Corrupted (FINISHED) (2023)

9

Malachi was sitting on the couch in the main level of Raven's house, face in his hands as he questioned what the hell he was going to tell her.

He had a strong possessiveness over her... followed by a protectiveness that he only had with his younger siblings...

He knew Raven was confused... but he also knew very well that when she didn't know she could trust him—she wanted to, even when she denied it.

She was sometimes irritating... but he could never stay mad enough at her to complete his job...

He tried many things... finding traits about her that infuriated him, watching her be cruel to other people when she didn't mean to be...

But it only made him fall in deeper...

The traits becoming so fascinating because no one had them... and when she realized that she was being cruel to someone... she'd walk up to them and apologize...

Even when she didn't want to admit she did wrong, she knew.

And she fixed it.

Every little thing about her was unique... and he just couldn't... just couldn't...

He was mad at her at first for punching him and leaving... but he knew after he was in the car with her that he wasn't angry...

He was scared... She could've died... he needed to watch her movements more... get into her head and know when she'd be planning something bad...

But because she was so unique... he could never understand her... How someone could be dark and light... depressed and happy... angry and excited...

Even if people could read minds... they could never understand her... And to some people it was infuriating...

But to him... it was fascinating.

He sighed, knowing he had to get out of his head and glanced down at his watch, seeing that ten minutes had passed, and she still wasn't down.

"You better not have climbed out that window, Raven," he muttered angrily as he stood.

But when he made it to the bottom of the stairs... some weird noise came from above him...

A soft sound... though a sad one...

Sobbing...

He slowly climbed the steps then, hoping to find out if she was okay without startling her...

But when he made it to her door... the wood was closed, though the sobbing was coming from behind the doorway...

Oh, God... did he say anything that hurt her?

He blinked.

That was the first time he worried about hurting other people's feelings... wow...

But he slowly turned the knob, prying open the door carefully before glancing around the room, finding no signs of broken entry...

There were just some pencils scattered along the floor... a vase on her nightstand in pieces on the ground, the blue water staining the carpet.

Did she fall or something?

It looked more like she had an outburst and threw everything off the tables... not caring if they broke...

But Malachi followed the sound of her soft cries, circling quietly around the bed until he found the source...

Raven was lying on the ground, curled into a ball like she did in the car... but this time she was lying on the carpet that sharpened with glass and ceramic... face buried into her knees as her body shook with soft sobs...