Raven’s eyes close and the uninjured corner of her mouth twitches up. “Exactly.”
“If you tell me what happened, thenmaybeI’ll keep my mouth shut.” Blood continues to weep from the cut, but Raven doesn’t even hiss at the contact with the antiseptic.
“You’ve spent too much time with Ruslan,” she replies, then a soft sigh rushes out of her. “It was dumb. I don’t usually get involved in things like that. I used to, years ago, but lately, I’ve just been keeping to myself. Tech doesn’t fight back, y’know?”
“Did your laptop do this to you?”
“Imagine!” Raven laughs sweetly. “No, I was out getting some lunch and this guy was arguing with this woman at the taxi stand, and I was going to ignore it, but he hit her and she went down. So I intervened and threatened him and so he hit me.”
“Oh, God.” I bite back my wince while switching to butterfly stitches. “He did this to you?”
“Mmhmm. Until I fought back. He won’t be getting out of the hospital for a while. But then the woman started yelling at me because he was her husband, like I was the bad guy, and so I toldher to get a grip and she did this.” Raven indicates to her lip. “She punched me and her ring ripped me.”
“Did you fight her too?”
“No. I’m not that much of an asshole.”
“I don’t think defending her makes you an asshole.”
“No, but putting him in hospital with a broken arm does.”
I lean back, stunned. Raven’s a little shorter than me, thin and pale, and I’m certain her thick, muddy curls make up most of her frame. It’s difficult to imagine someone like her breaking someone’s arm.
“What?” She gazes up at me. “He deserved it.”
“No, I know. I’m just stunned.”
“About?”
“Well, we’re about the same build, but you’re a little shorter. I can’t picture you breaking someone’s arm.”
“It’s not all about strength, you know. I’m fast. I know the techniques. We all have to protect ourselves.” Raven’s eyes close once more and she remains silent until I apply the last stitch that closes the laceration above her brow.
I gently cup her chin and study the gash on her lip. It’s rough around the edges but the bleeding has finally stopped. “I’ll apply a couple of stitches but they might not hold, depending on how much you talk.”
“I’ve talked enough,” Raven replies with another half-smile. “Your turn.”
“Doesn’t everyone here know everything about me already?”
“I want to know about you and Ruslan.”
Her directness catches me off guard and the cotton slips from my fingers. “There is no me and Ruslan.”
“Lying to someone in the Suit is not a great idea,” Raven says, her eyes sparkling playfully. “I see the way he looks at you. I know a smitten man when I see one.”
“He just cares, that’s all. It’s been a pretty hectic couple of months.”
“We’re trained not to care. It gets too messy that way.” Raven’s head tilts slightly to the side as I do my best to clean her lip.
“Well, then you’re seeing things wrong.”
“Am I? Are you telling me you’re not even the least bit interested?”
It’s weird talking to her about this, but at the same time it’s like I’ve been aching to talk tosomeonebecause words bubble up in my chest and before I know it, I’m talking like a headless chicken.
“Maybe I am, but it hardly matters because I’m just here until a bigger problem gets solved. A problem I shouldn’t even be a part of. It’s like I accidentally fell into a river and I’m just being swept along by it and everything else is just like a fleeting, passing rock. My life is in ruins, my dad is dead, my mom is in a coma and might not even wake up. On top of that, everyone I was close to died in that plane crash, and my best friend might not even be my friend now because she was keeping these huge secrets from me. So even if I like Ruslan, what do I have to offer? Nothing. I have nothing. My life is just gone. Up in smoke.”
By the time I finish speaking, the last stitch lies across Raven’s lips and she’s studying me intently. “So craft a new one.”
