My cousin lives near there and says she's a total bitch IRL
Can't believe Alissa wasted five years on her
That one stopped her cold.
Five years.
Had it really been five years? It felt longer. It felt like forever. It felt like Alissa had been woven into every part of her life for so long that Raven had forgotten where she ended and Alissa began.
And then Alissa had married someone else.
Without telling her.
In Vegas.
Raven closed the laptop with more force than necessary and set it aside.
She needed a drink.
Or several drinks.
The pub seemed like the obvious choice.
THE PUB WAS busier than she might have expected for a Wednesday afternoon, which meant there were approximately six people scattered across the various tables and one old woman knitting something that might have been a scarf or possibly a noose.
Raven claimed her corner booth and ordered a beer.
"Rough day?" Arty asked, setting the glass in front of her.
"Why would you think that?"
"You're drinking at four in the afternoon, and you look like you might stab someone."
"Perceptive."
"It's a gift." He slid into the seat across from her without asking, which was becoming a habit. "Want to talk about it?"
"Not particularly."
"Want me to leave you alone?"
Raven considered this. "Also not particularly."
"Right then." He settled in, looking entirely too comfortable. "We'll just sit here in companionable silence while you brood."
"I don't brood."
"You're literally brooding right now."
"This is thinking."
"If that's what you want to call it." He signaled to the bar for his own drink. "Saw the photos, by the way. You and the children. Looked quite sweet, actually."
Raven glared at him.
"I'm just saying, not the worst publicity you could have gotten. Better than 'Rockstar Arrested for Public Intoxication' or 'Raven's Meltdown Caught on Camera.'"
"I've never been arrested for public intoxication."
