Chapter 15: Poor Raven
Ten Years Ago
At 8:00 on the dot, the house telephone rang waking the Moon family up from their deep slumber.
Kacey's heart leaped up with joy and expectations as she ran to the telephone. She quickly snatched the telephone from its holder and put it in her ear.
"Yes?" She said into the receiver, her breath hitched, "This Is Moon's resident."
"Hello, am I speaking to Mrs Moon?" A man's voice asked.
"Well yes!" Kacey answered almost immediately, "This is she, who's speaking?"
"This is Lieutenant Paul speaking..."
"Oh my God! Really?" Kacey cut him off excitedly, "Have you found my daughter?"
James and Layla were now fully awake and had joined their mother.
There was a pause on the other end of the receiver. "Well, yes... we've found your daughter... but... she's in a pretty bad state."
Kacey's heart began to race with fear. "Did something happen to her? Tell me! Did something happen to my daughter?!"
"Well, ma'am, I think it's better you come see for yourself." The lieutenant said, "All I can say is that she's in a pretty bad state."
Kacey's fear was now confirmed, something had happened to Raven! "Where is she? Where's my daughter?!"
"She's in Bristol Hospital as we speak." the lieutenant said. "And she's unconscious..."
Kacey didn't wait to hear the others. She slammed the receiver on its holder and dramatically dashed out through the door.
"Mom! What's going on?" Both James and Layla asked after her, baffled, as they trailed behind her.
The three took a cab and half an hour later, they were in Bristol Hospital.
Kacey ran breathlessly to the front desk.
"Raven Moon! Which room is she in?"
The receptionist took in the state the woman was in and took pity on her. She scrolled through her computer and then told them, "Room 201"
Kacey didn't thank her; rather, she frantically ran to the elevator.
"Ma'am, you need to sign this!" The receptionist yelled after her.
"I'll sign it," James said and took the pen from the receptionist with a shaky hand.
As he signed, the receptionist noticed that James' hands were trembling, and she could see that he was trying not to show it; he was trying to be strong.
She couldn't help but take pity on him too.
James tossed the signed papers on the desk and ran after his mother.
The elevator was taking too damn long to touch down, and Kacey was running out of patience. She took the stairs to the third floor and located room 201.
She stormed into the room and nearly fainted when she saw her daughter's state.
There were bruises all over Raven's body, dark smudges under her eyes and she looked lifeless, as though she was barely hanging on by a thread.
"Oh, Raven!" She exclaimed dropping to the floor as tears profusely trickled down her cheeks, "My dear Raven! Who did this to you? Oh!"
Layla, on the other hand, couldn't hold it in; she burst out crying. Her sister looked miserable beyond measure and her mom was here crying like a rejected puppy.
James, on the other hand, silently vowed not to cry. He told himself that he was a man, and men do not cry; rather, they grit their teeth and bear it... like a man should.
He squatted beside her mom, who was sprawling on the floor and then began to console her.
At that moment, the door slid open and two police officers stepped in.
Seeing the officers, Kacey sprang to her feet, grabbing one of them by the collar, and shaking him to and fro, "Who did this? Who the hell did this?! Give me their names! I will end them! I will destroy them!"
And she meant every bit of her words.
Read 𝓁atest chapters at fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm Only.
"Mom! Calm down!" James said, trying to break his mom's grip on the police officer who remained reasonably calm with an expressionless countenance.
"Calm down, ma'am." The police officer said calmly. He was the one who had made the phone call that morning. "I understand how you feel but you need to calm down. Apparently, we did an investigation and searched through the cameras leading to Gomez University and found out that she was abducted by her fellow college mates and was assaulted at a warehouse the Gomez family owned not far from the school."
"I need names!" Kacey yelled like a mad dog in chains, "Just give me their names!"
"We can't do that ma'am." The police officer deadpanned, "It's our responsibility to take care of matters like this, and we assure you that we'll get to the bottom of this."
Just then Raven weakly opened her eyes.
"Raven!" Layla exclaimed, relief written all over her face.
The others' attention diverted to her.
"Oh, my dear Raven!" Kacey cried going in for a hug. "I'm sorry this happened to you! This is all my fault! I never should have let you go to school that morning! I..."
As Kacey cried uncontrollably, Raven herself couldn't help but cry herself.
She cried because her family was already miserable at this moment from the loss of her father and had added to it. She cried because of what she went through at the hands of Lara and her monstrous friends. She cried because she was a fool for applying for that scholarship in the first place.
Yes, if she had not applied for that scholarship, this wouldn't have happened in the first place.
Layla too, joined in on the crying.
It was only James who vowed not to cry. He repeatedly told himself he was strong and his family needed him at this moment than ever.
The two officers silently watched this scene unfold, refusing to interrupt this family's uncontrollable outburst of emotions.
After a while, the hysterics subsided and the officer came forward and began to ask Raven questions.
Raven answered weakly, from the beginning to the end... Lara's bullying, warning, and threats.
It took time, and the officer was patient with her, and while she talked weakly, he nodded continuously and jolted down her statement.
When Raven was done, he closed his book. "Thank you, Miss Moon. We'll bring these five families involved in this assault to custody. Thank you for your time."
As the two men left, the whole family realized how hungry they were and ordered. Raven could barely eat and Kacey was the one who fed her like a baby.
Layla refused to go home and get ready for school while James called his boss and took the day off, same with Kacey.
Hours passed without any news from the police and Kacey was getting anxious.
Are the police really working on it? She wondered.
Just in the middle of her thoughts, the door slid open, and ten men dressed in different colors of suits crowded the room, each of them carrying suitcases.
Layla, James, and Kacey sprang up in alert, their eyes widening in shock.
"Who the hell are you?"