A Coalition Story

A Certain Lack of Evidence

"I wish I could get my dad to try and marry me off to Lev. Maybe then he'd pay attention to me when he doesn't want sex," Ravyn whined, falling back against Ace's bed. Atticus, who lay next to her as he read another Shakespeare play, Hamlet for the thirtieth time, bristled at the mention of Lev.

"He's not good for you, Ray. If he was worth your time then he'd pay attention to you without any rewards," he growled, not looking away from his play. Sighing, Ravyn scooted herself up against Ace, cuddling against his side. Since he came from a crazy well-off family, he only had one roommate. Ravyn, who was living off of her father's pity money and the pittance her aunt and uncle could spare, had two roommates in a small room. But that was what happened when you got kicked out at age ten for calling out your dad for having your mom killed.

Anyways, Ace had a slightly larger bed, and Ravyn definitely took advantage of the size and comfort of his mattress. Plus, she could usually convince her best friend to cuddle with her so she wouldn't get too cold. He was a walking space heater, and he smelled nice.

"He just doesn't know what he wants fully. I need to show him exactly what he wants," she insisted, but the defeat in her voice gave way to the truth: She knew Lev didn't want her. But she would never admit that, at least not until he told her that himself. It was foolish to cling to her weak hope, yes, but Ravyn craved attention and Lev was willing to give it to her on occasion.

"What do you see in him, Ravyn? Honestly, what attracts you to him?" Atticus' voice was strained like he was forcing himself to hold back from snapping at her. Was he really that upset about her crush on Lev? He even put his play down to look at her.

"He's hot. I like his tattoos and his eyes and his muscles and everything he can do to me. He's strong and mysterious and there's a depth to his eyes and personality that I need to know more about. He's been through crap, I can sense it, and I want to be the one to help him open up about it." Except Ravyn knew that that wasn't exactly true. She partially just liked Lev because her father would hate him. Sure, all of what she had said was based on the truth, but her father would hate him and Ravyn loved that as much as she loved everything else about him.

But Atticus didn't need to know that.

She laid her head to rest on his chest, and Ace reluctantly wrapped his arm around her.

"I don't think whatever he's keeping a secret is good, Ravyn. There are some rumors about his file and they aren't pleasant. And you know how it is in the Coalition: The rumors are usually true."

Ravyn rolled her eyes at her best friend.

"You don't think I haven't heard the rumors? I know that he was adopted into the Coalition with Ksenia, not born into it like us. I know he has a tragic past. But I don't think he has a violent past. I don't think he enjoys hurting people as much as everybody says he does." She propped herself up on her elbow, pulling away from Ace. With narrowed eyes, she watched as he, too, grew upset.

"Open your eyes, Ravyn!" Pushing past her, Atticus sat up and climbed out of bed, already pacing. She sat up and turned to face him, her own fury growing. But she was a good friend, and she knew it would only get worse, so she let him continue without interruption.

"He's not into you. He's never going to be into you. And on top of that, he's a violent control freak! He's only going to hurt you, and you know what the Coalition does about men abusing the women who supposedly belong to them? Absolutely nothing. Don't get involved with him more, Ravyn, and save us all a world of heartache and pain." Atticus stared Ravyn down. His words may have been pleading in nature, but the fire in his eyes told of his true anger. She stood up, walking over to him.

"You've never been one to believe without evidence, so show me where he's hurt people. Show me how he's hurt people, and maybe I'll take your words into consideration," she growled, arms folded over her chest. Atticus started to speak but faltered.

"I don't have hard evidence, Ravyn, but I'm not taking any chances with you." His voice had grown weak, and usually, that would have touched her heart, but this was about Lev and she was sick of everybody telling her how bad he was without evidence. This was something she was okay to find out for herself if it was true or not.

"Why not take your chance with me, Atticus? Huh? Because if you care about me, then let me make my own choices and stop trying to interfere in my life. You're my best friend, not my boyfriend. You don't have the right." Ravyn grabbed her jacket from off the back of his desk chair and slung her backpack over her shoulder. Without another word, she left. Lev wasn't who Atticus thought he was, and she was going to show him so.