haven murphy had nothing to lose. everything was different after sarah cameron's birthday party, the night her father died. haven just didn't feel right in her own skin. then, on a whim, she befriended pope heyward and got sucked into a wild goose h...
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CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN: KNIFE IN THE BACK (episode nine: trapped | trigger warning: panic attack)
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THE ANCIENT FLOOR OF Freedman's Church shattered as a giant, ten foot cross made of pure gold collided with the rotting wood. For a moment, Haven was stunned into silence, standing wide-eyed and frozen mere inches away from where Pope's frantically panting body laid. His eyes were clenched shut, just waiting for the collision that would've broken every single one of his bones. When the pain didn't come and the sound of splintering history was heard just a foot away from his head, he slowly began to relax. Still, he didn't move, save for the irregular rise and fall of his chest. In fact, no one moved. They were far too shocked to comprehend that Pope had really just come so close to death.
"Pope," Arden murmured at last, her voice taking on an edge of panic. She forced herself to move, to close the distance between them. Pope looked up as she dropped to her knees beside him, shaking hands meeting her own that checked him over for injuries. "Hey, Pope, are you okay?"
Arden's voice was like a police siren, jarring through the muted chaos of their surroundings. Haven snapped out of whatever trance she was in, checking the ceiling for remnants of the wooden beam the cross had just fallen from. When she determined that nothing else was going to fall, she kneeled on Pope's other side, quickly prompting the rest of their friends into action.
"Pope, answer me," Arden huffed, looking just as frazzled as Haven felt.
Moving like everything was in slow-motion, Pope forced himself to respond. "I'm good," he said, to which Arden almost immediately sighed in relief. "Just give me, like, one second to catch my breath."
"Take as many seconds as you like," Haven chuckled. With a glance over at the glistening cross, she said, "You've done it, Pope."
One-by-one, their friends crowded around their newest discovery. Leaving Arden sitting at Pope's side, Haven made her way over to stand between John B and JJ. The latter's eyes met hers with unadulterated joy. Haven smiled, reaching for John B's free hand while his other ran over the encrusted diamonds and other jewels on the cross. It really was extraordinary, something right off the pages of a history book.
"I've never seen anything like it," she heard Sarah say, and Haven had to agree.
Behind them, Arden helped Pope to his feet. The wooden floor creaked beneath his staggered footsteps, prompting Haven to turn and smile at him.
The second she caught his eye, she knew something was wrong.
Arden's worry was growing by the second as she kept an arm secured around his shoulders. Pope was hunched over, gasping for air like his lungs had closed over. Haven wanted to approach him, to point out that something wasn't right, but she didn't have the chance to before Pope forced himself to lean against one of the nearby pews, his heavy-lidded eyes glowering at where John B and JJ were arguing about what to do with the cross. John B was pointing out the obvious ―a museum ― whereas JJ was being his usual self thinking of money first, historical and familial importance later.
