Page 122 of The Seducer
Nero scoffed. “You’re just a girl. I could beat you with one arm behind my back.”
“Prove it,” Raven dared him.
“Calm down, both of you,” I told them.
“Honestly, you’re wasting your time,” Shelly, who stood next to me, said. “In the beginning, I thought they didn’t like each other, but then I realized that Nero isn’t this mean to everyone, it’s mostly Raven. It’s pretty evident that he’s got a huge crush on her, and since she keeps taking the bait, I guess she must like him too.”
Nero exploded with a face red from anger. “That’s a lie!” he exclaimed and drew everyone’s attention.
“Is there a problem?” Finn moved in on my other side and placed his arm around me in a protective manner.
“Shelly says that I’ve got a crush on Raven and that’snot true,” Nero shouted. “I fuckinghateher.”
Raven was blinking from the harsh words and right away Willow came from behind and wrapped her arms around Raven, with more of the Motlander girls moving in like a swarm of bees offering comfort and support.
“Why do you hate her?” I said with interest.
“Because he’s got a crush on her,” Shelly stated matter-of-factly. “I already told you.”
Holding up my hand, I silenced Shelly and focused only on the boy. “Nero, why do you hate Raven?”
With everyone looking at him, and both Marco and Archer crossing their arms with reproachful glances, Nero was under pressure.
“I just do!” he stated but I wasn’t prepared to let a person this young grow hard and cynical without at least trying to help him.
“Come with me,” I said and walked out of the room.
“Where are they going?” Archer asked behind me, but I didn’t stop to explain.
Entering the kitchen, I waited for Nero to follow before I closed the door behind him. “Now tell me.”
“Why should I tell you anything?” he asked. “I don’t even know you that well.”
“Which is why you should tell me,” I said with a soft voice. “This is what I do in my job, Nero. You can vent to me without the fear of being judged or punished, so take the opportunity.”
Nero lifted his hands to his hair and exhaled with frustration on his face. “I don’t know why I hate Raven so much, she just annoys the hell out of me.”
“Was it always that way?” I asked.
“Yeah, more or less, but it’s gotten worse. Whenever she walks into a room I just want to leave.”
“And why is that?”
He looked away. “I don’t know.”
“But if you did know, what would you say is the reason?”
It was a trick question to bypass his filter, and like most times it worked.
“I hate how all the adults pamper her.”
Staying quiet, I waited for him to continue.
“Did you know that Boulder and Christina adopted her?” he narrowed his eyes. “She goes home with them on Sundays and I see her cuddle with them. Getting hugs and shit.”
I nodded my head but didn’t interrupt. My heart was going out to this twelve-year-old boy who hadn’t known the love of a parent since he was three and came to the Northlands.
“It’s not because I’m jealous or anything,” he claimed. “I just don’t like how they pamper her and let her get away with fucking everything. You’ve heard her; she says mean stuff too, but she never gets in trouble for it.” He threw out his hands. “She charms them all with her happy nature, but I didn’t ask to be in a school with Momsies, and I hate their stupid love circles and massage and crap.” He paused but I kept quiet, waiting to see if he had more he needed to vent. “And it’s not just Raven,” he continued. “One time Magni hung me upside down in a tree because I made Mila cry.” He snorted. “It’s not my fault that the Momsies are such crybabies.”
