Heal Me

Chapter 20

Damon was sitting in the same place as the night before, rubbing his temples and groaning at the severe headache that hit him once he opened his eyes. After about half an hour of lying face down on the comfortable couch, he finally decided to sit up and face the day ahead of him… But it was hard because these were not just another ordinary 24 hours of his miserable life. No, there was so much more to them… they had a heartwrenching story behind them, one which few could imagine… one which few could forget and forgive.

 
 

He squinted his eyes to accommodate with the light in the room, which was only making him feel worse. He yawned and muttered something under his breath as he took in the same clothes from the night before. He did not remember a thing he had done, except whyhe had done it… and it was so painful and frustrating to remember only that.

 
 

Damon’s eyes widened in disbelief as he noticed the glass of water and the pill that Evangeline left on the table for him. That meant that he didn’t get home on his own, which did not really surprise him; he knew that he always needed a lot of alcohol to get wasted and to forget his past for one night. But with his father out of town with business and with his so-called true friends gone, the question that crept up to his already heavy, tormented mind was ‘Who then?’. 

 

 He thought that maybe he had taken a taxi, but who put the water and the pill on the coffee table to cure his morning hangover? He did not know any taxi drivers who were that thoughtful. Checking his phone, he saw two missed calls from his father, one at 9:30 A.M. and one now, just before he woke up, at 10:45. He did not bother to call him back, because he had an idea of what he would say; he too knew what day was today...

 
 

But just as he was about to exit the call log and put the phone back in his pocket, her name caught his eye so Damon took a better look and, indeed, his phone showed that he had made a call at 2:24 A.M., her name flashing on the screen: ‘Eva’.

 
 

‘I called her!?’ he frowned deeply and took a moment to try and see if he remembered anything, but no, he had no idea whatsoever. But even so, Damon was sure she was the one who took care of him and drove him back home.

 
 

He glanced at that pill and rolled his eyes; she could be so naïve at times. Just one Advil was far from enough to calm his headache, but he took it anyway. After he gulped down the pill and put the glass of water back on the table, Damon snorted and shook his head; she cared so much… Evangeline cared too muchabout him and he wondered how come she hadn’t given up yet. He was simply not good and she should not waste her time on him, she should not care because – as Damon learned a while ago – caring hurts.

   

  ~

 

 
Tired and extremely sleepy, Evangeline was walking slowly towards the bus station, as she did everyday coming home from school. Her footsteps were unsure and she had dark circles around her eyes because, just as she thought, she could not sleep at all when she got back home.

 
 

Evangeline let her feet wander on the pavement, paying no attention to the fact that she was just passing by the park where she had met him. As she was tightening her grip around her jacket she heard her name being called so clearly that she stopped dead in her tracks.