Page 98 of Raven

She replies right away.

Katura: We have QiShan, Axavier, Marlow and Ray-Ray. They are all playing video games. Wanna come over? Before it gets too bad? I’ll send Slate to pick you up!

I thank her but decline.

Just as the emergency alert sends out the notification about the extreme wind gusts, my lights go out. The sudden darkness is eerie. I don’t mind the darkness. Except now, when I think about it, I see Raven. Somehow, the thought of him brings comfort even when he’s not around.

I turn on the electronic candles sitting all around the room. The house comes back to life.

I pick up my phone and dial Callie. “Hey, girl. Are you guys all right?”

There is noise and voices and music in the background.

“Yeah,” she says cheerfully, “we are all together, riding this out. Ty, Dani, Ya-Ya, Kai, me, Guff.” The Eastside crew. We used to spend a lot of time preparing for this kind of scenario back on the Eastside, and I suddenly miss them, for a second wishing I’d agreed.

“You should come over,” Callie insists. “Do you want me to send Kai and Ty to come get you?”

I could be with them, but there’s another person I’d rather see, and he’s not here.

“I’m all right,” I huff out. “Is Sonny with you?”

“He asked to stay with Raven.”

My traitorous heart thuds at the sound of his name, always does, like it’s a trigger.

“You let him?” I ask.

Callie’s chuckle is soft and soothing. “I’m sure Raven is the safest person to be with. Call them,” she suggests as if sensing the reason I asked. “Hey, let me know if you need anything. It should be over by tomorrow.”

When I hang up, I stare at the phone, fighting the urge to call Little. I want to hear the little guy’s voice. But even more so, his. So, I call Little’s phone.

“Maddy!” he answers with a shout. “Rave is telling me about the”—he lowers his voice as he asks away from the phone—“was’ it called?”—then louder as he speaks to me—“yeah, the u-ni-verse.”

He starts chirping a mile a second, but my body is tense because he said my name, and Raven heard it and is listening. I can sense him on the other line. Like there are invisible threads that connect me to him. We are not talking, but we are connected, and that’s how it always feels with him.

Raven’s voice in the background makes my heart hum.

“Rave is asking if you are all right.”

“I’m fine. Just wanted to make sure you are okay. Is Rave okay?”

Little’s voice is muffled when he speaks away from the phone, “Maddy is asking if you are okay.”

My heart gives another anxious thud, and I smile to myself.

“Maddy!” he chirps happily. “Rave is asking if you want us to come over and stay with you.”

I think I’m dizzy. Butterflies are roaring in my stomach. I purse my lips to kill a smile.

“Do you want us to come over? Can we?” Little presses on. “We can watch a movie… together.”

Raven won’t get anything out of this. My studio with a kid in it doesn’t leave room for his games. He knows that, so his intentions are not quite clear. We’ve watched a movie before. But we are talking about the entire night, right?

“Yes, that would be lovely,” I say, my heartbeat spiking so high I think I might pass out. “But I don’t have electricity.”

“We are coming! Wait for us!” The line goes dead.

You don’t often find people who feel like home. The little guy does. And Raven? He doesn’t feel like home. He feels like a gothic castle I step into, terrified but curious, trembling at every sound but wanting to explore the darkness and learn its secrets.

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