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

her hair behind her ear.
    “I know. No one does.”
    Travis fidgeted with his hands, not knowing what to do with himself.
    “You just always seemed, well, like nothing bothered you, like you were okay with everything.”
    Sarah sighed and looked over at Travis, her light blue eyes meeting his.
    “Sometimes, people cry on the inside, Travis,” she said, and he could see the pain in her eyes. How long had she been carrying this around? he wondered. He nodded and held her gaze.
    “Well, you’re nothing like Barry, that’s for sure,” he said.
    “I don’t know about that,” she replied.
    Well I do. I know you,” Travis said confidently.
    “You think you know me,” she said.
    “No, I do know you.”
    “ No , you don’t!” she said in frustration, “Everyone thinks they know me, but they don’t! I’m a fake, Travis, and I’m great at hiding it! Did you know that? Huh? Did you know that I despise the girl I see in the mirror every single day because I can’t stomach the person I have become, did you know that?”
    Travis stared at Sarah, stunned, unable to speak.
    “My best friends are liars and backstabbers and I hurt people on a daily basis, and because I’ve been doing this for so long I don’t know who I am anymore!” Her voice finally broke.
    “Sarah, stop! That’s not true, why would you say that?”
    Tears began to stream down her face again and she tried desperately to regain her composure by wiping them away and sitting up straight.
    “Because it’s true, Travis,” she said, catching her breath.
    “No, that’s not true,” he said, trying to reassure her.
    “Yes, yes it is. I’m a horrible person, Travis; you know that better than anyone.”
    This was true; she had never been nice to him. But for Travis, that was okay. It was better than being ignored—that would have been far worse, he thought.
    “Well, yeah, but …”
    “But, what?” she continued. She was calming down now.
    “But, I never thought you meant it,” he said pointedly.
    “Oh, and why is that?” she asked, wiping another tear from her face.
    “Well … because I’m man-tastic, and I mean, who doesn’t want a piece of this?” he said nudging her with his elbow.
    To Travis’s delight, Sarah snorted. His remark had caught her by surprise. She quickly covered her mouth, embarrassed, but still couldn’t contain her laughter.
    Travis began to laugh too. “Hey, why are you laughing? They don’t make ’em like this anymore.” Sarah laughed harder.
    “Hey what’s going on?”
    It was Sam. He stood in Sarah’s doorway in a t-shirt, shorts, and wet hair. He had a bewildered look on his face, as if he had never seen two people laugh before.
    Their smiles immediately faded. Both Travis and Sarah stopped laughing, forcing more serious looks onto their faces.
    Travis was the first to speak.
    “I … um … well, I was …” he rambled.
    “He told me a joke,” Sarah interrupted.
    Sam’s face was more puzzled now than ever before. “He did what?”
    “A joke. J-O-K-E.” she said again, more sarcastically this time.
    Now that was the Sarah Sam knew; the laughing a minute ago was a little bizarre.
    “Um, yeah, it was just a funny joke,” Travis added poorly.
    The room was silent again. Everyone stared at each other, wondering who would speak next. Sarah finally spoke.
    “Sooo anyway, that was really funny,” she said, turning to Travis. “Thanks for telling me that one.” Her eyes met his. He smiled and she smiled back. Travis knew she was saying thank you for more than just the joke. He also knew that this would be a day he would never forget.

Chapter 7

    I t was about eight o’clock when the front door opened and Alisa Dalcome walked into the house. Her beautiful chestnut hair was tied in a loose ponytail and her face seemed pale. She was exhausted after her long day at work. Sam and Sarah were in the kitchen loading the dishwasher while Travis sat idly on the countertop talking to them. They all turned