The Raven Four Books 1-3 - Jessica Sorensen Page 0,147
my drink, set the glass down, and then approach the sofa. My legs are a bit shaky, but I try to ignore it, just like I attempt to disregard the whispering in my head, the reminders of everything I’ve tried to forget about the games, about what was done to us, about what we did to her.
Ravenlee Wilowwynter, the only girl I ever cared for.
The girl who the three of us broke.
Betrayed.
We fucking betrayed her in the worst way possible. And I’ve spent years burying what we did to her, pretending it never happened. Forgetting.
But now I remember, and it’s tearing underneath my skin.
Hunter was right; I was afraid to admit that Raven probably was the girl, because it meant I’d have to face my sins. But like they always do, our fathers took that choice away from me. It’s probably what I deserve.
I sink onto the edge of the sofa beside her. “Wake up, beautiful girl,” I say softly, well aware that Hunter can hear me. But I don’t give a shit at the moment. In front of others, I’ll be my indifferent self, but right now, I need a break from holding the cracks together that consume the inside of me. Raven cracked them open even more when she looked me in the eye and said those words to me before she passed out.
“I always thought you had such sad, pretty eyes,” she mumbles as her eyelids start to lower. “Oh … that’s what that look is … Sadness …”
She saw it—what I try so hard to hide. What she doesn’t know yet, though, is that a lot of that sadness that I keep hidden has to do with her and what we did to her.
“You okay?” Hunter asks cautiously from behind me.
I bob my head up and down then reach forward and brush my hand across her cheek. “Did you hear what she said to me before she blacked out?”
“I did,” he answers. “She used to say that to you, right?”
I nod. “She did.”
Silence briefly stretches between us, the only sound coming from Raven’s soft breathing.
“Maybe we should take her to a hospital,” Zay finally says, sinking down at the foot of the sofa beside Raven’s feet, his eyes fastened on her.
“I don’t think that’ll do any good,” I tell him. “I don’t think this is a medical thing.”
He tears his gaze off her and looks at me. “What sort of thing do you think it is?”
I waver, not wanting to say it, but knowing it’s probably what needs to be said. “I think we’re going to have to go to our fathers. In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s what all this is about.”
“You think they went through all this trouble just so that we’d call them?” Hunter questions, rounding to the back of the sofa and resting his arms on it. “We call them all the time.”
I waver. “I don’t think this is just about calling them. I think this was a message.” I shift my weight and dig my phone out of my pocket.
“You’re seriously going to call them?” Hunter questions warily while unfolding and folding his arms, practically jumping out of his skin.
Sucking in a breath, I nod and dial my father’s number. “I think it’s what we’re supposed to do.”
“Well, they could’ve just asked us to call them,” Zay grumbles, slanting forward and resting his arms on his knees.
“I think there’s more to it than that,” I tell him. “I think the game has started and that was the first round.”
Zay darts his gaze to me, fear blazing in his eyes. “But we didn’t even agree to play.”
“Did we ever?” Hunter mumbles. “What I want to know is why they decided to restart it? Why now?”
“Maybe because Raven’s back,” I say as the line rings.
Hunter looks at me. “You think they brought her here so they could restart the game? If so, why would they ask us to look into her and her family?”
“To have us get close to her,” Zay says while staring down at the floor. “She was part of our team once … until we …” He shakes his head. “I hate that I can remember it now. I want to forget again.” He lowers his head into his hands and mutters something else.
“You know,” Hunter says. “If we all started remembering when that song was playing, it probably means there’s a trigger to erase the memories.”
“So, you want to forget again, too?” I question with an arch of my