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The truth is that nothing in this world we live in ever seems to be simple.
“We’re going to find out.” Hunter steps up beside me.
He was so quiet that I almost forgot he was here.
He pauses for a beat then sits down on the floor beside her. He looks at me for an instant, and I can see it in his eyes, a silent question.Are you okay?
I nod. It’s partly true.
I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff, about to fall off, but Raven has a hold of my arm and is stopping it from happening.
I don’t ever want her to let me go.
Raven looks up at Hunter as he brushes some of the hair from out of her eyes.
“We’ll get answers from you—I promise you that. And this”—he gestures at the bed—“nothing like this will ever happen again. We’re going to protect you.”
She looks at him, but I can’t read her at all.
“I wish you guys would’ve told me when you started suspecting.” Her voice is unnervingly hollow.
“I wish I would’ve, too,” he agrees. “We just didn’t want to have to tell you about … all of it.” Pain flashes across his face. “Until we knew for sure. And even then, to be honest, a part of me just wanted to let you be so you wouldn’t have to feel what you’re feeling now.”
I worry his words might upset her, but she looks more calm than upset now. “I wish I didn’t have to feel it, either.” Her bottom lip quivers as she tries not to cry. “But now that I do, I want to know.” She looks from me to Hunter. “I want you guys to tell me everything.”
Everything.
My heart rate quickens at the idea of us sitting her down and telling her about all the darkness we’ve lived. About the monsters in disguise. About the brutality of it all.
Hunter gives a hesitant nod. I can’t tell if he’s lying. “If that’s what you need, then we’ll give it to you.”
She nods then starts crying again. The sound of her tears is agonizing, but the sound of metal hitting the floor as she drops the razor is like a splinter of light in a sea of darkness I currently feel like we’re drowning in.
I relax even more when Hunter pulls her against him, and she presses closer instead of pulling away. We let her cry then, me holding her hand and Hunter holding her.
I’m not sure how long this goes on, but I refuse to move until she’s done.
Hunter seems that way, too, but then something draws his attention to the doorway, and he straightens.
“Zay,” he starts to say.
I turn just in time to see his face.
The anger in his eyes.
The rage.
Mixed with it all is ache.
Ache for him and for her.
He used to be her protector, the one who watched over her, who made sure she never got hurt—well, as much as he could control that. The day we thought she died, something died in him, and all that was really left was this anger toward himself.
Right now, something has sparked inside him. Something that kind of terrifies the shit out of me.
And then he’s turning and walking out of the room.
“Shit,” Hunter mutters. He looks at me, his lips parting. But I already know what he’s going to say.
