The Wicked Beasts That Roam

Chapter 12

Sweet lavender hit his nose before he saw her, and instinctively his muscles tensed. Damian hesitated, pausing just before her doorway. Did he want to walk in there? Was seeing her worth feeling the guilt? He grimaced as he remembered her skull connecting with the picture frame. Shit. He was already feeling guilty.

            Stay away from her, his brother’s voice echoed in his head.

            Like he’d listen to him.

Morning dew lined her room-sized window as sunlight beamed through, lighting the room in a heavenly glow. In the far right corner of the room, Jade lay with her head down on her desk. If the air around her was anything to go by, it spelled out misery. His boot steps echoed on the wooden floor.

"You bring any aspirin?" she asked in a muffled voice.

"Maybe."

Her head jerked up from the table. "Sorry, I thought you were Erica.”

A light purple discoloration had formed on her jaw, making her look like she’d just stepped out of a cage match. But even battered and bruised she still managed to look angelic.

He winced at the sappy thought and set a bottle of pills in front of her. "You look pitiful.”

She lifted the bottle and twisted off the cap. “Could you slam my head against a picture frame again so I can sleep for the rest of the day?”

“I could, but there’d be no fun in it for me.” He tilted his head, sweeping his gaze over her.

Her arms had a few minor scrapes and cuts on them, but nothing that wouldn't heal. Though, he did wonder if she had a concussion.

"And what's your kind of fun?" Jade closed her eyes and massaged her jaw.

"My kind of fun," Damian repeated and thought for a moment. "You and me. In my bed."

She chuckled. "Quite forward, aren't we?"

"Well, you asked and I answered." Damian ran his gaze over her two-sizes-too-big black t-shirt and down her Stewie Griffin pajama bottoms.

“Tell Aidyn I said thank you.” She shook the pill bottle.

“Why you thanking him for? I had to do all the work to get those.” He glanced around the room. “They're just higher dosed pain relievers. They’re all I could find.”

“Where’d you get them? I’ve been searching the whole house for some.”

“Broke into Aidyn’s room,” he said with a shrug.

The look on her face said she didn’t condone his method but she didn’t condemn it, either. “Thanks.”

As she slid her chair back, her arm uncovered a piece of vanilla paper. Those damn blue eyes were staring at him again. He looked elsewhere for a distraction as Jade headed for the bathroom. The faucet squeaked and turned on, and he guessed she was washing down a pill.

Damian scoped the room. It wasn’t any different from the first time he was in there. Although, it was a bit more cluttered with Jade’s stuff. Posters hung on the walls. A computer set on her wooden desk. Random stuffed animals were placed here and there. His eyes drifted to her closet where the white doors were braced wide open. He passed his gaze over the clothes inside.

His breath hitched in his throat. In the middle of the rack, his coat and shirt hung from metal hangers. He touched the arm of the black coat, wondering why she had kept them.

“Soft, isn’t it?” Jade stepped out the bathroom, and was looking at the articles of clothing with a smile.

“They’re too big to be yours. Ex-boyfriend’s, I’m guessing?”