Page 155 of Filthy Liar

I was glad Cruz had a potential new friend to talk nerdy shit with, but it was getting old super fast.

I was tired, sore, and I just honestly wanted to go home to bed so I could curl up with Raven and sleep for a week.

It was eleven in the morning, and no one had slept for over twenty-four hours. It was surprising that no one had lost their temper yet.

“Glad you’re alive,” Drake grinned as he lightly ruffled my hair and wandered off to check in with Knox and Stone, the smell of smoke lingering as people moved around.

We were all filthy, the smoke from the burning building had seeped into our clothes and hair, and some of us still had dried blood on us from our injuries.

We were a mess, but at least we were alive.

“It’s over,” Raven murmured, more to herself than me as her gaze flicked to mine. “He thought you were Jeremy?”

“That prick just won’t stay dead. Even from the ground he’s starting problems for me,” I muttered, soaking in her touch as she cupped my cheek.

“It’s over,” she repeated. “You survived your father and the fucking mafia. Surely, no one else did dodgy deals with the Demons, and if they did, they’re nowhere near as big as what we are. We’ll keep fighting every day if we have to, but for now, it’s done. We can sleep in tomorrow, get back to our jobs, and start saving money to make a really good life for ourselves together.”

I swallowed, emotion clogging my throat. It felt like six months ago we were just kids winging it through life with the whole world against us, but now? We had careers lined up, Raven was going to college next year, and we were free of the shackles from our childhood.

“Hey,” Reid mumbled as he joined us, dropping into a seat beside me. “I really think you should go to the hospital, dude.”

“I’m fine. Besides, I prefer this nurse to any I’ll get in there,” I winked, and as much as Raven pulled a face, I could tell she liked it.

I’d been a little mad when I’d seen Ander walk into that room with Raven in tow, wishing she’d stayed at home where it was safe, but I’d also been so happy to see her.

“No more surprise parent visits, right? Unless Raven’s mom comes back next,” I said with a straight face, knowing it was a possibility.

“Doubtful. She’s hopefully dead in a ditch somewhere. At least now we only have to wait for Logan’s mom to keel over. The rest of us are finally free of it,” Raven said way too sweetly, cringing when she glanced at Reid. “Shit, sorry.”

“If we don’t laugh about it, we’ll cry. Right?” he asked dryly, but I snorted.

“I laugh because it’s funny. I know you were a little attached to your mom, but?—”

“Brainwashed,” he corrected with a wince. “It might take a while, but I know over time it will bring me some kind of peace. Not yet, but I’m getting there.”

“You’re allowed to miss her, Reid,” Raven murmured, dropping a kiss on his head. “Even if she treated you badly.”

He pulled her onto his lap but shuffled the chair closer to me so she could keep cleaning the damage, and we all looked up when Rory approached with a small smile.

“Should you be walking around?” Raven asked, making her scoff.

“I was shot, that’s just a typical Tuesday morning for me. I forgot to give you your mail yesterday when it arrived.”

“My mail?” Raven echoed, her eyes going wide when Rory handed her a small pile of envelopes. My eyes landed on the college logos in the corners, and Raven panicked. “These are letters from the colleges you applied for on my behalf?”

“Yep. I sent them off to a lot so you had options. You know, in case some rejected you,” she shrugged, and I had to bite my tongue. No one was going to say no to Rory, I’d bet money on her probably bribing them with donations to ignore Raven’s lack of fancy education.

“You tried to get me into Harvard?” she croaked as she flipped through the envelopes.

“Options,” she repeated. “Take them home with you and open them later if you’d like to wait. You go through all the ones that accepted you, and tell me which one I’m sending money to. No arguments. I’m investing in you for the future, Raven. You want to be a good role model to kids? Then you work your ass off and prove that I made the right choice in sending you to college, okay? Whatever school you choose, I’m happy with. You need to start studying too. Now you’re not being targeted by the mafia, I’d like to see you making an effort to get ahead for next year and agree to weekly tutoring, understand?”

I wanted Raven to open them all right now so we could see all the congratulation letters, but she’d prefer to do it in private later.

As I expected, she nodded and placed them on the table close by and returned her attention to my face, her hands a little shaky now. Reid stared at the letters silently, and I knew exactly what he was thinking.

A few of those colleges were far away, but Raven wouldn’t leave, even if the opportunity was better. She’d always wanted to stay close to home, but even if for some reason she did want to leave, I’d support her one hundred percent.

Everyone seemed in good spirits now the threat was gone, and the room was filled with chatter as people drank coffee and prepared to get on with their day without a good night's sleep. I’d thankfully been given the day off, same with Reid and Logan, so we intended on heading home and curling up in bed for the rest of the day once we were done here.

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