Page 98 of Broken Promises

“I came to ask you if I could stay a while.”

“Mom, you know you can’t. Raven?—”

“That girl’s a little brat. I don’t need her permission, it’s Clint’s house, and he said I’m more than welcome to stay here,” she huffed, and I bit back the groan that threatened to come out.

“You’re staying there?”

“Yes. So, you know where I am. Come and see me. We’ll go for lunch or something,” she said cheerfully before hanging up, and I shoved my phone into my pocket with a groan.

“Problem?” Riley asked as she appeared beside me with a cigarette between her lips. “Raven?”

“Mom,” I corrected, making her frown as she lit it. “What does she want?”

“To make my life hell,” I scoffed, grabbing my coffee to down what was left. “Apparently, she’s living at Raven’s place. Clint let her stay.”

“The house is trashed. If you guys ever get it back, it will take a lot of work to fix,” she said with a wince. “Turbo said there’s body-sized holes in the walls, carpet missing, and most of the furniture is either broken or gone.”

“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath, knowing it would’ve killed Raven to see it like that.

“Maybe it’s what you guys needed,” she continued, leaning back against the house to watch me.

“What do you mean?”

“Raven won’t let it go. Maybe it will take her father destroying it for her to finally walk away. I know the house is important to her, but it’s just a house. You guys have spent yearspaying off someone else's mortgage, and for what? He took out a second one and fucked it all up anyway. If you want some help buying something else?—”

“Don’t fucking pity purchase shit for me,” I snapped, a smirk tugging on her lips.

“You need to get laid, Barron. Stop feeling guilty about Josh, butter up Raven some more, and bend her over something. I have a feeling it would fix your mood.”

“Don’t talk about her like that.”

“Like what? A warm-blooded female with a sex drive? She’s not the innocent girl you’ve been defending your whole life, dude. She’s exploring what she likes, and you’re missing out because you’re an idiot. You know Ander, so you know he’s not likely to be making sweet love to her,” she said dryly, the thought making me want to go and put my fist through his face.

“Raven’s not into all that?—”

“How the fuck would you know? She was letting Logan raw-dog her from the get-go, so imagine what Ander fucking Lavaro is getting her into? He’s probably fisting her on the side of the road somewhere as we speak,” she threw back, shutting me up. “You think Lopez is sitting around watching with his dick in his hand these days? Doubtful. He learned how easy it was to lose her already, so I’d bet money on him spit-roasting her with Ander every night. You might have helped turn that girl into who she is today, but you don’t know her on the same level as them, not anymore.”

I wanted to snap at her for being wrong, no one knew Raven like I did, but the reality of the situation slapped me in the face. Riley was right. Logan, Zavier, and Ander all knew Raven differently than I did, and I fucking hated it.

“You really know how to cheer a guy up,” I grunted, tossing my cigarette butt in the ashtray.

“I’m not here to coddle you, I’m here to call you on your bullshit. It’s why you like me,” she said bluntly, patting my shoulder. “Maybe reach out to check in with her to show you give a shit. Girls like that.”

“Thanks for the tip,” I deadpanned, fishing my keys from my pocket. “I’m going to go and see what trouble Mom’s gotten into. I’ll be back later.”

“Let me know if you need bailing out of the pig pen,” she replied, watching me leave as I climbed into my car and headed towards the Heights.

It was a short drive, and it didn’t take long to pull up in the driveway and see how overgrown the yard was getting. We’d only just left, but it had been overdue for a mow for a while now.

I’d barely knocked on the door when Mom flung it open with a wide smile, pulling me inside for a hug.

“There’s my sweet boy! I knew you’d come and visit!”

It felt weird visiting my own damn house.

“You look good,” I said with a frown, a little confused by that.

“I had a good sleep,” she insisted, closing the door. I glanced around, my heart hurting at the state of the house. It reeked of piss and vomit, and there were dents and holes all over the walls.

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