"Thank you," I offer, backing away from the counter.
I figured Haven wasn't done with her point yet, but she surprises me by not saying anything else as we walk away. While making our way outside, she stops to look around. "You know what? I'm not sure I want to give my dad the week to make things right."
"Haven, we can't rush this," I tell her. "Trust me, I'm in more of a hurry to wipe him clean than anyone else, but one more week will be okay."While we sleep in motel rooms, hoping to have enough cash left over to eat.I don't work seven days a week at Crows, so I'm going to need to stretch this income.
"He doesn't deserve a week," she argues.
"I know, but who knows where he's keeping that money. We may not have a choice." I must believe what I'm saying is true, and at the same time, I'm doing my best to keep my hope stable, knowing what kind of man Frederick is. "Right now, I want to find Lauren. I need to know she's okay."
For what seems like the millionth time today, we walk across the town and into Sutter. The two towns together can't be more than a four-mile radius, but walking everywhere is taking a lot of time I feel like I don't have right now.
The moment we walk into the assisted living center, we're greeted with a horrendous smell of urine. People are walking around like zombies, and it doesn't appear that anyone cares about the torn carpeting, the peeling wallpaper, or the cotton exploding out of the two couches in the waiting area. This place is vile. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Haven agrees with my observation, but coming from the lifestyle she has lived, I know how hard she tries not to judge other ways of life, especially since she never should have been living the way she was.
At the front desk, a woman with greasy, white hair and thick bottleneck glasses with a faint pink rim, glances up at me, looking annoyed. "Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for Lauren Sullivan, please."
She glances at her notebook and flips through some papers before dragging her finger down the center of a page. "She's in room 102, just down the hall and to the right. Are you family?"
"Yes, ma'am. She's my sister," I respond without hesitation.
The woman closes the book and clasps her hands together on top of it while looking up at me with anger coursing through her eyes. "It took you quite a while to come and see her. Lauren is a very somber, lonely woman, you know."
"We were separated, ma'am, for reasons beyond my control."
With a slight raise to her white brow, she releases a heavy sigh. "Very well." She hands Haven and me a guest pass and a book to sign into.
My stomach twists and turns while we walk down the tainted hallway. I'm scared to see the way Lauren is living because I know how much it is going to hurt to confirm my fear.
We turn the corner and enter the room, finding the exact scene I didn't want to see. Lauren’s hair is everywhere, there are dark circles under her large eyes, and she looks as if she's aged twenty years since I last saw her. It takes her less than a second to recognize me and less than two seconds to stand up and run toward me, throwing her arms around my neck with incredible strength I didn't know she was capable of. "Rainnnne," she shouts. "My Rainnnne." My eyes swell with an unfamiliar sensation. I haven't shed a tear since Granddad died, not one, not for anyone, because I have lived in this constant state of fear that if I let anyone know how much I’m always hurting, people would know how truly weak I am inside. But Lauren has power over me that no one else will ever have. Tears spill out of my eyes and drip down my face onto her shoulder.
"I missed you so much, Lauren." I pull away from her a bit, needing to see her, but her eyes are squeezed shut, and her entire face is pursed with wrinkles. "Are you okay?"
"Mama died," she says. "Last year. She died."
"I know," I tell her. I take her hand and pull her across the room to a couple of chairs where I help her sit down.
"I'm happy you're here and not dead too," she says.
"Me too, Lauren. Is this place treating you okay?"
"It smells like pee," she says, scrunching her nose. "I don't like it but they said I don't have any other choices."
"I'm going to get you out of here," I tell her, something I know I can't promise right now, but if it's the last thing I do, Iwillget her out of here.
"Well, I don't see how after that man ruined our lives," Lauren says.
"Hi Lauren," Haven says with caution. "I'm Haven, Raine's friend."
Lauren looks between the two of us with confusion but then steadies her focus on Haven’s face. "But, I've only heard of one other Haven," Lauren says.
"Yeah...I am the mayor's daughter," Haven confesses.
Lauren clenches her fists against her sides and presses her lips tightly together. "Your father is a real jerk," she says while stomping her foot.
"Yes, he is," Haven agrees, "And I'm going to help Raine get back what belongs to both of you."
Lauren stares solidly at Haven for a long uncomfortable minute, but Haven doesn't look away. It's as if Haven wants her to read the truth in her eyes, and it's there. It's always been there. "Well, hurry up," Lauren says. "I don't like it here."
