Page 16 of No Save Point

Haven tilts her head toward me, watching as I start the engine. “So, what’s the grand tour?” she asks, her voice light, teasing, like she’s testing me.

I smirk, forcing myself to shake off the residual tension. “Well, you’ve already seen our finest coffee establishment,” I say, pulling onto the main road. “We’ve also got a grocery store, a gas station, and an aggressively themed antique shop that hasn’t changed since the ‘70s.”

Cassie snorts. “Aggressively themed how?”

“Think Victorian-era mannequins, weird porcelain dolls, and an entire section dedicated to haunted-looking furniture from what I’ve heard.”

Haven laughs, tucking her legs up onto the seat. “From what you’ve heard? Have you ever actually been inside?”

I pause. “…No.” She gasps. “Carter.”

“What?” I glance at her out of the corner of my eye.

“You’ve lived here your whole life and never explored the local cursed artifacts? What kind of tour guide are you?”

Cassie grins from the back. “He’s got a point to prove, Havie. Can’t risk getting hexed.”

I chuckle, shaking my head. “Alright, fine, we’ll make a stop before I take you back. But if we get haunted, that’s on you.”

Haven grins, sinking deeper into her seat. Then, before I can stop her, she reaches for my stereo. “Can I play something?”

I blink. “You’re not gonna ask what kind of music I like first?”

She smirks. “Nope, I’ve seen your playlists Carter.”

Cassie snorts. “Oh, this is gonna be good.”

Haven scrolls through her phone for a second before the speakers crackle to life with a slowed remix she had playing on her last stream filters through. I snort. “Of course.”

She grins at me, unashamed. “What, this isn’t your vibe?”

“It’s… fitting.”

We make it through two songs before my phone buzzes on the center console. I glance down and immediately curse under my breath. Tate. I grab it and hit answer before Haven can see the name on the screen. “Tate, not now,” I mutter, angling the phone away so Haven and Cassie can’t hear.

His voice comes through sarcastically. “Leaving so soon?”

My grip tightens on the wheel. “What do you want?”

Tate tsks. “You didn’t even let me say hi.” Heat flares in my chest, my jaw tightening. That confirms it, he wanted her to see him. He was waiting for the right moment, waiting for me to mess up, to give him an opening. I wasn’t about to let that happen. Right now, I have Haven in my passenger seat, Cassie watching me from the back, and I can’t lose my shit while they’re here.

I inhale slowly. “Not. Now.”

There’s a pause. Then, Tate chuckles lowly. “Relax, little brother. I’ll see her soon enough.”

The call ends. I grip the wheel harder, forcing my expression to stay neutral. I shove my phone into my pocket, forcing my voice back to normal. “So. Next stop, cursed antiques?”

Haven cheers. I pretend nothing’s wrong. And I pray like hell that Tate doesn’t make his next move before I’m ready.

The drive is short, but quiet, her humming softly along to the music while my mind spins with everything I don’t say.

By the time we park in front of the shop, the sun’s dipped lower. A bell jingles overhead as we step inside, the scent of old wood and older secrets wrapping around us like a veil. Haven grins, running her fingers over the spines of old books stacked haphazardly on a shelf, her eyes bouncing between titles, clearly fascinated despite the dim lighting and the faint scent of dust and aged wood. She’s always been like this, completely absorbed by the smallest things when we’d talk.

Cassie, on the other hand, looks less impressed, arms crossed as she side-eyes a mannequin dressed in a faded lace wedding gown, its glassy-eyed stare unsettling enough to make even me want to turn the hell around and leave.

“So,” I say, shoving my hands into my pockets as I lean against an old display case filled with tarnished jewelry and cracked pocket watches. “No real plan for the weekend, then?”

Haven glances up, like she just remembered I was standing there. “I mean… I guess not?” She shrugs, a small, uncertain tilt of her shoulders. “I wasn’t really thinking that far ahead.”

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