S A F E H A V E N : Summer

CHAPTER I

Bee-beep. Bee-beep. Bee-beep.

Gustav's eyes slowly fluttered open, and he let out a groan. The alarm's shrill tone seemed to penetrate his skull, like a drill slowly working its way through bone to the soft, vulnerable grey matter of his brain.

The Serpian reached out and tapped the screen of his phone, disabling the alarm. Then he rolled over onto his back and covered his face with a pillow as his head pounded with the beginnings of a migraine.

"Gus?"

Gustav slowly removed the pillow from his face and turned his head to stare at the entrance to his room, where his adoptive father, a Draconian named Marx Gray, stood. "Guten morgen, Vater," he mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his face with his hands.

"Good morning." Marx checked his watch and chuckled. "How many times did you hit the 'snooze' button?"

Gustav frowned. "I don't remember," he muttered with a sigh, standing up and heading toward his bathroom. "What time is it?"

"11:15." Marx rapped on the doorjamb with his knuckles. "Gotta get a move on and get the day started, buddy. You've got chores to do."

"Ja, Vater." Gustav reached into the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of pills, popping two into his mouth before downing them with a cup of water. He then proceeded to splash his face repeatedly, trying to drive off the lingering effects of his deep sleep from the night prior.

A loud buzzing sound resonated from his bedside desk as his phone nearly vibrated itself onto the floor.

Gustav glanced at it, drying off his hands with a towel before exiting the bathroom and heading back into his bedroom. He picked up the phone and checked it, his eyes scanning the screen.

There was a text from Addison. As a matter of fact, there were multiple texts from Addison, all sent between 7 A.M. and twenty seconds ago. "Morning Gus", "Still on for lunch?", "You up?", "Hello?", "Hey u good?", and the like.

Personally, Gustav found it strange that Addison still texted him as frequently as he had when they were dating. It had been a few months since their breakup, but hearing from Addison so often and knowing they were no longer in a relationship somewhat soured the constant communication.

Nevertheless, Gustav was getting used to it—to all of it. Being friends with Addison, Addison dating MacKenzie, hanging out with both knowing that they'd once been in a rather tense love triangle; it had been so odd at first, but now, it seemed... normal.

Almost normal.

Gustav heaved a sigh and responded to Addison's texts: "Sorry, overslept! 12 still works".

Addison replied almost immediately: "Awesome! C u then sleepyhead :)".

Gustav rolled his eyes but couldn't hold back a small smile. He put down his phone and quickly got dressed before slipping it into his back pocket and heading downstairs. "Vater! Is the Director out?" he called as he walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah!" Marx called back from his study. "She's at the theatre! She said she's having an extra rehearsal!"

"How long will she be gone?"

"Dunno! She left at like 6, so she might be back soon!"

"How soon is 'soon'?"

The front door flew open.