Raven won’t understand why this is necessary because she wasn’t there that night. She didn’t see those commandos sneaking around the homestead with enough firepower to wipe out the entire town. She didn’t see Brent Lorell’s brutality when he fought Liam in the barn. So, whatever objections she will undoubtedly voice constantly every fucking second we’re stuck together won’t sway me.
Nothing will.
“Let’s go.”
I set out through the trees, making my way toward the river. We’ll cut across the large clearing near it before taking to the thicker forest, where the dense trees and other vegetation will help cover our trail.
Raven mutters an unintelligible curse behind me and follows, her heavy footsteps that sound more like stomping echoing through the night.
I learned long ago how to move through the woods undetected, but there isn’t any point with Bigfoot behind me making all the noise. “Are you trying to draw predators our way?”
She stops. “Doesn’t sound scare them off?”
I shake my head. “Not always. Some animals, like bears, are naturally curious. They may come to investigate.”
“Shit.”
The fact that Raven has spent her entire life living in McBride Mountain yet hasn’t bothered to learn a single thing about the wildlife that lives here shouldn’t surprise me.
She’s never truly fit in here the way the rest of us do. Something about her always just seemed bigger than McBride Mountain and what it has to offer. Part of me thinks the only reason she stayed after we graduated was because she knew Willow would never leave, and she didn’t bail when Willow “left” because she always thought she’d come back. Now, I can’t imagine Raven ever leaving Willow’s side again.
Unless someone forces it.
“Just try not to stomp so much. They don’t care if you’re pissed at me.”
“You don’t either, apparently.”
I chuckle low, continuing to pick my way over fallen logs and around massive trunks in the darkness. “Why would I? You’re always pissed at me. This is your constant state.”
She releases a sigh. “That’s not fair.”
“It’s not?”
“No. Not when you’re always pissed at me, too. That’s a little hypocritical, isn’t it?”
I snort and keep walking, and soon, we step through the treeline and out into the clearing beside the river. The rushing sound of the rapids where we found Willow fills the still night air, and Raven suddenly quiets.
When I glance back at her, she’s staring at the rushing water.
Moonlight reflects off it, creating a silver scar across the small valley we stand in.
“Is this where you found her?”
I nod and point to the spot in the river where Killian dragged her out. “He found her right there.”
She swallows thickly, then squeezes her eyes closed, her hands tensing around the straps of her bags. “You know, I’ve never been up here…”
“I know.”
During the search for anything that might have told us what happened to Willow during that year, Raven preferred to stay in town, gathering her information from the search team members when they returned to civilization and helping try to track down any traces of her best friend through the very specific channels she has as a reporter.
She scans the water and the churning rapids. “She survived that?”
I nod. “And a lot more.”
There isn’t any need to expand on that.
We both know exactly what Willow suffered during her time away from us.
