Haven

19. Hope

Norah woke to an empty bed and knew Rylan must have left for work. Her body still thrummed from the activities of the night before. Rylan had attempted to be a gentleman for as long as he could, but when she crawled into bed in her summer pyjamas, apparently that was the straw that broke the camel's back and she hadn't had them on for five minutes before he was taking them off again.

She stretched and rolled over, reaching up to pull the curtain across. Her bruises ached slightly, but they weren't painful. She knew Rylan had been angry when he'd seen them, but he'd been careful to avoid them and touch them gently if he couldn't avoid it.

Looking at the bedside table, she squinted in the light and saw a note lying on its surface. Picking it up, she grinned as she read it.

Norah. You. Me. Date. After work. Dress casual. Rylan. Ps. Stay safe.

"Is he trying to speak in Morse code or something?" she laughed. She would have to teach him the finer points of writing a letter.

Grabbing her journal, she slipped the note between its pages and rolled out of bed. Picking out some new clothes, she slipped across the hall to the bathroom, saying good morning to Logan as he rushed past, obviously late for work.

"Morning Norah," he ran past her.

"Run Forest, run!" She heard him chuckle as he ran down the stairs. The Montoya's bathroom was two times larger than her own and she was slightly envious of the larger shower head. It was like a waterfall. She showered quickly, trying to keep her mind occupied and failing.

Adam's email continued to enter her mind and try to tempt her to read it. Last night during dinner she had struggled to keep her mind in the moment, it continued to drift to the email and because she wasn't eating, Luke and Rylan were arguing over who got her leftovers because they thought she was finished. In the end she had halved her plate and though they both weren't satisfied, it shut them up.

She could have stayed in the shower forever, but she was conscious that this wasn't her home and she didn't want to waste water. Drying her hair, she slipped on a white and blue striped shirt and blue denim shorts. Norah enjoyed the warm weather but she was beginning to miss the rain. It was one of her favourite smells; rain on a cold morning. Leaving her hair out to dry some more, she made her way down to the kitchen for breakfast.

She heard quiet voices talking and one stopped just before she walked in. Cassie and Annie were standing near the sink, faces visibly distressed.

"Good morning," Norah said awkwardly.

Cassie muttered a reply before slipping out, eyes red with tears. Norah looked at Annie. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt -"

"No dear, it's all right." Annie wiped her eyes which were red as well.

"Is everyone all right?"

Annie hesitated. "Last night, Liam confronted Holden at the Mill. They were arguing about the leadership and Liam refused to leave. They got into a fight."

"Is Holden all right?" Norah stepped forward, anxious.

"He'll be fine, it will take more than a cocky youth to bring him down, as he would say," Annie gave her a watery smile. "He's got a few injuries but they'll be healed by tonight. Being a bit older, his ability to heal isn't as good as it used to be."

Norah had a feeling Annie was playing his injuries down but she didn't say anything. "What about Liam? Was he okay? Is that why Cassie -?"

"No, Liam was fine, a couple of minor injuries I believe Aston said -"

"Aston was there?"

She nodded, biting her lip. "He was stopping his own son, Nick from joining in with Liam. Nick's a strong boy, but he would never attack his father."