javi’s Reviews > The Raven King > Status Update

Every time he moved he felt Riko's hands and blades and fire on his skin. He'd let Riko take him apart time and time again because it was the only way to survive, because bending should have kept him from breaking, but Neil didn't know if he could pull himself back together one more time. He wasn't strong enough for this. He never had been. His mother had held him up but she was gone now.

i'm devastated

A jumble of lies had nothing to fight for. But Neil Josten was a Fox. Andrew called this home; Nicky called him family. Neil wasn't going to lose any of it. If two weeks with Riko was the price to keep his team safe, Neil would pay it.

maybe i died and this is hell

"Do girls need kid-glove treatment? I thought they were tougher than that."
Dan's grin was approving. "Most of us are. Some of us are like boys, though, and have delicate egos."

TELL EM DAN 🧏🏻‍♀️

"It's not really about the food. It's about family. Not necessarily the one we were born with, but the one we chose. This one," Nicky emphasized, gesturing between them. "The people we trust to be part of our lives. The people we care about."

neil's first thanksgiving dinner 🥹🥹 my family i love them all so much 𖹭

Guilt, grief, and pain were corrosive toxins in his veins, tearing him apart from the inside out. He let them, made them, because these memories were awful but they were things that made sense. That aching loss was all he knew and understood.

i feel like i want to hug him 😣

"I warned you once already, didn't I? I don't feel anything."
"Anymore," Neil said, barely a whisper.
The old scars up and down Andrew's wrists were evidence of how far Andrew had to fall to hit this point.

sobbing

"Is this how you stayed quiet?" Neil reached up and took hold of Andrew's wrist. He couldn't feel the scars through the cotton sleeve but he didn't need to. He knew they were there. Andrew knew what he was talking about, judging by how still he went. His smile didn't even flicker but Neil wasn't fooled. "Did you do this so you wouldn't tell her the truth about her son?"

he had to find a way to survive :((

"There's more room to stretch out in back."
"Oh, you are right," Andrew said, but he got in front anyway. Neil watched his knuckles go white on the door as he leveraged himself into the car, but it wasn't until Andrew laughed and said, "Ouch," that Neil understood how much pain Andrew was still in.

bawling my fucking eyes out

He was wearing the fresh clothes Wymack had brought him, but even the hooded sweatshirt couldn't hide the mess Drake made of his face. Worse than the bruises and cuts was the brilliant smile Andrew still wore. Neil saw it and wanted to be sick.

hiding everything behind a smile is like dying inside. i wanna keep him safe in my pocket 😣

He was wearing the fresh clothes Wymack had brought him, but even the hooded sweatshirt couldn't hide the mess Drake made of his face. Worse than the bruises and cuts was the brilliant smile Andrew still wore. Neil saw it and wanted to be sick.

literally sobbing on the floor. my poor boy :((