Page 41 of Haven

I extended my hand to her in offering. She needed to see it with her own eyes. Cinder could kick my ass later, but if Rory needed my comfort, she would get it. I wouldn’t let her deal with this alone. We walked side by side as we entered the war room and Cinder watched me cautiously. She could get over it.

“What’s wrong?” Rory asked, folding her arms across her chest.

She looked between her sister and Widow, neither of them saying a thing which just made the tension worse.

“Just show her,” Widow exhaled. Cinder transferred everything from my phone to hers, and took additional pictures from the storage container. We made sure it was spotless before we left. We didn’t want anyone else to see Rory like that.

Cinder handed Rory her phone, which she took, eyeing us cautiously before she started to swipe. Rory’s hand grabbed my wrist as she started to tremble. She leaned into me, her breathing more erratic the more she scrolled. I wanted to rip the phone from her hand and just hold her, but then she stepped away and let the phone crash to the floor.

“N-no.” Her voice cracked as she slowly backed away from us. “H-he’s dead. I-I don’t believe you.”

“Rory…” Cinder soothed, stepping closer to her.

Rory stumbled back. “NO!” she screamed.

“Mariposa, I need you to breathe.”

“Phoenix, look at us,” Widow added, and that got her attention. Something about that nickname calmed Rory. I didn’t know the full story with the meaning, but it always soothed her when she was in a state of panic.

“Just talk to us, Rory,” Cinder said, stepping closer to her.

Rory shook her head. “No. I don’t want to remember. It’s not my fault!” Her response caught me off guard, but then I remembered it stemmed from the sad excuse of a doctor who blamed Rory for her abuse.

“Phoenix, it’s okay,” Widow soothed. “Breathe. No one is blaming you. We want to protect you.”

“No. I can take care of myself.” She jumped up and stormed out of the clubhouse, leaving us dumbfounded. Widow grabbed Cin before she did something she’d regret.

“Let me go, Widow,” Cin argued, but Widow’s grip was strong enough to hold her.

Widow kept a firm grip on Cinder’s waist, even though Cinder looked lethal. “No. Give her time. You just told her the boogeyman was back. She needs to take a breather.”

Thirty-Four

Rory

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Aurora June was dead. He was dead. I wasn’t doing it. He was gone. Right? Cinder killed him. I might not remember every aspect of captivity, but I know Cinder saved me. She said our phrase before she murdered Jude. Cinder killed him.

Jude Booker is dead.

There were angry tears pouring from my eyes as I paced my bedroom. My hands went to my hair and I tugged the pink strands, trying to feel something other than the despair gnawing at my bones. Why was he a fucking ghost who refused to stay dead? He was gone. He was fucking dead! I’d come so far. It had been one hell of a fucking battle, and I had enough scars to prove it. I had enough to last a goddamn lifetime, but I was a fucking survivor, not the victim.

I covered my face with a pillow as a scream ripped from my throat, angry and guttural, as if my inner child was trying to escape her confines. I buried that little girl nine years ago when Cinder pulled me out of that room. Did she lie to me? I shook that thought from my head. Cinder wouldn’t lie to me about killing the man who traumatized me. No matter the emotions screaming inside me. I saw the blood on her hands and the tears in her eyes when she finally held me close.

Cinder looked different. She was still my sister, but she wasn’t the same girl who played dress-up or who gave me piggyback rides when we walked too far. She was scarier, but not scary like Jude was. Her eyes were also different. They were the same eyes I saw when I woke up from a nightmare, but there were shadows in them.

“I’m so sorry, Aurora,” Cinder sobbed, her hands trembling as she caressed my cheek. “I should’ve tried harder to find you sooner.”

I clung to her like the world might take her away and bring me back to my nightmare. Her arms were my safety net, and I didn’t want to be dragged back to the darkness alone. “A-are you h-here?”

She pulled me into her, a sob ripping through her as she cried. “I-I’m here, firefly.” There was no more darkness. “He can’t hurt you ever again.”

I couldn’t process these emotions screaming inside me. Cinder said he couldn’t hurt me ever again, but even ghosts left scars. Now I had another monster to deal with. Who had pictures? Who had videos? I knew he recorded me, but those pictures weren’t from his video camera. Why was this happening now? Nine goddamn years. Why did they decide to come out of the woodwork now?

I needed to get out of here. If I stayed in my room or around my sister, I would shatter. Riding was my way of coping, and I needed to breathe before everything pulled me under a suffocating abyss. I changed into my armoured leather pants and a black tube top. With the way my body was reacting, I opted against my jacket. The last thing I needed was to feel like I was suffocating because of it.

Peeking my head out of the room, the coast was clear, and I bolted to the front grabbing my keys. I wanted to ride, and I needed my mind to stop screaming. I knew the one place I needed to go to get the comfort I needed. My bike revved and I hit the gas, leaving the clubhouse behind in a cloud of smoke. I heard Cinder screaming my name as I vanished down the highway.