Jim's Folly

*stands up and starts to clap* Let's give a round of applause to our newest reviewer, Abook! *cheers and whistles surround the newest reviewer* YAY!!

Thanks for the happy comments, by the way. I appreciate it. NEVER in my life have I had someone THANK me for posting a story. You made me smile. You also made me gush to my friends about how special I felt. Thank you.

MUCHO blessings to Angel for giving me the ideas for this chapter.

And Mia- he sounds lovely. He may need an interrogation from me to find out whether he's worthy of you…but we'll see…just keep me updated, okay? If he hurts you, let me know. I just might be forced to come over there!

Chapter 23

The day was over and Raven was on her way home. The graduates were all at a formal celebrating their graduation, but Raven had chosen not to go. Though her and Jim had gotten a bit of talking done, they hadn't discussed the kiss on the rooftop, nor where their relationship stood. She felt uncomfortable around him, no matter how casual they were.

Amy had even noticed something was wrong. Raven had shrugged her off and told her she wasn't feeling well.

Raven sighed as she glanced at the sky briefly as she walked. It was getting dark; a few stars were beginning to show in the night sky and she quickened her step. Andrew would be waiting, and this time, she had some food to bring him: the Admiral had given Raven some groceries he'd purchased for her and her son and she'd tearfully taken them from him after showing her gratitude with a hug.

Her heels clicked on the side walk and she noticed that there were few people on the road at that time of night. No kidding. These were the slums: anyone who was out at this time of night was a druggie or just plain crazy.

She paid no heed to the various drunks that called out to her and instead, passed by them without a glance. She could even name the drunks on the sidewalk. It was sad.

As she passed by a few alleyways, she could feel the dark eyes upon her. She shivered, hiding her fear. She wished Jim would walk her home every night…

But that could result in a rooftop encounter each time. She blushed, thinking about it.

She'd thoroughly enjoyed his kiss. The part that made her so uneasy was how he'd let it slide. You don't just kiss someone and expect things to be the same from then on…

Especially with her.

Before she realized what was happening, dark arms reached for her and pulled her into the shadows of one of the alleys in between two apartment buildings.

A hand covered her mouth to suppress her scream.

She dropped the groceries and tried to fend off her attacker.

"So feisty," the dark attacker said. She shivered. It was Simon.

He smiled, his face barely discernable in the darkness. She relaxed slightly, knowing who it was, but she still kept her guard up- she knew what he was capable of.

She also had no idea what his intentions were.

He sighed and let go of her mouth, confident that she wouldn't scream.

"So, Raven…what's been going on? I haven't seen you in awhile." He snickered, holding onto her shoulders with his two hands and holding her against the wall of one of the buildings. She was miffed; she'd just cleaned her uniform!

He was standing too close to her. She could feel his body heat radiating from her and she never allowed people to stand that close to her, save for Jim, that one night on the rooftop…but she shook that thought from her mind.

"What's the matter, sweetheart? Thinking Jimmy will come and save you?" Simon's voice was dripping with malice. He was enjoying himself, she was sure.

"Simon," she said with a shaky voice, "What do you want?"

"Just to talk to you," he whispered, his face coming closer to hers.

"You can talk to me without holding on to me," she said quietly, tilting her head to get away from him.

He leaned in closer. "If I let go, you'll run. I'm not an idiot, Raven. I won't let you get away like last time."
One of his hands released her shoulders and stroked her face.

She just stared into his dark eyes, unable to withhold her tremors anymore.

"You cold?" he asked, pulling her away from the wall in a quick movement. His arm was now around her waist, holding her against him.

"Simon, let go of me," she said firmly. He smiled. "No."
She didn't want to think of what he was plotting in that dark mind of his.

He studied her face. "Do you love that boy, Raven?" he asked her, frowning.

This thought seemed to scare him.

Why?

She hesitated. She did, but why should she tell him this?

He frowned, pain entering his eyes. "I'm not going to be mad if you do," he added. Raven's heart softened a little, noticing that when he was sincere like this, he resembled a human being.

"I just might…be a little jealous. I told you that day so long ago that I loved you. Do you remember?"

She hadn't forgotten.

He drew his other arm around her and held her tightly against him. Her arms were bent against his chest as if protesting and trying to get away.

"Raven, why do you have to forget me? My declarations were true…you may not believe me because of the other girls and the things they said, but those were all lies…I promise," he said, frowning deeper. Raven was confused. How could he lie so long and then tell her to forget it? How could he cause her pregnancy and expect that to slide easily by?

"Simon," she started, pushing against him. "I do love Jim. I realized this a little while ago…but to answer your question, yes. I do love him."
"Why?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing together in pain. "Did I not give you everything you needed?"

Raven shook her head. "You gave me nothing, Simon."
Her words were cold. Her tone was empty and her eyes were hard. She meant every word.

Simon's shoulders drooped, yet his grip on her remained tight.

A hand left her waist and rested on the back of her head, stroking her hair.

"Raven, I believe you, as much as it hurts." He sighed heavily. The hand on her head drew her face closer to his.

"I will miss you, you know." She could smell nothing but his scent. She knew this scent. She'd never forget it. It was a good smell, but…full of memory. She didn't want to smell his smell ever again.

He tilted his head and kissed her tenderly. His kiss wasn't fierce like Rowan's, nor full of love, like Jim's, but semi-sincere, semi-teasing. She pushed at his chest, but his hand on her head remained firm, holding her in place as he deepened the kiss.

She kicked his shin and he released her, crying out in pain, cursing loudly.

She stepped back, scooping up her bag of groceries.

"Get away from me, Simon." Her voice was firm, her eyes wild.

He snickered maliciously and sneered as he stepped towards her. "I was so convinced you'd believe me…but now I know that people do indeed change. People like you…innocent, naïve teenaged girls like you…"
He was in her space again. He reached out for her and she didn't jump out of the way in time, so she quickly found herself once again in his crude embrace.

He looked down at her with evil, dark eyes and a rough smile. "I sure hope you spend a lot of time with our little boy tonight, Ravenna," he snarled softly. He kissed her again, roughly like Rowan's kiss had been, then released her, laughing as he walked deeper into the shadows.

Raven took her chance and fought the tears until she was in her apartment.

Greeting Andrew, she showed him the food she'd brought and then told him to go look at some picture books while she prepared them a small dinner.

It was as she worked over the tiny oven that the tears fell.

After dinner, as she took a shower in the dirty bathroom, she couldn't wash Simon's scent from her. She couldn't wash his cruel touch, his awful smile…she couldn't wash away his kiss.

Tears mixed with the lukewarm shower water as she tried to wash herself. Andrew was finally asleep, his stomach full and content. Raven cried softly and decided it would be best to not multitask in her state. She turned off the water, wrapped herself in a towel and sat in a crying mess on the cold, tile floor.

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