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He disappears without another word, leaving everyone to gape at the now blank space. Our parents are coming. The worry on Raven’s face has me on high alert and the knowledge that my plan to talk this shit out with her has been delayed irritates me. But there are some positives to the situation.
Although it might pause my Raven issue, I can defend her from her family and it, thankfully, aids my point with Brax. My reinforcements are coming, and the side-eye he gives me tells me he knows it, too.
SEVEN
RAVEN
As if my life couldn’t get any worse right now. I’m sinking in despair on the inside while the world keeps spinning around me, and to top it all off, my freaking parents are coming. I donotneed the stress that comes with Abel, and my headache only increases at the thought of seeing Mama too.
She’s going to take one look at me and know. She’ll see the difference I’m feeling inside and there’s going to be nothing I can do about it.
Swiping a hand down my face, I stare at my reflection. The natural light still streams in through my bedroom window, brightening up the room perfectly for me to touch up my makeup. I’ve kept it as natural as possible, wanting to have a layer of protection between me and the world, but I don’t even feel like I look the same.
I’ve read of those times when women look in the mirror, assessing themselves, detailing every part of their appearance, and I realize that, until this very moment, it’s not something I’ve ever done. Yeah, I’ve stared at my reflection, done my hair and makeup, but I’ve never looked deeper than the superficial, taking myself at face value.
It’s typical my brain begs for me to do it now after so much has shifted inside of me. After I tried a little mundane magic last night, I’ve been addicted to trying other little bits, which has left a thrumming feeling in my veins all day. It’s euphoric, and I’m obsessed. But now, when I look into my eyes, they seem deeper, bluer somehow.
Is that because of the secret I carry? The magic in my body? I don’t know, but now that I’ve seen it, I can’t unsee it.
Turning my palms up, I look down at my hands, fully aware of what I did with them yesterday, but now they look exactly as they always have. I think? Shit, I don’t know. I don’t think it helps that I woke in Brax’s arms, the shadows disappearing with his touch, but as day came, his sweet words disappeared with them and his gruff attitude was back in place.
All I want to do is curl up in a ball and hide away from the world while I get my bearings, maybe visit Ari because the longing inside of me has already started. I don’t want to have to people. I’m over it. But I’m also very aware that I don’t really get a say in the matter.
A knock on the door breaks through my musings and I sigh, looking at myself in the mirror once more. The smile I force to my lips falls flatter than my hair on wash day as the door creaks open a second later, and Creed appears in the gap. His own smile instantly drops when he takes me in and he kicks the door shut behind him without pause as he marches across the room.
“Whatever is wrong, tell me. I’ll fix it,” he murmurs, stopping behind me, leaning forward to nuzzle his nose at my neck, and my body instantly relaxes a little.
“Where do I even begin?”
His gaze meets mine in the mirror, a sense of understanding in his onyx pools. This time when my lips tip up, it’s real. Pained, but real.
“Do you want me to go and slay your family so you don’t have to see them tonight?” he offers, sincerity in the tension of his jaw, and I laugh.
“Please. That would at least take one thing off my plate.” He stands tall as if to head for the door, but I grab his arm, holding his wrist and turning to face him. “I’m joking. For now, at least. I feel like there’s enough blood on our hands for a few days, don’t you think?”
“For you, I’d take more.”
Hot. As. Fuck.
I don’t think that was what he was going for, but it has my core alive. Eldon was right; unhinged is definitely my thing.
He’s not exactly saying I accept you and your crazy fucking magic, along with the unforgivable I did yesterday, but it almost sounds like it.There goes my hope, getting ahead of me again.
“If you’re happy to see them, shall we get it over with so we can get back here and talk through whatever else is filling that pretty head of yours?”
I nod as his arm slips from my hold and he reaches for my hand. Lifting me from my seat, he pulls me into his chest, tightly wrapping his arms around me. It takes me a second to relax into the hug, not realizing how much I needed it until now.
One by one, my muscles ease, and it surprises me how tense I actually was, but I’m quickly reminded the second he steps back and I have to prepare for the family gathering. Steeling my spine, I roll my shoulders back, my jaw tensing along with it. Creed notices the shift in me but this time he doesn’t try to ease my concerns.
Uniform is a requirement for the evening. Why? I don’t know, but it feels like another barrier around me, so I’ll take it. Creed’s hand settles at the small of my back, guiding me toward the door, but before we reach it, it’s opened from the other side.
Eldon.
“I thought you knew how to knock?” Creed grunts, making me smirk, but Eldon only grins in response.
“I know a lot of things, doesn’t mean I give a shit.” He winks like I’m supposed to know what that means, but he doesn’t elaborate and I am too worked up to dig deeper.
“Let’s get this shit over with,” Brax states from the front door, Zane standing beside him, and I hum in agreement.
