Chapter 92

• Haven sat in his living room, the ticking of the clock echoing uproariously in the quiet. The once energetic room, where giggling and discussion filled the air, now felt like a spooky shell of its previous self. He looked at the phone on the table, holding up for a call that never came, his leg jittering with on edge vitality.
• It had been weeks since Alexis left, and the developing chasm between them felt agonising. He replayed the occasions of that night over and over in his mind, each time pondering how things had spiralled so out of control. The argument, the hollering, and after that his clench hand meeting with Matthew’s face. He could still feel the sting in his knuckles from the punch. He hadn’t meant for things to go that far. Matthew had been self-centered, provocative, and Haven had just snapped. But Alexis… she hadn’t seen it that way. She had looked at him, not with stun or concern, but with disgust.
• The sound of a key turning in the door startled him from his considerations. He stood up rapidly, heart hustling as Alexis walked in. She was carrying a little travel bag, the same one she had left with, but there was something distinctive about her. Her face was rough, her developments ponder.