Sempre (Forever Series #1)(30)

Haven sat up, needing to clear her head, and stretched her back as Carmine retrieved a bottle of Tylenol. He sat down and gave her the pills before grabbing a half-full bottle of water from his nightstand. “I promise I don’t have any diseases.”

She took it from him and drank the rest of it before handing the empty bottle back to him. He shrugged as he tossed it onto the floor in a pile of dirty clothes. The room was somehow messier than the last time she saw it. “I could clean your room for you.”

“I’m not gonna make you do that.”

“I know, but you’ve been nice. I’d like to do something in return.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Nice? Don’t say that shit too loud. It might ruin my reputation. And maybe I’ll ask for help with my room someday, but not today.”

“Someday, then.”

They were both quiet again, the silence awkward. Haven tried to think of something to say to lighten the mood, but his eyes were watching her, and she couldn’t focus on anything but them.

She looked around the room again, needing to break from his gaze. “I should try to move around. The longer I lie around, the harder it’s going to be when I do have to get up.”

Carmine helped her to her feet—putting weight on her legs was not easy. He held her arm the whole way downstairs, hesitantly letting go when they reached the family room.

They sat together quietly on the couch as night fell. Carmine offhandedly flipped through channels, watching a program until commercials came on and then turning to another. A few minutes past seven, he settled on an episode of Jeopardy! “This popular pasta dish consists of wide, flat noodles layered with meat, cheese, and tomato sauce.”

“Lasagna,” Haven and Carmine said at the same time. She smiled. “What is this?”

“Useless trivia,” he said, “like the bullshit they teach us in school.”

She turned back to the television, eyes wide, and soaked up every question asked during the next thirty minutes. When the show came to an end, she turned to Carmine. He appeared bored, his head propped up with his fist on the arm of the couch, as he flipped through channels again.

“Thank you,” she said. “I liked that show.”

“It’s on every night at that time,” he said. “You know, in case you wanna watch it again.”

* * *

The front door opened a few minutes later, and Haven tensed when she heard footsteps. She could feel Carmine’s gaze on her, could sense it powerfully, but she couldn’t look at him. She didn’t want to see his expression. She didn’t want his pity. He had treated her like an equal, and she didn’t want to feel like less than him again.

Dr. DeMarco walked in, an uncomfortable tension entering with him. Haven fought back a bout of sickness, focusing her attention on a smudge on the floor.

“Can you go to your room, Carmine?” Dr. DeMarco asked. “I’d like to talk to her alone.”

Haven’s heart raced as she picked at her fingernails, trying to keep her composure as Carmine left. Dr. DeMarco crouched down in front of her, blocking the spot she’d been focused on, so she stared at a loose thread on his shirt instead.

He raised his hand, and Haven recoiled, wrapping her arms around herself protectively as she moved as far back from him as possible. The queasy feeling flared, and Haven bit her bottom lip to keep it in.

“You should stay off your legs for a few days,” Dr. DeMarco said as he ran his fingers across the tops of her knees and squeezed them.

She winced. It hurt. “I’m fine, sir.”

“You have bursitis. It’s when the little sac above the kneecap fills with fluid. You need to rest and ice them so the swelling goes away.”

He let go of her knee but didn’t get up. It was uncomfortable, him staring at her. She wanted nothing more than for him to go away.

“Listen to me,” he said, his voice softer. “Do you know what a GPS chip is?”

She shook her head.

“It’s a tracking device, sometimes as small as a grain of rice. My car has one in it. If someone steals it, I can find its location. It’s a security measure, so no one takes what belongs to me.” He paused. “You’re no different, child. You have one in you, too.”

At those words, Haven met his gaze. Sympathy shined from his eyes, which made her sicker.

“I injected you with one in the basement that first day, so no matter what happens, I’ll be able to find you. It’s how I knew where you went yesterday.”

She couldn’t speak, afraid if she opened her mouth, she’d lose it. She’d never had these reactions toward Master Michael. She endured years of abuse from him and could keep going, battered but strong, intact . . . but in one second, without raising his hand, Dr. DeMarco had shattered a part of her.

10

Durante fell under autumn’s clutch. The lush green faded, giving way to rich, warm hues scattered among the tall pine trees. Leaves fell in heaps on the ground, covering the earth like a crisp blanket.

With the emergence of fall came Homecoming, a big extravaganza in town, with spirit week and a pep rally, a parade, and a football game, the week’s activities culminating in a dance. Carmine should have been excited, but he had been dreading it all week.

Haven had been cold again, hiding out whenever he was home. He heard her crying at night as he sat in the library, whittling away the hours by plucking the strings on his guitar. He wanted to go to her, to console her, but he didn’t know what to say. Sorry you’re here? Sorry you’re trapped? Sorry my father is a sick motherf*cker? How could he explain it, make it all right, when nothing about the situation made sense to him?