Page 4 of Making Haven (Haven #1)

Lawrence

This was probably the worst decision I’ve ever made. What was I thinking bringing some random human into my home? Sure, he needed saving but that doesn’t mean I had to bring him here.

I run my fingers through my hair, letting out a sigh despite not needing to breathe. Sometimes it’s nice to let it out anyway, especially when I’m feeling melodramatic. It’s the end of the world, I think I’m allowed to be overly dramatic once in a while.

I stoke the fire in my room, getting the coals nice and hot before setting up my tripod over it. I know I’m lucky to have the type of set up that I do. A home with a fireplace in my bedroom, a well filled with safe water, a giant gate to keep all the zombies out. This place is my own safe haven.

It’s not that I don’t want other people here with me, it’s more that the people I run across are so cut-throat that all they see is another obstacle they have to overcome. They see me as a threat and force my hand. It’s exhausting. It’s also depressing as hell.

Which brings me back to the whole Devin thing.

Why the hell did I trust him? For all I know, he could have an entire camp waiting for him.

Once he’s able to walk on his own, what’s stopping him from bringing people here?

What’s stopping him from raiding this place or killing me and taking it over for himself?

I set my teapot on the tripod, getting the water hot.

If my heart was capable of beating, it would be hammering against the inside of my ribs with how anxious I am.

I’m transfixed by the fact that there’s a heartbeat within my home.

The sound of Devin breathing is achingly loud in my ears despite him being rooms away.

I’m hyper aware of his presence. I’ve been alone for two years and now that I have someone in my space, it’s all I can think about.

Shaking my head, I step over to my wardrobe and quickly get myself dressed in a pair of jeans, a red shirt, and zip up hoodie.

By then, my water is heated enough for me to make myself a cup of tea.

I don’t necessarily need to consume anything other than blood to live, but I enjoy a warm cup of tea every morning.

Blood sustains me but warm tea helps soothe the hunger pangs in my stomach from not being able to feed as often as my body craves.

I sip the tea, letting it settle in my belly.

It doesn’t warm my extremities like warm blood would do, but it settles something inside me.

A little bit of this is better than nothing.

I’ve been living with this craving for a bit now, and it seems to get easier to live with each day that passes.

It’s probably similar to learning to live with a missing limb, or chronic pain.

I just have to keep on living despite the ache in my stomach, whether I like it or not.

There’s a very easy solution to the ache.

No, I can’t think like that. I’m sustaining myself just fine. I feed on nearby deer. I eat scrambled eggs from my chickens. If I’m really in a bind, I can drink from one of the hens that I keep in the back. I’ve never had human blood before, what with them all on the run from rabid zombies.

There’s a little voice in the back of my head, wondering what Devin would taste like. My mouth waters and I quickly take another sip of tea, trying to trick my brain into thinking this is all I need. It leaves me feeling hollow, but that’s not surprising.

It’s been a few hours and I have a feeling Devin will be awake soon.

I bite my bottom lip, trying to get a grip on my self-control.

I won’t think about biting my house guest. Not only would that spoil any chance we have at some sort of friendship, but it would be filling for only a short time.

It wouldn’t be worth it, not in the long run.

Why get a taste for human blood when it can only be a one time thing?

No, it’s better to keep my head clear and focus on making Devin something to eat. I may not need food, but he does.

I pull out a few eggs from my stash. Usually, I fry these up and then feed them back to my chickens. Kinda morbid if I think about it too hard, but with everything else happening in the world, this isn’t even the worst thing I can imagine doing.

Carefully, I place a pan onto the tripod above the fire, waiting until it’s properly heated before cracking a few eggs into it.

They give a satisfying sizzle as they hit the hot pan.

I scramble them and shift them around the pan until they look done.

I transfer them to a plate and set them to the side.

Not wanting this mess to get gross, I quickly clean up the pan and pull the tripod away from the fire so it can properly cool down.

I might be an eternal bachelor but that’s no excuse to let my home turn dirty.

When I was still human, there were far too many dates that turned sour when I went back to their house and realized they didn’t take care of their living spaces.

One guy only had a couch, a cardboard box as a coffee table, and his TV in his living room.

I don’t think I ever made an excuse to leave that quickly before!

Picking up the plate, the fork, and two fresh cups of tea, I head into the living room. I make sure my steps are heavy, not wanting to surprise Devin if he’s already awake.

I didn’t need to worry. As I step into the living room, Devin is already awake and sitting up. He’s leaned forward, digging for something in his bag.

I wondered if maybe I imagined just how attractive he was, but seeing him again right now proves I was wrong. He wasn’t some mirage I made up. He’s very much real and very much hot. Fuck me sideways. Literally. Please.

“Good morning, Mr. President,” I say, stepping into the room fully.

Devin sits up, leaning back on the couch and giving me an unimpressed look.

God, he’s grumpy. But somehow that only makes him more attractive.

The scowl on his face brings out his pretty brown eyes.

He crosses his arms over his chest and Jesus fucking Christ, my eyes take in the flex of his biceps and my mouth goes dry.

If I’m not careful, I’ll be asking this guy to stay just so I can keep looking at him.

His eyes land on the food in my hand and that scowl melts away. “What’s that?”

“Scrambled eggs. Are you hungry?”

“What’d you do to them?”

“I fried them up in a pan in my bedroom. If you don’t want them that’s fine. I’ll just feed them to the birds outside,” I say, starting to turn around. I smirk to myself as Devin clears his throat.

“Wait. It’s fine. I’ll chance them.” He holds out his hands for the plate and I hand it over with a little smile. “Would be dumb as fuck for you to save me just to poison me now that I’m here.”

“I’ve been called many things in my time, but I’ve never been accused of being dumb,” I tell him with a smile that only serves to make him narrow his eyes at me. “I also have tea.”

“You have tea?”

“Mhmm,” I hum as I set it on the coffee table beside him. “I grow some myself. Helps with the cravings.”

Devin shoves a giant forkful of eggs into his mouth.

He looks up at me, staring into me like he’s seeing my very soul as he slowly chews.

I feel pinned in place, flayed open, exposed to him.

Somehow, he’s seeing past my defenses and part of me hates him for it.

The other part of me revels in it. Fuck, I’ve been so lonely and sure, Devin’s a bit of an ass but he’s real and he’s here.

“Cravings?”

“Yeah. Cravings.” I raise my brow at him. “I thought it was your leg that was hurt, not your head. Have you already forgotten I’m a vampire?”

Devin shakes his head. “I didn’t forget. Kinda thought I’d imagined it, though. Jesus Christ. Vampires. As if zombies, werewolves, and feral zombie werewolves wasn’t enough.”

I can’t help but snort. “I like to think I’m at least a step up from them, thank you very much. At least I’m not craving brains.”

“No, just my blood.”

I take a sip of my tea before responding. “Not yours in particular. Just blood in general.”

Devin hums as he tucks into his eggs. “That doesn’t bring me the peace you think it does. You’re still a vampire. You still need blood to survive. What happens when we run out?”

I shrug. “I assume you’ll be long gone by then.”

“Good point,” he finally says with a sharp nod. Devin finishes the eggs before picking up the cup of tea and sipping it. Color has returned to his cheeks and his eyes are clearer than they were yesterday which only magnifies how pretty they are.

I thought this part of myself was gone for good. I thought with my vampirism, these feelings and desires had died, along with my beating heart. Apparently, all I needed was a prickly human to spark this longing back to life.

Is it Devin? Or is it the fact that he’s the first person I’ve met who hadn’t immediately tried to murder me?

The idea that there will come a day very soon that Devin is gone leaves me feeling weirdly unsettled.

I’ve just met this man and have no idea the type of person he is, but he’s a person here with me after two years of loneliness.

I don’t want to go back to being alone, but I don’t really have a choice in the matter.

“You should get some more rest,” I tell him as I take his dirty plate and empty cup. “The sun should be going down in a few hours and then I can see about getting you your own space.”

“My own space?”

I nod my head towards the giant window in the direction of the rest of the neighborhood.

“You can stay here for as long as you wish, but I have a feeling you’d prefer if I wasn’t a hovering mother hen,” I explain with an amused smirk.

“There’s a handful of houses around here that I’ve never bothered to properly clean up.

We can pick which one you like the most and get you settled in. ”

Devin stares at me for a long moment and I can’t help but feel like I’ve somehow misstepped. “Unless, you’d rather stay here with me?”

That seems to finally break him out of the stare. He quickly shakes his head. “Finding my own place until I’m healed sounds good.”

“For the first few days, you should probably stay here because of your leg. If something got within the fence, you’re kinda fucked.”

“I’m more than capable of protecting myself,” he says with a sneer. “I’ve been doing just fine before you came along and played the hero.”

I let out a long sigh. If my hands weren’t full, I’d be rubbing tiredly at my eyes. “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t,” I murmur to myself. “Whatever. Go back to sleep, asshole. I’ll wake you when the sun is down.”

As I step away, I can hear Devin shuffling around, getting comfortable on the couch once more. I shake my head, wondering how the hell we’re going to put up with each other. There’s so much venom to his words that it’s hard not to take it personally.

Once I’m done cleaning the dishes, I slide into my own bed. There’s a few more hours before I can venture outside and with nothing else to do, I close my eyes.