Chapter 6 - The Safe Haven
The morning sun was climbing higher into the sky by the time I walked out the front door and crossed back over to where Marcus’s black SUV was parked by the curb.
Emily and Evan were sitting in the back seat. When they saw me approaching, the back door pushed open immediately, and Emily launched herself out of the vehicle, running across the asphalt to throw her arms around my waist.
I caught her easily, burying my face in her hair as I held her tight, feeling the residual tension finally begin to drain from her small frame.
“Is she… is she still in there?” Emily asked softly, her face pressed against my chest.
“She’s packing, sweetheart,” I murmured, resting my chin on her head. “And she won't be bothering you ever again. I promise.”
Marcus stepped out of the driver’s seat, leaning against the door frame with a somber, respectful expression. He tossed me a set of keys—to his own guest house about twenty minutes away, where he and his wife had already set up two rooms for the kids.
“You holding up, brother?” Marcus asked quietly, walking over and clapping a heavy hand on my shoulder.
“I’ve survived worse, Mark,” I replied, looking down at my children. “The hard part is over. Now we just rebuild.”
Evan, who was ten and still trying to process why we had suddenly left the house before breakfast, looked up at me with wide, confused eyes. “Dad? Are we moving? Are we going on a trip?”
I knelt down in front of my son, taking his small shoulders in my hands.
“Buddy, we’re going to stay with Uncle Marcus for a little while,” I told him with a reassuring smile. “And then, just you, me, and your sister are going to find a brand-new home where we can make our own rules. No more stress. Just us.”
Evan’s face lit up instantly. “Can we get a dog?”
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I laughed—a real, genuine laugh that felt like it had been locked inside my chest for years. “Yeah, buddy. We can get a dog.”
Marcus shook his head with a faint grin, tossing his car keys in the air and catching them. “Alright, captain. My wife’s got pancakes waiting on the griddle. Let’s get these kids out of the neighborhood before the circus really starts.”
