Page 58 of Pretty Monsters

"You would have been better for Raven." It hurts to admit, but it's true.

"Nah," he dismisses. "She deserves to be loved wholly. I can't do that until I can push Tessa out of my heart. And I know now that I deserve the same, and Raven loves you."

I stumble and catch myself on the back of the couch. His eyes narrow. "It's scary as fuck when you realize that you love and are loved in return. Especially for guys like us who've been taught from an early age they aren't worth anything. If you fuck this up, all you do is prove whoever made you think that right. Don't you think those bastards have stolen enough?"

"Who was yours?" This is the most he's shared about his past. He already knows that Damien is the one who made me what I am.

"My father, but the how and why isn't something I'm really open about."

I nod, understanding him. "I could kill him for you."

He chuckles. "You're a terrifying asshole sometimes. Besides, there's no point. He's working on putting himself six feet under. He gets closer every day."

Remorse hits me again. Ford isn't a bad guy, and if I were different, and if he hadn't slept with Raven, I think we could have even been friends.

He smirks. "I can see you over there fighting the fact that you want to like me. You might still hate me as time goes on."

My muscles tense. "Are you planning to make another play for her? She said you two talked and realized it wasn't there."

He nods. "My relationship with her isn't sexual. Anymore at least."

He's right, I might still hate him. How he can find the humor in this fucked up situation is beyond me. Backtracking, I pick out a key phrase,my relationship. "What do you mean, your relationship?"

The sound of footsteps comes around the corner. Raven stretches, and I'm glad to see she's added a pair of my sweats to go along with Ford's t-shirt. Something I very much hate seeing on her.

"Morning, hot stuff," she chirps at Ford. He smiles adoringly at her, and there it is, the rage.

"Morning, firecracker," he says and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear.

Their affection has an intimacy I hate. It lays bare the fact they know each other completely, and in a way I haven't been acquainted with her yet.

I'm shaking and about to lose my shit when she looks up at me and blushes. A foreign feeling washes over me, the need to claim her. I open my arms, and she steps right into me.

The others begin to enter the main part of the cabin, like they were all waiting for the tension to pass. Likely, they were.

Shane strolls in, sees Raven in my arms, and nods with satisfaction. Ted and Amber come in, holding hands and talking quickly. They are followed by Jen and Tessa.

Tessa looks back and forth between Raven and I, and Ford, and her brow furrows. "So everything is back to normal?"

"No," I say. I look down at Raven. "It won't be like that ever again."

"Promise?" she whispers.

"Yeah," I manage through a tightness in my throat.

"You're okay with this?" she asks Ford.

His head rolls back, and he works kinks out of his neck. Like her presence alone causes his muscles to tighten up. "Jackson is right. We aren't going back to normal." He turns to everyone else. "I'm sorry that everything got so fucked up on this trip. The four of us kinda ruined everything for the rest of you, but I'm fine, really. Besides, if that shit hadn't gone down, Jackson here wouldn't have had the balls to claim his woman, and I wouldn't have my new best friend."

"Fuck off, I'm your best friend," Shane grumbles.

Ford and Raven share a look and crack up.

"Do I want to know what that was about?" I ask nervously.

"No," they both say in unison and start laughing again.

"This best friend thing is going to be really annoying, isn't it?" I ask.

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