Reign of Brayshaw (Brayshaw High 3)

I close my eyes.Soft, slow hands run across my arm and my eyes peel open.

The room is dark, the sun gone, but the moon offers a hint of sight.

When the hand brushes once again, my head snaps up, and I gasp.

“Cap.”

“Hey,” Captain rasps.

“You’re awake.” I look into his tired eyes.

He nods. “Been for a while, didn’t wanna wake you though. Royce told me you haven’t been sleeping.” His eyes move between mine. “You okay?”

I can’t help it, I laugh, burying my face back into the crook of his arm again. “Ugh, am I okay?” My head pops back up.

Cap doesn’t grin though, instead growing more concerned.

“Captain, you were shot, twice. By my mom. Are you okay?”

“Raven,” he whispers, his hand coming up to cup my face. “Stop it.” His light eyes roam my face, pausing at my hairline. He moves his fingers up my cheekbone to my forehead and pushes my hair back gently. His features squeeze before coming back to mine. “You saved me,” he whispers.

“You saved me, too.”

Captain stretches his neck, bringing his lips closer. His stare hits mine, a rawness I’ve never seen in them, one that exposes my own in the same second. My eyes move between his a moment, and then the world around us becomes too much, we lean in.

So much pain and sadness wraps around my heart with this single move, and I can sense his just the same. There’s no movement, not exploring, only the firm contact of my lips and his.

He pulls away but keeps the connection between our mouths close. “We could have lost you.”

“I don’t wanna talk about that.”

He nods. “Is she...”

“I’d say she won’t cause us any more trouble but knowing her she still might.” Her watery eyes flash before me. “Even without a beating heart.”

He pulls me close, so I drop my head back beside him and he continues to run his hand across my arm.

Several minutes pass when I finally start talking again.

“She thought you were Graven,” I admit. “That’s why she came. That’s why she shot you before she realized shooting me would be easier.”

“She sold you to my dad. Why freak out about it now?”

“Royce asked the same question.” I tilt my head up to look at him. “Maybe your dad never planned to give me to them. Maybe he had good intentions, and his way of letting me know was giving me my knife, but things changed, and he had to use what he could to protect his family.” I give a small smile and Cap’s eyes drop from mine. “I wasn’t family yet, Zoey was. It’s what anyone would have done.”

He’s quiet a long moment before he says, “I was so sure Mallory got pregnant on purpose, try to lock herself in, you know? But then it didn’t make sense because she got pregnant and left. She didn’t even want her, didn’t try to trade her to me. Nothing.”

“Maybe she did trick you, planning to go to Collins all along but Perkins found out first and made her a deal she couldn’t walk away from.”

“I don’t know.”

I look up at him. “Only one way to find out.”

He eyes me. “He’s not my father, Raven.”

“I know, and he’s gone, just so you know. I made him leave, told him he could only come back if you asked him to directly, so packman, yet again it’s on your shoulders to open up the conversation.”

His hand comes up and he runs his thumb across my cheek. “Always pushing me to be stronger.”

“Not stronger,” I whisper. “Certain. I want you to want to share who you are and what’s going on in your head. You sit back, you study, you discover, but you don’t volunteer anything past the eye.”

“Neither do you.”

“I’m different. I don’t have to say it. What you see is what you get.”

He shakes his head. “Nobody could ever look at you and see all you are. How could they when you don’t see it in yourself?”

I look away, but he draws my eyes back to his.

“I need you to do something for me.”

“Anything.”

“Go see Zoey.”

My face goes slack, and I start to shake my head but stop when he begs.

“Please. It’s been weeks since I’ve seen her. I can’t FaceTime her, not until these fucking tubes are out and I can put a real shirt on at least. She might only be shy of three, but she’s intuitive.”

“Like her daddy,” I whisper.

His grip tightens. “Please do this.”

“She doesn’t even know me, Cap.”

“She will. I need her to feel wanted. She will if you show up wanting to play with her. Please.”

Not wanting to disappoint him, I start to agree when Royce suddenly appears.

“I want to do it.”

Our heads snap toward him, and a small smile takes over my lips.

His eyes are sloped at the edges as he stares at his brother.