The Raven

Naivety

Reminder that The Siren (the second one) and this books are two sides of the same coin. If you would like another pov/more depth into the dinner then I suggest you check out chapter 7 of the April book.
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Randy found the woman sitting on a bench outside. Her legs were pulled close to her chest as she stared vacantly into the air. He didn't know if she was looking for company or if she wanted to be left alone. The man would have asked for help but Ramee, who was equally terrible at comforting people, was probably busy looking over April and Karen was likely speaking to the staff who were probably shocked that a fellow employee that they'd grown to like was dead. Randy sighed as he watched the still woman. He had to get over his apprehension and do his job as her mentor and friend.

He walked up to the woman and stared down at her. "Why do you guys constantly keep me out of the loop?" Ray asked, her grey eyes still unfocused. Her voice sounded genuinely mystified and dazed. If he hadn't followed after the young woman the second she ran he would've thought she smoked a joint.

"Gang orders."
"For everyone or are they specific to me?" He sighed as he sat down next to her. A part of him had been expecting this conversation. He ran his hands through his white hair and leaned back into the bench.

"Everyone receives gang orders Ray."
"So Ramee's just shit at keeping secrets? Is that why April was aware of this shit show and I wasn't? Or were you specifically told to not tell me anything?" Randy tried making a joke about Ramee's inability to follow instruction but she was not having it. The woman raised her hand to silence him.

"Don't fucking joke, Randy. Tell me."
"Yeah. It was a test."
"Another test? Why am I the only one who always gets tested? April is here too and nobody is testing her. Or is it because she's batshit insane?" Randy did not comment on that point. He'd known for a while that April got pretty intense but what they witnessed was another flavor of April. He wondered how his slightly deranged sister was doing.

"I've met you all last year. Just like April. Yet I only received my chain yesterday. She got hers five months ago. Why? What is it that I'm doing that's making everyone so suspicious of me?" Ray hated sounding so insecure but she was desperate to find out why she wasn't good enough.

Everyone else in the gang wasn't adopted by K. So why was she the only one being treated differently? The Raven had a lot of questions that bubbled her throat but she felt like Randy would be useless in answering them. He was silent all along, why would he talk to her now?

A few moments of silence passed. From where she sat she could see the Porsche that the two, now dead, guests had arrived in. She briefly wondered what would happen to it. The cool night air gently brushed against Ray's flushed cheeks as she hugged her herself tighter. Ray was still hurt and upset at the thought of the events that occurred during the dinner. The woman didn't even acknowledge Randy for placing his blue blazer on her shoulders.

It felt like she was always on the outside looking in. Instead of dwelling on the fact that she witnessed her friends brutally murder people she focused on other things that have been bothering her for months.

Ray felt upset that she was working so hard and it somehow still was not enough. She was one of the top weed dealers in the gang and she had progressed greatly over the weeks but she still wasn't involved in the conversations. The woman moved her trembling fingers and began unbraiding her complicated hairstyle to distract herself from the silence and her growing agitation.

"You know what your problem is Ray?" Randy said after a long pause.
"What?"
"You keep comparing your progress in the gang to April."
"I'm not jealous." She glared at him.
"Hold on, I didn't say that you were."
"Then what are you saying you fuck?"
"I'm saying that you're looking at how she's progressing and comparing it to how you are moving up in the gang. I get it. You both met us at around the same time but it's different with April because she doesn't do what you do in the gang. She doesn't do what most of the gang does."