Ravenna

Chapter 40

    She said : don't get too close, it's dark inside. It's where my demons hide...
   And I answered, get too close, there's a hell inside of me, it's where your demons can live...

      
     .Ravenna.

       I'm unable to decide which awoke me. The blinding white light my eyes took time to adjust to or the pain coursing through my arm at the moment. My eyes roll around, trying to adjust to the scenery and that's when they come in contact with a man, muttering cuss words while stitching the injury on my left arm. I'm unable to move and is left with the choice of using my words to bring this man's attention to myself.

       "Who are you?"

     His sky blue eyes immediately make contact with mine and I notice the square shaped glasses on the tip of his nose. They made me remember Dexter from Dexter's laboratory. An overwhelming urge to laugh pinches my inside and I let out forced giggles.

         "Is that the nitrous oxide affecting her?" A feminine voice asks and I lock eyes with a similar figure. I'm unable to recall where I know her from and just watch as she settles on a sofa opposite me.

         "Yes, it is." The man beside me replies her.

          "Do I have to repeat my question again?" I growl and the man flinches a little.

         "I'm doctor Larson," He rushes out his response, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "I ran into you with my car. Do you remember?"

       The familiar last name has me furrowing my brows. Could he actually be related to Klaus? Had I been so unfortunate as to really get run over by his father? The questions on my mind are soon overridden by blurry images of the night before. My dad, Principal Ellie, The alcohol, The guy on the street and then the headlights.

        I bop my head in response to his question and a grin takes over his face. "So you remember everything then."

          "Clearly." I coldly state. He cleans up the rest of my cuts and steps away from me. My fingers lightly wiggle and I take that as the cue to move every other part of my body.

       "You need to rest." Doctor Larson says when I struggle balancing on my two feet.

        "Where's my bag?" I ask, ignoring his comment.

         "Right here." A familiar voice says and I pivot to catch Klaus standing with my bag in his hands.

       Shit. They are related.

      "Talk about worst first impressions." I mumble with a choked laugh.

    .Klaus.

   
     My dad and Elsie immediately take the hint to get the hell out of here, leaving me with Raven and a whole bunch of bothering questions.

        My first action is to toss her bag beside her feet, taking closer steps. She doesn't lose eye contact with me, even as I gesture towards her bag.

        "What happened?" I ask, deciding to start it out slow. It was bound to get hectic anyway. Her fists clench up beside her as her glare hardens. "You don't drink..."

         "I do now." She cuts me off, giving me a reply before I even demand one.

        "You're supposed to be home."

      "What are you? My bitch?" Her reply is excruciatingly cold but I make sure to keep my anger in check.

       "You were on the street, drinking for God's sake...carrying a bag full of clothings and...what? Running around?" I slowly seethe with anger. "Were you planning on running away?"

         "What if I was?"

       I make a reflexive movement, hitting the wall close to me but it doesn't seem to bother her. "Stop replying every damn question with another Raven."

      I watch as her tensed up body relaxes a little as she grabs her bag from the floor, flipping it over her shoulder. Her mouth opens up to let a word out but she ends up closing it instead, shutting her eyes as she bites down on her bottom lip.

        "I'm sorry Klaus," She sniffs when her eyes go open again. My anger seems to want to get involved in two actions when a tear drops on her cheek. One was bloody murder the person making her cry and the second was to just disappear and hold her. "I can't do this anymore."

       My face becomes grave as those words leave her mouth. "Raven..."

        "Nobody wants me...okay? I'm sick of just doing it all on my own. I miss her, I miss her a lot, you have no idea how much it hurts."

       I don't need to be a genius to know she's talking about her mom as she breaks down before me. There's a list of things you'd almost count as impossible, such as mount Everest shrinking, going on a world tour in a day and fucking seeing Ravenna Black cry. I clearly recall her getting on my nerves when I got all mopy about my parents divorce and now here she was...right in front of me, unable to control her own emotions.

        "What happened?" I ask once again.

        "I can't go home," she wipes her cheeks with the back of her hands. "I can't. I just can't."

        She begins shaking and I immediately pull her into me, wrapping my arms around her as her loud breaths catches my ear. "You can stay here."

      Her words fail to come out but I feel her head shake against my chest, as if opposing to the idea.

         "I can't." Those words get out once again and I tilt her head to look at me. Her nose is a dark shade of pink now and her skin is almost burning up.

         "Yes you can baby," I say, making eye contact with her. "And you will."

      I didn't need the full details of what happened to be there for her. What I knew though, was that it was so tragic that she had to turn to an act she didn't agree with, felt so shaken and unwanted and that she felt lost and while she just really needed someone right now, the person she wanted wasn't around and isn't going to be for a long while. Nothing is stopping me from being that person now, nothing is stopping me from learning what's broken her more than she already is and nothing is stopping me from bringing the person who triggered it to their fucking knees.