Haven

1. Home

“I really think you’re groovy, let’s go out to a movie…”

Norah hummed along to The Turtle’s classic, fingers tapping away on the steering wheel as she drove through the night. The Blue Briar forest loomed on both sides of the road, the large trees melting into the dark and she drove below the speed limit, afraid an animal would jump out in front of her. Earlier she had passed a dead wolf on the side of the road which had put her stomach in more knots than it already was. There was something about seeing animals on the side of the road that upset her. If it had occurred naturally, it wouldn’t bother her but because it was humans who had ended those poor creature’s lives, it made her feel guilty in a way she knew she shouldn’t, but couldn’t help.

The other reason her stomach was in knots boiled down to one person; Daniel. The last two weeks of her life had been a nightmare. After Adam had appeared on her doorstep, explaining what he had done, Norah knew things were only going to get worse.

She had been right in thinking his job with Daniel had been illegal. Apparently, they had planned on stealing some diamonds from a businessman who was passing through town that night to attend a fundraiser. Unfortunately, for Adam and Daniel, the businessman decided to return home early due to an upset stomach and had caught them in the act. The man had stopped Adam from escaping and Daniel, being the great ‘friend’ that he was, escaped and left Adam to fend for himself.

During their scuffle, the man had tripped and they both fell through the coffee table, smashing the glass top and the man cracked his head open on the foot of the table. In a panic, Adam had tried to stop the bleeding before realising the man was dead.

After explaining to Norah, she could see he didn’t know what to do, but she did. A situation like that, Norah couldn’t let it slide by. She loved her brother, despite his flaws, but she couldn’t keep this a secret for him. A life had been taken and Adam needed to turn himself in before things got out of hand. It took Norah seven hours of tears and shouting to convince him to do the right thing. She had half expected Adam to run the moment she turned her back but he hadn’t.

For two weeks she had put her life on hold to help Adam sort everything out. The case had gone through quickly as Adam had confessed and the only thing he left out was Daniel and the location of the missing diamonds. Norah thought Daniel would have skipped town with them by now and she didn’t care if they both never resurfaced.

Sadly, on the fifth day after Adam had been jailed, a knock had sounded at her door and there was Daniel, smiling his ‘innocent’ smile which shot a bolt of fear through her being. Despite her assurance that she didn’t want his help or ‘sympathy’, he continued to plague her. The first few visits had been standard Daniel, hovering too close, offering his version of pity at Adam’s situation when it wasn’t wanted. Every time she saw his face, she wanted to threaten call the police if he didn’t leave her alone, but was too afraid of how Daniel might react, and she also didn’t feel the police would believe her since no mention of Daniel had been made in the initial report.

Rain started to splatter across her windshield and she turned the wipers on as her brain went over what had happened three days ago.

Juggling with three bags of groceries, she managed to unlock the front door without dropping anything. Her fridge had been empty for three days but with Adam and an annoying subplot that wouldn’t sort itself out, she’d been too busy to care, simply surviving on what was left in her pantry; cashews and museli bars. Walking down the hall to the kitchen, she was thinking of how to make her pasta when she stepped through the kitchen door and bit back a scream, dropping her bags and the ingredients rolled across the floor.

Daniel leaned against the kitchen island, her large cutting knife in his hand as he tested the tip’s sharpness.

“W-what are you doing in my house?” She demanded, trying to cover the fear she felt coursing through her veins. She stood still, afraid to run in case he gave chase. The house phone was in the hallway but she knew she wouldn’t reach it before he reached her.