moonlight.

1

☾

CHAPTER ONE

HAVEN FOLLOWED CLOSE behind the officer, a scowl painted perfect on her features. her dark brown eyes glared at the back of the officers head, her arms crossed and rested upon her chest. a bruise sat around her left eye and a slight cut was embedded into her bottom lip, showing that she got into an altercation with another girl behind bars.

after a full month in juvenile detention, her social worker found a home which would hopefully be her forever home. now today was the day he was picking her up to bring her to the new family.

she breath escaped her light pink lips, rolling her eyes as she stepped outside into the warm summer air. she made her way over to her social worker, arms still planted tightly across her chest.

"there's my trouble maker!" jason exclaimed, a wide grin pooling onto his features.

"shut up." haven growled, dropping her arms to dangle by her sides.

the officer cleared his throat, turning to jason with a straight look on his darkened face. "she's free to go."

"you're not going to explain to me why she has a busted lip and a bruised eye?" jason cocked an eyebrow, his handing moving into the pockets of his dark washed jeans.

"some girls become jealous when one gets released and they like to pick fights. not a big deal." the officer shrugged it off and walked away.

haven's brown eyes were glued to the rough pavement, ignoring the feeling of jason's eyes watching her intently. a hint of pain flickered in her eyes for a moment when she faced him.

"ready to go?" he asked her gently, giving her a kind look.

she let out a simple nod, getting into the passengers seat of his car. she waited a moment while jason answered a phone call before he got in the drivers seat, pushing the keys into the ignition.

"i know you're mad and you have every right to be." he glanced at her as he drove away from the juvenile facility. "i'm sorry that this happened to you."

"yeah, well, it is what it is." she mumbled, keeping her stare locked on the passing trees. she tapped her foot, nervously chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"i know sydney didn't care where she placed you while i way away–i should've fought harder against her." he explain, guilt settling deep into the bit of his stomach.

"well you didn't and now here i am." she spoke bitterly, sending him a harsh glare in his way.

people would usually grow uncomfortable with the teen when she had a harsh look settled onto her sharp features. but jason knew more and was never affected by her attitude. he was used to it. he knew how to handle it. her was the only one who could handle it. and that is something haven needed greatly.

"since you have a tendency to fight against male authority, i placing you in a home with an only female authority. i worked hard to find a place like this for you. give it a chance, please." he explained to her, a hopeful shine settling into his dark greenish hazel eyes.

she remained quiet, swallowing the lump in her throat. she leaned her head back against the head rest, keeping her eyes out the window. she pulled her knees to her chest, her feet resting on the seat.