The Delinquent's Haven

Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

 

          As Haven and Darin stepped out of the car, they smiled at one another.  It was warm outside today; the sun was at it's highest point and the green grass was swaying in the light breeze.  With a sigh, Haven released his hand and headed into the garage. 

          Ryan was sitting on the floor with Odessa; they were trying to put back together his skateboard.  Haven smiled, but didn't go any further inside than the doorway.  Neither of them looked up, so she cleared her throat and corrected his mistake. 

          "Lefty loosey, righty tighty," she called out. 

          He looked up with a wicked smirk on his face, causing Haven to chuckle humorlessly.  It was a little disappointing to Ryan that she was wearing pants and long sleeves in the sweltering weather, but he understood why.  

          "Hey; how've you been?"  He asked with a light chuckle. 

          "Good, you know?"  She smiled, waving happily at Odessa.  She returned it and flashed her pearl like teeth back at Haven.  Before anyone said anything, again, Darin lightly placed his hand on Haven's hip.  Smiling to herself, she turned around and pecked his lips. 

          "Where's Charlie and Maragret?"  Darin asked Ryan casually, only to get a shrug for a response as he tightened up the wheel back. 

          "They aren't here?"  Haven asked as they headed to the back door of the house. 

          "No, but I'm hoping they just got out of the house for their date night.  They used to have one every Thursday until the last time Odessa was sent back to the mental hospital," he mumbled as they stepped into the house. 

          "Why'd they stop?"  Haven asked.

          "They were too stressed out and just . . .  but never mind that,"  Darin's voice was cut off by a whooping sound near the entrance to the kitchen. 

          "It's been awhile," Jackson said happily. 

          "Yeah, it has," she said, turning away from Darin after giving him an apologetic smile.  He just nodded his head and started walking toward the stairs, "How have you been holding up here, Jackson?" 

          "It's been alright.  I've been getting my mind off of shit and hanging with Derek.  They want to put me in a support group for substance abuse; can you believe that?"  He said with a light chuckle, causing Haven to shake her head nonchalantly. 

          "You know, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea, Jackson," Haven said as she headed to the fridge.  Looking inside, she frowned to herself and spoke her thoughts, "What happened to the SoBe life water I love so much?" 

          "They didn't have the money this month so they just got Ice Mountain," Jackson said as she grabbed one and nodded.  Then, he spoke up, again, "Oh, and Matthew got picked up last week as a suspect for the fire, but they didn't have any hard evidence to hold him . . . so, they released him, I guess."

          "Matthew?  What made them suspect him?"  Haven asked in disbelief.  She would have suspected Yolanda above anyone else, but Haven didn't know if she could really be that cold and calculated.  After all, they could've died in that fire. 

          "He reeked of gasoline when he came home past curfew and they found a hidden gallon of it in the garage.  He even had the same brand of matches in his bedroom, stashed between his mattresses," Jackson grabbed a water for himself and took a swig.