Haven

Chapter Two

1983

-Mid-March-

Both children were released from the hospital on the same day. Mason had been able to find nothing on the missing girl or her parents, even at a nationwide level – not even birth records. So, either the child lied about her name or she'd been kidnapped when she was very young and possibly disposed of recently. If the parents thought they'd disposed of the child, they certainly wouldn't fill out a missing child report. That didn't make sense, but neither did an eight-year-old lying about her name unless she was running from an abusive situation. That was another reason parents might not report a missing child.

Regardless of the reason, Lor had no home and no parents. Because she had nowhere else to go, he brought her home. Thanks to his connections, over the next couple of weeks, he was able to have a birth certificate created, school records and an adoption decree pushed through the courts.

Originally, they weren't sure what grade to put her in. Since Nathan, however, was the only friend she had so far, they decided to enroll her in third grade so that she could be with him. Nathan was young for third grade, but his mother's early teachings had him more advanced than the other kids his age, so he was advanced, having skipped kindergarten. Lor's reading, writing and math skills were above the third-grade level and what she knew about science surpassed both him and his wife. She could not explain how she knew so much when she remembered so little. Regardless, she was the proper age for third grade and she wanted to be there.

School was a grand adventure for Lor. The vibrant, colorful clothing and decorations on the walls. The scents - while not all were pleasant, they were all new and exciting. For so long, there was no color, no scent – just dark, drab, cold and alone. It was like waking up after a long sleep. She and Nathan would often play the blindfold game. One of them would be blindfolded and given something to smell to see if they could identify it. When it was food, they enjoyed sharing it.

After being alone for so long, she was starved for friendship and she quickly made a number of new friends. But her best friend – her rock, would always be Nathan. And he was the only one she entrusted her secret to. She was psychokinetic, though she preferred the term telekinetic, because psycho tended to have a negative connotation. She lifted a baseball off his desk with a gesture of her hand and tossed it in his direction.

Nathan grabbed the ball from the air and looked down at it in shock. "You're a jedi!"

Her nose wrinkled in confusion. "I'm a what?"

"A jedi," he said as he hurried over to his desk. He sat the ball back in his glove and scanned through the books on his shelf. He pulled down one about the Empire strikes back and then ran back over to his bed and patted the mattress next to him. When she settled down next to him, he opened the book and showed her pictures, reading the words that described what the picture was showing. "See? You have the same power as a jedi!"

She laughed softly. "Too bad I don't have one of those lightsabers!" The smile slipped from her lips. "I wish I was a jedi. I wasn't always like this, Nathan. Look at my eyes, what do you see?"

She had pretty baby-blue eyes with neat patterns in them. "I see light blue eyes."

She blew out a quick breath. "Do you see the black that outlines the blue?"

"I do," he responded with a nod. It made the blue stand out vividly.

"That didn't used to be there. Moving things with my mind…the black rings…I think they came from the cold and dark – that frightens me," she admitted her deepest fear to him.

He moved the book to the side and pulled her into a hug. "Don't be afraid, Lor. I'm with you. I'll always keep you safe." Her warmth pulled at him and he closed his eyes to savor the feel of her arms around him.

"There was evil in the cold and dark, Nathan. What if it made me evil too?" she whispered near his ear.

His arms tightened around her, but she didn't complain. "You could never be evil, Lor. I know what evil is. My father is a bad man. He hurts people. You don't hurt people. You are the nicest person I ever met. So long as we are best friends, we'll never be bad people – cause we won't let each other turn bad. I promise." He pulled back and held out his pinky to her. "Let's pinky-swear it. Grab my pinky with yours, we'll promise together and shake."

She held her hand out the way he did and curled her pinky around his. "I promise," she said in unison with him, followed by a quick movement that sealed the promise. "Now, tell me about what happens on April 1st."

The next morning, Duke was leaning against the wall near the classroom door. "Hey, Lor," he said, putting his hand out to block her from going in. When she stepped to the left, he smiled. "You should hang with us more often. We're more fun than freak-boy." He winked at his friend who laughed.

She rolled her eyes dramatically and glanced briefly at his friends. Duke was two different people. When it was just her and him, she enjoyed spending time with him. But when he was with his friends, he became a jerk she didn't want to know. "You are a jerk, Duke Crocker." She moved around him and entered the class, completely ignoring the snickers from his friends. She knew he'd be stopping by her house tonight; he always did after he was jerk. He might act tough, but she'd seen the pain her words had caused him, even if he did try to cover it up with a laugh.

The problem was that she felt bad that she liked Duke at all when he was such a monster to Nathan. It would break her heart if Nathan played with a girl that was mean to her. But she couldn't bring herself to be mean to Duke unless he was being mean first. And he was only mean when he was putting on a show for his friends. Nathan said Duke was two-faced. Maybe so, but he was still had good in him - even if he pretended he didn't.

By the time she was helping her mom dry the last of the dishes, the doorbell rang. "It's that Crocker boy," Mason called out.

"You mean, Duke, dad. I'm almost ready to play!" she told her father.

"Go on now, Lor, I'll finish up here. Have fun," Deb said, shooing her daughter away. She wasn't sure she trusted that Duke Crocker, but she trusted her daughter to do the right thing.

"Thanks, mom! I'm coming!" she called out to Duke.

Her lips turned up at the corners as her daughter skipped towards the door. Her daughter. It felt good to have a child in the house again. It made their house a home.

Loranna had heard her mother's soft sigh. She knew her mom was happier than she'd been for a long while. Whenever she was out, she wasn't blind to the looks and the whispers of 'miracle worker' or 'saving grace'. She didn't feel like anything like that. It was just the opposite. This town was her miracle, her saving grace. This town saved her from the cold and dark.

She made sure there wasn't a smile on her face when she got into view of the door. She wasn't happy about what he had said. "Duke," she said when she saw the boy rocking from one foot to the other just inside her front door. She frowned and then motioned him to follow her as she walked back to her bedroom. She jumped up on her bed and crossed her legs.

It didn't take long for him to toss his coat on a chair, kick off his shoes and hop up on the bed with her. He'd learned quick that she didn't like shoes on her bed. He slid his gaze over the pictures on her walls, Rick Springfield, Duran Duran, and Huey Lewis and the News. He snorted back a laugh. "You don't like girl singers?"

She shrugged. "Not enough for my wall." She poked his chest with her finger. "You were mean today, Duke. I don't like that Duke."

"I know," he said quietly and then lifted his eyes to meet hers. "I have a secret to tell you. You won't tell, right?"

She shook her head.

"Pinky swear," he said as he held his pinky out towards her.

She curled her pinky around his and sealed it with an abrupt motion. "What is your secret?"

"I don't like him either," he admitted. His heart pounded hard in his chest and he wondered if it would burst out and land on her. "But he makes me feel stronger…safer. I need him." He swallowed hard, forcing back the pressure behind his eyes. He was not about to cry like a girl.

"Why, Duke?" she asked softly. When he remained quiet, she took his hand in hers. "I made a pinky swear – I can't tell your secrets."

He studied her intently for a moment. Maybe she shouldn't trust him, but he knew he could trust her. "My dad.., I think it's something bad. I don't know. He comes home hurt…a lot. I help…fix him."

"And you don't want to tell the police?"

Duke shook his head emphatically. "He's my dad. I can't lose him too."

She nodded. She knew his mother took his older brother Wade and left him with his dad. His dad was all he had. She wasn't sure why being a jerk made him feel stronger, but she still wouldn't like it. "I'm still not going to like it when you're a jerk, Duke."

One corner of his lips turned up. "And you'll be the first to call me on my bullshit."

Her eyes opened wide. That was a naughty word. Her hand flew to her mouth to stop a giggle and she nodded. "I will."

While they were playing Donkey Kong Jr on her twenty-inch tube TV, her window slid up and Nathan pulled himself into her room. "Duke," he said in a crisp voice. "Why is he here?"

She grinned at Nathan and pulled him down onto the bed next to her. "He was a jerk to me earlier. He came to apologize."

"Damn, Nate, you just came through her window! I didn't know I could do that!" He would have to remember that for next time. No way could Nate have gotten to the second level without a ladder.

"You can't," Nathan told him smugly. "Her parents are okay with me doing it."

Duke shrugged. He didn't particularly care if her parents were okay with it.

For another hour, they took turns playing Donkey Kong Jr until Duke rose and tossed the joystick to Nathan. "I gotta go. Dad will be pissed if I'm not home when he gets there. Talk to you later, Lor." He walked to the door without a backward glance. He wanted to look back at her and smile, but he wouldn't do it with Nate there.

"I didn't know you hung out with Duke," he said as nonchalantly as possible. When he'd climbed through her window and saw Duke in her room, it had torn at his heart.

"I know. Sorry. Duke is different when he's alone," she explained.

"I wouldn't know," Nathan grumbled. Except maybe he did. While Duke may not have been friendly with him tonight, he certainly hadn't been a bully either.

She bumped his shoulder with his playfully. "You'll always be my best friend."

He smiled and held up his pinky. She wrapped hers around his to seal the promise. "And you'll always be mine." He held it a bit longer than he needed to before releasing her pinky. Now, they would always be best friends. A pinky promise could not be broken.