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“Yes.”
“But I’m not allowed.”
He shrugged. “Neither am I.”
Technically true, since he was grounded, but he’d never let that stop him before.
“I’d like that,” she said, pausing before adding, “If you’re sure.”
He smiled. She was trusting him. He wondered if maybe she shouldn’t do that, but it was a vast improvement from avoiding him. “Wait here. I’ll be back.”
He ran down to the kitchen, glad his father had already left, and returned to the third floor after finding an empty mason jar. Haven stood in the same place, her hand still pressed to the glass.
“Come on,” he said, heading to his bedroom. Turning on the light, he noticed she lingered outside the doorway, surveying the mess. “Are you coming in? I know it’s a disaster . . .”
“Oh no, it’s not that.” She looked panicked. “I didn’t know if I should.”
“Well, we can’t go out the door, because my father will find out. We have to go out up here.”
Her brow furrowed. “From the third floor? How?”
“You’ll see.”
He watched her locked in an internal debate before ultimately taking a step into the room. Careful not to trip over any of his belongings, she made her way to where he stood. Carmine pulled up the blinds before shoving open the large window. It squeaked a bit but gave little resistance.
Haven gaped at it. “I didn’t think the windows opened.”
“They don’t,” he said. “Dom disabled this one from the system so I could pry it open and sneak out at night. My father’s never caught on since it doesn’t set off any alarms.”
Carmine held the curtains aside, motioning for her to climb through, and she stepped out onto the small porch that wrapped around the floor. Carmine joined her, and she carefully followed him along the balcony to a massive sycamore tree. Thick branches extended toward the corner of the house, so close Haven touched some of the green leaves, the tips fading to brown with autumn on the horizon.
Carmine tossed the jar down from the balcony, holding his breath as it landed in the grass with a thud. Gripping the branch closest to him, he stepped over the banister and climbed into the tree. “Come on, it’s easy.”
She peeked over the edge. “I don’t want to fall.”
“You won’t.”
“You swear?”
He chuckled. “All the fucking time.”
She hesitated before grabbing the branch like he’d done and pulling herself over the banister. Carmine expertly navigated the tree, having done it dozens of times, and Haven carefully followed his path. A minute after he jumped to the ground, she landed beside him on her feet.
“See, that wasn’t so bad, huh?”
A hint of a smile graced her lips. “I didn’t fall.”
Carmine grabbed the jar as Haven wandered a few steps away, her eyes darting around. Fireflies continued to flash in the darkness, the brief glows illuminating her awestruck face. Her smile grew as she reached out for one, but she pulled her hand back quickly. “They won’t hurt me, right?”
“Right,” he said. “You’re probably ten times more dangerous than fireflies are.”
Dangerous. The word made his heart rate spike. Something told him this girl was a danger to his fucking sanity.
She gently captured a firefly in her palm and stared at it with awe as the bug ran across her hand and took off from the tip of her middle finger. Soft giggles erupted from her as it flew away, catching Carmine off guard. It was the first time he’d heard her laugh.
Shaking himself out of his stupor, he handed her the jar. “Here, catch a few.”
Carmine sat down on the ground as she took off, chasing fireflies through the yard. He laughed as she fought to catch them, the little bugs evading her grasp. Soon her laughter mixed with his, her excited cheers sounding out in the night when she managed to wrangle some into the jar. She spun and twirled, jumped and ran; all the while a smile graced her lips.
