Chapter One

I used to envy those people. You know, the ones who always had somebody to go home to; people who loved them. I used to talk to this older lady, Evelyn. We would meet at this coffee shop, Marie's, a few streets down from where I lived. She would tell me stories of her four sons, and I would listen, drinking in all of the details. Then, later, when I was alone, I would think of her stories, imagining myself in them. Eventually I got so used to doing this they stopped becoming her stories, and imprinted themselves into my mind as memories; as if I were really there, surrounded by people who cared for me.

One day I finally gathered the courage to ask her what love felt like. She looked at me, leaned across the table we were sitting at, took my hand in hers, and gave me the sweetest smile. She said to me, "You should know, Haven. Because you are loved." I could do nothing but stare at her as this feeling of bliss washed over me, making me feel warm and safe.

Everyday after that she would be sure to tell me she loved me before she left, giving me a hug as she did so, a soft kiss lingering in my hair as she pulled away. I would sit alone for hours remembering the feel of her holding me, the lingering smell of her perfume on my shirt. Until one day she stopped coming.

I sat in the coffee shop for hours each day, staring at the entrance, waiting for her to come in and tell me some wild story about what kept her away. My heart sank lower each time the bell chimed, signaling the opening of the door, letting in yet another stranger. After the third day, I gave up hope and sighed, gathering what little I had with me. As I was shrugging on my coat, the bell chimed again, but I didn't look. It wouldn't be her.

"Haven? Is that you?"

I turned at the familiar voice, relief washing over me as I saw the face I grew to love. "Evelyn!" I rushed forward and threw my arms around her, hugging her close. "You weren't here for days. I was worried."

She put me at arms length, wiping away the tears that had escaped from my eyes. "I'm so sorry, Haven. I didn't mean to worry you."

I looked up and saw a man standing behind her, maybe in his mid to late twenties, watching our reunion with a mixed expression. Evelyn followed my gaze and removed one of her hands from my shoulder, placing it on his. "Haven, this is my son, Bobby. Bobby, this is Haven, the one I was telling you about."

I wiped my eyes and gave a shaky smile. "I'm sorry. I must look like an emotional wreck right now."

He smiled back at me, and gave a little half shrug. "Don't worry about it. It's good to meet you finally."

"You too."

Evelyn smiled and gestured to the booth I just stood from. "Shall we sit?"

"Oh! Yeah." I stepped back and let her sit down, sitting across from her as Bobby slid in beside her. A waitress started our way, but Evelyn held up a hand. "We're fine dear. We won't be but a moment." The girl nodded and started for another table and Evelyn turned back to me. "Haven, I would love for you to come to my house for lunch today. There's something terribly important I must speak to you about, and I would like to do so with the rest of my kids, seeing as it will effect them too."

I immediately got worried and chewed my lower lip. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head and shared a quick look with Bobby, who looked slightly amused at how quick I got upset. "Oh, heavens no dear, there's nothing to worry about. Its quite good news in fact, I would just like for everyone I care about to hear it at once, if its not too much trouble."

I threw a quick look in Bobby's direction to see how he felt about this, but whatever he was thinking didn't show. I looked back at Evelyn who was smiling gently at me. She could ask me to run into a busy intersection and I couldn't deny her. "All right."

"Great. It's settled then."

We arrived at her house a little over twenty minutes later, and Bobby went ahead opening the door, letting us through before him. Evelyn stopped in the hallway, shrugging off her coat, and I followed her example, letting her take mine and place it into the closet beside hers. "Angel! Jeremiah! Jack! Come to the kitchen please!"

I winced at the volume of her voice and Bobby laughed. "Just wait 'till someone's in trouble."

I gave a small laugh and Evelyn turned around. "I heard that, Robert."

He winced and I gave another chuckle, following Evelyn into the kitchen, and she gestured for me to sit at the table, and did so herself. Bobby walked to the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of tea, offering it to both of us. I declined, but Evelyn smiled, accepting a cup. Right after he handed her the drink, three guys walked in.

The first one that walked had an air of maturity about him, his hair pulled back into cornrows and he had a nicely grown goatee. He looked comfortable, dressed in loose slacks and a sweater. I couldn't tell if he was older than Bobby or not, but I wasn't too concerned about that at the moment. He gave me a small smile, which I returned.

The second guy was pretty buff, showing off his muscles in a tight long sleeved shirt. Not one you'd want to run into in a dark alley. I almost took a step back, until he met my eyes, and I relaxed. There was only friendliness and curiosity displayed, matched with a small smile.

The last one was not too far from me in age, maybe in his early twenties, dressed in loose fitting jeans with chains on them, and a form fitted tee shirt, covered by a black jacket, also adorned with chains. He had messy brown hair that fell onto his face, covering his eyes.

Evelyn stood up, and I followed her example. "Haven, these are the rest of my boys, Jeremiah, Angel, and Jack," she gestured to each of them as she introduced them, then walked behind me, placing her hands on my shoulders. "Boys, this is Haven."

I blushed a bit being under the scrutiny of the guys, but managed a small wave. "Hi."

Evelyn slid her hands from my shoulders, giving my arms a comforting squeeze before starting back to her chair. "No need to stand around, everybody have a seat."

We all made ourselves comfortable, and I ended up sitting between Evelyn and Bobby. I felt a little better after that, at least I knew him somewhat better then the rest.

"So, what's goin' on, ma?"

"As you guys know, I have some news I wanted to share, and now that everybody's here, I can do so. Now Haven, I know I worried you a bit by not showing up for these last few days, but I've been meeting a few people that are very interested in your case."

"M-my case? Evelyn--"

"Haven, I want you to come live with me."

Yeah, sorry if it moved a little fast there, but I wanted to get it out. It's been bothering me for days. This started out being a one-shot about Havens relationship with Evelyn and then Bobby showing up at the coffee shop that third day to deliver the news about Evelyn's death, that's why it started out sounding as if she were reminiscing, but I just couldn't do it! I tried at least seven times to write it out, and I ended up deleting it each time. Gah. I'm turning into such a sap.

I'm really hoping I got the descriptions right. It's 1 in the morning, so I can think straight, combined with my lack of knowledge on the movie, I could be describing the telletubies for all I know! Ok, so now I'm exaggerating but, eh. If anything's wrong, let me know, I'll change it.

So now I have yet another project on my hands. This will be kind of slow with the updates, because I only seen the movie twice (bits and pieces each time) so I don't know all of their personalities that well yet. But have faith. (You may not have much faith in fate, but my man fate has faith in you -have you people seen 'senseless' yet? it cracked me up. you should watch it.) Now I sound like an advertising company.

Anyway, if you have any suggestions or see any mistakes, don't be shy! I can use some help on this one.

Until next time!