Page 26 of Raven's Daggers
“Well, before she comes down, y’all need to know something else.” I start and they all look my way. “Last night when I got here, other than her shoving a gun in my face because I let myself in, she had bandages wrapped around her wrists. Has she ever done anything like that before? Because my mind only took me to one place when I saw them.” I look at Naomi, but I can feel the stare that Damien and Reyes are giving me. I hadn’t told them about that yet. Naomi drops her head before she looks back up at me, tears forming in her eyes.Fuck, this can’t be good.
“Listen, and listen good because she is my best friend and I refuse to fucking lose her. After Brock, I found her self harming a few times. As time went on, it got better, she was channeling all that anger towards the sickos she takes out. She went and got tattoos to cover the scars, no matter how small they were, she covered them all. Me and Eddie have been there for her. So if you three,” she points to me, Damien and Reyes, “If you all are going to be in her life, you need to know. Yes, she has done it in the past, but she hasn’t done that in years. So whatever the fuckis going on, we need to get to the bottom of it before she starts to spiral.” She informs us, swiping the tears away from her eyes. We all exchange glances and nod. Getting up, she takes hers and Marcos plates to the sink.
Making our way to the living room, Reyes sits between me and Damien, while Naomi and Marco sit on the opposite side. We get settled just as we hear Raven coming down the stairs. She walks over and sits down on Reyes’ lap. When she reaches for mine and Damiens hands, my brother wraps his arms around her middle and pulls her close. I look down to notice Damien rubbing the bandage on her wrist.
“Okay, now that we’re all here and I’m sure there were stories shared while I was gone, what do you wanna know first?” She murmurs, seeming both hesitant and annoyed that we’re concerned for her right now. I squeeze her hand and look over at her.
“Princess, why don't we start with what made you snap to begin with?” I coax, hoping it’ll ease her into this instead of diving right in.
“Well, me and Eddie were in the middle of training, then I got a text. It was from an unknown number. They called me ‘Sweetness’. Said they were tired of hiding in the shadows and couldn’t wait to make me theirs.” What the fuck? Someone has been watching and following her? Why the fuck didn’t she say anything? Reyes gives me a look and his eyes are full of anger. Looking over at Naomi, her green eyes flicker with concern.Okay, so something in that messagemust link back to her past.Giving a small nod in reassurance, she continues.
“Then they just went on and all I could do was think about the shit with Brock. He called me ‘Sweetness’, that was his name for me. I guess when I got back in the ring with Eddie, the blind rage took over. I blacked out because I don’t even remember laying into him like that. Next thing I know, Marco and Naomi aretrying to get me off of him. This may come off crazy, but it’s like my brain was screaming at me while I was in that headspace.” She finishes, taking a sharp intake of breath before Naomi comes over and pulls her from Reyes lap, bringing her to the floor and holding her, tears falling from Naomi’s face. They both sit there for a few minutes holding on to each other as Raven sobs.Fuck this. I will not let either of them cry over this shit.Standing up, Reyes pulls a joint from his pocket. He sits down next to Raven and hands it to her. Pulling away from Naomi, she tries to steady her breath as she takes it, holding her hand out for a lighter. He lights it as she brings it up to her lips and takes a deep pull, passing it to Naomi next.
“Guess we're all going to need this for the next conversation.” Letting out a heavy sigh I take the joint from Marco and take a long pull, passing it to Damien. Sitting here watching everyone pass the joint back and forth I pull my phone out and shoot my uncle a text.
Me: Hey, will you pull security feed from the other night when we were there? Specifically from Sinful.
Uncle Z: Yeah, what's wrong? What am I looking for?
Me: Before we left Sinful, a man walked up to Raven. She said some things to us about it. Now I wanna look into it and see if I canfigure out who he is. Don’t talk to Eddie about this yet.
Uncle Z: You got it. I’ll pull it up and send you what I find.
Putting my phone away. My brothers are looking at me and I nod at them, letting them know that this is something that can wait until later to talk about. Meeting Raven's stare, I can see the vulnerability written in her eyes. I know she doesn’t wanna talk about this, but while everyone is here, it needs to be said.
Coming back to sit on the couch between us, she sighs loudly, clearly not looking forward to continuing on with this conversation.
“Will you tell us why you have bandages on your wrists, Princess? I just figure while we're all here, it would be easier. We just want to help, however that may be.” She looks at me with her brows creased and her eyes darting back and forth between mine.
“Fine, ugh, but this won’t be easy to hear though, for any of you. I’ve never said any of this out loud.” She lays her head back on the couch and closes her eyes before taking a deep breath.
“Brock fucked me up mentally. It wasn’t just a physical thing. I swear I can still hear his disgusting voice in my head. It’s always the same shit, ‘No one will ever want a broken girl’. But last night was harder though, because for some reason, all I heard after that was how you guys wouldn’t ever actually have feelings for me, that you just want what's his.” She waves her hands around me and the guys.What the fuck?Hell no. First off, some dead fuckers voice isn’t about to say how I feel and don’t feel aboutthis girl. Secondly, she’s not broken in my eyes. I'm sure I can say the same for the others.
“So yes, last night I took my dagger to my wrists. In the past, that was the only way that I could purge it all, to feel anything but the pain he left me with.” She mumbles out. Reyes grabs her in a hug and buries his face in her neck. I’ve never seen my brother care so deeply for someone, fuck, none of us have. Naomi and Marco stand up and walk over, joining their hug. Standing, me and Damien do the same. I’m not one for this whole group hug shit, but I’ll be damned if this girl doesn’t know how much we all fucking care for her, how we want her to feel everything we can fucking give her. I can hear her and Naomis silent cries again, and fuck if hearing her cry doesn’t break my own black heart.
We all begin to pull away, but Naomi grabs Raven by the hand.
“You listen to me, babe! You are worth more than a diamond mine. These fuckers better realize that too, or not only will they have your wrath, but mine and Eddie’s too. I can tell they see it though, so don’t let that dead motherfucker win when you’ve already won. You killed him, babe. You ended him for what he did to you, plus who knows how many other girls you saved as well. I’m here for you, hell everyone in this house right now is here for you. We got you, babe, always. So please, next time just come to me. Even if it’s just a call, I don’t care, you know 24/7 I’ll be here.” She sniffles. I have never sat through a conversation with so many feelings in my life, but this, damn this is what she needed. Whether she likes it or not, we all do care for her.
“Thanks love, I needed this. You know me though, always keeping shit in. I do feel like so much weight was just lifted off my shoulders. It’s just hard to say it out loud, you know?” Marco comes up and pulls her into a hug,
“Like I told you the other day, I got you. Let us help, you don’t have to do it all by yourself. I can’t even imagine how hard it was to put yourself out there like that. You are a badass and we need you to remember that.” He states and she nods her head, more tears falling down her face.
“I know this is way off topic, but do y'all wanna order pizzas and watch movies? I could really use a chill night after all that.” She questions, looking at everyone. Naomi and Marco nod in agreement.Those two seem to be super close.Looking over at us, we do the same. Naomi makes the call for pizzas and we follow Raven into the kitchen to grab plates and drinks.
The pizza shows up moments later and Damien answers the door, paying the kid and closing the door, quickly making his way into the living room where we’re all waiting. Sitting here eating pizza, everyone is in their own conversation,except Raven, who hasn’t even touched her plate. She seems like she is just staring off into space. Pulling her close to me, she lays her head in my lap, rolls to face me and looks up with a spaced out glare.
“You okay, Princess?” I question, running my hands through her hair. Shrugging her shoulders, she closes her eyes.
“I don’t know. I feel like yes and no. My mind is just going all over the place.” She lets out a long breath.
“Just sleep, we will be here when you wake up. You need it, and I hate seeing you like this. I need that fiery attitude back in you.” I chuckle and she tries to elbow me in the side, but I catch her arm, causing her to let out a low giggle. Closing her eyes, I notice Reyes and Damien looking over at me and I nod to them. Sliding down the couch, they pick her legs up and slide under her. Once again she's laid out across the three of us, exactly where she belongs. Naomi waves her hand and catches my attention.
“We’re going to head out. You better take care of my girl, fuckers.” She whispers with a chuckle, then her and Marco walk towards the front door.
“You think she will be okay? I’ve never seen her that upset, and fuck, I don’t want to see it ever again. I’ll burn the world down before I see her cry again.” Reyes states, rubbing her legs. I’m with him, I hated seeing her this upset.
“I will literally kill anyone who makes her feel this way.” Damien states, the warning clear in his tone. Me and Reyes nod in agreement. I think we all would.