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“Let’s talk about the next item on the list…” I say.
“You really did write a list didn’t you?” Thorn teases. Rebel snorts as I glower at him, and even Baxter is smirking a little.
Well, I’m about to wipe that smirk off his face.
“I want to know where your rings are, Raven.”
All eyes swivel to Raven’s left hand, and sure enough, the smirk leaves Baxter’s face and is replaced by a scowl.
Raven quickly covers her left hand with her right but it’s too late, we’ve all seen the thin red ring around her finger where her sapphire heart ring and Rebel’s usually sit.
“They’re here,” Baxter says on a sigh, pulling the rings from his pocket. “She didn’t want to get them bloody when we were busy.”
“Don’t, Baxter,” Raven warns with a shake of her head. “Don’t lie to them. It’s not a secret. I’m not ashamed.”
She removes her right hand and holds up her left for all of us to see more clearly. A very distinct red line circles her finger like a ring.
“What the hell is that?” Rebel snarls.
“Baxter proposed to me...and I said yes?”
“What the fuck?!” Rebel yells.
“Asshole! We had a plan!” Thorn adds.
Ace chuckles and I shake my head. I fucking knew it.
“I thought you were engaged to Ace?” I say scathingly. I can’t help it. I’m fucking pissed...I’m...jealous?
“Guys, I started wearing that ring for all of you. I wanted to show you I’m committed but it seemed, I don’t know, unfair or something. That ring represents us, before, and Baxter didn’t feel part of it,” Raven explains.
I get that, I do, but Baxter knows we had a plan to propose to Raven together on holiday. We agreed to wait when the whole Lizzie debacle happened, but I feel like he went back on that and jumped the gun to get in ahead of the rest of us.
“Look guys, this doesn’t change how I feel about you,” Raven insists. “I was struggling. I wanted to help with Cordelia but I was overwhelmed and didn’t know how. Baxter offered to help me, to do it for me, as a wedding present and it just made sense to say yes...and I wanted to. I want to belong to all of you, equally. I know we can’t all marry, but for now, this is enough.”
I soften at her words but I’m still annoyed. Did he really have to carve up her skin like that? I saw the fresh cuts on the inside of her thighs when we came back from the holiday. I don’t agree with it, and I haven’t asked her about it, but I’m sure there’s a reason why they do it. I’m not stupid enough to think it would be against her will or anything like that. But still...I hate the idea of her suffering even more than she already has.
“I think good. Happy blessings.” Ace beams at them and Raven smiles back. He shakes Baxter’s hand and claps him on the back.
“I guess it’s fair,” Rebel mumbles begrudgingly, even though he’s already engaged to her.
“But dude, we had a plan!” Thorn whines. Baxter shrugs.
“I’m not sorry.”
“Wait, what? What do you mean you had a plan?”
“You know what Thorn’s like. He got some romantic bullshit notion in his head for all five of us to propose to you together,” I say dismissively like it was no big thing and we didn’t spend weeks planning it.
“When was this?” she asks, looking puzzled.
“We were going to do it at the end of the holiday but…” Thorn trails off.
“Lizzie.” She sighs and looks down at the table.
“Yeah.”
“Guys—” she begins, looking up.
