Haven's Choice

by Tarah Knight

  “Haven! Where are you?” She heard Barron calling for her later that evening but she remained silent. Finally he found her in the garden with a tear soaked face. “Haven, what’s wrong? Why are you so upset?” He pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her. She took it wiping her eyes and nose before she answered him. “Brooklyn was here. She said she knows where Deacon is.” Barron’s face grew hard at the mention of his brother’s name. “I have told you that I’m not letting you go Haven, so it really doesn’t matter where he is now does it?” She looked up at him. “Actually it kind of does Barron. He is looking for my twin.” Barron sat down next to her. “Do you have a twin? I thought you said that you didn’t. Did you lie?” He watched her face very closely looking for any untruth in her eyes. “I didn’t lie to you Barron. If I have a twin and according to Brooklyn, and Deacon I must. I have no knowledge of her. Barron this is good news for you as well, don’t you see that? My twin would be your true Serah!” He stood to his feet staring down at her coldly. “No, it would be good news for Deacon. My decision remains the same. I won’t let you go.” Haven got to her feet as well anger pouring off of her in waves. “What is wrong with you? Were you dropped on your head as a baby? She can give you everything I can’t! She would treat you the way you need to be treated Barron why can’t you see that? She could make you happy!” He turned back to stare down at her his face suddenly made of stone. “All I have to do to be happy is touch you, all I have to do is feel your body come apart under mine and I’m in heaven. To hear you cry out my name as you explode around me is all the happiness I will ever need.” He reached out and tore her thin shirt open as easily as if it was made of paper, then grasping the front of her bra he jerked her to him. “Barron, don’t!” She warned. He smiled bitterly down at her. “Barron, yes, is what you will be saying in just a few moments, my love!” Crushing her lips beneath his he dropped to his knees dragging Haven down with him to the thick grass. She struggled desperately slapping at his head and shoulders, but it was no use soon she felt the fire racing up from her lower stomach and she knew he would win in this. Once he had her to the point of desperation he rung from her swollen lips what he vowed he would hear. Her cries of “Barron! Yes!” rang through the night air…

  The following evening Haven made a decision. No longer would she allow Deacon to search for her twin alone. She couldn’t take much more of Barron’s ruthless attempts to force her heart into submission. If his true Serah was out there, if such a person existed she knew who she could ask to find out for sure. A couple of hours later just after sunset a very nervous Haven and an equally nervous Brooklyn sat in Brooklyn’s Jeep Cherokee looking at Havens grandmothers house. “Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? I know that Deacon will find your twin if she really does exist.” Haven nodded as she chewed her bottom lip anxiously. “Yes, this is the quickest way to at least know for sure that we are not looking for someone that doesn’t exist, and maybe, just maybe my granny knows where to find her.” Brooklyn nodded then pointed to the house. “Ok, I agree that you’re probably right on that point, but why do I have to come with you?” Haven looked at her with eyes wide with trepidation. “To keep my granny from loading my butt with buckshot when she finds out what I am.”

  A few minutes they were standing at the door and Haven knocked gently. She turned to Brooklyn her panic clearly evident on her pretty face. “I should have called her first! Prepared her! God what was I thinking?” Brooklyn squeezed her hand in sympathy, but didn’t have time for anything else for they heard slow footsteps walking to the front door. Then the door creaked open and a wrinkled little face surrounded by soft white curls peered out of the doorway. “Yes? Can I help you?” Haven was dismayed to see that during the year and a half she had been gone her grandmother had gone totally blind. She looked at Brooklyn who just smiled reassuringly and nodded her head. “Granny? It’s me, Haven.” Her grandmother gasped then clutched at her heart. “Haven? My Haven? Is it really you?” She reached out her hand searching for her granddaughter that had been gone for so long. The one she had given up for dead. Haven opened the screen door and took her hand it was so thin and frail. “Yes, granny! It’s really me! I’m so sorry I was gone for so long. I have missed you so much!” Haven put her grandmothers hand on her face as her tears rolled down her cheeks. She patted her face feeling of her hair and then finally she pulled her into her arms weeping deep sobs. “Child, oh my sweet child! I have prayed and prayed that God would return you to me, or at least let me know what happened to you!” Brooklyn cleared her throat and looked meaningfully at the passers by on the street that were openly watching what was happening. “Granny, can we go inside and talk? I have a dear friend with me today. Her name is Brooklyn I know you will come to love her as much as I do.” Her grandmother pulled free of Havens arms and opened the door wide. “Oh of course! Welcome Brooklyn, please forgive an old woman of her poor manners, I didn’t realize someone was with Haven.” Brooklyn took her hand gently. “Nonsense, there is nothing to forgive. I’m so happy to meet the lady that Haven speaks so fondly of.”

  The women all walked into the house and Haven breathed in deep the scent of home for the first time in ages. It smelled like vanilla cookies and lemon furniture polish with a hint of Ben Gay ointment. It looked exactly the same. The same faded couch that was covered with a maroon and gray afghan that her granny had knitted years ago. A small nineteen-inch television set sat in the corner on a table a lace doily covering the top. A picture of Jesus praying in the garden was front and center on the wall behind granny’s recliner. Haven could hardly look at the picture. She felt so sinful and dirty, but Brooklyn actually bowed her head toward the picture and made the sign of the cross. She looked perfectly at ease. She would have to remember to ask her about that later, but right now she just wanted to spend time with her granny and find out about her twin.

  “Granny, I have something that I need to tell you. It may come as a bit of a shock.” Her grandmother settled herself into her recliner. “Is what you’re going to tell me the reason you haven’t been home in so long? Why you couldn’t call or anything?” Haven nodded then remembered that she couldn’t see her. “Yes, ma’am it is.” Her granny nodded then reached out to find then pat Haven gently on the knee. “It’s alright hon, granny already knows.” Haven glanced at Brooklyn with a slightly confused expression. “You do?” She asked. Her granny nodded then smiled. “You’re a lesbian aren’t you? Your friend here is your lover, and you were too embarrassed to tell us weren’t you? Its ok Haven, Jesus still loves you and so do I.” Brooklyn snorted in laughter and tried to cover it with a cough. Haven was still trying to process that her granny had just said lesbian and lover in the same sentence! She shot Brooklyn a stern look to pull herself together. Her ‘lover’ was still laughing silently fanning her face and wiping her eyes, trying to get control of herself. “Uh, no… no… that’s not what I was going to tell you.” Haven finally stammered out. “Then lands sake child, what is it? After you disappeared and the police couldn’t find so much as a hair of you I decided that you had run away, and the only reason I could think of was that you had turned lesbian. I mean after your boyfriend in high school dumped you, you never mentioned another boy. So I just naturally assumed…” Haven grabbed her grandmother’s hand to stop her from saying anymore; Brooklyn had heard enough as it was! “Granny, I swear to you that I am not now nor have I ever been a lesbian. I like men I promise!” She watched as her grandmother’s brow wrinkled up even more in confusion. “Then why Haven? Why did you leave? Did someone make you leave? Were you forced?” She knelt down in front of her grandmother’s recliner wrapping her arms around her waist and resting her head in her lap, like she did when she was young. “Yes, granny. Something happened to me that made me need to stay away from you for a while. But I’m better now. I… I… have to tell you something that will be hard for you to believe ok? It might even frighten you, but I beg you please don’t be afraid of me, know that I would never hurt you.” He
r grandmother smiled as she stroked her head, running her fingers softly through her hair. “I would never fear my own granddaughter Haven, now tell me what has you so troubled.” Haven took a deep breath then said it all in one long rush. “Granny I’m a vampire. They really do exist. Someone who I thought loved me turned me. But now I’m with a male vampire who claims to be my soul mate, but he really isn’t you see. I’m in love with his twin brother so we have to find Barron’s real Serah and the only possible explanation is that I have a twin.” Brooklyn’s eyes were huge in surprise at the way Haven had just thrown all of that at her grandmother. But she couldn’t help it. She was losing her nerve fast, so she blurted it all out before she chickened out completely.

  Haven lifted her head cautiously looking at her granny who wore pretty much the same expression that Brooklyn did. “Oh my, a vampire you say? That is something that would be hard to tell people I would imagine.” Haven searched her face for some reaction to her crazy announcement. “So you believe me? Just like that?” Smiling her grandmother shrugged her shoulders. “Well, dear you wouldn’t be the first one in the family, so yes, I believe you.” Once more Haven looked to Brooklyn to make sure she heard her grandmother right. Her friend wasn’t much help she just shrugged with raised hands. “Granny, I said all that pretty fast. Did you truly understand what I told you?” Once more her grandmother smiled then nodded her head. “Yes, dear, you said you were turned into a vampire by someone you trusted, but now you are with another male who claims you as his, but you are in love with his twin and the only way you can be with him is to find your twin sister. Did that just about sum it up correctly?” Haven sat back on her knees staring at her granny with wide eyes and a slack jaw. “Um… yes, ma’am that’s exactly what I told you.”

  Then her grandmother’s face grew somber, and she sighed deeply. “I told your mother that you should have been told about Hannah, but she wouldn’t listen. Then I knew that I should have told you after your mother… left, but I didn’t want you to think badly of her. She did what she thought was best for the both of you, please understand that. She loved you both so much that she wanted the best possible life for you. Haven, my dear child you do indeed have a twin. She was born exactly four minutes before you were and she was given up for adoption when you were three months old. It was a closed adoption so I’m sorry that I can’t tell you more than that.” She pulled a chain from around her neck that held a locket and a key then she pointed toward an old roll top desk that had always remained locked. “Here take this key and open that desk pull out the fourth drawer from the right.” Haven stood with help from Brooklyn onto shaky legs. She crossed the room and inserted the small key into the lock and twisted it carefully. She then rolled the top up and slowly pulled opened the drawer that her granny had indicated. Inside was a small wrapped bundle of papers and pictures that were tied with a faded pink satin ribbon. “Bring that bundle to me Haven, I’ll explain what you’re looking at.” Her grandmother instructed. Haven brought the little bundle and placed it in her grandmother’s lap. She watched as her grandmother handled the little bundle carefully running the length of pale pink ribbon through her fingers. The she handed the bundle to Haven. “The ribbon belongs to Hannah, it was taken from her hair the day she was adopted. The first picture you will see is the last one of you both together. You are the baby on the left.” Haven slipped the faded picture out from under the ribbon. The photo showed two babies dressed just alike in white dress with pink ribbons in their blonde curls. They looked exactly alike. “So we are identical twins?” She asked. “Oh yes, we tied small ribbons on your wrists the moment they brought you to us so we wouldn’t get you mixed up. You were named after your great aunt and Hannah was named after my mother. You were the prettiest babies I had ever seen. Your father was not worth even talking about. He left shortly after you were born, twins he couldn’t handle he said. But it didn’t matter one baby or two some men should be neutered at the onset of puberty. Your mama tried so hard to raise the both of you alone, but that wasn’t possible. I tried to tell her to come home to me. But she wouldn’t burden me with her troubles. That’s what she thought she would be bringing, trouble. So she did what she truly thought would be the best choice. She gave up your sister for adoption. I thought your mama was going to cry herself to death she mourned over that child so.” Haven flipped through the rest of the bundle. The next item she found was a birth certificate. It stated that Hannah Alyssa Carver was born at eleven fifty seven pm on April 13, 1991. She weighed five pounds and two ounces and was 17 inches long. Her mother was listed as Kara Lynn Nelson Carver age seventeen, occupation homemaker. The father was listed as Daryl Lee Carver age twenty-three, occupation unknown. Havens own birth certificate was next and listed much of the same information. Haven Aleah Carver was born one minute past midnight on April 14, 1991. She was five pounds and three ounces and 17 inches long.

  Haven looked up in surprise. “We have different birthdays!” Her granny nodded. “Yes, you do. Hannah wanted her own day I guess that’s why she waited until the last possible moment to make her appearance. I have always wondered how she turned out? I pray every night for the Lord to watch over her and keep her safe.” Haven set the bundle aside. “Granny can you think of any information about the adopting family? A name? A city where they lived? Anything?” Her grandmother’s brow wrinkled in thought as she tried to remember. “Like I said it was a closed adoption, but it seems like I remember the name Barton being mentioned. I don’t know if that has a thing to do with your sister or not, I’m sorry. Of course the date of the adoption would be July sixteenth of 1991.” Haven got up and hugged her grandmother. Then drew back suddenly as a thought occurred to her. “Granny! Where is Kaden? How is he?”

  She waited to hear news about her little brother but her grandmother sadly shook her head. “Baby, after you disappeared he went looking for you every night. When so much time passed without finding you or hearing from you, he just lost it. He has been gone for over eight months now. He calls from time to time to let me know he is alright but he won’t come home.” Haven hated to hear that her grandmother was alone in the house now. How was she doing it blind? “How can you stay here alone not being able to see granny? You need someone to stay with you. Its not safe!” Haven insisted. Her grandmother patted her hand gently. “Baby girl, I have lived in this house for so long I can tell you that it takes twelve steps to reach the kitchen from my bedroom, seven steps from the kitchen door to my recliner. Ten steps from my recliner to the front door and I have three steps going down my front porch. I have friends and neighbors that come to check on me a couple of times a day. I know some day I will have to have help but that day is not today. I’m fine don’t you worry about me.” Brooklyn motioned to the door. They needed to be leaving. “Thank you for telling me everything granny, we need to go but I promise I’ll be back soon because I need to know about the other vampire in the family.” Haven could have sworn nothing else could have shocked her that day, but she wrong, for the next words out of her granny’s mouth sent her to the floor. “Honey, I guess you need to know this too. This is really a day of telling secrets! Your mother was turned a few weeks before she left. She didn’t die of cancer, baby she is a vampire.”

  Brooklyn drove an understandably distraught Haven back to her house. Haven begged her not to take her to Barron’s just yet. She was too raw, she felt like her heart was wide open and exposed. She couldn’t deal with him right now. “I simply cannot imagine what you are feeling right now Haven. In a way you have received wonderful news that your mother is still alive and you have a sister, but the whole world as you knew it was turned upside down yet again.” Haven gave her a small smile. “I wasn’t sure exactly how I felt, but that summed it up pretty well. Thank you. I am worried about Kaden though.” Brooklyn patted her hand in sympathy. “Its easy to see things clearly when you have not just been hit broad side with some pretty life changing news. How old is your brother?” She turned into their driveway and then killed
the engine. Haven looked out at the house not really wanting to go in there either. “Kaden is two years younger than me so he is twenty, or will be in October.”

  “You know your grandmother struck me as an incredibly strong woman. She has taken some serious blows in her life during the last few years and yet she has retained her strength and her character. You and your brother clearly come from a tough gene pool, you will both get through this just fine.” Haven laughed softly. “You know I was worried about her not being able to handle the truth that I had to tell her. She definitely had bigger shots to fire than me. I wonder where my mother is? Where did she go after her conversion?”