Devil Herself

Chapter 6

After the incident in the alleyway, Chris and Raven kept the story to themselves so Sofia and Russ wouldn't worry, or worse. The first weekend in the house was spent getting to know each other. They used simple games like 20 Questions and Truth or Dare to better understand everyone's background.

One time when the girls were just hanging out together, they were talking about their childhood and lives before joining Harvard.

"So what was yours like, Sofia?" Raven asked.

"It was tough, very tough," she replied. "I made a lot of difficult decisions. My dad was part of the illegal drug trade, he even got my mother involved. He supplied it, she delivered and collected money. At one point they tried to involve me in the trade, but I just couldn't do it, I wouldn't take that risk. For two years, I pretended to be selling different stuff to different people, earning my own money. But really, I was working with the police by bringing the drugs to them as evidence. In return, they would pay me and during my parents' trial, they tried to drag me into the trial as guilty. But when the police explained to them that I was working with them for two years, I was declared innocent and my parents were locked up."

Raven was in such shock. But one thing stood out in her mind.

"If your parents were involved with the drug trade, how did you get accepted into Harvard? I mean, surely that would have been some kind of record for you, right?"

"Yeah, it was put on my record, but so was a reference from the police department. After my parents were thrown in the big house, I had nowhere to go. One of the officers let me stay with his sister and even trained me as a detective to also put on my record. With that there, it was overlooked so I was still eligible, thankfully. But, between you and me... I sometimes regret it."

Raven looked at her with slight disbelief. "Your father tried to manipulate you into joining the drug trade, how can you regret something like that?"

"Because, although he did such bad things, we were very close. I was always his little girl, he never did anything to upset me, he made sure I got everything I wanted in life, and my mother taught me so much about life that I miss her teachings. But at the same time, I don't regret it because I know, if I didn't do that to them, I would never have met friends like you."

Raven's eyes widened a bit and she smiled. "It must have been difficult, but you made the right choices for yourself, I mean look where you are now, a junior detective studying Law, its amazing!"

Sofia giggled. "It's definitely different than what I expected my life to be. Alright, enough about me, what was your life like?"

"If I'm being honest, mine was a bit darker. My mother was an actress and my father was a male model, they met at a photoshoot. My father always told me it was love at first sight. They both knew straight away that they were meant for each other. A year in and they were already engaged. After I came into the picture, they thought it was perfect. For a while at least. When I was 6, my parents picked me up from school, but the roads were icy in the winter. On a turn, the whole car lost its grip and plunged into the nearby river. When I came to, I was laying in the snow with my father shouting my mothers' name, yelling at the paramedics. I saw my mother being taken into an ambulance by doctors just briefly before they left for the hospital. I never saw her again."

Sofia stared in awe at how calmly Raven spoke about her mothers' death. She seemed to hesitate before speaking again.

"You sound so calm saying that," she commented. "Why?"

"Well, it was almost 13 years ago. I guess after a while, the pain seemed to numb itself."

"After the accident, what happened with your father?"

"He went mad. He started drinking, bringing other women home in an attempt to move on but it never worked out. He would always get drunk and upset or anger them. When he lost his job after attacking the cameraman, that was it. The drinking got worse and he started to get violent. By the time I was 11, I had enough. I tried to leave but he smashed my face with a glass bottle, leaving me with only a scar as my last memory."

Raven moved her black hair away from her left eye, revealing the scar from above her eyebrow down to her cheek, going straight across her eyelid. Sofia gaped at the scar in horror. 

"That's when Lucifer came in. He stopped my father and called the police. After my father was locked up, he took me in, gave me a new name so I had one less thing to remind me of the pain. So I chose Raven because that was my mother's nickname for me. I was her little Raven."

She sighed slightly at the white lie. She wanted to tell her the truth because she thought she could trust her. But, she knew not everyone is as trustworthy as they seem. 

Sofia looked at Raven in utter shock at the story. It felt like she was staring for an eternity until Raven waved her hand in front of her eyes, making her come back into reality. 

"I thought my life was bad," Sofia exclaimed. "But man, mine seems like heaven compared to yours."

Raven just laughed at her. "Well hey, maybe in the future, you could be a cop and help other kids in our situations."

Sofia giggled. "I don't wanna do it alone!"

Raven started laughing, vowing to also help children in need so she could support her friend. For the first time, she finally felt like she had a friend. A real friend.