THE FREE FALL ⇘ Bellamy Blake. [1]

| lvi. WHAT IF THIS IS ALL THE LOVE YOU EVER GET?

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CHAPTER FIFTY SIX;

WHAT IF THIS IS
ALL THE LOVE YOU EVER GET?

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        "MURPHY . . . WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

        JOHN MURPHY WAS THE LAST PERSON that Haven ever expected to darken the doorway of the dropship. After slipping from Camp Jaha—undetected and miraculously alive—Haven, Bellamy, and Raven had been sitting on needles, their breaths shallow as they awaited Clarke, Finn, and Orion's return. Every whisper of wind, every murmur from the forest outside stirred Haven's wild hope, only to be dashed again by the empty entrance. She was suffocating in the wait, itching for their familiar forms to materialize behind the curtain, but instead . . . she came face to face with Murphy.

        He strolled through the threshold as arrogance embodied, the very sight of him igniting a fury so swift, so primal . . . Haven almost let her knife fly before rationality clawed her back.

"Relax," Murphy huffed. "I believe I was invited."

        Murphy's hands ascended in an exaggerated gesture of surrender, yet his eyes shifted rapidly, calculating the danger posed by the blade quivering in Haven's grip and the rifle Bellamy clutched like a cross. With a slow, mocking step backward, he adopted a stance of submission—but the smirk that twisted his lips betrayed his amusement.

Wait.

        . . . Invited?

        Haven narrowed her eyes. "What the fuck?"

        Her words hung suspended, half-formed and seething, as the fabric barrier was thrust aside by another entrant. Instinct took over—her knife shifted in her grip, the blade a subtle glint of danger, perfectly mirrored by the menacing aim of Bellamy's rifle. But tension dissolved into confusion as the familiar intruder brushed her wild curls aside, humming a casual tune . . . utterly oblivious to the arsenal greeting her.

        "Um—woah!" Orion's voice spiked with alarm, her body jerking back as she observed the weapons leveled at her, nearly colliding with Murphy's chest. "Jeez! It's just me, Blake. Unclench your freakin' ass."

        Haven sheathed her blade beneath her shirt.
       
        Bellamy huffed out an agitated breath.

        As the immediate threat dissolved and their weapons slowly lowered, Haven's mind spiraled back into the maze of her earlier bewilderment. Her confusion deepened, eyes flickering between Orion and Raven, who seemed remarkably . . . undisturbed by Murphy's unexpected appearance. There was no trace of outrage, no customary sneers—nothing to suggest they found his presence unwelcome. In fact, there was a disconcerting lack of reaction, as if his joining them had been anticipated.