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"Now?" she asked with disbelief, glancing at the clock when he let go of her hand The red nu

He shoved open the bedrooroaned, but offered little resistance Cold air entered the roo Haven shiver Wrapping her arms around herself, her brow furrowed in confusion "Didn’t Dr DeMarco nail that down?"

"Yeah, but he did a shitty job," Carmine replied "I pried it back open"

Haven wanted to ask when he had done it, or even why he bothered, but she didn’t have a chance Car to leave

"Co her coat to her He was halfway out thebefore she could think to object

Haven quickly bundled up before joining hi balcony that wrapped around the house It was the third tiated it, but this tiht sheen of frost covered everything,the narroooden path toward the one as winter settled in, but the thick branches were as sturdy as ever

"Is this necessary?" Haven asked as she started clione out the door?"

"We could’ve," Carround, "but where’s the fun in that?"

Haven ed to scale the first few obstacles easily, but her foot slipped when she neared the bottorip on the branch and screeched, closing her eyes when she started to fall She braced herself for sudden i to gracefully catch her, but the blow knocked theroaned as the air was brutally forced fro over The frozen earth felt like solid concrete against her back "That was surefun"

"Yeah, I didn’t think that shit through," Carrabbing Haven’s hand and pulling her to her feet "Maybe we should’ve just used the daht air felt like pins and needles, stabbing against Haven’s flushed face, but she ss The flakes were starting to settle on the ground, dotting the lifeless grass with s the stars froh There were no ani in the night--no sign of life except for the two of them

It was as if they were alone in the world, and as terrifying as that was to Haven--the thought of nothing else existing any at least he was still out there

She took a few steps out into the yard, glancing up into the sky as snow rained down on her Wetness hit her skin, coldness seeping through her clothes A chill ran through her body as she closed her eyes and opened her ue

Despite the fact that it was bitterly cold, warh her

Haven opened her eyes and peeked over at Car at her Flakes stuck to his thick, dark locks, and she reached up, running her fingers through his hair to wipe them away

"You’re beautiful, tesoro," he said quietly

Heat rose to her cheeks at his words "Such a char down to softly kiss her lips "We can disappear before the sun coainst his chest, she pushed away froh "We can’t run away"

He sighed "It’s a nice dreah, isn’t it?"

"I don’t kno nice it would be," she replied "Hoould we ever feel safe if we constantly had to watch our backs? I don’t want to run fro I want to be able to walk away, just stroll away so I want to stand at an intersection and choose which way to go without having to worry about what happens if it leads us somewhere someone else doesn’t want us to be Now that’s a nice drea at her "Beautiful and s at the ground as her blush deepened She started kicking around at the s into the frozen dirt "Does it snow a lot in Chicago?"

Car he wasn’t watching her anymore He stared off into the distance, a dazed look on his face "Too et blizzards I’ forward to it"

"But think of all the snowhts"

His lips curved into a smile, but she could see the sadness back in his eyes She felt guilty for bringing up Chicago, not wanting to ruin his mood It wasn’t often they had carefree moments anymore

"It snows in New York, too," he said "Just as o"

"I bet Central Park is beautiful when it’s all white," she said "Actually, I bet it’s beautiful all year round I’d love to see it so back to her His sers were nued, not wanting the moment to be over yet

Car her Snuggling into his chest, she wrapped her arhtly He leaned his head on top of hers, a soft hu Car theuely faister with Haven "Blue October," she whispered, recalling the song they had made love to on Valentine’s Day

"You remember," he said

"How could I not?" she whispered as he continued hu A chill ran down her spine, her heart aching when his voice cracked on the words

A strange feeling brewed in the pit of Haven’s sto with fear Fear’s healthy, she tried to remind herself, but it didn’t feel like it at the , like the fortress walls she had built that kept her safe and at ho