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The bubbles that show he’s typing appear and then disappear instantly and then I hear the sound of the door opening. I assume it’s Damian but I hold my breath in case it’s not. I let it out when I hear, “It’s me.” His rich baritone floods my ears and I unlock the door and open it to find him standing in front of the stall.
His eyes are soft and empathetic and it spurs more tears. “He…he…” I stamp my foot. “FOR A YEAR!” I yell.
His nostrils flare angrily and he starts to say something but stops himself. He looks away from me and his eyes slowly close before turning back to me. “We are leaving.” His tone is even and calming and just those three words have my heart rate slowing.You’re fine, you’re okay. You’re with Damian and he would never let anything bad happen.
“What about Veronica?” The tears have slowed and I’m able to blink the ones forming out of my eyes as I wipe under them to collect the ones that have fallen.
He takes a step to the side to let me exit the stall. “Max is here, she’ll be fine. Andyouare my only concern.” His words send goosebumps all over my flesh. They make me feel safe and guarded and the thought that he’d never let anyone get to me overpowers the feelings of my now ex-boyfriend who’d just made me feel anything but safe.
I stop walking, unsure of what’s on the other side of the bathroom door. “Is anyone in the hall?”
“No and you are not going back to the table. We are just going to go out the back and no one is going to see you.”
I turn around and look up at him. “Did Paxton leave?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Once I saw you come in here, I followed you. I couldn’t really give a fuck what he did as long as he was away from you.”
I nod and take another deep breath. “Thank you.”
He moves to walk in front of me. “Why are you thanking me?” he asks without turning around to look at me.
“I—”Because you’re here? Because you can protect me from anything? Because you’re the only person I feel like I can trust?
“This is my job, Shay,” he says before I can finish and I snap my lips shut before alcohol and my emotions convince me to say anything else.
The ride home is quiet. I ignored all the phone calls from Veronica and Jeremy but texted them to let them know I was fine and that I would see Veronica whenever she got back. Veronica wanted to come home immediately but I told her to enjoy her time and that I was going to bed because honestly, I’m not in the mood to rehash it with her. Now, I’m sitting in the back alone, staring out the window while the faint sounds of Rihanna play through the speaker.
My mind recalls all of the good times I had with Paxton and it’s really not the time for that so I try to recall the bad ones instead. The times we’d argued or the times he’d promised to show up for me but didn’t. Unfortunately for me,right now, there weren’t many occasions where Paxton was a shitty boyfriend. Screwing everyone and their mother behind my back aside, he had been a good boyfriend to my face.Somehow, and I’m not sure why, but that makes me feel fucking worse.
The fact that on the surface it seemed like he was the perfect boyfriend makes me feel like I did something. Like this was my fault or I hadn’t been a good girlfriend.
I pick up my phone to scroll through social media to see the pictures of us that were posted and anything being said. My personal life is a shitshow, but I hope the entire world doesn’t know that. My door opens just as I pass the tenth picture of us from tonight and I make my way out of the car to follow Damian up the path to my door.
“Do you want to know what happened?” I ask as he lets us in.
He turns to face me. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“Okay. If I end up killing him, that makes you somewhat culpable, you know.”
A smile tugs at my lips at his joke. “Cute.”
“That wasn’t a joke. I am allowed to kill for you.” I follow him down the foyer towards my kitchen. “Are you hungry?”
“No,” I tell him as I move to my bar and grab one of the bottles of whiskey. “What are the chances you’ll have one with me?” I cock my head to the side. I’ve never known Damian to drink in all the time I’ve known him. I’d asked him a few times here and there and he said he didn’t drink alcohol while he was on the job. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“That’s not the only reason I refrain from drinking, Shay.”
“No one is getting in either! Veronica will probably show up in a few hours but she has her own code to get in the gate.” He gives me a look like he’s thinking it over but needs more convincing. “Please.” I pout. “I don’t want to drink alone and I just had my heart broken tonight.”
He narrows his gaze and moves towards me, removing the bottle from my hand. “Tonight?” I can hear the question in his voice.Didn’t you have your heart broken when you walked in on him in Canada two weeks ago?
“Oh yes, I learned quite a lot tonight. Turns out there’s much more to the story.”
He pulls two highball glasses from my cabinet and puts a few ice cubes in each. A thought hits me as I prepare to tell him what I learned tonight. Damian is perceptive. He misses nothing. Had he…? “You don’t miss anything.” I bite down on my bottom lip as he pours the amber liquid into my glass and slides it across the counter.
“Okay?”