Severing Ties (Book 2. Ties)

11. Change

My life had gone on like normal, or what I considered normal at least. I woke up, went to school, had dinner at Stephanie's, then back home to sleep, and repeat the next day. On Friday, I went to Water Mill, where my aunt lived, and stayed there until Sunday evening. If I wasn't swamped with homework for the weekend, I would go out with Ezra and our friends. However, most weekends I stayed in and did my homework or worked on my art skills that had developed impressively over the year. Practice makes perfect, right?

It was already February and it was still so cold. Nothing like good ol' Texas; for three days in a row it could be blistering hot and suddenly you wake up the next day and there is ice on everyone's lawn. In New York at least the weather was pretty constant. If it was going to be cold, it was going to stay cold for a long while.

However, the weather was not what was out of the ordinary. What was surprising was that Raven had called me on a Saturday morning to hang out. It had been a long time since she had last called or told Robin to call me to go out with them. Maybe it was because most of the times I said I could not go, or maybe it was the fact that she had a lot on her plate being pregnant and figuring out what to do with Rayan and her life. So far they had moved in together, I at least knew that. She gave me directions to her new place which was less than ten minutes away from my home.

That weekend I had not gone to Joy's house because my mom was going to be working that Saturday, so we stayed home. Which ended up being okay, since Raven had invited me out; it was too far driving from my aunt's to New York City. If I had been at my aunt's, I probably would have declined Raven's invitation.

I changed my clothes and drove to Rayan and Raven's place and parked in a garage then went to the reception area and was received by a smiling man with plump cheeks and belly. I was sent up to her floor. I only had a chance to bang my knuckles on the door once. Raven was ready to leave. She drove us to the famous Fifth Avenue, and we shopped until our stomachs started talking to us.

After shopping for what felt like forever, we had lunch and decided it was time to go rest up at home afterwards. So we were walking with our elbows hooked together trying to keep each other warm when somebody called Raven's name. We both looked up at Brutus, her ex. Raven was paler than usual, and I was pretty sure I was redder than I had ever been. Assface Brutus.

"How are you," he asked.

"I'm great, thank you for asking," Raven answered.

"Good. Good... You look radiant." Of course she looks radiant, you assface; she's not with you.

Raven's phone began to ring, so she did not say anything else to Brutus. I noticed the caller ID and smiled. I saw that Raven smiled too when she glanced down at her phone.

"I'm shopping with Mackenzie, but we're about to go home. Are you home yet," she asked Rayan who was on the other end of the line. Raven smiled and looked at the floor. "I just moved yesterday! You didn't even give me a chance to adjust before you started bickering like an old lady." He responded with something, and then she glanced up. "Er, I have to go. I'll see you at home," she told Rayan.

When Raven hung up, Brutus said, "you look happy." It's like you can't read my mind! She's better off without you... Oh wait, you can't read minds... Assface.

"Yeah, I am," Raven answered with an honest smile.

"I miss you, Raven. I made a mistake." Brutus really had no idea who she had been talking to on the phone. He probably thought it was one of her brothers.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, but as I said, I'm happy. I have a new life now, and you don't fit in it. I have to go now," she responded with a fury that made me afraid and proud. She was not one of those people who went back to someone who stood for nothing but bad things. She met Brutus' eyes without any ounce of regret. Raven grabbed my hand and started walking away, but Brutus took hold of her arm.