Chapter 123

• Haven sat in his room, absently rubbing the back of his neck, a bottle of water untouched on the table. The dim shine of the evening sun slipped through the blinds, casting spiked shadows over the room. His mind churned tirelessly, like a clock ticking speedier than it ought to, making each moment feel longer and heavier. He gazed at his phone on the armrest, the screen clear. His thumb floated, tingling to open it. All it would take was a straightforward call to Alexis, many words, and he’d be done. But that was the issue. It wasn’t about making the call, it was what came after. What he would tell her, how she would respond, and whether it would indeed make things way better. He leaned back against the couch, breathing out through tightened teeth.
• “Why ought to I get involved?” he murmured out loud, as if the words would settle the contention seething inside him. The air in the loft felt choking, thick with vulnerability. He stood unexpectedly, pacing from one end of the room to the other.
• Haven wasn’t the kind of man who enjoyed staying his nose where it didn’t have a place. He despised untidy circumstances, particularly when they included connections. Still, the more he tried to persuade himself to stay out of it, the more that bothering voice in his head kept dragging him back to Alexis, to her face, the way she grinned when she felt at ease, and the way she wriggled with her studs when something weighed on her mind.