“How about I wait outside?We can go down together when you’re ready.”
Raven nodded once, then looked at Maxim.“That… Upstairs, the notebook.”
“Hmm?”
Raven blushed.It was faint now that he was a vampire, but Maxim was watching closely.
“Can I keep it?”
“Of course.I’ll fetch it for you.But you must remember about the pens.”
“What about the pens?”
Maxim clicked his tongue.“Raven, this is a serious matter, and you cannot forget.Heath must never know that I don’t lose any pens, ever, do you understand?”
“Oh.That.Yes.”
“Very well, then.Take your time.”
Maxim stood and turned, and he was almost out the door when Raven whispered, “I don’t know what to do.”
He’d spoken quietly, just loud enough to be overheard, by another vampire.But he doesn’t really understand the way our acute senses work yet.Maxim walked backward and sat at the foot of the bed, crossed his legs.
“You’re going to do whatever you want to do.”
Raven hesitated, moving under the comforter as if he were curling into a ball.
“I mean…there has to be something that comes next.When I realized I wanted to get away from home, I went to school, and I studied.I worked really hard for the scholarship.I know what I have to do to keep up my grades, but I don’t know what I have to do now.”
Maxim lowered his head.It had been like that for him.Yes, he’d had to heal physically, but that had required little in terms of doing, and once he had healed, there had been nothing to move toward, not a single thing.
Maxim licked his lips.“You get through today, then the next day, and so forth.You feed yourself even when you’re not hungry, and you get dressed even if you don’t want to get out of bed.What was done to you cannot be undone, but there is no reason why it should rule your every moment.It’s hard at the beginning.It gets better down the line.”
“Did I…” Raven was silent for so long that Maxim thought he was done talking, but then, on a whisper, he asked the question.“What did I do that made him take me?”
“The answer is twofold.One part is that you were interested in Sherlock Holmes, but you must’ve guessed that.The other part is that it wasn’t really you.You ticked certain boxes for him, but it was never aboutyou—the person you are, what formed you, what potential sleeps inside your heart, about the thoughts only you can think.Don’t give him that much credit.”
Raven said nothing, but it looked to Maxim as if he were thinking this through, putting reality in place where fear had crept in.Maxim gave it several more minutes before he headed out of the room again.
“I’ll wait for you.Whenever you’re ready, Raven,” he said, one hand on the doorjamb.
He brought the notebook down from the office, the stairs feeling better than sitting, and while he was at it, he picked out several of the very nice gel pens for Raven.
Downstairs, he put all of that on the coffee table and paced, waiting for any sound from Raven’s room.
It took a while, but then he heard Raven get out of bed, and it sounded as if he were dressing in fresh clothes.Maxim allowed himself a smile.
Chapter 22
Thedogwasatthe bar with Jason, who was making his way through a large plate of fries with mayonnaise and chili flakes; his favorite.Jason didn’t see them outright, but the dog did, leaping up from where he was lounging next to Jason’s barstool and running toward Raven, only to cry at him in a very un-doglike way.
He's drawing so much attention.Raven knelt to pet him, feeling fur that was softer now and smelled like cotton candy.
“It appears he missed you,” Maxim said.
Jason turned.“There you are.Sorry, that one said I wasn’t supposed to go upstairs.”He jabbed a thumb at Clement, who was tending the bar.
Raven’s chest tightened.“Yeah, I was…” The dog was pawing at him, demanding more attention.
