The Path Of The Righteous

Safety is Number One.

     Raven was sleeping when she had gotten a call from her mother. It was one in the morning and her mother was calling. She ignored it as she rolled over. It has been a week since Raven had seen Riley. She was down in the dumps because he wouldn't answer her call or texts.
      The phone buzzed again. "This better be an emergency..." She half mumbled. "You have summoned me?" She answered.
      "Get here, quick. It's an urgent matter. No questions, just get here at the hospital. I am on floor two, room one hundred." Her mom said frantically.
     "Yes ma'am." Raven replied and hung up. She ran to get decent clothing on and threw a beanie on her head. She threw her converse on and dashed down the stairs, grabbing her car keys and ID card.
      Raven drove like a bat out of hell. She got to the hospital within fifteen minutes. Raven had met her mom outside of the door to the room.
     "Don't be loud and don't be scared..." Her mother cautioned. "He told me he wanted to see you and only you, sweet heart."
     "Mom? Who is it? What happened?" She asked.
    "Go look... Be careful though." Her mom replied.
     Raven walked I to the room and instantly her vision blurred with tears. She never cries, but if she does she's either in an immense amount of pain or there is a clown in the room. But the sight... The X-Rays were in her mother's hands.
    "Riley?..." Raven said, barely above a whisper.
    He was lying in the hospital bed, bandages and gauze pads were scattered all over his body. He had a cast on him left arm. Butterfly stitches were on his cheekbone, bride of his nose and his eyebrow. Bruises littered his skin. "He's got several cracked ribs, a broken arm and collar bone. He has a concussion so that's why all the lights are off. You gotta be quiet and extremely gentle with him. He was shot in the leg and it doesn't look so good. I'll leave you two alone."
     Riley's eyes opened just slightly and he sat up as well as he could. He motioned for Raven to come over. "H-ow...Y-you were... shot?" She asked in a shaking voice. Her whole frame was trembling.
   "Get into my jeans and get the bullet... It's got something... In it..." He instructed. She nodded and returned with the small bullet. Raven watched as he put the deep purple powder into the bullet wound. It began to look better.
     "When did this happen?" She asked, sitting beside his legs.
    "A few hours ago..." He replied. He saw all if her emotions pour out of her eyes. She slid closer and he pulled her down to lay beside him. She was gentle as if he would break. He let her rest her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his good arm around her.
    Raven let the tears fall and she said "I'm sorry... So sorry!"
     "It's not your fault... It's okay." He replied. "You didn't know."
    "I should've been there... I should have kept searching for you but mom told me to sleep because I was looking for hours on end and... And..." She stopped when he kissed her head.
     "Raven, this is not your fault. I heal quickly..." Extremely quickly. "You couldn't have known what was happening or where I was." He rubbed her side. She wiped her eyes and felt him pull her closer.
    "I'm not leaving your side until you are healed and all better." She said. "Who did this?"
     "I don't know." He lied. Riley knew exactly who it was, he just didn't want to say because then he'll be targeted again and possibly killed. "I'll be okay. Tomorrow after school you can come see me. I'll be home probably." He said quietly. Raven was calmer now.
     "Okay... Want me to go home now or stay the night?"
     "I'd much rather have you in school tomorrow than here worrying about me. I'll see you tomorrow, I promise you." He said smiling as she sat up.
     "Okay... Call me if you need anything!" She got up and wiped her eyes. She still felt guilty. Raven left the room calm and collected but as soon as she got to her car she lost it. Little did she know, Riley could actually hear her. His hearing, vision and smell was heightened beyond belief. Raven blamed herself for not looking hard enough. When she got home she had fallen asleep in the recliner in the living room. Hours later she was at school, zoned out at her locker. Jaxon had walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She jumped and gasped, a sign that she was tired. Jaxon said "Hey, hey... It's me. What's wrong?"
    She turned around and looked at Jaxon. She said so quiet, even crickets couldn't hear her. "They found Riley last night... But he was beat up and someone shot him in the leg... He doesn't know who did it either. But he's all busted up and broken and..." She stopped to yawn. Jaxon chuckled.
"It's my fault for not looking hard enough... Someone could have killed him!" She said. Jaxon pulled her into a hug and kissed her head.
     "He'll be okay. He's in good hands at the hospital." Jaxon heard her sigh and he pulled back to look at Raven. She looked up into his eyes and saw some sort of emotion. He quickly kissed her before letting her finish getting her books.
    "Okay, let's rock." She said. Jaxon walked her to her first class and before she went into class he kissed her and said "I'll see you second block. I love you."
   "I love you too." Raven replied before walking into her classroom. She sat down and almost towards the end of the block she read a text from her mom that broke her.
     "Riley woke up coughing blood. We had to do emergency surgery to inflate his lung and repair a damaged internal organ. He is still recovering and will be awake soon. Love you kiddo."
     She grabbed her books and rushed out of the classroom. She hurried to the bathroom and locked herself in a stall. Raven started crying and she felt as if the world was caving in.
     She called her mom and she answered quickly. "Mom... I need you... I need to go see him! Please!" She pleaded.
     Her chest began to hurt. She ran a hand through her hair and tried to breathe.  Still she had harsh cries erupt from her. "Honey, relax. Go to the nurse! You're having an anxiety attack! Riley is okay! Raven, relax. Go to the nurses office and sit down. Relax."
     "Mom... I need to see him!" Her chest started heaving for breath. Her mom convinced her to go to the nurse so she hung up. Raven was walking to her locker and she grabbed her bag too. She ran into Jaxon along the way and he instantly took her into his arms. Raven just held onto Jaxon tightly and sobbed into his shoulder. He smoothed her hair down and kissed the top of her head several times before she even remotely calmed down. Jaxon cupped her face in his hands and looked her in the eyes. He started wiping her tears away.
     "What's wrong?" He softly questioned.
     "It's Riley... He had emergency surgery this morning and he could have... He could've died! I need to go see him!" She let out. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were rosy pink. She sniffed and looked down.
      "Okay, okay. C'mon. I'm in study hall anyways so I'll drop you off. It's okay sweetheart. It's okay." He rubbed her sides.
    "You don't have to... I need to walk. Get some fresh air and a handle on this." She said in an almost steady voice.
     "Are you sure? I want to make sure you're okay." He said as they started walking to the staircase. They were holding hands.
     "Yeah, I'm sure. My mom will give me hell but she'll understand. Thank you, Jaxon." She said, turning to face him before leaving. He leaned down and kissed her.
    "I love you. Let me know how it goes."
    "I will. I love you too." She stole a second kiss before leaving the school. She walked outside and the cool air blew around her, stirring up leaves. She put her hood up and kept walking until she was at the hospital doors. She walked in and went to find her mom. She eventually found her mother. Her mother wasn't even mad at her daughter.
    "Where is he?" She asked.
    "He's awake. But you can't see him yet. After this last test you can visit him."
     Raven nodded. She followed her mother to the waiting room. After an hour or so Raven almost fainted. Riley walked out into the waiting room, like he was all set to go home. She stood up and he held his good arm open. Raven basically fell into Riley's hold. People watched as the two just held each other, rocking from side to side. He closed his eyes and hoped she wouldn't fall into Jaxon's plans, or the fact that he'll break her heart. He didn't want her to be broken.
       "You're okay..." She breathed.
     "I'm okay... I am good to go home tonight if I am breathing fine." He listened to her heart race against her ribs.
    "You scared the hell out of me." She looked at him and her eyes were watery. She wasn't going to cry, her eyes were just teared up. She took in his facial features and made sure he was himself. He noticed she did that.
    "I'm sorry... I promise I won't do this again. Scare you out of your mind, make you worry so much. I swear to you I won't." He held his pinky up and they hooked pinky fingers to make a promise.
    Raven took his promise to heart. Granted, it was a small one, she still took it and engraved it into her brain. Just like all of their promises. "Okay... I believe you. I trust you not to." She smiled up at him. Their height difference made them look so funny. "Where's that blond?" Raven asked.
      "I only want you and your mother and my parents to know about this and see me. It's fine if you told Jaxon. He already knows." Shit. Abort mission Riley!
     "I am glad you two are getting along." She walked with Riley to his room and they spoke for about an hour until her mother came in.
    "You literally walked from the school to here?! Are you crazy?!"
    "Yes ma'am I did indeed do that." She was honest.
     "Oh you are definitely my daughter." Her mother chuckled and shook her head.
     "You walked all the way here to see me?" Riley asked.
     "Yeah, I took a lot of short cuts. I know this town like the back of my hand." She shrugged. Riley just gaped at her. "What? I go for walks when I get mad or bored."
     "I can tell. Jeez, how often?" He asked.
     "Once or twice a week." She replied. He just wiped a hand down his face and laughed. Raven and Riley were talking about school until she had to leave with her mother. Raven was still worried about her friend but she knew he was safe.