at each other. “I’m guessing that would be damn near impossible now, yeah?”
“I could never leave him. I could never leave any of them.”
“And what about him? Do you think he’d ever give you up?”
“No,” I answer honestly, maybe a little too sure.
She gives a grim smile. “Then accept his world for what it is.”
“And what is it, exactly?”
“It’s a man’s world, we’re just the dolls they prep along the way...” She trails off, so much conviction in her voice it makes me think she, too, is conflicted.
I look back to the ceiling, watching the smoke she blows float up until it disappears.
My mind flashes to earlier in the limo – me, laid out and positioned at their will, legs spread, vag out for all to see.
I was the doll tonight, all right.
But again, why? And what did the doctor mean when he said he now found himself in an impossible predicament? He knew what he was set to do before I was even dropped in that limo. He had to have or he wouldn’t have had his little tools on hand. So, what was it that suddenly caused him to question his move?
With a deep breath, I tell her, “Rolland Brayshaw is home.”
When she doesn’t say anything, I look her way.
She glowers. “Why’d you just tell me that? I told you, I don’t want confirmation on anything related to them. It’s better ... safer not to know.”
I shrug. “You’d have found out soon enough.”
She hesitates a minute, and then asks, “Have you met him?”
I scoff, looking away. “Yeah, I met him.” Thirteen years ago...
“That’s crazy.”
“It gets crazier.” I stand and grab my jeans off the floor, digging into the pocket.
I toss the crunched-up paper at her.
She eyes it, then slowly starts to shake her head.
“Just open it.”
“Tell me what it is, I don’t need to see it.”
“Stop being such a pussy,” I snap. “You won’t believe it unless you see it.”
Her eyes narrow. “Try me.”
“Apparently my mom is Brayshaw by blood.”
Her jaw drops but nothing comes out.
My brows lift. “Told you.”
She opens the envelope.
“We should go up there.” I look between my brothers.
“We should not go up there.” Cap frowns.
“We should go up there ... naked.” Royce grins drunkenly.
The three of us laugh, falling back against our seats.
The second we do, Victoria comes down the stairs, slowing when she spots the three of us laid out on the furniture, eyes on her.
“What’s she doing?” Royce asks.
“Waiting for me,” she tells him, walking straight over to where we are.
She picks up our half-empty bottle and moves back for the stairs.
“That’s it, we get no love?” Royce laughs, and Cap smacks him. “You at least want the shot glasses?”
“Nope!” she shouts just before she’s out of view.
“We just got jacked?” I look to my brothers. “We really gonna let that happen?”
Cap and Royce both give goofy ass grins then we’re stumbling to our feet and charging up the steps. Once at the landing, we pause, and Cap reaches back so Royce doesn’t fall back down.
Victoria laughs at us and rolls her hand out with a smirk. “She knew you’d be right behind.”
I glare and step past her, finding Raven sitting up against her headboard, pajamas, wet hair, and all.
“Come, take your spot, Big Man.” She pats the seat beside her.
Royce rushes past me jumping on the bed first and she laughs, shoving him away.
He smiles and kisses her temple, then moves to sit against the wall.
Victoria takes Raven’s left side while I take the right, and Cap sits in the chair near the window.
Raven pulls out the iPod Royce bought her and sets it on the little doc I moved in here for her, letting music blare through the speaker.
We pass the bottle around until it’s gone, no shot glasses needed.
Fuck of a Monday.
Raven’s alarm goes off and my eyes peel open, spotting everyone still sitting in the same positions as last night.
One by one, they groan and stretch, their eyes slowly opening.
Raven grunts, dropping her head to my shoulder. “For the first time, I wish I’d listened to you and shut the damn curtains,” she whines. “Fuck the sun.”
I grin, pulling her tighter against me and she peeks up, smiling.
“Hey, Big Man.”
“Hey, baby.” I lower to kiss her, but Victoria’s fake gag has my glare jumping up.
Royce and Cap chuckle lightly and I look to them, moving Raven off me.
“Come on, we have to leave in thirty.”
“Thirty,” Royce whines. “What? It takes longer than that to look this good.”
&nbs
p; Cap rolls his eyes. “You know Raven sets her alarm for the latest time possible.”
“Just enough time to wash my face, brush my teeth, and get dressed,” she mumbles into her pillow, pulling the blanket over her head. “No need for anything else.”
Cap winks at me, nodding his head. “Well, we could stop for coffee—”
“I’m up!” She throws the comforter back, throwing herself up.
“That’s what I thought,” he teases, walking from the room.
I wait, looking to Victoria who stands and slips her shoes on.
“I’m leaving right now,” she says, not looking up, but sensing eyes on her.
Raven kicks me, and I glare.
No.
She lifts a brow.
I give her a look that says you owe me, baby and she winks.
“Victoria, you can ride—”
“I said I’m leaving.” She stands, grabs her jacket and nods at Raven, before slipping past me. I follow her to the front and lock the door behind her.
It takes us twenty minutes of throwing ourselves together to get out the door.
Raven’s hair is dripping wet and I’m pretty sure she’s wearing Royce’s sweats and my hoodie, but she doesn’t give a fuck.
She steals Cap’s glasses off his head and slips them on, dropping against the seat.
Cap stops on the way, and everyone gets their usual, but Raven hardly touches her maple bar, instead passing it up to Royce, and we head for school.
Not until the engine is killed and we’re sitting in the parking lot does Raven starts talking, acknowledging what we learned for the first time. “Some people will know. They’ll have heard from the warehouses.”
“They’ll be too afraid to spread the word too loud,” Royce tells her.
“Who told you?” I ask Raven. “Was it our dad?”
The corner of her lip tips up slightly, and she shakes her head no. “Same person who told you, I’m betting.”
“Oh shit,” Royce whispers, while Cap spins in his seat.
“Donley came to you.” I glare, growling, “When?”
“After the game.”
I pull the glasses from her head and she hesitates before lifting her eyes to mine. Her stare hardens, but she keeps them locked firmly on mine, and my nerves are triggered.
She wigged the fuck out last night, went off the wall...
“Raven, what the fuck happened?”
“I feel like shit and this conversation won’t be a quick one.”
“Baby.”
One of her hands slips into mine while she uses the other to guide my face closer.
“Be right back,” Cap suddenly announces, and so Royce follows him out.
Raven keeps her stare on me and her eyes gloss over, but she blinks it away just as quick.
Was she about to fucking cry?
“I’m good, Big Man. We’ll talk tonight, I promise.”
“No. And stop fucking telling me you’re good. I need to know now.” I glare, unable to hold it in. “Did he hurt you? Did he fucking touch you?”
She gives a sad smile. “There was nothing sexual about his visit,” she says and my head snaps back.
“The fuck does that mean?”
“Vienna helped him. She tricked me, got me outside and drugged me.”
“You fucking kidding me?” He pushes forward in his seat, shifting to look at me. “And you didn’t fill us in on this shit last night?”
“It gets worse—”
“Worse?!” he cuts me off with a shout.
“He had a doctor with him.” She pauses a moment before saying, “He needed to know if I was a virgin.”
“The fuck—”
The door flies open, interrupting us, and a wide-eyed Royce pops his head in before she has a chance to respond. “Cap’s ‘bout to wail on Perkins!”
“Shit!”
We both rush from the vehicle, running behind Royce until we spot them.
Mac and Jason, another teammate of ours, are blocking the halls, making sure nobody gets through, nodding as we rush into the student body office where Captain has Perkins against the wall.
Raven darts forward, but I grip her by the hood and hold her back.
“You think you’re so fucking smart, but you flipped your cards one by one without even knowing it, you piece of fucking shit.”
“Get your hands off me,” Perkins growls.
Captain slams him against the pegboard and it smacks them both in the head as it falls to the floor.
They’re about the same build, same height, but Cap is stronger, not that Perkins is fighting back.
“What are you gonna do if I don’t, huh? Threaten my baby girl again?” he spits in his face and Perkins’ jaw ticks. “Because I’m done with it. One more fucking thing and I’ll break your jaw, then every rib, one by fucking one.” Captain starts shaking.
“I’m helping you!” Perkins insists, and my eyes slice to meet Royce’s.
“By hiding my fucking kid?!” Cap bellows in his face. “By working with Graven? And I found your fucking card last night, motherfucker. Did you send Donley after her?”
“Captain,” I snap, needing to know what the fuck is going on, but he only grows angrier, no sign of letting up to be found.
I let Raven go, and knowing what to do, like she always does, she steps closer. “Cap,” she says softly, and just the sound of her voice is enough for him.
He freezes, his eyes cutting over his shoulder and zooming right in on her.
Perkins frowns, his stare bouncing between Raven and Captain before flying to me.
My eyes tighten at the concern in his.
He’s troubled to see the effect she has on Cap? Why?
Captain drops his chin to his neck and jerks away from Perkins, but just as quick he spins, nailing him clear across the jaw, sending him flying to the floor. He follows and gets in a few more solid punches before we pull him off, and not once does Perkins try and fight back.
Captain yanks free, his hand dripping with Perkins’ blood. He walks from the office and we follow him to the empty locker room.
“His blood’s all over you,” Raven points out and he nods, looking away.
“You good, man?” Royce asks.
“Yeah.” He nods, not looking at us. “Can you guys give me a minute?”
Raven grabs both our hands and drags us out where we lean against the frame.
“He’s fucked up right now,” Royce says quietly.
“He’ll be fine when she’s home.”
“Will she come home?” he challenges.
“She has to.”
Raven closes her eyes, her hand coming up to her temple.
I frown, moving closer. “You look like shit.”
“I think I’m gonna be sick.”
Royce’s brows jump and he shoots across the hall, quickly coming back with a garbage can from the closest classroom.
She takes it as sweat starts to form at her hairline. “Shit, I need some air.”
“Come on.” I start toward the back exit, turning back to Royce. “Wait for Cap.”
We get outside, and she runs her hands down her face, taking deep breaths before dropping against the wall.
“No way I’ll make it through the damn day.” Her forehead scrunches, her hand flying to her stomach, and she starts to gag.
“Fuck, all right, we’ll go.”
“Go where?” Cap and Royce step out.
“She’s hungover as hell. Needs to go back home.”
“Just drop me off.”
“Yeah, fucking right.”
She rolls her eyes. “You guys have your championship pep rally bull, I’ll be fine.”
“Watch her.” I look to Royce who drops beside her while Cap follows me inside.
I head for my first period, the class I happen to share with Victoria.
The teacher cuts herself off when I walk in and all heads raise.
Victoria glares.
“Come on.”
/> She looks around. “What?”
“I said come on.”
“What are you doing?” she hisses. “People are staring.”
“So.”
“So, go away.”
Captain groans and moves to pick her up, but she darts from her seat.
“Okay,” she rushes out, lifting her hands. “Fucking fine. I’m going.”
We follow behind her into the hall then lead her to the back.
“I’m dropping you off with Raven. Don’t leave her side.”
“I’m not leaving school. I actually want to graduate.”
“I’ll pay you to sit with her, all right? I’ll get your workload and make sure you have no late marks on your assignments. Now, shut the fuck up and everyone to the truck.”
I wake up to the padding footsteps in the hall. Glancing over, I find Victoria passed out right beside me, so I quietly sneak from the room.
I freeze when I spot Rolland coming out of Maddoc’s room.
He too pauses, but he recovers quicker than me.
“You’re home.”
“Surprise.”
He nods, slipping his hands into his pockets. “I assume now is a better time than later, hm?”
“Sure.” I glare, then turn and walk down the stairs.
I drop onto the recliner and he chooses the ottoman.
“So you must—”
“Just be blunt,” I tell him.
“All right. First, know that I will deal with Donley Graven. He was specifically instructed to stay away until the time came.”
“What time would that be?” I eye him.
“There is much you’ll need to learn. This world is bigger than our town, but we’ll get to that.”
“So it’s true then, what he said?”
He holds my stare a moment before nodding slowly. “You are of Brayshaw blood, yes.”
“And you’ve known this entire time? Since I was young.”
“Why do you think I came for you?”
I scoff, calling him out. “Not because I’m Brayshaw.”
He tilts his head, regarding me. “Why do you say that?”
“Because if that were the case, you wouldn’t have taken no for an answer. I’d have been in your car regardless.”
“Yes and no,” he answers. “It’s more complicated than you realize.”
I nod. “An easy, clean answer. I should’ve expected that.”
“What makes you say that?”
“You know, you’ve trained Maybell real good in the act of ambiguity, too.” I eye him. “I’m a good judge of bullshit and that’s all you’ve given me.”
Trouble at Brayshaw High Page 26
