Free Haven: Revenge of the Viper by D.C. Akers Page A

that had fallen down her cheek. “He cheated on me with Mary Fisher last week when I didn’t feel like going out.”
    Travis shook his head in disgust. He had never liked Barry and had always thought of him as a player. He was the typical jock—big head, big ego, and no brains.
    “I’m sorry, Sarah. I know you liked him.”
    Sarah shook her head and straightened herself up on the bed. “That’s the thing, Travis, I really didn’t. I really didn’t like him. I …” Sarah paused, then looked up at the ceiling, struggling to find the words to convey that she merely put up with Barry.
    Travis raised an eyebrow. This was not what he was expecting to hear.
    “Then why were you so upset?” Travis asked, confused.
    “I was just angry, I guess, more at myself than anything. I mean, I didn’t even like the guy and yet I put up with so much of his macho crap. And then he has the nerve to cheat on me! What a giant waste of time!” she said, waving her hands in frustration.
    “What a jerk!” Travis chimed in. This feels good, he thought. Finally someone other than him and Sam thought that Barry “I Walk On Water” Rogers wasn’t so great after all. Travis had to admit it—there was just something about Sarah hating Barry that made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
    “Yeah!” she said.
    “He has a really big head too,” Travis continued.
    “He does, doesn’t he? Wow, I thought I was the only one who thought that,” she said, starting to smile.
    Travis loved it when she smiled.
    “God, he would go on and on about himself. Sometimes I would have my headphones in while he was talking to me, and I would just nod like I knew what he was talking about.”
    Travis laughed, “Nice!” Sarah laughed too.
    “So, why did you stay with him so long?” Travis asked.
    It was like someone had slammed on the breaks. Sarah’s smile faded and she suddenly became silent again. Her eyes shifted and she looked away. He could tell this was a question she was not sure she wanted to answer.
    “It’s … it’s okay Sarah, I mean if you don’t want to talk about it,” he said reassuringly.
    She looked back at Travis. She seemed uncomfortable now, almost fragile as she crossed her arms.
    “No … it’s okay.” Her voice was meek. “He … he made me feel better about myself,” she said. She was ashamed to admit it, but it was true.
    Travis was really confused now.
    “What, how?” His voice was riddled with aggravation. “Barry was a bully. He was mean to just about every person I know and in the end he wasn’t good to you either. So how in the world did he make you feel special?”
    “Better,” she corrected him. “I said better, not special.” She looked back down at her bed.
    “I don’t understand.” Travis could feel the blood rushing to his face. But it wasn’t Sarah he was mad at—it was Barry. It was the fact that this jerk could give Sarah something that he couldn’t, something that made her feel better about herself even though he was such a complete jerk. Sarah stared down at the bed, and for a minute Travis didn’t think she was going to answer him. Finally, she lifted her head and her eyes were latent with tears.
    “Because when I was with him I didn’t feel like the worst person in the room. I …” she wiped a tear from her cheek. “I felt better knowing that there was someone out there worse than me.”
    Travis felt his heart sink. Sarah looked humiliated. This was a side of her he never knew existed and now that he had seen it, he wished he hadn’t. It hurt him somehow to see her in so much pain.
    He stood motionless for a moment, looking at the girl he thought he knew. What could he possibly say to that? Travis took a moment before moving from the doorway and walking toward Sarah, who was now staring aimlessly into her pink and white comforter. He stopped and sat down on the bed next to her.
    “I never knew you felt like that,” he said, looking over at her. Sarah shrugged and pulled