Page 15

Haven

Freshman year - the week before Halloween

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My feet pound against the pavement as I race to Colton’s house. It’s multiple miles from campus, farther than I’ve ever run, but I don’t stop.

He’s here. He’s come to take me away.

In the past two months, I’ve seen Isaiah across every street, around every corner, in the reflection of every window I walk past. But this time felt so real. He turned around and looked me right in the eyes, and I took off running before he could say a single word.

I have no clue how I’ve managed to outrun him.

Terrified of what I’ll find, I risk a glance behind me. The residential street in Colt’s neighborhood is empty, but I don’t let that fool me. Isaiah could be hiding anywhere.

Just keep going. Almost there.

By the time I’m sprinting up Colton’s driveway, my hair is sticking to the back of my neck, and my sundress is drenched in sweat. I ring the doorbell while trying the handle, but it’s locked.

“Colton?” I pound on the door. “Colton!”

A loud noise comes from behind the house—a slamming door, I think? Maybe he’s in the backyard.

Heaving in air, I stumble around the house. My legs feel like they’re about to give up, but I force myself to keep going.

Not safe. Not yet.

The massive backyard seems empty, but then I see movement inside the pool house. Despite every muscle in my body burning, I manage to run faster, not stopping until I burst through the door. Three boys— my boys—whip around to face me.

Oh, thank goodness.

As I fall to the floor, I catch a glimpse of what they’re quickly trying to cover up. It’s a black briefcase shoved underneath the floorboards in a closet.

“Haven?” Xander rushes toward me as Colton shoves the last floorboard into place. “Are you all right?”

I try to speak as he drops to his knees, but I can’t. My head is light and fuzzy, and it feels like someone poured acid directly into my lungs.

“Get her some water,” Xander calls over his shoulder before pulling me so I’m sitting upright. “It’s easier to get more air in like this. No, no, don’t slouch forward. Gotta give your lungs room to expand.”

“Is she hurt?” Lucas asks, his voice drowning out the sound of the kitchenette sink running.

“Don’t think so.” Xander gives me a more thorough look-over, pushing my dress up my thighs. “She looks fine to me.”

Colton appears in front of me, and then Lucas, who’s holding a glass of water. All three of them look so concerned, and guilt hits me square in the chest. In the two months I’ve known them, they’ve been so nice to me, and I’m too much of an emotional mess to repay them.

“I—I’m sorry.”

“What? Sorry?” Lucas’s frown deepens. “What’re you talking about?”

“You three…” But I’m cut off by the need to get in more air.

“We’ve gotta calm her down,” Colton says.

“I’ve got it.” Lucas crawls behind me, and the next thing I know, he has me cocooned in his large body. His arms come around me, and he gently rocks me back and forth. “You’re all right, Haven.”

All I can do is shake my head. He’s wrong. Isaiah is here. He’s going to find me.

With a hand on my thigh, Xander says, “I know you’re scared, but I promise you’re gonna be okay.”

“No!” I gasp out. “I—I have to hide.”

“Why?” Colton asks.

“He’ll…”

No, no, no. Can’t say that.

“Had—had to get away,” I manage to force out. “Athelia went home for the weekend, and Xander wasn’t at his dorm, and—and—” I break down into tears, which doesn’t help my breathing situation. It feels like I’m going to pass out.

“Haven, hey.” Xander grasps my shoulders and leans down so he’s at eye level with me. “You’re safe. We’re not gonna let anyone hurt you, but you have to tell us what happened.”

Frantically, I shake my head. “Can’t. Can’t go… can’t go back.”

“Why is she always saying that?” Lucas asks quietly. “What does it mean?”

“It doesn’t matter right now,” Colton snaps, making me jump. “Stop trying to force information out of her until she can actually talk.”

“Fuck, you’re right.” Lucas goes back to rocking me, but it barely helps.

“Hey.” Colton’s touch is gentle as he cups my cheek. “Focus on me, okay?”

“He’ll take me away,” I sob before I can catch myself.

“Haven.” He leans in closer when I don’t respond. “Haven. Look at me.”

With a shuddering breath, I meet his gaze. His eyes draw me in, and for a few seconds, my world consists of nothing but golden brown fading into green. My heart rate slows a touch, and I’m finally able to get a full breath in.

“That’s it,” Colton whispers reassuringly. “We’ll keep you safe, angel.”

“But—”

“Do you trust us?”

My bottom lip trembles as I realize I don’t know. Do I trust the boys to protect me, and to hurt anyone who harms me? Yes. Since day one, they’ve always looked out for me, but the three of them share a darkness that scares me sometimes. It’s like they need the violence that comes with beating up anyone who even looks at me wrong. They crave it.

What happens if they turn that craving on me?

What happens if I need protecting, but it’s from them?

“Answer him,” Xander pushes.

“I do,” I say, and I think I mean it.

“Good.” The corner of Colton’s mouth tips up. “Because we’re never letting anyone touch you. The second you give us a name, he’s dead.”

Dead? He can’t be serious. If they killed someone for me, they could go to prison.

“Did you run all the way here?” Lucas asks, and maybe it’s because I’ve been deprived of oxygen for too long, but he sounds impressed.

“Was scared,” I mumble.

“Well, you’ve got nothing to run from now,” he murmurs. “We’ll keep you safe.”

With relief, I slump into him, and if I’m not mistaken, I feel the soft press of his lips to the top of my head. It has strange, confused thoughts swirling through my head. His woodsy, earthy scent enveloping me only worsens them.

The boys don’t let me focus on them long, though, before Xander is holding out a glass of water.

“Drink.”

When the water touches my lips, my body seems to remember that it’s thirsty. I gulp as much of it as I can before I swallow some of it wrong and dissolve into a coughing fit.

“Careful,” Xander scolds, but there’s laughter in his voice.

Someone takes the glass from my hands, and by the time I’ve finished coughing, I realize I feel a lot better. With Lucas shielding me from behind and Colton and Xander in front of me, I’m surrounded. Protected. Safe, just like they said.

“Thank you,” I whisper. I still feel like a mess, but none of them seem annoyed with me.

“We’ve got you, angel.” Colton squeezes my leg. “Now, why did you have to hide?”

The honest answer almost spills from my lips unbidden, but then Julie’s warning causes me to bite my tongue.

It’s best for your safety if you keep talk about Cornerstone to a minimum.

The boys have known I grew up in a cult for over a month at this point. Athelia knows more, but that’s different. She looks at me with the same softness that Ruth does. I know I can trust her.

But the boys… they ask too many questions. It’s just like Julie said. They’re too curious. I can’t let them know things. That would be bad.

Very, very bad.

“Can’t say,” I mumble.

With an exasperated sigh, Colton sits back on his heels. “How can we help you if you won’t tell us what’s going on?”

“Are you talking about the cult?” Lucas asks gently. “When you say you can’t go back, do you mean going back home?”

I shake my head. “It—it was the same boy as before. The one who pushed me.”

Lying to them kills something inside me, but I have to be careful. If they find out more information about Cornerstone, I’m not sure what they’d do, but I know they mean it when they say they’ll kill for me.

I can’t let them get hurt.

“We’ll take care of him,” Xander says firmly. “You’ll never see him again, you understand?”

“I know,” I whisper, my heart breaking a little. “T-thank you.”

While Lucas continues rocking me, Xander hands the glass back to me, and I finish the water. My heart rate settles after a few minutes, and I blink slowly, glancing around the pool house.

“What are you guys doing in here?” I ask. It’s too cold for swimming—Mark had the pool closed a week or two ago.

The three of them exchange a wary glance before Colton asks, “What did you see?”

My eyes drift to the closet. The door is closed now, but I saw what they were hiding underneath the floorboards.

“Shit,” Xander mutters as they all follow my gaze.

“What’s in the briefcase?” I ask.

“Don’t worry about it,” Colton says firmly.

My chest tightens again. “Is it something bad?”

“Hey, hey.” Lucas starts rocking me back and forth again. “Everything’s gonna be fine.”

“But what’s in there? Why do you have to hide it? Is it gonna get you in trouble?”

“No, nothing like that.” Xander keeps his voice soft as he reaches out to cup my cheek, smiling when I lean into his hand. “It’s perfectly safe, but it’s very important that you don’t tell anyone about it.”

“W-why?”

“It’s better if you don’t know that.”

“But that makes it sound really bad,” I cry. “Why is it a secret? What are you doing?”

“Haven.” Classically, Colton is the first to lose patience. “We can handle ourselves. You know that, right?”

Taking a shaky breath, I look up at him. His confidence settles over me like a warm, comforting blanket. I’ve watched him, Xander, and Lucas beat plenty of people up and scare away just as many. Together, they’re an indomitable force—at least, that’s how I view them.

Of course they can handle themselves.

“Yes.”

“Then I need you to trust us. Can you do that?”

I nod.

The corner of his mouth tilts up. “That’s our girl. Stronger than even she realizes. As long as you don’t breathe a word of this to anyone, everything will be perfectly fine.”

“P-promise?”

“Promise,” he murmurs. “Now you promise me you won’t tell anyone about this.”

“I won’t.”

“Good.”

All three of them wrap me up in their arms, and my body instantly turns to jelly. This is the safest I’ve felt all day—all year.

“Please don’t let go of me,” I whisper.

Lucas nuzzles his face against my neck. “Don’t worry. We’ve got you, Haven.”