The Victim (Book #1)

Chapter 58

Damon stormed through partiers who spun to face the commotion, leaning in the doorway curiously. I took a slight step back in alarm and bumped into the unmoving Magnus, who was trying very hard to look innocent. He had his hands raised and his eyes wide, but his tight smile looked nervous.

"Don't worry Mav. It's just my brother." I said with a shake of my head and a laugh. Damon wouldn't hurt us. Magnus didn't look too convinced. I turned back to wave at the angry guy stomping over.

Damon stopped in his tracks in surprise before speeding up and grabbing me by the wrist. He pulled me close to him and hissed "I gave you fifteen fucking minutes, and I come back to find you dancing with a boy?"

"He's not a boy, he's my friend!" I said, squinting my eyes up at him in anger. "And I forgot about the time thingy! I had some drinks." I admitted, shaking my head to clear the haze. It didn't go away.

"Drinks?" Damon repeated.

"You know! Some alcohol." I said with a smile. I wasn't sure what he wasn't understanding about this.

He let out a laugh that sounded a lot like a scoff and yanked me away from Mav.

"We're leaving." He said under his breath. "I'll deal with you later." He said in a deep voice to Magnus, who was trying to slowly creep out of the room.

"I'm sorry man, I didn't do anything, I swear. We are just friends!" he said, looking Damon in the eye and speaking loud enough that everyone nearby could hear.

"Why are you nervous?" I asked him curiously with a smile. "It's just Damon."

Magnus laughed a little nervously and said "Damon's not the only one who would kick my ass if we were more than friends, princess. I'll see you around!" With that, he slipped out the door and into the crowd of people dancing.

Damon began tugging me along and I followed obstinately, wishing I could go back to party.

"Quit pouting or I'll throw you over my shoulder." He said, though he hadn't turned to see my face. My scowl grew as we got outside and he turned around as it did, raising one eyebrow seriously. My stomach clenched nervously as I realized he would do it, so I scurried ahead of him, out of the house's side gate and towards the car.

I got in the backseat and smiled at Caleb, who grabbed my hand immediately.

"Are you okay??" he asked, worriedly. Damon got in and started the car, giving Brooklyn a look that I didn't understand.

"She's fine. More than fine." Damon said angrily, before whipping the car into drive and pulling out down the street. I turned back to the party house to see a familiar shape on the lawn, who seemed to be watching us leave. It was a guy with his arms crossed over his chest, but I couldn't make out much more than that. He was wearing all black and turned away as we left. Was it Asher? Did he want to see me again before I left? What was it that Magnus had told me about him again...?

"What happened?" Caleb asked, panicked. I turned to him and smiled, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Asher and I talked it out and he said sorry!" I announced happily. The car squealed to a stop at the stop sign and we lurched forward in our seats.

"My bad." Damon muttered. "He said what?"

"He said sorry and that we're going to be friends now! Isn't that great?" I asked. The light on Caleb's unsure face turned from red to green, and Damon floored it.

"Sure," Brooks said, pushed back to his seat with the force of the car. "If he means it."

"He does." I said, nodding. "I'm really good at reading people. He wasn't lying."

"Just because he wasn't lying doesn't mean he won't hurt you." Damon grumbled, as we turned onto our street.

"Innocent until proven guilty." I replied, although this had never been my policy. Maybe it could be... starting now. And this had nothing at all to do with the fact that Asher Kelly had called me cute. His friend had too, come to think of it. I looked down at my tank top and sweats and wondered what they had seen.

"Are you sure, My?" Caleb asked. "He made a rumor about you and he's been mean before!"

"I trust him, I think." I said, considering it. He wasn't lying tonight; I was sure I would have been able to tell. And there was something about him that was so... real. He didn't want to hurt me. The boys that did weren't honest like he was. They weren't good. They didn't open doors for people and get angry when they perceived an injustice (even if they perceived incorrectly). "There is something good about him."

We pulled into the driveway in silence and I giggled at absolutely nothing.

"How do we get the drunk inside without mom knowing?" Damon asked tiredly.

"Not drunk!" I protested as my head flopped to one side. I was just sleepy with a side of happy.

"Okay, sweetheart." Damon said with a smile that oozed fakeness.

Brooks said "Mom should be asleep. It's Dominic we have to worry about." 

"Dom? He won't hurt me." I said, confused.

"None of us would hurt you, Maya. But Dominic would be maaad." Caleb said with a small mischievous smile that made me wonder how many times he'd snuck past him before.

"How come?" I asked, incredulously. I was safe. I wasn't going to throw up on him, as far as I knew.

"He just hates drinking. And he worries about you enough as it is." He informed me with a nod of his head. The other guys bobbed their heads in agreement, but I was surprised.

"Why me?" I asked, lifting my shoulders.

"Well... he worries about all of us. But you're the most likely to do something dumb." Caleb said before his face broke into a teasing smile and he jumped out of the car.

"Caleb!" I shrieked, getting out of the car to chase him. I swayed and grabbed the door handle and Damon groaned, as he got out of the car too.

"Try not to move too fast or say anything dumb." He said morosely. "Or I'm going to be in trouble. And no more screaming!"

"You're kind of a dick." I said, to his face. I wasn't sure if he would be furious or unbothered, so imagine my surprise when he threw his head back and laughed out loud.

"Oh, you are so going to get it!" he yelled, leaning towards me. I jumped away and screamed again, running around the car toward Brooklyn.

"Brooks, save me!" I yelled, jumping behind him and grabbing him around the waist. I leaned my head out from behind him as he looked down at me with a smile.

"Yeah right!" he said, spinning and reaching out to catch me. I tried to slip away but his fingers caught my waist and he picked me up like a bride and carried me over to Damon.

"CALEB! HELP!"

Out of nowhere, a blond head shot out from behind a bush and Caleb came racing over, tickling Brooklyn's neck till he wiggled enough and set me down.

"You want me to beat you up too, kid?" Brooklyn said to his little brother as he scratched his neck.

"You can try, bitch!" Caleb said as Damon walked around to our side of the car.

"What did you just say?" Damon asked, picking up his pace. Caleb and I looked at each other and then sprinted to the door in sync, cracking up. I couldn't run very well, but we managed to stay away from Brooks and Damon until we got inside. We raced to the living room and jumped on the couch in the dark on our knees.

The couch yelled and then Caleb and I screamed before covering our mouths. Charlotte's room was pretty far from here, but I wouldn't be surprised if she heard something.

The lamp turned on as Brooks walked in with Damon and I looked down to see Dominic's legs, which I had inadvertently crushed.