NEW CHAPPY!! Sorry for the wait, my computer decided that working properly was uncool. I would say 'Curse electronics!' but then i would jinx myself, so I'll just think it. ;D Anywhose...
ENJOY!!
Chapter 11
Mallory
“Really?” I asked with an unnaturally high voice.
“Yes, really,” Damien returned, smiling down at me. Almost robotically, my gaze flickered to the tramp and back to him. His smile slipped as he waited for my reaction, looking unsure for the first time.
Out of nowhere, I let out a crazed scream and jumped at him, wrapping my arms and legs around him in a huge hug, being careful of my ankle.
He stumbled lightly in surprise, but his grin reappeared as he twisted his arms around me. As I clung to him, he let out an amused chuckle, and reluctantly pulled back to meet my eyes. “I’m guessing that means you like it?” He inquired.
I nodded jerkily while smiling like a crazy person. He smirked, placing me on the edge of the trampoline. “Well, good.” He cooed, brushing a piece of hair from my face.
I’ll admit I had started worrying at the mention of a date with Damien; I just didn’t picture him as the romantic type. Without waiting for my approval he had led me outside. A victorious cry had almost left my lips at the fresh air, but I settled for a contended sigh.
He had covered my eyes-much to my agitation-and guided me outside. He whispered “Surprise” in my ear as he removed his hands and that brought us to the present point.
The huge trampoline in the back, covered in thick looking blankets and a picnic basket perched on top. You can tell by my reaction how I felt about this.
I gave him a small smile as he smirked at me and pushed away, rolling onto my knees on the tramp. “So, what’s this for?” I asked, swinging the picnic basket lightly in my hand. He hoisted himself onto the trampoline, causing us to bounce slightly as he sat in front of me.
“Wouldn’t be much of a date if there wasn’t food,” he stated, taking the basket away. I nodded and smiled slightly.
“This is certainly… interesting.” I said bluntly, lightly poking at the trampoline to get my point across as he started pulling out containers of food. He looked up through his lashes to smirk at me, making my body heat up. I took a deep breath and waited for his reply.
“I’m an interesting guy,” he finally admitted, leaning back. “I figured not many would choose the trampoline to have a date on.”
“That’s the truth,” I muttered.
“I knew you’d like it though,” he mused. I raised an eyebrow.
“And what made you think that?” I wondered. The side of his mouth twitched, and he shook his head.
“You’re not like other girls,” he said simply, shrugging. “And that’s a compliment.” He added, seeing my face.
“I don’t see anything wrong with having a date on the trampoline.” I told him truthfully. It was sweet and kind of romantic. It also brought out the more childish side of me; something that rarely came out of hiding.
“Exactly,” he pointed out, giving me a small smile before returning to his task of arranging the food.
“Did you make all of this?” I asked in astonishment.
“Of course,” he scoffed. I raised an eyebrow and he caved. “Not.” He mumbled.
“That’s okay, I can cook.” I told him, thinking of all the times I had to make food for my mom. He looked up from a container of what seemed to be rice to give me a surprised look.
“Is that so?” he probed. His eyes were burning with curiosity. It made them even more radiant as they shone in the sunset.
“No need to sound so surprised,” I reprimanded softly, sniffing. He gave me a lopsided smile before handing me a paper plate.
“Sorry, you just don’t seem like the type to spend much time in the kitchen.” I gave him a strange look as I dished some rice and other things onto my plate.
“Enlighten me; what ‘type’ would that be, precisely?” I inquired while quirking an eyebrow. He didn’t answer for a moment, merely studying me. Finally, he shook his head at himself.
“You just seem more of the outside adventurous type, not the kind to spend hours on end in the kitchen.” He finally explained, his eyes dropping down to his now full plate. I scoffed lightly as I accepted the silverware he held out to me.
“I said I could cook, not that I enjoyed it.” I told him. He nodded, pursing his lips slightly in a way that made me want to kiss him before looking back down.
We ate in a comfortable silence for a while, each hidden in our own thoughts. I didn’t try to start a conversation; I was content without it. Unlike most, I didn’t need to be speaking twenty-four hours a day to be happy. At his request, I scooted over to sit beside him so I could watch the setting sun. I made sure we were close enough to brush arms, just to make him happy.
We gazed out at the horizon with nearly empty plates at our feet; it was then that he decided to break the silence.
“Tell me about your family.” He demanded softly without glancing at me, reminding me of when I had asked him about his mom. I turned my head to study him, chewing on the inside of my cheek.
Over the past week, we had discussed everything… except my family. He would ask, of course, but I would always change the subject by asking another question. I knew he could sense my hesitation, but he hadn’t really pushed me before-something I was grateful for. Talking about my family wasn’t exactly high on my ‘To-do’ list.
At my hesitation, Damien finally looked over. His eyes met mine, and he watched the swirl of emotion that must have been happening in my green orbs. Slowly, hesitantly, and without breaking eye contact, he reached over to gently cup my cheek. His thumb lightly brushed my bottom lip and I shivered involuntarily.
“You can tell me anything, Mallory. I promise not to judge,” he vowed in his deep voice. I gave him a weak smile while reaching up, lightly placing my hand over his.
“I know, it’s just… hard.” I muttered as I pulled his hand off my face. He twined our fingers before I could let go and I let him; I needed the comfort.
“Start off simple,” he instructed while still staring down at me fixedly. I took a deep breath and nodded, closing my eyes briefly.
“My mom’s name is Meredith,” I started, opening my eyes and turning away from him to face the sunset. “She works- well, she used to work as a nurse.” I continued, pulling my hand free to wrap my arms around my knees. “Next is my older sister, Jen. She’s married with two kids and works as a School Therapist. I have a little brother, Jacob, who’s twelve and my little sister Eve is eight.” I finished with a shrug.
Silence settled over us once again; uncomfortable this time. I gritted my teeth slightly as I waited for him to speak, begging he wouldn’t ask the most obvious question.
“What about your dad?” he finally asked quietly. Damn, I internally cursed, my hands curling into fists. I closed my eyes tightly, wanting to just get it over with.
“My dad,” I breathed and paused lightly before continuing. “My dad committed suicide when I was eleven.” I stated lifelessly, feeling the familiar walls drop.
Talking about my deceased father always brought on more internal pain then I could coupe with, so I created safety barriers. My voice would take on a dull, bored and cold tone when speaking about dad, reflecting how I felt on the inside.
I continued on quickly.
“Turns out my mom had a secret, one that cost my dad his life.” I squinted at the sunset and refused to meet Damiens’ eyes. “A few years before hand, my mom and a close family friend had gotten into bed together after a night of drinking. It was a mistake, they both knew that, and they promised never to tell anyone. Apparently, guilt caught up to him and the man my mother had drunkenly had sex with told my dad.” I was forced to stop there as that night replayed in my mind.
The image of my father hanging lifelessly from the celling was enough to make me sick, but I pushed myself to continue.
“He left a note, asking ‘Why?’ He couldn’t understand what he had done to chase her into another’s arms. He blamed himself for her stupid mistake, drunk or not. He took his own life that night out off self-loath.” I ground out in a hard voice.
“The sickest thing is… he didn’t even blame my mom, nor did he think about how his actions would affect us. He didn’t even give it a second thought, he was just suddenly… gone.” My voice trailed off weakly and I lowered my eyes.
Another heavy silence drifted over us as he absorbed my story and I waited for his reaction. I stared at the ground, held hostage by my own surprise.
That was my deepest, darkest secret, and I had just handed it over to him. How he perceived it… well, that was up to him now.
“Mallory, look at me.” He demanded lightly. I merely shook my head and continued glaring at my feet. “Baby,” he scolded. I felt him grip my chin but jerked away.
“No,” I snapped, scooting away, “I don’t need your pity.” I hissed. With a low growl, he gripped my waist and easily lifted me into his lap. He parted his legs and sat me between them, pressing me to him. He grabbed my chin much more forcefully and made me look over my shoulder at him. His silver eyes gleamed with determination and anger.
“The only one I pity is your father,” he growled out as he stared down at me with a penetrating gaze. “He was stupid enough to cut his time with you short, something I would never do.” He insisted. I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me, Mallory.” He snapped in agitation. “He didn’t get to see you grow up and change; a huge loss on his part. You are an amazing person, and I consider myself lucky to even know you, not to mention how I feel about being your mate.” He finished with a hard glint in his eyes that I didn’t recognize.
‘He’s right, as hard as that is for me to admit.’
Shut up, Tyler I mumbled.
He didn’t answer and my attention shifted back to Damien. I didn’t know what he was looking for, but I could tell he was searching for something.
I wasn’t sure how to reply to his little speech. Of course my father’s death had affected me greatly, but I had thought I was over it. Damien’s words reminded me that I would always carry his death with me.
His eyes took in my whole face, narrowing slightly every now and then. Finally, he nodded and released my face, reaching over to snag one of the quilts and throw it over us. I remained stick straight, unsure of his intentions. He heaved out a heavy sigh from behind me and slid an arm around my waist, pulling me back to him and resting his chin on my head.
I was hesitant, being this close to him, and so I remained stiff. I tried to squirm away a few times, but he merely tightened his grip. I eventually gave in; sighing as well as I relaxed into him. He hummed slightly in approval, causing me to roll my eyes slightly at him again.
We sat quietly as the sun set finally, still not moving as the sky slowly started to darken.
“You said your mother ‘used’ to work as a nurse?” he asked curiously. I took a shaky breath and nodded.
“When he took his life, it made my mom feel just as unwanted as she made him feel by sleeping with another man. She wanted to feel desired, so she quit her nursing job and became a… prostitute.” I whispered at last.
“Apparently, having strange men group her made her feel needed.” I let out a choked chuckle, shaking my head. “Her new choice of occupation tore our family apart almost more than dad’s death. Jen was seventeen when dad died; as soon as she was eighteen, she moved me and my younger siblings into an apartment with her. She didn’t trust mom to keep her clients away from home. She met Jammy, her husband, five years later, when I was sixteen. It was then that I decided to move back in with mom.” I paused to take a deep breath and he took the opportunity to ask a question.
“Why?” I looked over my shoulder at him. His shinning eyes were alight with curiosity. I shrugged, shifting my eyes away again.
“Dads death had affected her much more than us; I guess I felt bad for leaving her all those years before. She didn’t really notice me, though. She acted all happy about me coming back, but she was never home, and when she was, she was sleeping. It wasn’t exactly the greatest year of my life. I’m just glad she never brought a ‘client’ home.” I snorted, air quoting the word.
We were still again, gazing up at the same sky but in our own little worlds. I wondered if he would be disgusted, considering what my dad did and who my mom was. Just because they screwed up so much, didn’t mean that’s what I was; a screw up. I had worked my whole life to show people that and I hoped I could prove to him the same.
“Your turn,” I finally muttered, picking at the material of the blanket covering us. Besides his parents, I knew nothing more about his family. He chuckled lightly while moving his head to rest on my shoulder.
“What else can I tell you? You know that Kane is my father and my deceased mother was named Amy.” I felt him shrug.
“What about siblings?” I asked as I looked at him out of the corner of my eyes. He froze briefly behind me before shifting. It was so quick that, had I not been waiting for it, I would have missed it. He sighed out again. “It can’t be that bad.” I insisted, pushing away from him to turn. I still sat between his legs, crossing my own and facing him. He leaned back on his hands, watching me. “Please?” I begged, giving him my best pouty face, sticking my bottom lip out. His eyes flashed down at the movement and darkened before quickly looking away.
“Don’t do that, Mallory.” He warned in a slight growl. I fought to hide a smile at his lack of control but fixed my lips.
“Sorry,”
He groaned lightly before running a hand down his face and sitting up.
“I have a younger brother named Zack who is two years younger,” he stated. I raised an eyebrow.
“Anything else?” I asked. He glared playfully.
“You didn’t let me finish,” I smiled apologetically and waved for him to continue. “Unlike me, Zack actually went to school.” He informed me.
Because Damien was the oldest, he was trained to be an Alpha from birth; just in case. He hadn’t been able to go to real school because of his strict fighting schedule, so he’d had tutors. I nodded, telling him I understood.
“Of course, he only went to werewolf schools and was rarely allowed anywhere else. He’s actually graduating from a type of werewolf training school this week.” I pursed my lips; a werewolf training school? That was certainly a piece of new, interesting information.
“He’s coming home this Friday.” He finished… or so I thought. I nodded and was about to look away when he spoke again. “Mallory? I want you to stay even closer to me when he shows up.” he instructed, his voice leaving no room for argument. I narrowed my eyes at his tone.
“Why?” I asked. He hesitated for a moment, in search of the right words.
“He was younger than me when mom died, and so he was more prone to my father’s human-hating ways. He was made to hate humans with a passion, which he does. For some reason, Kane spent even more time trying to convince Zack that humans were despicable creatures. He was like a sponge, sucking up the information easily.” He warned. I blinked a few times, trying to understand what he was telling me.
“So, Zack is just like Kane?” I asked to clarify. He nodded with a hard face.
“If not worse,” he added.
“Great,” I breathed out sarcastically. “Just another reason to want to go home, huh?” I felt guilty immediately. His jaw flexed and he reached forwards, grasping my face once more.
“I would never let him, or anyone else hurt you.” He promised with fierce determination lighting up his eyes. “As long as you’re with me… and not running around alone in the woods,” he added as his eyes flashed to Tylers mark and back, “you’re perfectly safe. Understand?” I nodded numbly. I was too taken aback with his words and the intensity of his eyes to do more. “Good,” he approved.
He grabbed the top of my arms and pulled me to him again, turning me. He leaned back, taking me with him until I could see the entire sky in my vision. I relaxed against him as he wrapped an arm around me again, deciding to just enjoy the moment while it lasted.
I blinked and forgot how to open my eyes again as I drifted off to sleep.
AWww. See, Damien can be sweet too. Seems Damien isn't the only one with a messed up family, huh? So, what'd you think of their date? Hmm?! I'm curious!! VOTE, FAN AND COMMENT!! BEST COMMENT GETS A DEDICATION!!
Hoping to always be ChArMiNg_YoUr_MiNd!! XD
See what i did there?