Chapter 25 #2
I nod as I chew my food, swallowing it down before saying, “I get it. I liked my job okay before too, but I really feel like I’ve finally found somewhere I fit, you know?”
Raven snorts. “You probably fit in anywhere. You are so smart and so brave.”
“I…” Is that really what she thinks? That I fit in anywhere? If so, I’m a little concerned about her powers of observation. “Most people think I’m weird.” I blurt it out. A confession of sorts. One I can’t believe I actually have to make.
Raven looks me over. “That would make sense.”
Again, I’m not really following what she’s saying. “It does?”
Raven nods, going back to her food. “Yeah. You know what they say. Birds of a feather.”
Now it’s my turn to look her over, because she and I would definitely never fly in the same flock. Raven is effortlessly cool. Her clothes, her makeup, her jewelry. The way she carries herself. I can’t imagine she has a weird bone in her body.
“You’re not weird.” I don’t mean for it to sound so accusatory, but it does.
Raven snorts, her almost black brows lifting.
“Miss ma’am, my entire wardrobe is black, most of my accessories have a snake on them, I have a basement full of sour jars, and I’ve spent two years trying to make friends with the crows in my backyard.
” She widens her eyes at me. “I’m definitely weird. ”
Oh. Maybe I don’t know all the ways someone could be qualified as weird.
I guess it’s possible some people look at anyone who’s different from them and hurl out the word, thinking they’re the normal one.
That what they think and do and say and wear is the gold standard, and anyone who doesn’t fit within those constraints doesn’t belong.
That’s how my parents are. Growing up, it always left me on the outside looking in. But the older I get, the more I’m starting to think maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. At least I don’t live in a bubble. Don’t spend my days in an echo chamber as my mind gets narrower and narrower.
“Well, I like your version of weird.” I wrinkle my nose, deciding I need to edit that claim just a little. “Except for your weird taste in coffee.” I shake my head, picking up the mug I made myself before she got here. “That is way too out there for me.”
I hear hushed words coming from the second floor, and jump to my feet, quickly rounding the staircase. It didn’t sound like any of the guys, and if it’s the girls from last night waking up, I want to be the first one they see. Not a bunch of scary looking men in tactical gear.
I might know they’re all essentially overgrown teddy bears, but these girls don’t. And I won’t blame them if they never want to see another man again.
Raven rushes to get beside me, her darkly lined eyes fixed on the upstairs landing as we wait.
There are more hushed words before one of the girls peeks out, gaze wide as she scans the space, taking everything in.
The three of them were in shock last night, so I’m not surprised it all looks new.
We tried to explain that they were safe and that they didn’t have to worry, but I honestly don’t know if any of it registered.
Hopefully we’ll have better luck today.
I raise one hand, giving them a finger-wiggling wave. “Hi.” I’m not sure what more to say to them, or how to coax the group to come downstairs.
Thankfully, Raven seems to have it handled.
“Hey, babes.” She sounds upbeat. “You guys hungry? I got us some breakfast if you want to come eat.” Her head tips my way. “I also got coffee, but Becca says it sucks, so you’ll have to judge for yourselves.”
One of the girls, her hair slightly rumpled, steps around the first as she toys with the hem of the oversized T-shirt she slept in. “Did you say breakfast?”
Raven nods. “Yup.” She waggles her dark brows. “From Milk and Honey.”
“Say less.” The girl who stepped forward rushes down the stairs.
After a slight hesitation, the other two trail behind her. They follow us into the dining room where Raven passes out more containers of food, giving each girl her own container of the same breakfast she and I have.
Again, the girl who stepped forward digs right in, popping open the lid and stabbing her fork into the food before shoveling it into her mouth, like she hasn’t eaten well in a long time.
It looks like that’s the case. The girls all seem really skinny. Their faces sunken in. Lips dry. Hair dull.
I watch for a second before a question spills out of me. “Weren’t they feeding you?”
All three girls go still, their eyes lifting to me.
After a few silent heartbeats, the first girl shakes her head. “Not really. I think they wanted to keep us weak so we were less likely to be able to get away.”
“Motherfuckers. What I wouldn’t give to shove a fork into each of their eyeballs, pop one out, and turn it into a keychain.” Raven’s threat is laced with venom as she clutches her plasticware tight.
“You probably shouldn’t use that. It won’t be strong enough to get the eye out of the orbital socket.” It would be a shame if her fork broke in half partway through and the job couldn’t be completed.
Raven nods. “Good thought. I’m going to start carrying a fork in my pocket just in case.”
It’s actually a really good idea. I can think of a lot of ways a fork could come in handy.
“How did you guys know about us?” the girl who seems to be acting as their self-appointed leader asks.
Raven thumbs my direction. “The same group that took you, has her sister.”
The leader of the pack meets my gaze, going still. “What’s her name?”
I swallow hard, my throat tightening. “Amanda.”
The most outgoing of the three shakes her head, brows pinched together. “I don’t know any Amandas.”
My stomach sinks. I’m glad we saved these girls. I would do it ten times over. But if they don’t know where Amanda is, then I just basically outed our involvement, and it’s about to be ten times more difficult to find her.
And it was already nearly impossible.
“I know an Amanda.” One of the other girls quietly speaks up.
She looks to her friends as if she needs reassurance.
The leader reaches across, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze.
It must be enough to bolster her confidence, because she turns to me, chin lifting the tiniest bit. “And I know where she might be.”