Raven

Chapter 14

Three weeks have passed since I was bitten by the water snake and gone on the date with Jace. I feel like we have this connection that I can't explain fully - it's like we've known each other for years instead of just shy of a couple of few months.

Jace is going to take me on another date tonight, and this one I'm excited for tonight like our other dates. He's taking me to a cliff for stargazing with packed snacks, and we're going to take the Gator there about two hours after dinner.

"Earth to Raven?" Heath says from standing in front of me, and waving his right hand in front of my face with an amused expression.

"Huh?" I reply in confusion as I stare at the older man as I continue to muck out a horse stall.

"What were you thinking so hard about?" Heath questions with raised eyebrows as he moves to the wheelbarrow to move away the used hay, and to replace the wheelbarrow with an empty one.

"Um, just about the date Jace and I are going on tonight," I murmur shyly because I'm not sure how he feels about me or Jace being gay. "I'm sorry if you find me disgusting, but I won't apologize for being who I am."

Heath instantly frowns at me; "Raven, I don't have a problem with you, Jace, or anyone else being part of the LGBTQ plus community. Never apologize for being who you are, or who you love. Loving someone is precious, and should be shouted from the rooftops, and never hidden. I know some people don't realize their sexuality, or that it takes them time to realize this, or they can't admit this for whatever reason, but I would never want people to judge me or worse for who I love."

Blinking quickly against the tears that fill my eyes at his words, letting out an unattractive sniffle while nodding to let him know I heard him.

"Thank you, Heath," I murmur with a small smile. "I wish everyone had your view on love."

"You're welcome, and I wish the world had this view too, and maybe one day," he agrees with a hopeful smile.

A few hours later, I'm heading to the house for lunch, walking beside Heath when I remember I left my cell on a wall shelf in the horse barn where I had it playing music for us to listen too.

"Shit, I left my phone, I'll met you in the house in a minute," I tell Heath, turning around to quickly walk back toward the horse barn, not noticing Axel heading toward the house from the corral for the cows.

Standing on my tiptoes to grab my phone down, I flinch back a couple of steps when I turn around after grabbing the phone because of how close Axel is standing near me. He grins at me wickedly, and I instantly know that this encounter won't end well for me. Everyone else are in the house already, and I know he's going to hurt me because of the ass-chewing he received from Kyle because of me. Axel stalks forward toward me, his wicked smile still in place, and backs me into the corner of the barn without a word until I'm stuck between him and the wall.

"I've waited long enough to get back at you for Kyle yelling at me," Axel lowly states, and he shoves his right hand into his jean pocket, pulling out a switchblade, and with a snap of his wrist, opening the blade.

Fuck, this isn't going to end well for me.

Without another word Axel thrusts his right arm forward toward my body, and not even a second later, pain erupts throughout my belly. Loudly gasping in pain, letting out a loud scream as Axel twists the knife to the right, and giving the knife one last push into my body. Axel pulls the knife from my body, allowing the blood to gush from my body, coating my shirt before he repeats this action two more times - once in my left shoulder and once in my right side just above my hip bone. Breathing heavily as tears pour out of my eyes, and blood quickly leaving my body as he steps back, and I drop heavily to my knees.

"Hope you enjoy hell," Axel sneers, spitting on my bent head before I hear his footsteps walking away from me, leaving the knife in my body above my hip.

Forcing myself to stand, throwing my hand out to the wall in order to steady myself, and harshly panting, I somehow manage to force my legs to move me forward toward the barn doors. Falling several times to my knees before I finally stumble out of the barn then falling one last time, and decide to try and crawl to the house. Axel is nowhere in my sight, and that scares me even more as I slowly and painfully crawl toward the house, and the unsuspecting people inside.

Several agonizing minutes later, I manage to crawl up the steps to the porch, and painfully stand with the help of the door handle of the house, and the searing pain makes me wonder if I'm going to vomit or pass-out before I can make my way inside the house. Slumping my right shoulder against the door, grasping the door handle as tightly as I can, I turn the knob, and stumble inside the house when the door opens.

Stumbling into the house, swallowing down the bile, and trying to focus my fuzzy eyes, I fumble my way into the dining room where I can hear everyone talking. When I step over the threshold of the dining room, the noise instantly stops when they see me, and everyone sits there in stunned silence for a second.

"Help," I whimper, falling forward and blacking out. The last thing I saw was Jace and Kyler reaching me, and I can only hope they grabbed me before I hit the floor, and that I don't die.