Reign of Brayshaw (Brayshaw High #3)(21)

My ribs ache, but I push it away.

“You’re not keeping her,” I say.

To my surprise, she lets those tears fall freely, but here they mean nothing to me.

“It doesn’t matter how bad you want her, and I can tell you do, she’s not yours. They’re bringing her home.”

Maria swallows. “Yeah,” she whispers. “I heard.” Her eyes come back to mine. “But it seems something is standing in the way of her homecoming.”

From sorrow to disrespect so quickly?

“I’m aware,” I say, lying through my teeth.

“Then stop giving them hope they can keep you both,” she hisses. “Everyone here serves a purpose of some kind. There are no coincidences, no accidents. You’re delaying the inevitable, and in turn, Zoey goes to sleep every night telling a picture of her daddy that she loves him instead of him himself.”

Wha...

I am delaying she said, not they are delaying. And keep us both?

Us who? Me and Zoey?

No. No, no no.

Fuck, I’m gonna be sick. My stomach turns, heat spreading across my body and creating beads of sweat across the back of my neck. My entire body flushes.

Holy shit.

I take a second, turning away and closing my eyes. I take a deep breath and when I open them and look back one of the security guards is heading for me.

My muscles tighten but relax when he holds out a cold-water bottle for me to take.

“Ms. Brayshaw.” He nods his head.

He catches me off guard, but slowly I take it from him.

He walks away, and I take a few small sips to settle myself.

“They’re Rolland’s men,” I say, doing my best to play off what she just said when I’m flipping the fuck out in my head having no idea what it truly means “They’re Brayshaw men,” she corrects with an inquisitive tone. “Your men.”

I scoff. “You knew all along, didn’t you?”

“I did, but I’m not sure I fully believed it until we went to get your things.”

I could tell when she mentioned my mom, she knew her. “When you saw her for yourself.”

Maria nods. “Yeah,” she whispers, regretful. “The woman I saw was not the Ravina I knew.” I don’t ask because I don’t fucking care, but her next words catch me by surprise. “She was my best friend once.”

I can’t hide it, my eyes widen. Her best friend? “You’re from here.”

She scoffs. “You’d never know it. My existence was erased a long time ago.” Her eyes move to mine. “I was never strong enough for this world. I wasn’t like you. I was too weak, emotionally and physically. Too na?ve. I didn’t see the knife, only felt it in my back.”

I eye her, finding no reason for her to talk out her ass.

She gives a small smile. “I knew you didn’t know yet.”

I glare.

“There is no way you’d be sitting here if you had.” She looks to the four Brayshaws, so I finally give in and do the same. “I may not know you well, but there is a freedom that surrounds you that the people here aren’t used to. You can’t be controlled, you rebel, you push, you question. Your mind works a little different than those we know. I think it’s why Rolland fears your influence.”

“Rolland has bigger issues than me.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” she breathes.

The boys pretend to guard Zoey and she widens her little legs, lifting one and then the next as she leans from side to side, an adorable effort at juking before running completely around Royce, tossing it into the little hoop that is just slightly taller than her reach. She gets so excited when she makes it and almost falls over, but Maddoc is right there to catch her before she can.

“She’ll never have a scraped knee again if those three have anything to say about it...” Her voice trails off and I look to her.

She stares at Maddoc and Zoey, and her lips smash together, a deep crease forming on her forehead.

Wait.

She knows I’m watching, and slowly her eyes come back to mine. She holds back nothing, showing her pain and loss and... longing.

Something hits my foot and my eyes snap down to find the little basketball at my feet.

Steps echo across the cement and I freeze, unable to look up for some reason, but then tattooed knuckles come down on the ball and my eyes lift.

Cap reaches up, touching my cheek, his blue-green eyes on me. “Stop,” he whispers, then moves his mouth to my ear so Maria can’t hear. “It’s okay. I was scared at first, too. There will be a next time, Raven.”

I squeeze his wrist only letting go when I have to, and he walks back to his family.

My eyes slide right, and I spot Zoey, her big eyes are locked on me. She pushes her blonde hair from her face as she stares at me. Her little hand lifts, and she almost looks shy as she waves her tiny fingers at me.

My stomach muscles tighten and my teeth clench as pressure begins to knock behind my eyes. Somehow through that, I manage to raise my hand and wave back.

Her smile is instant and huge and I bite my tongue.

She spins around and throws herself in Royce’s arms.

“That way!” She points down the back of the house, where I can’t see, and they disappear.

“She has a little train back there, it’s tiny, goes in a circle around a tree, but she loves it.”