The Broken Raven - A Paradox Of Two Worlds Series Book 1

Chapter 33 - Raven

I approach the door and stop, taking a deep breath. Logan and Brie walk in, and I freeze in my spot. My anxiety takes over, and I step out to the end of the driveway. I look up at the sky and watch the clouds slowly cover the moon. After minutes of contemplating why I am here, I finally get the courage to walk in. The house is crowded, and I scan the room to see if I can find him. Of course, bleach blonde Barbie is next to him. My heart shatters at the sight. I should have expected it since I'm the one who told him we needed to go our own way, but something in me hoped he would just wait and fight to be with me. I see red, but I calm myself and follow Brie.

Even though I didn't want to drink, I decide to anyway. I grab a shot of vodka and down it. Feeling a bit better, I put my glass down and tell Brie I liked to dance. She gets excited, and we head to where everyone is dancing. As I lose myself in the music, a guy comes up and taps me on the shoulder. I turn to see that it's Bronx. He asks if he can dance with us, and I nod.

"You look sexy tonight," Bronx tells me, whispering in my ear. I smile at his cuteness, but Clay still lingers in the back of my mind.

I allow him to grab my waist, and we dance. As the music plays, I forget everything. I feel eyes on me and see Clay staring at us. Bronx leans in and whispers in my ear, and I let out a little laugh. Then his lips touch my neck, and my head lays into his chest as his lips linger. His hand moves down the side of my body, catching every curve, and I'll admit it feels good to have someone's hands all over me. Clay's face has anger filling his eyes, but why does he care when he clearly moved on with Sloane? I continue dancing, letting the music take control. Logan excuses himself and leaves Brie and me on the dance floor. Brie and I head to the kitchen to get water one song later. I thank Bronx for the dance and walk away.

"Are you okay?" Brie asks me.

I nod and say, "Yeah, I'm fine; tonight, I don't care who has their hands all over me. I'm just here to have fun." I smile at her.

"Old Raven is back," she laughs. "I feel sorry for the dude."

"Raven." Logan looks upset. "It's Clay." My heart melts at his name. "He's going insane. I went to see if he was okay because he had disappeared. He's pissed, really pissed. We need to get you out of here, now," Logan says with panic in his voice.

"Why?" Brie asks him. He looks at her and shakes his head. "Oh, come on. Mr. Playboy is jealous that someone had his hands on Ray. After he's had Sloane and multiple girls all over him tonight, he doesn't own her." Brie tells him.

"You don't understand; whatever he feels for Ray is making him crazy." He looks over at me and says, "We need to get you out of here before he loses his mind."

"Okay, let's go," Brie says in defeat.

"No. Where is he?" I ask.

"Ray, no, this isn't a good idea. Logan is right. Please let's go." She practically begs.

"No," I'm stern, "where is he?"

Logan looks at Brie, then me. "The spare room," he says with worry in his eyes. I head up the stairs, Deja vu, only this time I don't hear things breaking; I hear a whimper.

Oh hell, what am I walking into?

I take a deep breath and push open the door to the guest room. What I see inside makes my heart sink. I look around when I realise there's blood on the floor. "Stop!" I yell.

Clay's head snaps back, confusion taking over his face of me standing there. He lets go of the poor girl. "Run, get out of here now!" I shout at her, and she does just that.

"What the fuck?" He barks. I close the door behind me and look at him; his eyes are red, and blood is all over his mouth. He grabs the lamp off the desk and throws it at the wall. "Answer me?" This time he is closer to me, breathing heavily.

"What happened to you?" I ask, trying to keep my cool.

"Why do you care?" He snares.

"What happened to keeping your humanity in check?"

"What happened to us staying away from each other? Go back down to your boy toy." Looking into my eyes as he wipes his mouth clean. "Why are you here?"

"I came to see how you were doing. I guess I made the wrong decision then. You're an immoral monster," I say. Once more, glass shatters, and I scream in response.

"Ha, you're bitching about me being a monster. You're the reason for everything I am!" He barks again. "You don't get to come in here and talk about me keeping myself in check."

My resolve to suppress my emotions is all-consuming. However, he is blaming me for his behaviour, which makes me furious since I find it offensive.

"You don't get to blame me for this. This is all you! We both know, hell everyone around you knows—the closest you will ever get to humanity is when you rip it open and feed on it!" I scream at him.

I turn to walk out of the room, I've had enough tonight, and this can only go two ways: he says something, and I respond sarcastically, or I flip a fuse. Either one brings us to fight with each other.

"I hate you!" He spits through his teeth.

What he says hurts, but I won't let him know that. I open the door, and I respond with sarcasm. "You hate me? That sounds like a love story that's just beginning".

"It's not Ray. You broke me. I should have known better than to fall for your games!" He shouts.

"You broke yourself. And for your information, I wasn't playing games. Goodbye, Clay." I run out the door before he can say anything. I get downstairs, and Brie is standing there. "I have to go. I think I just might have made his mood a little bit worse."

"We'll drive you," she says.

"No, it's okay, I'll be fine," I tell her and disappear.

⁂

I can not stop thinking about Clay on the way home. Was he saying that? Was I to blame for his behaviour? I seek numbness. I let the chilly air enter my lungs as I inhale. Although the coldness hurts, the ache of losing him has temporarily been numbed. I'll have to deal with it eventually, but for now, I just need a break from the pain.