She is skinnier, the circles under her eyes darker, a different shade than the bruising surrounding it.

She’s not eating, not sleeping.

“All Donley ever wanted was someone to take over after him. Someone he could guarantee would be strong enough, someone he felt he could control, or gain from,” she says.

“He had Felix,” our dad reminds her.

“Yeah,” she rasps, her hands finding her throat. “He had a man in love with a Brayshaw, who came from Brayshaw High, who wanted to be Bray but earned a place with Graven first.”

Dad’s head pulls back slowly as if he hadn’t thought of that. His eyes move to her and finally she looks up and into his. Hers cut to where Maybell sits near and back to him.

“The maid...” He trails off. “The baby was his. That’s why he sent her away... he only wanted a son.”

“A female was of no use to him, so what purpose would a pregnant Brayshaw carrying a girl serve him? No wedding had happened yet, so in his eyes, she was still disposable,” Raven says numbly, shrugging. Her eyes slide to Victoria who stands frozen in the corner. “Coming in?”

Victoria gives a curt nod, stepping into the room, Raven disappearing behind her.

My eyes stay locked on the door.

“The fuck happened to her?” I whisper.

When no one speaks, I look around the room.

“I fucked up!” I shout. “I know this. I. Fucked. Up, but I love her, man. I fucking love her, just like you guys do but harder and with every piece of me. Tell me what happened. What the fuck did I miss? Who hurt her?”

Royce opens his mouth but suddenly Raven appears at the door again, and my chin falls to my chest, my deep breath filling both my cheeks as I try to calm down.

Suddenly her little hand is in view and fuck me if the hesitancy in her touch doesn’t sting worse than anything before this moment. I can only manage to lift my eyes, using every muscle in my body to keep my hands at my hips.

I’ve dreamt of you every night, baby. You and those stormy greys.

Her eyes tighten. “Nobody blames you, not even for a second.” Her hand is gone as fast as it came and with it goes my breath, my lungs constricting to the point of pain.

She stops in front of Bass. “Tell them every detail of every minute since you stepped in the hotel room and saved us both.”

“I saved no one, Raven.”

“Give it up, Bishop,” she whispers, and the affection in her tone burns as it should. “You did, and I owe you a solid.”

She walks back in the room, and this time a small click sounds after her.

Bass glares at the floor before shifting his eyes across the four of us. “You might wanna get Cap a chair for all this.”

Fuck.

Victoria digs in the bag Maybell brought for each of us when she realized the hospital was our new temporary home. “What can you wear?”

“Just underwear and some long socks from mine, maybe a tank top if there’s a clean one, and Royce’s long sweatshirt from his. It’ll hang close to my knees.”

She nods, fishing out what I asked for while I untie my gown, but when I lift my arms over my head for the tie behind my neck, I wince. My chest plate and shoulder blades start to ache.

She walks back to me, tossing the clothes on the bed.

When I don’t move, she rolls her eyes. “Come on, Raven. Everybody needs help sometimes.”

With a frown, I spin around, and she undoes it for me, handing me my underwear as it starts to fall. I slip them on quickly, and she eases my stretchy tank over my head and half down my ribs, so I can slip my arms into it.

“You gonna be able to get your arms in this sweatshirt?”

“Just pull it over, Vee.”

With a huff, she does as I ask.

After it’s on, I lift my wrist and she tugs my hair tie from around it and gently ties it in a loose ball in the middle of my head.

She drops down on the bed, so I spin to face her.

“You know.” She eyes me.

I pick up the plastic cup of ice water, taking a small drink and swallowing the stupid pills the nurse left sitting there for me.

“Raven... I couldn’t tell you—”

“Yeah,” I cut her off, nodding. “You could have. You absolutely could have.”

I finally meet her eyes only for her to break the contact not a second later.

“I get why you didn’t though, and it’s like I told you before.” I drop down in front of her, and her eyes move back to mine. “You owed me nothing. Not your loyalty, or your secrets. Nothing, Vee.”

She glares at me, shaking her head, but humor lines her eyes. “You’re the strangest fucking person I have ever met.”

A light laugh leaves me.

“Are we gonna talk about it?” she asks.

I shake my head. “Not today.” I shift on the bed, looking to Captain’s empty one. I take a deep breath.

“So... how are you, I mean who are you gonna talk to first?”

My brows pull in, and I squint to her.

She studies me and slowly her head pulls back. “Raven, tell me you’re gonna...”

“Gonna what?”

“End this.”

My head jerks back. “End what?” Right as I say it, a bitter laugh leaves me, and I stand. “Victoria, don’t,” I warn.

“You don’t.” She stands with me, facing me from the other side of the bed. “This changes everything.”

“It changes nothing!” I shout instantly.

She jolts back. “You don’t have to do this, Raven.”

“I already did.”

“But—”

“But nothing! I married him, Vee. I married Captain.”

“Oh, come on, Raven,” she hisses, stepping around the bed. “You don’t give a shit about marriage!” She throws her hand out. “Don’t stand there and pretend you do.”

“You’re right!” I snap back, getting in her face. “I don’t give a fuck about the word. That’s all it is to me, a fucking word. I have no idea what it means, no clue what I’m suddenly supposed to be with the title of wife, it’s not like I had a role model.” I push even closer to her, my chest bumping hers, my jaw muscles clenching. “So, you’re right, Vee, I don’t give a shit about marriage, but I give a shit ton about him.”

“I’m not questioning how much you care about him.”

“He gave up his future for mine, then almost gave his life, for mine,” I snap. “Did we find out things I wish we’d have learned of earlier? No fucking duh, but we didn’t, and I made him a promise. I’m keeping it.” I step back, keeping my eyes on hers. “This is where we are. Period.”

Her eyes soften. “You made a choice when the alternative was something you couldn’t live with, he did the same thing. He’d understand.”

I swallow, shouldering past her, but she grips my elbow, spinning me back around.

I yank free from her hand, pushing her as hard as I can in the chest.

She flies back, slamming against the bed tray and knocking all the shit on it to the floor.

The loud crash has one of the boys yanking on the locked door handle.

The banging follows, shouts from all of them after that.