Page 120 of Haven

I pulled my phone out and set up an appointment with Izzy. She had an opening available. Izzy had been a lifesaver these last few months, and if I didn’t have her as a bomb-ass therapist, I would probably be dead in a hole or something. Therapy was life-changing, I didn’t care what anyone said.

ME

What's your name?

I already knew, but I wanted him to confirm it.

KACE

Did you remember me?

ME

Maybe, what’s your name?

KACE

My name is Kace, but you can call me yours.

I closed out of the thread. It was pointless to delete them when he would find a way to message me, anyway. Now I would use this, find a way to manipulate him and make him tell me everything. There was no more playing damsel. This wasn’t who I was. I was going to take control of my life back.

I went to my room to change into a pair of armored leggings and a tube top. Part of me wanted to wear baggy sweats and a sports bra, but I knew that wasn’t very reliable on my bike. Even in an off mood, I had to be safe on the road. These leggings and my jacket were life savers. I just needed to remember to make sure my helmet is strapped on tight enough, but I also didn’t plan on having another wreck.

When I walked to grab my keys and jacket, Vesper stopped me. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to see Izzy. I need to talk to her about the nightmare.”

“Do you need anything?”

I lifted my hand and cupped her cheek. “Unless you can make him disappear so my life can go back to normal. I’m just tired of dealing with this. I’ll be back later.”

“Be safe, mariposa.”

Ninety-Eight

Rory

“As much as I love seeing you, Iz, I am tired of seeing your face.” I laughed as I walked into her office.

“I feel like I should be insulted,” she joked. “So what’s going on?”

I sat down on the couch across from her and pulled my hair off my neck. It was irritating my skin, and I didn’t want to deal with it. If I didn’t like my hair, I would shave it all off. “I remembered the boy and his name. He was older than me, and he was the one who drugged me. It’s why my memories are patchy.”

Izzy’s back straightened. “Do you know what he gave you?”

“Triazolam and GHB. Cinder didn’t tell me I was drugged. She lied to me, and I can’t ask her why.”

“When you first came to me, I was told not to give you Triazolam by my training physician. I thought it was because of your history with sedative prescriptions. I should’ve looked deeper into it to understand more. I’m so sorry, Rory.”

“It’s no one's fault. I can’t even blame Cinder. Maybe there was a reason for her keeping all of this a secret? She knew about the boy, she kept in contact with the detective in Nevada, and she had a safe filled with information. It feels like she was trying to do this to make it up to me? I know you can’t tell me, but did she feel guilty? Like why did she obsess over this?”

Izzy crossed her legs and leaned forward. “You’re right. I can’t tell you much, but Cinder loved you so much. I didn’t know she was doing this, but she seemed off our last few visits. I feel like she knew something would happen, but she didn’t tell anyone. You and your sister are both very stubborn.”

I smirked, wiping the stray tears from my eyes. “I had to get it from someone. I don’t blame her for what our mom did, and I can’t take back what I told her before Kace took her. It’s been weeks. If she’s dead, why is he tormenting me?”

Izzy arched her brow, scribbling his name. “Kace? When did you learn his name? Rory, you know the name of your attacker, the name of the man who assaulted you. Now that you know his name, what are you feeling?”

I laughed bitterly, trying to hide the sob, but I failed with the way Izzy looked at me. “It’s like knowing his name gave him power? I don’t know how to explain it. Before he was the creeper who hurt me, but now…his name is gonna haunt me, and it’s going to be worse.”