‹ Prequel: Hope to Burn.

Lost Haven.

Recovering

4 months old.
It had slowly become our first home here at the cabin with Evangeline, and I was glad to discover that she didn't mind at all. She said she could use the company, that Angela brought a bit of life into her that she hadn't felt since she had her own kids.
I however, had to try hard to make this place into one of solace. Despite the memories that unfolded under this same roof, both good and bad, I couldn't think of any without feeling a gaping hole in my chest. It hurt too much to recall any of the happy memories to try to find something to hold onto. Even if it was needed to keep me going; I didn't allow the past to cloud my thoughts.
So when I felt that it was just a warm enough autumn day to take Angela outside in the backyard, I jumped at the chance. I was eager to get out of the house for once and escape those nostalgic memories.
That being said, I lay out a blanket for her to lay on and watch her roll onto her stomach. I can't help but gander at her adoringly, amazed at how big she's gotten. Her violet eyes shone when she smiled her toothless grin, and she could pick up and hold onto certain toys. I remember always keeping her on the bed as I played with her tummy, but eventually, she got tired of that and wanted to actually have more movement. I encouraged her, motivating her with her favorite toy or a bottle. She usually just wiggled butt without moving, but she was getting there.
I look up when I hear a sigh from the back porch step, where Riley stood, looking ragged. He still had the bar to run so I could only imagine how he managed to deal with that while putting up with me.
"Everything good?" I ask as I rattle a toy at the baby.
He offers me a worn out smile. "Yeah. Just a little exhausted is all. I've got to take up two shifts now because Ravenna got herself into trouble..."
I frown when he leaves his sentence hanging, saying the unspoken. "Is she going to be okay?"
"She'll be fine," he mutters. His hand rubs across his face tiredly as he approaches, plopping down aside from Angie. I had learned it wasn't uncommon for demons or fallen angels to go astray or missing. With all the shit that went on behind closed doors, I could understand why.
But the thought of one of our friends missing because she was off dealing with trouble It made my heart ache.
"It's gonna be a pain in the ass having to work two shifts all while having to look for a replacement," Riley chuckles dryly. The man did enough for everybody and I couldn't help but ask, "Is there any way I can help?"
He looks up from Angela and smirks. "Stay out of trouble?"
I roll my eyes. "You're acting as if I ever ask for it." I pause, staring at the bleak cabin and thinking of how empty it was, with only your few essential furniture and...well, without him.
"What if I fill in for her?"
Ri's eyes dart over at me, look calm and measured. "Lexi, you have Angela to take care of."
I shrug, smoothing down the brown hair on Angela's head. It was getting darker, almost matching with mine. "I can take the night shifts," I respond simply.
He eyes me wearily for a moment before clearing his throat. "And if she wakes up? Think the old hag can handle her?"
His voice is teasing and I smile. "I'm sure Evangeline would have no problem watching after her. Besides, you'd be around just in case she ever needed you, and we could use the extra money. Just say the word, Ri, and I'm there."
"You'd do that?" he breathes, his tone a bit incredulous.
And I almost slap him, because God knows how many times the man has been there for John and I, all the times that he helped us and tore his hair out trying to find a solution alongside his friend. They always did make a good team; John's goal was to do everything he could to protect me, and Riley's was to make sure he helped John meet that goal while protecting him.
"In a heartbeat," I say with a smile. Angela gurgles, demanding my attention, so I pick her up to scoop up into my lap. "So when do I start?"
He sighs and ponders for a moment, raising a dubious eyebrow. "Tonight? I could really use some sleep as of late."
Nodding, I rise to my feet. "You've got it."
With a dimpled grin that only Riley ever wore, he embraces me in a bear hug, groaning dramatically. "You're a life saver."
I laugh as I pat his arm, urging him to let me free. Even Angela was swatting at his shoulder, even though she was really just waving her arm and missing.
"Don't mention it. I'm in your debt for everything you've done."
He releases his hold on me and shrugs. "Guess it's just always been in my nature. To protect those that need protecting."
Pressing my lips together, I hesitate for a moment before asking him what's been weighing on my mind for the longest. "Do you think John needs protecting, wherever he is?"
Riley's mouth sets in a grim line and sighs. "I think...I think he made that decision all on his own. And to make it without consulting you is selfish beyond reasoning. Why he chose not to is beyond me, but that's the way it is."
His words sting, but it's the harsh truth I needed to hear. Just to hear from someone else that he he did in fact choose this. He chose to live a different life than the one he had, the eternal one together we could have had.
It's then that I remember the wedding band still residing on my finger. As if the weight of it was being added by some anchor, I could no longer ignore that it was there.
But I couldn't bring myself to take it off.
I turn to leave and sigh. "I've gotta go feed Angie. I'll be back."
"He's an idiot, you know. For leaving this all behind."
His voice stops me in my tracks and I ponder over that statement, the doubt once again clouding my mind, pining over the possibilities of why he left and rolling them over and over and over until they were all but malleable.
With a bitter smile over my shoulder, I reply, "But he always has been, huh?"
~
A few hours later into the evening, Angela began to get fussy and I knew she was ready to go to bed. I changed her diaper and tried to be as quiet as possible to not wake Riley, who passed out in Ev's room down the hall. He had all but slept the day away, after I suggested he got some rest. He was coming with me to do a bit of training. I'd never worked at a bar before and he was going to have to show me the ropes if I stood any chance at surviving the night shift. He claimed it would come naturally to a demon, but I wasn't too convinced. I didn't even know how to make a single drink, so he had his work cut out for him.
It took me a few weeks, but I got the hang of it. Soon, I was mixing drinks "like a pro" (according to Riley), and the flow of customers didn't bother me. Ri had offered to switch shifts so that I could work in the day when it was less busy, but I liked being able to detach myself and immerse myself with work. It reminded me of back when I actually had a normal life, and still lived with my parents, and the most I had to worry about is organizing clothes and working the register alongside my friends, slowly trying to save up to go to school and continue that normal life.
I guess normal just wasn't in my DNA.
"Hey, sweet cheeks, you wanna get me a beer?"
I scowl to myself before turning around, wiping the rim of the glass in my hand. "Excuse me?"
The middle aged man has a deep five o clock shadow, with short dark hair to match and sharp cheekbones. He was much bigger than me, his black tshirt hugging his big muscles. He smirks and shakes his near empty bottle at me. "Beer? You know, alcohol? Cer-bey-suh?"
"I'm the one working at the bar, I know what it is," I reply in an even voice. "I was referring to the earlier comment."
"Ohhh, you don't like that? I'm just saying." He smiles crookedly again, swaying lightly in his chair. "A girl with an ass like that wouldn't wear skin tight jeans if she didn't want a man to notice."
I have to clench my jaw to keep from socking him in his. If he thought I was going to let him sit there and insult me, he had another thing coming.
He sighs suddenly and stuffs a hand in his jacket. "Alright, alright, listen. I'm a paying customer, so how about you get me my drink? Which, by the way, I asked for two minutes ago."
He drops a wad of bills onto the counter and I glare at him. That amount was far more than his two beers had cost him. I should throw it back in his face.
"I suggest you take your money and leave."
"Now babydoll, I asked for a drink," he purrs, standing and leaning on the counter, his palms on the cool wood. "It's up to you what you decide to give me with the rest of that cash." His arm raises and meets my hip, and I quickly hiss as I grab it, but he clutches my wrist. I watch with a small pang in my gut when his eyes turn completely black. "I suggest you let go and take the money. I'll make it worth your while."
With a deadly sweet smile, and the heat rushing behind my eyelids, I stare at him darkly. "I can do that, too, y'know. So fuck off."
"Mmm, a feisty one. I'd like'ta fuck off with you, baby." He loops his arm around my waist and I struggle to shake him off, despite the counter separating us. He was bending over and growling at me. "Be a good girl."
"Take your sorry ass somewhere else, Brock. Let her go."
The unfamiliar voice makes both our head turns. A man even bigger than him approaches with his arms crossed, his steely glare toward the man making even me suck in a breath. He had golden brown hair, worn neatly back on his head, a light stubble sprinkled across his mouth and jaw. His lips were perfectly shaped, full, and-
His eyes. God, his eyes.
They were a clear but icy blue, like the ocean on the verge of frosting over at the start of winter. Like the way the shore washed up and crashed at your feet on the beach.
I shake my head of the thought and pull away from the man while he's distracted. What was I thinking?
The man glares at the boy with the blue eyes, no longer concerned with me. "Of course you'd show up."
The boy smiles. "Guess you're just lucky. Now leave the dame alone and find yourself another bar."
I blink at his politeness. Dame? He was so proper.
Brock scoffs and moves away from the counter, clenching his fists as he face the boy, who towers over him by just a bit. "You don't want to start shit here, Rogers."
"Roger that. So leave."
His eyes darken, gritting his teeth. He looks at me, before looking back at the blue eyed man. "Only because you've ruined my night and I'm in the mood for a drink to forget I ever saw your face," Brock sneers, snatching up the extra bills and slipping them back in his pocket. "Have a shitty night."
He pushes past him, his shoulder bumping his roughly. Once he's out the door, the man rolls his eyes and smiles. "He's got a lot of issues. With me. No need to worry about him."
I grit my teeth before averting my eyes, lowering my head as I wipe down the counter. "I didn't need your help," I mutter.
"Sure didn't look that way."
I scoff and throw the rag down. "Haven't I been degraded enough tonight?!"
His blue eyes widen. "I-I didn't mean to-I'm sorry, I didn't want to intrude, but I wasn't going to just stand by and let him treat you like some object. I couldn't."
My cheeks tinge and I clear my throat. "Well...thank you."
Grinning, the man holds out his hand. "Chris Rogers. And you're very welcome."
I bite my lip contemplating before shaking with him. "Lexi."
He blinks before raising his eyebrows. "The Lexi?"
Groaning, I rest my elbows on the counter with my head in my hands. "If you get anywhere near me, I swear to God-"
"No no! I just...I've heard of you, that's all. I think everyone stuck down here has." He adds a chuckle and I raise an eyebrow. Down here. So he's fallen, I decide.
I give an indifferent shrug. "I don't get why I'm so famous. All I did was survive a bad fall."
"And kill who knows how many people trying to kill you?" he adds. "And go to hell for it? And find your way back?" He shakes his head as I begin putting glasses away. "I don't know about you but I find that pretty incredible. That John guy must love you a lot if-"
A glass slips from my hand and shatters. I curse under my breath, feeling a chill across my skin at the name.
"S-Sorry," I mumble, crouching down to clean up the pieces at my feet. Good thing I wore boots.
Chris turns the corner of the wooden counter and kneels, swooping the shards up into his own palm. Our eyes lock for a moment as he drops the remaining pieces into my hand. I could feel my face red hot when he doesnt look away. It wasn't quite attraction that I felt, but a strong connection. I couldn't place my finger on it.
"There ya go," he says with a small quirk of his lips. I nod and dumb the pieces into the small waist bin. "Thanks."
He scratches his shoulder, tugging on his shirt, and clears his throat. "Well, uh, I'm gonna get going. Nice meeting you, Lexi."
He begins walking towards the exit and I call out, "Wait."
Chris looks over his shoulder as I walk over. "You came into a bar, it had to be to get something."
He blushes lightly and jabs his thumbs toward the door. "Sign says you're just about ready to close up. I won't keep you later than you have to. Have a nice night, Lexi."
I stare at his back as he leaves, feeling a fuzzy feeling in my stomach. How could someone I hardly knew for five minutes have such an effect on me?
Something told me I wouldn't be seeing the last of him.
♠ ♠ ♠
YOU HAVENT SEEN THE LAST OF ME EITHER. I know I suck at the consistency of updates, but hopefully the quality of the chapter actually makes up for it! We meet a new character in this one, and he's going to be sort of crucial later on in the story but not really. Just a bit of a feature character for those that get it ;)