Page 32 of Haven

“How are you real?”

“I’m not one to change my partner. We’re in the twenty-first century. I know what I want, and I’m chasing it. So what if I’ll have to share in the future?”

“It’ll be only you for a while,” she admitted.

“Why is that?”

She sighed. “Cinder doesn’t let me date, especially a Viper and not to mention her best friends. When I was eighteen…It was one of the women from her club. She drugged me. Cinder and Vesper found us before she could assault me. My sister killed her.”

I nodded in understanding, anger swiftly flowing through my veins at the thought of someone drugging her. “And that’s when your sister made that rule,” I pieced together.

“Yeah, Cinder’s goal is to keep me safe, but she keeps fighting my battles for me. Sometimes I want to take risks and fall in love, but no one would dare touch Ella Bourgeois’s little sister. My name makes people piss themselves, and it’s not because I can kick their ass.”

“So what is she gonna do when she learns about me?”

“Honest answer?” she asked, and I nodded. I knew what it would be just based on the little information I knew about her. “She will probably shoot you on the spot.”

“Okay, well I guess I’ll have to get on her good side.” From what I heard, she didn’t have a good side when it came to my father. I would hope she cared more about her sister’s happiness than a war. “What’s your favorite flower?” I wanted to learn about her now. Everything else didn’t matter right now. We would deal with the fallout if and when they found out.

She went to open her mouth, but then she stopped. “I word-vomited my trauma to you and told you my favorite color. I think it’s time I get something in return, Doctor. I want something real and raw.”

I paused for a moment, considering how to answer. “I was bullied after my parents died because I engrossed myself into schoolwork to deal with my grief. Kids were mean, and I didn’t learn how to punch someone until I was fifteen.”

“Who did you punch for the first time?”

I laughed, remembering the boy who smacked my ass when I finally hit puberty two years late. “His name was Walter Bumgardner. A tragic name for a bully, really. He smacked my ass when I walked down the hallway with my nose in a chemistry book. I turned around and gave him a swift right hook before kicking him in the balls. The school suspended me, and my dad took me shopping.”

“So you didn’t learn to fight earlier?”

“Axel tried teaching me, but I was horrible with the grieving process. It took bullies and a boy touching me to jumpstart it. I was also about to graduate high school, so I needed to defend myself in college.”

“It’s hot that you can kick ass and patch them up, too. Beauty, brains, and brawn? Holy hell.”

“Hey, I’ll kick anyone's ass for you. Now, where were we? I think you owe me your favorite flower. I need it for research purposes.”

She smiled like I hung the stars for her. “Tulips and carnations.”

I arched my brow. “You know, I was expecting a default answer like roses.”

“Honestly, roses are my least favorite. They are the go-to choice. There are a vast variety of gorgeous flowers to choose from. Why stop at a rose?”

“You put a lot of thought into that, didn’t you?”

Rory sighed, burying into my side closer. “It sounds inconsequential, and maybe to other people it is, I don't know. I saw the world differently when I was finally able to live after having certain things taken from me. I tried taking my life when Cinder brought me home. It was hard trying to assimilate and believe I was safe when I felt like the world was against me.”

Rory cringed, realizing what she said. But before I allowed her to retreat into herself, I pulled her into me. “I don’t see you as the weak girl you expect. So what, you tried to commit suicide? You’re still here, which means there is something better waiting for you.” I brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, and traced the curve of her jaw with my thumb. “I see a warrior. A survivor.”

“You can’t be real,” she mumbled to herself.

“And why is that?”

“This would scare most people away.”

“I was never a fan of running. Unless it’s straight to your heart, then I can make an exception.”

Her cheeks flushed a beautiful pink, matching her hair. I understood then why it was her favorite color, because it was mine now, too. “That was cheesy and surprisingly cute.”

“How about we finish our nightcap at my place?”