I flash him my pearly whites. “But he didn’t so I don’t have to.”
He eyes me over warily. “You know, you’ve sassed off to me more than anyone else ever has. It’s making things really complicated.” He tugs on a strand of my hair, but then quickly pulls back like he didn’t mean to do it. “Maybe if you were more cooperative, things would be easier for you.”
I dismiss him with a flick of my wrist. “Nothing about life is easy. At least, not with mine, so why would I ever think that?”
He shakes his head. “Just show me what’s on your side.”
Great, he’s still on that. “Why?”
“Because it’s driving me crazy.”
“Again, why? Why does this matter so much to you?”
“Because…” He yanks his fingers through his hair, the strands going askew. “If you’d just tell all of us then maybe we could take care of whoever hurt you.”
“You’re already supposedly gonna take care of my uncle. And Hunter says he’s gonna take care of Dixie May. So just how many people are you guys planning on taking care of for me?”
“As many as we need to.”
I assess him closely. “You always act like you like taking care of people. Is it really that fun for you?”
His lips tug upward into a smirk. “It is, so why don’t you tell me who hurt you so I can get a little pleasure today as I tear them apart?”
I feel like I should be afraid of his words, but I feel nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
“Maybe no one hurt me… Maybe I did this to myself.” It might not be true with this new wound, but I have hurt myself before.
He tenses then hurries and rises to his feet, tugging at the sleeves of his shirt. “I’m gonna go give Mable the dirty dishes. Stay right here,” he says then picks up the plates and cups and rushes toward the counter, like he’s completely afraid of me.
But I really doubt that’s true. I doubt Zay’s afraid of much of anything.
Leaning back in the booth, my thoughts drift to my own fears. Fears I’ll never admit aloud because, like I already told Zay, I have a ton of sides to me. And the side that feels fear I keep hidden away as much as I can; hidden way deep inside me, almost beside all of my forgotten memories—
Ping.
An incoming text comes through. My very first message, but who the heck could it be from? It’s not like I’ve given out my phone number to anyone. Well, I guess Hunter, Jax, and Zay probably have it, but wouldn’t they just come talk to me?
Confused, I open the message and my stomach plummets.
Unknown: Hello Ravenlee, welcome home. I should warn you, though, that Honeyton isn’t your typical place. Everyone has secrets, just like you. And I’d advise you not to trust anyone with those secrets. In fact, I’d advise you not to trust anyone at all if you want to play their game.
“What the heck is this… Who sent this… And what game…” I trail off as Hunter approaches the table.
His nostrils look a bit red and he’s sniffing like he’s got a cold, but he wasn’t like this earlier, which makes me wonder if he was snorting lines.
Is that why he’s so bubbly all the time?
“Everything okay?” he asks me as he plops down into the booth beside me and drapes his arm around my shoulder.
I peer down at my phone, debating whether or not I should tell him about the message. But the text is gone.
What the hell?
I swallow hard. Did I hallucinate it? It wouldn’t be the first time I hallucinated something.
Blood on my hands…
I glance up at Hunter and find that worry is written all over his face.
“What going on in that pretty head of yours?” he asks, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.
I think about telling him, but the words trust no one flash through my mind and I find myself shrugging.
“It’s nothing,” I lie, putting my phone onto the table. “I’m just thinking about, or well, dreading, going to school.”
He smiles. “Don’t worry, little raven, we’ve got your back. Nothing bad is gonna happen to you.”
I wish I could trust him, but I’m pretty sure trust is a word I’ll never understand.
In fact, I don’t think I can even trust myself anymore.
About the Author
Jessica Sorensen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives in the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.
Also by Jessica Sorensen
The Raven Four :
The Raven Four
The Raven Oath
Untitled (coming soon)
Enchanted Chaos Series:
Enchanted Chaos
Shimmering Chaos
Iridescent Chaos
Untitled (coming soon)
The Breathing Undead Series
Breathing Lies
Shadowed Whisperers (coming 2019)
Capturing Magic:
Chasing Wishes
Chasing Magic
Untitled (coming soon)
Cursed Hadley:
Cursed Hadley
Enchanting Hadley (coming soon)
Unexpected Series:
The Unexpected Complications of Revenge
Untitled (coming soon)
The Heartbreaker Society:
The Opposite of Ordinary
The Simplicity in Ordinary
Untitled (coming soon)
Chasing Hadley Harlyton:
Chasing Hadley
Falling for Hadley
Holding onto Hadley
Holding onto Hadley: The Deal
Untitled (coming soon)
My Cursed Superhero Life:
Grim
Untitled (coming soon)
Tangled Realms:
Forever Violet
Untitled (coming soon)
Curse of the Vampire Queen:
Tempting Raven
Enchanting Raven
Alluring Raven
Untitled (coming soon)
Unraveling You Series:
Unraveling You
Raveling You
Awakening You
Inspiring You
Fated by Darkness
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Shadow Cove Series:
What Lies in the Darkness
What Lies in the Dark
Untitled (coming soon)
Mystic Willow Bay Series:
The Secret Life of a Witch
Broken Magic
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Standalones:
The Forgotten Girl
Honeyton Series:
The Illusion of Annabella
Untitled
Rebels & Misfits Series:
Confessions of a Kleptomaniac
Rules of a Rebel and a Shy Girl
The Secrets We Carry
Untitled
Broken City Series:
Nameless
Forsaken
Oblivion
Forbidden (coming soon)
Guardian Academy Series:
Entranced
Entangled
Enchanted
Entice (coming soon)
Sunnyvale Series:
The Year I Became Isabella Anders
The Year of Falling in Love
The Year of Second Chances
The Coincidence Series:
The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden
The Redemption of Callie and Kayden
The Destiny of Violet and Luke
The Probability of Violet and Luke
The Certainty of Violet and Luke
The Resolution of Callie and Kayden
Seth & Greyson
The Secret Series:
The Prelude of Ella and Micha
The Secret of Ella and Micha
The Forever of Ella and Micha
The Temptation of Lila and Etha
n
The Ever After of Ella and Micha
Lila and Ethan: Forever and Always
Ella and Micha: Infinitely and Always
The Shattered Promises Series:
Shattered Promises
Fractured Souls
Unbroken
Broken Visions
Scattered Ashes
Breaking Nova Series:
Breaking Nova
Saving Quinton
Delilah: The Making of Red