RIDE YOU DOWN

Chapter 15

JAKE’S POV

The morning came slowly.

Normal morning sounds drifted through the building, doors closing down the hallway as people moved out for their daily activities.

The sunlight pushed slowly through the kitchen with thin gold lines across the counter and the small dining table where Raven and I had sat the night before.

The whole place still smelled faintly of last night’s food. It reminded me of her.

Rave.

I could still see her here, even though she had left. The chair was back where I’d pushed it, but I could still picture her there.

The way she folded her arms, as if she were thinking about how to start a fight, she looked at the food as if it were some poisonous food.

I find that really cute!

I poured coffee into the mug and leaned against the counter, letting the mug warm my hands as I let out a quiet breath.

I took a slow sip of the coffee and huffed a small laugh as I numbed my thumb along the rim of my mug.

Rave!

She’s a lot of things, sharp, defensive, suspicious of anything and everything.

“Edible,” I muttered to myself.

Yeah.

My eyes drifted to the bookshelf in the corner of the room, the one she had been standing beside because I could still see her there.

She was leaning against the shelf with that stubborn look on her face as she flipped through the pages like she was looking for confirmation that the world was as disappointing as she had believed.

“You write men like they’re saints.” Her voice echoed loudly in my head.

She sounded really angry, the kind of anger that comes from someone tired of expecting better, a kind of anger that’s built from disappointment.

I walked towards the bookshelf as I noticed one of the books was slightly out of place, she must’ve put it back in a hurry out of anger.

I straightened the book and ran my thumb along the worn edge of the cover.

“Unrealistic,” I muttered to myself as her voice echoed in my head again.

Maybe she was right, maybe men like the ones in my stories were rare but rare didn’t mean impossible.

A small smile tugged at my mouth, she read more than one page.

That meant something.

I took another sip of my coffee as my eyes drifted toward the wall separating our apartments. She’s probably awake now. Probably angry about last night, about the way I defended the men in my books.

People who hated something usually had a reason for it. Raven talked about men as she had already written them off her good books, they could never do right in her eyes like the verdict had been decided a long time ago.

But she didn’t look like someone who was born cold, under all those blunt words, her eyes rolls was softness she didn’t want anyone to see.

People who had completely given up don’t argue about hope the way she did, they don’t fight that hard against the idea of something better they just stopped caring and hid their softness.

But Raven still cared even if she’d fight the entire world rather than admit it.

Her softness does slip out in small moments she forgets to guard it like when she almost danced with me at the festival or when she kissed me at the garage and immediately pretended nothing happened.

That kiss…….that was everything I needed at that moment and it still lingers with me every day.

And that meant something, it means the version of her that believed in love is still in her which meant something about her anger wasn’t permanent, it was rather protection.

I was still standing there, lost in my own thoughts when the faint click of a door reached my ears.

That’s Raven.

Somehow, even distracted I recognized that sound instantly.

Right on cue, I set my mug down and stepped out into the hallway just as Rave locked her door.

I know she hates to see me coming.

She turned to move out and immediately stopped the moment she saw me. She didn’t expect anyone to be in the hallway especially me.

The morning light from the stairwell window beamed across her landing at the edges of her hair. It was loose today, it was falling over her shoulder in a way that made the waves slightly messy like she would run her fingers through it rather than bothering it with a brush.

Her outfit was simple, black jeans and a white sweater, the sleeves were pushed halfway up her forearms. Her face was bare, no makeups but yet she looked drop-dead gorgeous.

Her eyes narrowed slightly at me, that guarded look she wore like armor.

“Are you stalking the hallway now?” She said looking almost irritated.

“Good morning to you too,” I said.

She rolled her eyes and started walking toward the stairs.

I fell into step beside her.

“You didn’t slam the plate last night,” I said casually.

“That’s because it wasn’t my plate.” She said looking over her shoulder.

“So you admit the food was good?” I asked.

She stopped walking and slowly turned toward me and gave me a look like I should be scared for my life.

“I said it was edible.” She blurted out.

“That’s not a denial.”

Her mouth twitched a little, and she smiled quickly, as if she didn’t mean for it to happen.

But I saw it, her beautiful smile and it melted my heart in a way I can’t explain.

And I gave myself a mission, to make her smile at least every day even if she fought it the whole day.

I believe Raven used to smile a lot more before the world convinced her not to.

I want to see what it looks like when she smiles more.

“You should stop trying.” She said quietly.

“Trying what?” My brows pulled together.

She held her gaze firmly. “Trying to understand me.”

Then she turned away and continued walking down the stairs and somehow that made me want to try harder.