Chapter Six #2
The others moved back to the mats, finishing up the lesson. I watched Rip, unable to take my eyes from him. I have no idea why I’d latched on to him in my head. To me, he represented Haven. And this place made me feel safer than I had since Eric entered my life.
Now, Rip sat against the wall opposite me, his posture relaxed but alert. The other women had returned to practicing in pairs, with Caleb stepping in to help when necessary. Every so often, Rip’s gaze would find mine and hold it before shifting his attention once again back to the group.
After everyone had broken for the day, Violet sat beside me on the floor, offering me a chicken salad sandwich and a bag of chips. “Feeling better?”
I nodded, surprised to realize it was true. “Yes. Thank you.”
She smiled and was about to respond when my phone rang.
Someone had gotten it from my cubby and set it in front of me on the floor.
I didn’t recognize the number displayed on the screen but thought nothing of it.
Ms. Thompson told me she used a forwarding service to screen my calls.
Anyone with my phone number would have to go through them before getting to me.
I answered the call, grateful for the distraction.
“Hello?”
“Jade Harper?” A woman’s voice, professionally pleasant but unfamiliar.
“Yes. I’m Jade.”
“This is Melanie from Peterson & Holt Marketing. I’m calling about the position you held with us.”
My stomach dropped. I’d been on approved medical leave since the incident that had landed me at Haven, the paperwork filed hurriedly through HR by the one coworker who’d sometimes noticed the bruises I tried to hide. The leave was supposed to protect my job while I “recovered.”
“Oh,” I managed, my voice suddenly thin. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry to inform you that we’ve had to permanently fill your position,” Melanie continued, her tone shifting to practiced sympathy.
“Given the indefinite nature of your absence and since you were contracted outside the company, your department manager made the decision to bring someone on full time.”
I closed my eyes, willing myself not to cry again. “I see.”
“Your personal items have been boxed up. You can arrange to collect them or have them shipped to you. And of course, you’re welcome to apply for any future openings that might suit your qualifications.”
The placid corporate phrasing washed over me like acid. Three years at that company, building client relationships, staying late, coming in early. And now I was just a box of personal items to be collected at my convenience.
“Thank you for letting me know,” I said mechanically, then ended the call before she could respond.
I stared at the blank screen, a strange numbness spreading through me.
The marketing job had been my anchor to normalcy, the one thing I’d managed to hold onto even as Eric systematically dismantled every other part of my life.
My friends had drifted away, confused by my increasingly erratic behavior and fabricated excuses.
My family, already distant, had become even more so after Eric convinced me they were trying to control me just as my father had controlled my mother.
But work had been mine. Something I was good at, something that had nothing to do with Eric. Until he’d started showing up at office events, charming my colleagues while his fingers dug warning bruises into my waist.
And now it was gone too. My apartment. My friends. My career. All of it stripped away until nothing remained of the life I’d built before him.
My face crumpled as the full weight of it hit me. “That’s it then,” I whispered, my voice breaking as tears welled up again. “Everything’s gone.”
The admission felt like surrender, like finally acknowledging the completeness of what Eric had taken from me.
Not just my safety or my dignity, but every single thread that had once connected me to the world.
I was adrift now, clinging to the temporary sanctuary of Haven with nothing waiting for me beyond its walls.
Violet’s hand came to rest lightly on my shoulder. “What happened, Jade?” she asked.
“My job,” I said, the words catching in my throat. “They filled my position. I don’t… I don’t have anything left.” My voice broke at the end as I fought a losing battle to not start sobbing.
Through the blur of tears, I saw Rip shift. His eyes never left my face as he slowly uncrossed his legs and adjusted his weight. He moved closer with slow steady strides.
“Jade,” he said, my name a rough whisper in his deep voice. “Can I come closer?”
I couldn’t speak past the knot in my throat so I nodded once, a jerky motion that sent tears spilling down my cheeks.
He closed the gap between us, settling beside me, putting his arm around my shoulders. I thought I’d feel trapped. Instead, I had to fight the urge to climb into his lap and bury my face in his chest.
The next thing I knew, that’s exactly where I found myself.
I had my arms wrapped around Rip’s neck, clinging like a child might.
Eric’s voice hissed in my memory. Pathetic.
Weak. No one wants your tears. But the voice was fainter now, competing with the reality of Rip’s steady heartbeat under my ear.
Something broke loose inside me like a dam shattering under too much pressure. A raw, guttural sob tore from my throat, startling in its intensity. Rip hugged me carefully, one large hand cupping the back of my head while the other wrapped around my body to hold me to him.
The gentle click of the door closing barely registered through my sobs, but I thought we might be alone.
With that realization I cried even harder, my tears soaking through his shirt.
Cried for the job I’d lost. For the friends who’d drifted away.
For the woman I used to be before Eric methodically dismantled my sense of self-worth.
For every humiliation and every bruise and every moment I’d believed I deserved what was happening to me.
Rip held me through all of it, his heartbeat steady under my ear. His breathing remained deep and even, a rhythm I found myself unconsciously matching as the worst of the sobs began to subside.
Still, I didn’t pull away. If anything, I pressed closer, twisting my fingers in his shirt. The solid warmth of him felt like the only real thing in a world gone sideways. The persistent trembling finally stilled, replaced by a bone-deep exhaustion that made my eyelids feel weighted.
“Please don’t let go yet,” I whispered against his chest, surprising myself with the admission. It was the most direct thing I’d asked of him or anyone else since arriving at Haven.
Rip’s response was simple. “Not going anywhere, honey. I’m right here with you. As long as you want me.”
The certainty in his voice, the steady promise, must have been exactly what I needed.
I closed my eyes and let his scent and warmth surround me and stilled.
For the first time since arriving at Haven, I allowed myself to acknowledge how much I’d come to rely on Rip’s presence.
How I’d begun to seek him out whenever I entered a room.
How I automatically relaxed anytime I saw him.
And with that acknowledgment came a stab of fear so acute it made me tighten my grip on his shirt. Because what happened when I had to leave Haven? What happened when I had to face the world without Rip’s steady presence nearby? The thought made my stomach clench painfully.
“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted, my voice muffled against his chest. “I don’t have anywhere to go. No job. No apartment.” I swallowed hard. “Nothing.”
“Honey, Haven isn’t kicking you out.” Rip’s tone conveyed infinite patience and reassurance.
“But I can’t stay forever.”
“Who said?”
The simple question caught me off guard. I pulled back just enough to see his face, though I didn’t leave the circle of his arms. “But… but this place is temporary. For emergencies.”
“Who said?” he asked again, the inflection in his voice not changing.
“I don’t know. Isn’t that how shelters work?”
Rip’s expression remained serious, his dark eyes intent on mine.
“This isn’t just any shelter. Haven’s different.
My club runs the place. Owns the land and the building.
We say who can stay and for how long. So you can stay as long as you need or want.
Months. Years. No timeline unless you want one. ”
“But I can’t just --”
“Yes, you can.” His certainty was absolute.
“Stay as long as you need. Work here if you want. Hannah’s been looking for an office manager.
Or don’t work at all for a while. Just heal.
Learn to love life again. Let us all teach you there are good people in the world who genuinely want to help.
Not because we feel sorry for you or anyone else.
Because everyone, everywhere, needs help from time to time.
” The thought of not having to leave, not having to figure everything out immediately, helped loosen the tightness in my chest the first time in months.
The relief was almost instantaneous the second his words penetrated because I knew he meant every single thing he said.
“I’ve been so scared,” I whispered.
Rip’s hand moved to cup my cheek, his calloused thumb gently wiping away my tears. “I know.”
“I don’t want to be scared anymore.”
“Then we’ll work on that together. One day at a time.”
We. The way he included himself, like it was already decided, like there was no question he’d be part of whatever came next, made warmth bloom inside.
I leaned back into his embrace, resting my head against his shoulder. My eyes drifted shut as exhaustion tugged at me, the emotional release having drained what little energy I had left. Rip adjusted his hold slightly, making sure I was comfortable without letting go.
For the first time in longer than I could remember, I felt hope. Not the desperate, white-knuckled hope that had kept me going during the worst days with Eric. A real hope that I could have a better future.
Whatever came next, whatever I decided to do, I wouldn’t be facing it alone. The realization was both terrifying and exhilarating. Terrifying because relying on someone meant risking betrayal all over again. Exhilarating because Rip had given me no reason to doubt him.
I didn’t know if I was ready to trust that feeling. But nestled in the safety of his arms, I allowed myself to consider the possibility that maybe I could learn how.