Page 58 of Be My Brayshaw (Brayshaw High 4)

Royce glares at the empty doorway.

It takes him a minute, but he locks his gaze with mine. “Maybe I’m more fucked up in the head than I even knew, but if she did what she just said she did, protected my niece like that, your daughter, then we owe her our respect if nothing else.”

My heart beats uncontrollably against my ribs. “She lied to our faces.”

He shakes his head, his eyes dark and tortured, angry. He walks for the door, pausing just outside it to glance back at me. “She lied, yeah, or more, hid shit—don’t ask, don’t fuckin’ tell type. I’m fuckin’ pissed about it, too, brother, believe that, but, man. That lie... who was it for?”

Who was it for...

My brows dig in and he nods.

Fuck.Chapter 16VictoriaIt’s six in the morning, the sun just beginning to show its colors above the trees when Raven drops in the chair beside me.

I didn’t sleep for shit, so finally I stepped in the shower and here I am.

My eyes slide her way, spotting her hair is as wet as mine, so she must have had the same issue—a mind that won’t shut up.

She knows I’m looking at her, but she’s stubborn and holds still for a solid minute before finally facing me head-on.

“You were right yesterday.”

“You already said that.”

She glares. “Yeah, but there’s still a big-ass difference.”

A sourness coats my mouth, making it water. I don’t want to know what she’s thinking, but I ask anyway. “And what’s that?”

“I risked myself for them once I knew who they were, you did it having never spoken to them in your life.” Her frown deepens and she looks away. “I’m not sure I would have done the same for strangers.”

I scoff, not having expected anything remotely close to that to come from her. “Please, Rae.” I shake my head and stand.

“I’m serious,” she snaps, but there’s a hint of vulnerability mixed with her standard ‘fuck off’ approach.

“So am I. You didn’t risk yourself knowing who they were, Raven, you did it because something told you you should.” While she continues to face forward, her eyes find mine. “You saw what I did. We felt it, the pull toward them, deep in our gut, beneath our bones like nothing ever before.”

After a quiet moment, she whispers, “Why did we feel it?”

“Because this is where we belong. We were born Graven, Rae. Born part of this town, but this is where we belong.”

Her lip twitches the smallest bit. “You’re a leg out, Victoria.”

I chuckle despite myself and nod. “Yeah, but that means I’ve still got one in, right?”

“An optimist.”

“A survivor.”

Her features smooth and after a moment she nods, a faraway look in her eye as she faces forward.

“That’s all we do, isn’t it? One thing we’ll never escape, no matter where we are... or end up,” she adds for my sake. “We just… forever keep trying to survive and hope we don’t fuck up everything along the way.”

Raven looks at her wedding ring, a black band with a purple crown she wears on her middle finger instead of the traditional one, three tiers, three jewels, each representing the boys who gave her life meaning. Her hands then fall to her little bump and stay there.

I don’t respond, and she doesn’t say another word, both of us likely lost in thoughts of all the times we were forced to do just that.

We sit until the boys come searching for her, but they don’t speak, leaving her where she sits.

It’s not until Captain’s engine roars to life, and Maddoc steps around the house with her backpack draped over his shoulder that she stands.

She turns to me, her eyes lifting over my head a moment before bringing them back. She holds her hand out.

When I don’t instantly slide mine inside of hers, she rolls her eyes. “Grab it, Victoria.”

I do, but I don’t give her any of my weight, pushing to my feet. “Pretty sure I’m the one who should be helping you up.”

“Yeah, well.” She lets go, backing away. “Maybe you owe me now.”

I turn to find Royce and Captain standing there, the loop of my backpack wrapped around Cap’s middle finger.

They move closer, so I reach out to grab it, but Cap’s frown deepens as he pulls his gaze from mine, and the two walk right by me.

So, I follow, and off to school we go.We’re sitting in the cafeteria during lunch hour, my eyes pointed where Tisha and Chloe talk quietly, Mac chatting with his buddy across the table from them, when warm, calloused knuckles slide along my neck causing me to jump.

Captain pulls my head toward his, lifting my chin.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve caught you staring their way. I’m starting to wonder if you’re looking to party like Royce,” he says, face blank.

I pull my lips to the side. “Wonder or worry?”