Saving Hannah

by Saving Hannah (epub)

  Saving Hannah

  (Inner Demons #2)

  By

  Jasmine Denton

  World Castle Publishing

  http://www.worldcastlepublishing.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  World Castle Publishing

  Pensacola, Florida

  Copyright © Jasmine Denton 2011

  ISBN: 9781937593544

  Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2011928379

  First Edition World Castle Publishing August 1, 2011

  http://www.worldcastlepublishing.com

  Licensing Notes

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.

  Cover Artist: Karen Fuller

  Editor: Beth Price

  Chapter One—Homesick

  The tree stood hollow and beautiful and dominant. When Caine was seventeen, he felt the tree embodied everything he’d experienced. Not because he’d seen the tree as beautiful then, but because he’d seen it as an ugly eyesore.

  It was only after a year of distance that he came to see the beauty in something so flawed. The same could be said for his life, that now he knew every pain and heartache held meaning and purpose. Because they led him here, to Tree Hollow, to adulthood, to freedom—a place where he could live a life without angst or regret.

  He felt a world apart from the shape he’d been in when he first arrived in Tree Hollow last year, guilt-ridden and drowning in regret because he’d let his father go to jail for a crime he committed. It was only after meeting Hannah, the kind, and charitable preacher’s daughter, that he finally gathered the strength to turn himself in.

  And now, he was completely free, released a year early on good-behavior, and he was back with one goal on his mind—make things right with Hannah. Even though she’d promised to stay in touch, she hadn’t, and Caine knew why.

  It was because of the monster that lived inside of him, the ghoulish creature who fed on Caine’s anger and then clawed its way out of his body to cause destruction. That monster was on a leash now—completely controlled by willpower after a year to focus on anger management and meditation. He was confident he could keep the monster at bay for the rest of his life, and now, he just needed to prove that to Hannah.

  Granted, he didn’t have much of a plan, he mused to himself as he walked away from the hollow tree and climbed on his motorcycle. He rode to the diner his grandmother had told him about when he’d been searching the employment listings. With barely a hundred dollars to his name, he desperately needed a job. He wanted to be able to take care of himself—he didn’t want to live with his dad in that little apartment for long. But, he’d only been out of jail for two days. He still had time to figure things out.

  Walking into the diner, he noticed two girls in blue uniforms. Behind the bar, a waitress with red and purple streaks in her black hair tried to stuff napkins into an uncooperative napkin holder, while a blond one carried a tray full of food to a table in the back.

  He walked up to the bar and slid onto a stool. “Excuse me, miss.”

  “What?” With a sigh, the girl turned around, her blue eyes widening when her gaze landed on him. If it hadn’t been for those eyes, he wouldn’t have recognized her. Outlined in dark makeup, they still gleamed bright and intense like the sky. Haphazard strands of hair strayed from her low ponytail, the frizzed pieces flying around her face as if she’d been working for hours. Hannah—the girl who’d changed his life, the one who’d convinced him to take responsibility and get his innocent father out of jail. The only girl who’d ever believed in him.

  “Caine…” she said, blinking as if he might be a dream, her face falling in shock when she realized he was real. “What are you doing here?”

  “Applying for a job, actually.”

  Face flushed, she nervously glanced around as she fiddled with the towel in her hands. “But, shouldn’t you be…”

  “In jail?” He shook his head, leaning his elbows on the countertop. “I was released early. Good behavior.”

  She turned, wiping down the counter as if cleaning it was her most important duty and called for undivided attention. “I heard. What I meant is what are you doing here? You always hated this place. Getting out was all you talked about.”

  “I didn’t say I was here to stay. I might just be visiting. To be honest, I haven’t thought that far ahead. What I do know is I need some money, so...”

  “When you mentioned the application, I guess I just assumed...” Blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face, she reached underneath the counter and pulled out a sheet of paper. “Fill this out and I’ll get the manager when you’re done.”

  Pulling a pen out of his pocket, he watched her whisk down to the other end of the counter, loading her arms with dirty plates and empty cups before she disappeared into the kitchen.

  Weird was all he could think. It was just weird to see her looking so drained and tired, working in this little diner. Weird that she hadn’t even said hello or seemed happy to see him.

  In the year he was away, she’d only sent one letter a few weeks into his sentence, and every letter he mailed after that was returned unopened. So, he’d taken the hint and focused his energy on getting his GED and learning anger management techniques. In the darkness of his jail cell, while the other inmates slept, he practiced controlling the monster inside him. He’d let it take over, and then take control again in a matter of seconds, until finally he possessed the strength and ability in his human form. So it was by choice that he waited until he’d been paroled to come home—he could’ve broken out anytime he wanted.

  ***

  Caine took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of bacon, eggs, toast and orange juice as his bare feet padded along the polished hardwood floors of his grandmother’s home the next morning.

  The food in jail had been so disgusting he didn’t want to let the memories taint his thoughts, and now he couldn’t wait to get a delicious, bad for your health breakfast into his stomach. He grabbed a piece of bacon off a plate on the counter as he entered the kitchen, then plopped down at the table in front of a large pitcher of orange juice.

  “Morning, Grams,” he said as he swallowed a bite of bacon and reached for a glass.

  Grams turned from the stove, using the spatula to dish a heaping pile of eggs into a large bowl. “Morning honey, how’d you sleep?”

  “Like a baby,” he said with an exaggerated groan. “I missed that bed.”

  Grams laughed and set a plate of eggs in front of him. “Well, it’s yours whenever you want it.”

  “Thanks,” he said, leaning over his plate. It seemed like the more he ate, the hungrier he became. Of course, the constant self-control could be responsible for the growing appetite. “So...when you sent me to the diner yesterday afternoon...”

  Caine watched his grandmother smile a little as she turned to the cabinet for another plate.

  “So you did know Hannah works there?”

  “Charming girl, isn’t she?” Grams asked, avoiding the question with grace. “Although, I have to say I’m not crazy about the new hairdo. It’s so unbecoming.”

  Charming wouldn’t really describe what he’d seen yesterday, although he had to admit he thought Hannah’s new hairstyle looked pretty cute. “Sure. I just wasn’t expecting to run into her, that’s all.”

  “Well, you had to have known it would happen eventually, after all, this is suc
h a small town. How is she anyway?”

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I only saw her for a minute. Say, Grams, do you have any ketchup?”

  “Ketchup?” She repeated, startled. “What do you need ketchup for?”

  He glanced up innocently and pointed to his plate. “The eggs...”

  She laughed. “No, honey, I’m fresh out. Of course, there could be a packet or two in that junk drawer over there.” She pointed to a drawer on the far left hand side of the room. “You never know what you’ll find in that thing.”

  “Thanks.” He walked across the room and pulled open the drawer. Still gnawing on another piece of bacon, he rummaged through random items like straws, mail from last year, a wrench, a few broken pencils. Finally, he found two small packets of ketchup toward the back of the drawer.

  He pulled the drawer open a little further, reaching for the ketchup, surprised to see Hannah’s face staring back at him from a missing person’s flyer.

  Picking up the flyer, he scanned over the information, confused. Hannah’d been missing? And nobody told him? Apparently, she disappeared in the middle of the night, about a month after he turned himself in to the police. “Grams, what’s this?”

  Turning, she spotted the flyer he held and her mouth dropped a little in recognition. “Oh, um...” Stepping forward a couple paces, she rested her hand on the back of a kitchen chair. “Well, honey...you could say Hannah’s had a rough year.”

  “What’s that mean?” Grabbing the packs of ketchup, he folded the paper up and stuffed it into his back pocket, although he wasn’t sure why he wanted to keep it.

  “I don’t know much, really, I’m sorry.” Sitting down at the table, Grams took a small bite of toast. “Some people said she ran away, others said she was kidnapped. She returned a few weeks later and graduated high school early, took a job working in the diner. That’s all I know. No one ever really found out where she was—when she came back, she acted as though she’d never been missing.”

  Concern for Hannah filled his mind as he thought of the change in her appearance—and more notably, her attitude—and he wondered if he had anything to do with when she’d disappeared last year, or if it’d been his psychotic brother, Sean.

  ***

  When he reported for work the next morning, he was surprised when Vic—the tall, burly owner of the diner—assigned Hannah to train him. He was a little relieved though, because he’d been dying for an excuse to talk to her.

  Leading him through the kitchen, she rattled off random procedures that he tried his best to listen to, but it was in no way more interesting than the way the light danced on the purple and red streaks in her hair, or the way her eye make-up looked glittery when she glanced at him.

  Following Hannah into a small room that branched off the kitchen, he held the door open for her, gesturing for her to proceed first. She hesitated, as if surprised, before finally stepping over the threshold. Walking in behind her, he let the door swing shut behind him. “So, how have you been?”

  “This is where we keep all of the supplies.” She pointed to a row of shelves to the left to show him.

  “That good, huh?” He joked, giving her a small smile.

  “And here’s where you can put your stuff. Just pick a locker.” Placing her hand on a row of lockers, she tapped the door of one of them, the thin metal making an echoing ding in the quiet room. “Of course, buy a lock for it, too. You’ll need one around here.”

  “Isn’t it a Tuesday?” He asked, feeling a little insulted now. She didn’t need to completely avoid him...couldn’t they just be friends? “You’re a year younger than me. Shouldn’t you be in school or something?”

  “I’m sure Rose told you I graduated early.” With an annoyed sigh, she led him back into the kitchen. “Vic gets upset if you let the dirty dishes pile up, so if we get really busy, make sure you get one of the other waitresses to help you.”

  He couldn’t help but linger on the word other...as if implying not to ask her for help. Maybe he was just over thinking it. “Speaking of,” he said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as she led him toward the back of the empty dining room. “That Mia girl looked pretty cute. The blond.”

  That caught Hannah’s attention, he could tell by the slight hesitation in her step. Recovering—from whatever she’d obviously felt—she kept walking. “You should go for it. She’s just your type.”

  The last part was edged with hidden disdain, and came off sounding rather snotty for Hannah. “Honestly,” he said, not paying a bit of attention as she tried to explain the proper procedure for cleaning the restroom. “I tend to go for the sweet, charitable type. Like this girl I used to know in high school, maybe you remember her...”

  She heaved an annoyed sigh, rolling her eyes as if he was getting on her last nerve. “Caine, would you pay attention? Or maybe I should just tell Vic you’re not serious about the job.”

  “Fine, I’ll shut up,” he said reluctantly.

  “Good.”

  He watched her as she led him back into the dining room, and noticed her posture changed when the bell above the door rang. Following her gaze, he saw a man about his height in a faded denim jacket, heading straight toward her. Hannah’s body stiffened—for a split second—he would’ve missed it if he hadn’t been watching her so closely. With a wide—and very fake—smile on her face, she turned to the man as he approached her.

  “Max, what a nice surprise!” Standing on her tip-toes, she stretched to give him a kiss on the cheek—a gesture that made Caine’s stomach twist. Turning to Caine, Hannah looped her arm around the other guy’s. “Caine, this is my boyfriend, Max.”

  Boyfriend? Caine couldn’t help but gape. This guy had to be at least three years older than Hannah, and taking in his worn out jeans, the tattoo of a snake on his neck, and the scabs on his knuckles, Caine couldn’t help but feel like this new guy was trouble.

  Just looking into Max’s dark brown eyes gave Caine an eerie chill. He wondered if Max was at all responsible for the noticeable changes in Hannah’s behavior and appearance or maybe even responsible for Hannah’s mysterious absence last year.

  “Boyfriend, huh? Nice to meet you.” Caine extended a hand for a polite shake, his gaze travelling from Max and fixing on Hannah in a look that said this is déjà vu. Max stared at Caine’s hand, stone-faced as if trying too hard to be tough, before finally reaching out and grasping it tight, in more of competition than a greeting.

  “Caine, huh? Heard a lot about you.”

  “That’s funny,” Caine said, releasing Max’s hand. “I haven’t heard a thing about you.”

  A quick flash of anger flickered in Max’s eyes as Hannah cut in between them. “In the five minutes I’ve seen him since he was paroled,” Hannah said, a little too loudly. When she tossed him a warning look, he knew she’d spoken too loud on purpose.

  The few customers at the bar turned to gawk at him at the word paroled and he stepped around Hannah and Max. “Thanks for the tour, Hannah, but I think I can take it from here.”

  Walking away from them, Caine struggled to control that possessive streak of his—the one that screamed Hannah belong with him and Max was in his way. He wouldn’t fight for Hannah, though—he wouldn’t try to steal her away from her new boyfriend. Last time he tried to take Hannah from a guy, it’d ended in tragedy, and he wasn’t about to let history repeat itself.

  So he made up his mind to forget about her. It shouldn’t be too hard, right? She’s just another girl.

  ***

  The diner was crawling with people during lunch, and as fast as Caine tried to keep up with the orders, they were pouring in too fast. What kind of boss would make him man the kitchen—alone—on his first day?

  Grease splatters sizzled on the stove and the fryer was boiling at full speed. The echoes of the conversations from the dining room were loud enough to be heard over the noise and the entire combination caused a racket that made his head spin.

  Hannah’s not your
perfect girl anymore, is she?

  Startled at the voice—he’d heard it so clearly—he looked around, expecting to see someone. But he was in the kitchen alone.

  Welcome home, little brother.

  A chill crawled his skin as his older brother’s voice echoed in his mind. Sean knew he was back...Sean was communicating with him...telepathically.

  He didn’t like the feel of someone else’s voice in his head—it felt intrusive and violating. That’s why he’d never even bothered to exercise that particular talent.

  Definitely not the same Hannah you knew, bro. But what’s her deep, dark secret? I can’t wait to see you find out.

  What was Sean talking about? What deep, dark secret? And why did Sean even care...

  Suddenly, the kitchen door swung open and Mia marched in as if on a mission. Her blond ponytail swung back and forth as she placed a hand on her hip and gave him an aggravated stare. “Dude, I hate to say this, but you’re getting a lot of shit wrong.”

  “Huh?”

  “People are complaining...it’s a mad house out there.”

  “I could always go out there and tell them what I ate in jail. I’m sure that’d quiet things down.”

  She laughed, shaking her head. “I’m sure it would.” She scampered over to him, handing him a spatula as she used on hand to push his face back toward the stove. “So, you cook, I’ll assemble. We have five minutes. Go.”

  He had to admit it helped only having to focus on flipping the burgers and making sure the fries didn’t burn. Arranging the food as if she’d done this a thousand times before, Mia then pushed each plate through the small window for Hannah.

  “So, what’d you do time for?” she asked suddenly, having to speak loudly over the sounds of the kitchen.

  He laughed as he used the spatula to drop a hamburger patty onto a bun. “I was wondering when someone would ask me that.”

  “Of course you were,” she said, squirting ketchup on the hamburger. “Something like that goes down and people have questions.”

  “It was a fight,” he said, ready to see her recoil. “I hurt a guy pretty bad.”