Sunday, February Tenth, 9:27 A.M…

Days had passed. Three, to be exact. I asked Haven many questions. He was patient enough and answered all of them.

Why couldn’t my sister come here with me? Because that would be another lead for Bring Me the Horizon to track. If they got the hint that Motionless in White didn’t have her anymore, they could track her to his place. We wouldn’t be safe.

Where was Zila? He didn’t know. He doesn’t care to know. He knows that even if Zila told him a plan, she would probably get sidetracked and be somewhere else. It was in her nature.

Could I go outside the house at all? Sure. I just can’t go off the property or a mountain lion could get me at dawn or dusk if I wandered too far into the forest just a mile from here.

Can we order pizza? No.

I got to know him better, to see into his life, even if only for a little while. Haven kept a tidy house. He was always super organized about where everything went. I swear, even his coffee was organized alphabetically.

Every morning, he would wake up, take care of two horses that waited out in the barn, cleaned their stalls, came back inside, took a shower, and began to make breakfast. It was in his routine, burned into his blood. I would wake up to the smell of a delicious breakfast, sat on the chair at the kitchen bar, and eat pancakes with him. Yesterday, I managed to wake up while he was taking care of the horses, and took my own turn making breakfast. It was the good thing to do.

The rest of the day was open, if a little boring. I would watch Haven closely. He wasn’t willing to disclose a lot of information about his past or his work. It was okay. I could get all the information from him just by careful observations.

He wore bright colors, typically paired with a skinny jean of some sort. He loved wearing this white ADTR shirt with the lettering I said I’d never let you go and I never did etched on it in black loops of handwriting. Other times, I’d see him in a plain blue shirt, running his hands through his hair. A habit, I realized. He always ran his hands through his hair when he was thinking. Even when he was sleeping, taking a nap on the couch, or passed out at the table, one arm over his eyes and the other through his hair. No clue why, but everyone had their habit, I supposed.

Haven was a sweet guy. He always smiled when he looked at me, trying to appear friendly. I’d smile back, reading every crinkle under his eyes from grinning, his bright blue eyes. He had a lip ring and one that went through his nose, I don’t remember what they were called. It was unimportant, the name of the piercing, but it reminded me a bull in a cartoon, with the ring through the nose. He wore a beanie everywhere he went. It could be a balmy seventy degrees out, but he’d wear a beanie. It was February, but there wasn’t a lot of snow this year. Still, a beanie was on his head despite the warm winter.

I sat on the couch, curled up in the corner, watching TV absently. It had been so long since I had watched a TV show. The characters danced around on the screen. How he had signal out here, I had no clue. Either way, the show was pretty good. It was Parks and Rec. I loved Parks and Rec. And The Office. They had to be my two favorite shows.

“I’m sorry about your…boob hats.” Chris, the man on the screen, said softly to Ann. I started laughing like a maniac. Yes, boob hats…the perfect name for nipples. Great comedy right here, people!

A crackling laughing came from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Haven leaning over the back of the couch. I smiled up to him. He just shook his head, eyes alight in sparks of laughing.

“Park and Recreation…great show. P and R has to be one of my favorites. Chris cracks me up. I thought he was too perky when they first introduced him, but he really grew on me.” He lamented. I nodded eagerly.

“Want a blanket?” He asked. I nodded, thanking him quietly as he handed me a blanket and took a seat on the opposite end of the couch. He looked like he had just gotten out of the shower.

An episode, maybe two, maybe three, passed us by. I don’t remember. It was all a blur. Haven would occasionally shake out his wet hair, just like a dog, sending sprays of water droplets smelling like sweet shampoo flying like airplanes across the room. I grumbled as some landed on the TV.

“Haven! Just go dry your hair!” I grumbled, starting to get up to wipe them off. Haven playfully groaned and grumbled.

“But this is such a good show! I don’t want to leave now!” He chuckled softly. I turned to him as I stood up, rolling my eyes and smiling. That’s another thing I noticed about Haven. He was a jokester and loved teasing or playfully complaining about things, like now. Sometimes, he’d come up and poke my sides, making me jump out of my seat, or he’d whine and complain that he didn’t want to watch Arrow when I really wanted to.

“Just dry your hair! I’ll pause it!” I shooed at him. He watched me as I paused the show and I went to the TV to use the corner of my shirt to wipe off the two droplets.

One step….two….they were so painful. I tried placing weight on the ankle that had been injured twice, but it hurt like crazy. My wrist seemed fine, but my ankle…I could barely walk.

Grimacing through the pain, I tried to shove it into the back of my mind. Hobbling the four steps to the screen, it took all my might not to whimper in pain. An arm snaked around my waist, holding me up as I stumbled.

“Hey, are you okay?” Haven’s worried voice asked, soft as he looked at me in concern. I shook my head, staring at my foot. It looked…bruised, almost purplish.

“I don’t know what’s wrong. I injured this ankle once back in September when I was running from Oli and his friends. I twisted it, I think. And then I injured it again when I tripped running from Sleeping with Sirens and Motionless in White. I thought it had healed for the most part. That was a while back, anyways.” I explained, gritting my teeth slightly.

“Did anyone bandage it up? Did you see a doctor at all?” Haven’s eyes darkened in concern. I hobbled over to a chair after wiping off the last little bead of water from the screen.

“No, I didn’t.” I admitted foolishly. I should be taking better care of myself, for my sister’s sake. Haven clucked his tongue at me before running to the back. He appeared a moment later with a brace. I looked at it curiously as he knelt before me.

How did he just have a random brace lying around?

He must’ve caught me staring at him with wonder because he smirked slightly as he wrapped it around my ankle. I winced. He handed me a cold ice pack and sighed.

“Stay off your ankle for a little while. I don’t have any crutches here, but as long as you stay off of it while you walk for the next week, week and a half or so, you should be fine. You might have pulled it a little walking around these past few days and the injury caught up to you. I would just be careful, okay?”

I nodded, slightly.

“How did you have a brace just lying around? Are you injured a lot out here?”

“No, no. I’m pretty skilled with basic injuries and illness, so I tend to have a lot of different medicine and bandages around here. The few girls that come my way are often fairly injured or sick, so I have to be prepared.” He shrugged. I nodded and understood.

It was about lunch, so Haven made us sandwiches and we finished the season of Parks and Rec. Lounging around the house for the next hour, I managed to fall asleep for a while.

When I woke up, Haven was outside. I found him on the porch steps. I took my own seat on the porch swing. He had managed to dry out his hair (finally) and was staring down his little gravel driveway, just watching the grass dance and sway to a silent song of the afternoon.

“Hello, Orion. Sleep well?”

“I did. What have you been doing?”

“Sitting out here.”

“Oh.”

“It’s lovely.”

“It really is.” I commented before we fell into another period of silence. I slowly swung, the chains creaking slightly. A horse whinnied out by the side of the house.

The cries became more frequent and higher pitched. Frantic? Happy? Confused?

And then…the figure appeared.

A single figure, dark and shadowy at the end of the driveway. I looked to Haven. His entire body was rigid. The figure appeared larger and larger as it reached the bottom of the porch steps, hood drawn up, until the figure removed it.

Zila.

Haven exploded off the steps, running to Zila, arms catching her as she jumped into them. I felt like a fly on the wall, a witness to the beautiful reunion. Zila had her arms wrapped around his neck and he had basically lifted her off her feet. When they finally broke away, Zila dragged him up the steps, smiling as she met me.

I couldn’t stop thinking of what Haven had told me. She had killed before, but love had driven her to do it.

“Hello, Rory. I trust you got here easily.” She nodded. I followed them into the house. Haven had a tight hold onto her hand.

“Well, your directions weren’t exactly…well…you didn’t really give me directions and your message was pretty cryptic.” I grumbled. She laughed, a happy laugh, not one of her darker, more mischievous ones.

“Sorry ‘bout that! There wasn’t really time to say ‘take a right on this road and a left on past the rock that looks like a bear!’” She chuckled. I sighed and hobbled back over to my chair to sit in, just reclining back in the comfy seat.

Zila was finally here.

Haven seemed to be a brand new person. He was alive with a brand new energy, a new air around him. I chuckled as I turned around, seeing him basically bounce off the walls, while the calm and collected Zila stood motionless, like a statue. All that was seen was her grinning at her energetic friend.

They truly were complete opposites.

Zila’s dark attire, the classic black skinny jeans and black hoodie were stark contrast to Haven’s blue shirt and athletic shorts that he had worn today because it ‘was too hot and the sun needed to take a chill pill.’, as he said exactly this morning.

“Squirrel, it’s been so long! You’ve been away for far too long.” Haven finally calmed down, his face falling into deep sadness. I squinted a little at the nickname. Squirrel? Now that’s a story I would have to ask about…

“Sorry, BB! It’s been so hectic and crazy. I’d been following some leads for a while and trying to track down some girls and then I found Orion, so I had to help her out…” She lamented. BB? That sparked my curiosity more. Zila wrapped her arms around his neck again. He held her closely, putting his chin on top of her head. Zila seemed to fit perfectly into his chest.

I watched them, quietly, from a distance. There was a connection between them. It was a deep tie that seemed to keep their friendship strong, even through the distance and hardship.

“It’s been seven months, Zee. I’ve been worried sick.” Haven whimpered like a small puppy that had just been kicked. Zila released from him, squeezing his hand tightly. I turned back around, pretending to be interested in something else.

“I know, I know. I’ve been worrying about you as well. BB, you know that I can take care of myself.” Zila whispered, almost too softly for me to hear. There was silence. I turned around, seeing that they hadn’t disappeared. Haven’s head hung low, bangs falling in front of his eyes. Zila looked concerned for a minute before running her own hand through his blonde bangs. She reached up, kissing his cheek gently for a moment, before taking his hands in hers. He chuckled quietly. The tender moment hurt my heart, thinking of all the guys who had worried about me, just like Haven had worried about Zila.

“I know, Squirrel. I know.”

Notes

Hello everyone!

I hope all your days are great and that you're all excited for the next few chapters! I'm starting to wrap up the end of the book so please don't forget to leave a comment saying if you liked this chapter or not! Don't forget to vote as well!

Thanks everyone! Stay beautiful! :)