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I ball my hands into fists and grind my teeth, ready to yell at him.
“Calm down,” he says, putting his hands up in front of him. “You need to listen to me, okay? I know you want to go out there and see if she’s … her.” He swallows audibly, looking a little frazzled, which is a big deal for Zay. “But think about it.” He lowers his hands to his sides. “If, by some weird chance Raven is … Willow, she probably doesn’t know she is, unless she was lying about having amnesia and is playing us. Both scenarios aren’t good. I mean, if she doesn’t remember and you tell her, you’re going to either trigger her forgotten memories or have to tell her everything that happened, which …” A shaky breath falters from his lips as he stares at the floor and crosses his arms. A crinkle forms between his brows then he lifts his gaze to me. “Do you really want to do that to her? Tell her what happened in that fucking house?”
I smash my lips together and shake my head. “No.”
He blows out an exhale. “And if she does know, then clearly she’s been playing us.”
“Why would she do that?” I whisper. “Willow … Raven, she’s not like that.”
“Shewasn’tlike that,” Zay stresses. “But we haven’t seen her for years and a lot can change in that time.”
“I know.” I breathe in and out, trying to compose myself. “Why did our fathers tell us she died?”
The muscle in Zay’s jaw pulsates. “Who the hell knows? It could be part of one of their many games, or they may have just wanted to take the one good thing we ever had away from us.”
Silence drifts by, and I can hear my heart hammering inside my chest.
Raven might be Willow.
Willow might be Raven.
Willow might be alive.
“What if Raven is really her?” I whisper.
“What if Raven’s really who?” Hunter appears in the doorway then, his gaze skating between Zay and I. “What the hell happened?” He steps inside the room. “Why do you both look like you just saw a ghost?”
“Because it kind of feels like we did,” I say then take the photo from Zay so I can show Hunter. But I’m interrupted by a scream coming from my phone that I wasn’t even aware I dropped on the floor.
“Shit.” I rush over and pick it up. “Raven?” My voice is shaking. “Raven, what happened?”
Nothing but silence is my answer. At first anyway.
Then someone speaks, and it’s not Raven.
“Do you remember the game?” a guy says into the phone.
Hunter is right beside me at this point. “What the hell is going on?” he hisses.
I move the phone away from my ear and put it on speaker. “What game?”
“Oh, come on, Jaxon; I thought out of the three of you, you were supposed to be the smartest.” The guy on the phone tsks me. “Such a disappointment.” He drags out a pause. “You remember that game our parents talked about playing against each other? The one that defined why your father is supposed to be the most powerful man in Honeyton? Well, I’ve decided to reinstate it.”
My heart thunders in my chest. I’ve often heard stories of the game he’s referring to. My dad bragged about it a lot. Back when he and some of the now current family leaders were in high school, they played this messed-up game where they tried to sabotage, ruin, and even hurt each other. My father and his friends, aka Zay’s and Hunter’s dads, were the cruelest, which is why they’re the most powerful here—because everyone feared them. Some of the stuff they did to the other families was extremely messed up, but I was never surprised by these stories, considering what I had to suffer through during my childhood.
“Fuck this shit,” Zay mumbles then reels around and runs out of the room.
“Who the hell is this?” I growl out as I follow after him with Hunter right behind me. “And why do you have Raven’s phone?”
“I already told you this,” he says. “Me and some of the other family members decided to start the game. Saw an opportunity when we saw you walking around with the new girl. She’s a weak link, you know. But what I really want to know is: why did you three decide to bring her into your little group? You’ve never brought anyone in before, so what’s so special about her?”
My body trembles as a wave of rage crashes over me. I reach the back door, about to step outside. Zay is already sprinting across the backyard toward where we left the car, and Hunter and I take off after him.
“If you so much as lay a finger on her—”
“You’ll what?” he mocks. “Sorry, Jaxon, but I just don’t believe you’re anywhere near as scary as your father. Guess I’ll find out soon when you try to retaliate.”
The line clicks off.
