Chasing Sin

20

The look in Sin's green eyes was too intense.

His normal indifferent, guarded look is completely gone. Right now, his eyes say so much. I see concern, pain, and anger in them, and it's overwhelming. He so rarely shows emotion, or lets his guard down, that it shocks me.

"Haven, what's wrong?" Sin asks, suavely rushing over to me. He places his hands on each of my shoulders, looking at me closely. I remember now that my face is probably stained form tears, and I want to hide. I hate people seeing me cry.

"I'm fine," I automatically say. I know that if I even try to talk about it, I might fall apart again, so I just focus on getting out of here. " I just, um, need to call my brother. I need my phone."

"Your phone is in your hand," he says, looking at me, confused. I look down and see he's right. My phone is in my good hand, and I slide it open to find Ethan's number.

"Haven, tell me what's going on." The way Sin talks, it doesn't seem like a question, but a demand. I look at him, almost wanting to, but I couldn't explain it if I tried. What would I say?

I hold the phone up to my ear, not answering Sin, but Ethan doesn't answer my call. I swear under my breath.

"Haven," Sin gets my attention, his voice now softer and kinder. Another tone I haven't heard him use.

I look up at him, seeing his eyes still filled with emotion. I can see he's genuinely concerned about me, and I suddenly want to tell him everything. I do trust Sin, but I know I can't tell anyone about my past. It would screw everything up. I don't want to go back to being that helpless girl that everyone pities. I like being Haven.

"I just need to get out of here," I finally say. He nods, grabbing my hand and leading me away from the door of Jeanie's.

I see Sin's car parked near us, and I just get in, not wanting to argue.

I get into the passenger seat of his—believe it or not—black car, and I buckle my seatbelt, my head still reeling from everything that's happened in the past 24 hours.

So much for distracting myself.

Sin begins driving, and I just stare out the window as we move forward. Although I know he wants answers, I immediately feel safer and more comfortable around Sin.

I scold myself for feeling that way. You shouldn't depend on a man—or anyone else—to feel safe. You went through a lot to get to this point, I remind myself.

"I thought you were sick," Sin says, looking over at me.

Despite not being at school himself, he must have heard about my absence. Did he ask about me or did someone just happen to mention it?

I meet his eyes, unsure of my answer until I hear myself say it. "Some sicknesses aren't physical."

Sin looks at me carefully, probably longer than the driving laws allow, but then turns back to look at the road. After a long moment, I realize I don't recognize this street.

"Where are going?" I ask him, looking around at the beautiful flora surrounding the road we're on. There are large reddish trees fading after autumn, and they hang over the road in a beautiful, serene way.

"My place."

Now I know why I didn't recognize this road. The only time I've been to Sin's place is the night after Jenna's infamous party. I was so wasted that I was barely able to hold onto Sin, let alone take in my surroundings. Plus, it was the middle of the night, and pitch black outside.

I just nod, honestly relieved I don't have to go back home yet. I've enjoyed the chill day, not being around a ton of people the whole time.

"This is a beautiful road," I tell him, looking at it again. It's especially pretty now that the sunset is in full effect, pretty pinks and oranges cascading around the sky behind the trees.