Chapter 26 Raven #2
Instead, Reina—looking way too responsible for her age and despite her shorts and tank top—pushed herself off the couch and went to answer it. We watched as she swung the door open wide and came face-to-face with Isla.
“Where have you been?” Reina demanded, glaring at our roommate.
It turned out that all of us but Reina had made ourselves scarce last night.
“Oh, hey.” Isla’s somewhat sheepish voice was the result of Reina’s worried expression.
Our youngest friend-slash-roommate had taken to mothering us, and while we all appreciated it, we missed her former rebel self.
After what had happened with Amon, she’d changed. We held out hope that the carefree, perpetually smiling Reina would return, but as days, months, and years passed, I’d resolved to face the reality: the Reina of before might be gone for good.
“What is it with all of you disappearing one by one last night and then strolling in one by one at dawn?”
“Phoenix too?” Isla’s surprise was hard to miss.
Clearly she couldn’t see us from where she was standing. Or she was possibly still in whatever bliss she experienced last night.
“Yes, her too,” Reina grumbled. “I was worried sick.”
I winced. It was the last thing any of us wanted to do. Reina had endured a lot already, and the last thing she needed was more worry. As the youngest member of our group, we were all protective of her, yet somehow she managed to be the most responsible one.
“Now I feel like shit,” Athena mumbled under her breath.
“Ditto,” I whispered. “Guilty conscience, I suppose.”
Isla, still unable to see us, let out a strangled laugh before asking, “Sorry. Is everyone sleeping, then?”
If only, but Reina had called a family meeting, so here we were, waiting for the scolding.
“Okay, we have to establish some rules,” Reina announced, signing as she spoke for Phoenix’s sake. She sat on the round ottoman by the window, her back to it. Sunrays flickered against her hair, casting hues of gold and making her appear like an angry angel.
“I was up all fucking night worried about you four. I messaged you, attempted to track your phones. I almost called the police.”
“Gosh, you are taking this mother hen thing too far,” I muttered around a yawn, then signed lazily, meeting Phoenix’s eyes and giving her a commiserating eye-roll. “We promise, next time—if there is one—we shall send a message mid-sex to ensure you know we’re safe.”
Everyone but Reina choked out a strangled laugh.
“Can you imagine?” Athena muttered, stifling a yawn. “Please pause your ejaculation, I’ve got to send a message to my friend to let her know that if I die, it’s from an orgasm. Not a slit throat.”
Another round of snickers followed.
“Stop it, all of you,” Reina scolded, using her sternest voice. “I’m not asking for anything so drastic. But a text letting me know you’re hooking up would have been nice. You left me all alone, and then seeing—”
She cut herself off, her eyes widening a bit. Whatever had her upset must have happened last night.
“I’m sorry, Reina.” Isla sat up straight, and we all studied our friend. “Tell us what happened. You’re clearly upset. We want to help.”
Her shoulders slumped.
“Dad arranged a marriage between me and Dante.” Her voice was barely a whisper as her shaking hands came up to follow her words. “Amon was there too.”
“Did he… Amon… did he say anything?” Isla asked while my heart ached for Reina. If she married Dante, she’d be forced to see his brother at every turn.
A thick silence gripped our throats, engulfing us.
“Are you going to go through with it?” I asked. “Considering what happened?”
“I don’t have a choice,” she stated.
“Isn’t that going a bit too far?” Phoenix signed, her rosy cheeks a telltale sign that she’d been crying.
“Want to kill him?” Reina challenged her sister. “Because that’s the only alternative.”
“No more killing.” Thank fucking God because nightmares from the last body we’d been forced to get rid of still plagued me.
Reina sighed. “I’m not killing him, Phoenix. I’ll marry Dante. I told you, I agreed to it.”
Reina was more tense than a rubber band. Her face was pale, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say her swollen eyes had to do with more than her late night.
“What’s really going on?” Isla asked, voicing my suspicion. “There’s something more at stake here. One of you is holding something back. And you’d both better tell me what, or I swear to God, I’ll drag it out of you.”
“It’s nothing,” Phoenix ended up answering.
“No, don’t give me that. We’re friends. A family. We’ve killed together, and dammit, we’ll cry together too.”
“Why can’t we just all be happy together?” I muttered.
“Or eat together,” Athena chimed in. “It always has to be ‘kill together,’ like that’s all we do.”
“Maybe we’re sinners like our father,” Phoenix signed, and her words hit home. Was I a sinner like my father? The very person whom my mother had protected me from my entire life?
Reina covered her face, and it was difficult to watch.
Isla made her way to her, lowered to her knees, and wrapped her hands around her.
“You know what Illias always says?” Isla murmured softly while Athena signed for Phoenix.
“Strength is silent. Your resilience is stellar, and I’ve seen your determination.
You do not give up, Reina Romero. So, whether you marry Dante Leone or not, give that fucker your silence.
My brother is right, for maybe the first time in his life.
Your strength is what makes you the woman we all know you are.
The best response to people who don’t deserve you is indifference. ”
“How do I marry Dante and want his brother at the same time?” Reina’s question just about broke my heart.
“Easy. You pretend you don’t until it starts to feel real. Show Amon what the fuck he lost.”
The words hit home and resonated more than I was ready to admit.