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They continued up to the third floor, the stairs ending in a large open space Alined the back wall, in front of it stood a table with two plush gray chairs The other three walls held doors leading to bedrooms, but the area itself was packed full of bookcases Hundreds of dusty books lined the shelves Haven stared in shock, having never drea so etAntonelli said you couldn’t read"
Haven could feel his eyes on her, but she reaze
A door opened nearby and a boy stepped out froy brown hair Dr DeMarco turned to hi here"
Dominic eyed her curiously "Hey"
"Hello, sir," she said, her voice shaky
His laughter echoed through the room "Oh, that won’t do Just call me Dom"
Dom headed downstairs as Dr DeMarco led her across the library, striding past theat the last "This is where you’ll sleep Go in I’ll be back"
Haven hesitantly stepped inside The furniture, the curtains, and the carpet were all plain, everything a dull white with dustings of wood Most of the house held the same effect, the walls empty and rooms uncluttered There were no pictures and no knick-knacks, nothing to hold any sentiive her any idea of what type of people she was dealing with
She still stood just inside the doorhen Dr DeMarco returned with a pile of clothes "They’ll be big, but at least they’re clean"
She took them "Thank you, sir"
"You’re welcome," he said "Get cleaned up and settle in This is your hoain Home She had lived with the Antonellis her entire life and never heard it referred to as home
Dr DeMarco walked away but stopped after a few steps "Oh, and help yourself to anything in the kitchen if you’re hungry, but don’t try to burn down et you a code any faster I’ll let you burn to death before I let you outs the fluffy comforter She’d never had a bed before, hts in Blackburn had been spent in the stables, in a back stall on a worn-down s exposed The teht, so she hadn’t had much use for blankets, one of the ratty covers they kept for the horses enough for the occasions it did get cold She preferred not to use the like theout of her old clothes, Haven went into the connecting bathroo counter and a sink across froular mirror on the wall above the sink
Hesitantly, Haven surveyed her reflection, her sunken cheeks and the cuts covering her face A bruise ran along the right side of her jahile blood caked her hairline froash in her forehead
It was like a layer of dirt had settled on her body, tinting her skin a slightly darker shade, but it wasn’t enough to cover her scars There were dozens she could see and even h The bruises faded and sometimes so did the memories, but the scarsthe scars re as the scalding water came into contact with her skin She scrubbed every inch of her body raw as tears pooled in her eyes, overwhelmed and unsure about ould come of her Dr DeMarco had been civilized, but she wasn’t fooled by his gentle voice and s caht not have looked like a h to believe one didn’t live inside of hi under the surface
Experience told her one always did
She got out after the water cooled and found a towel in a sainst her skin as she wrapped it around her body Heading back into the bedroorabbed the clothes and slipped on the black flannel pants They hung limp on her frail forrabbed a white t-shirt and unfolded it, noticing the football on the front Turning it over, she flinched at the big black nu the back
Time passed slowly as sleep evaded Haven She huddled under the blanket, trying to find co It was too new, too foreign A prickly sensation crept across her skin as the walls closed in on her, hunger and anxiety taking its toll
In the early ot to be too much, and she quietly slipped downstairs The hallere dark, but she noticed a subtle glow of light in the kitchen Tiptoeing to the doorway, she peeked inside and saw a boy in front of the refrigerator He was a few inches taller than her, his skin the color of coffee with a lot of extra cream A few days’ worth of stubble accented his sharp features, and his thick hair was dark, shorter on the sides than on the top His gray shirt hugged his chest, the short sleeves shoved up to his shoulders Ink ht arm, a tattoo she couldn’t make out in the darkness, and he had on a pair of pants identical to the ones she wore
He drank juice frolass, unaware of her presence, and Haven took a step back to flee The ht his eye, and he turned in her direction, the drink slipping from his hand when he spotted her It hit the floor and shattered, the spray of liquid soaking his pants
Ju back, he looked down at himself "Shit!"
The curse sent Haven into a panic, and she darted forward to clean up the mess He bent down at the sa The force knocked hiht hiain as blood oozed froash and stuck his wounded thumb into histhrough his right eyebrow, slicing it in half
His gaze lifted, a pair of vibrant green eyes greeting Haven, intense passion swirling in the color that took her breath away She broke eye contact, her chest tightening as she snatched a towel from the counter to clean up the juice Tears strealass into a pile, but she was disrupted when his hand seized her wrist She yelped at the zap of static electricity, and he blinked rapidly, just as caught off guard
"What’s wrong with you?" he asked, gripping her tightly
"I’m sorry," she said "Please don’t punish et out another word, the overhead light flicked on and Dr DeMarco’s harsh voice rang out "Let her go!"
The boy dropped her wrist so fast it was as if he’d been savagely burned "Sorry," he said, the word barely audible as he cliled to breathe as Dr DeMarco poured a glass of water from the faucet and handed it to her "Drink," he coed, her sto its contents "What happened here?"
They replied at the sa in sync "It was an accident"
"It won’t happen again, sir," Haven continued "I swear"
Dr DeMarco blinked a few times "It’s not often two people accept blaain "Yeah, well, it wasn’t really "