"She wore a smile like a loaded gun"
- Atticus
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AFTER WHAT IT FEELS LIKE HOURS of pain and agonized yelps coming from Damien, we finally reach a small abandoned house; the dark red bricks remind me of the warehouse that we left behind but now they are newer, the color still intact on the night and small windows take place. From the time we took to get here, we are no doubt far from Downtown.
No one would believe that a gang had a meeting spot right here and that's might be exactly why they chose it.
The moment we park in front of it, a guy around his thirties with grey hair and a wing tattooed on his neck, the weak light that turns on after the car has stopped giving me a clear view of him, opens the door in a rush and takes Damien.
I almost call him but my scream gets muffled by a girl's hand that probably opened the door behind me. She grabs me from behind and even though her grip isn't hurting, I try to fight back, nervous about this strange place.
Despite my attempts, the girl manages to take me out of the car, and when I finally catch a glimpse of the girl's honey-blonde hair, my heartbeat calms down.
"Fuck, Kayla. Did you really have to do this?" I ask, annoyance clear in my voice tone, as she lets me go and I turn around to face her.
She rolls her hazel eyes, a confident smile taking place but now from close, I can tell she has fought with tooth and nails against Jace's girl. Her bottom lip is cut and there is a bright red bruise on her right arm, similar to the ones I sometimes have.
The thought about my dad makes my whole body shivers and Kayla probably thinks it's about the injury since she lets out an "I'm fine" right after.
If she only knew the truth.
"Besides, the other girl is looking much worse," she provokes and I throw my head in a laugh, trying so hard to allow myself to forget about my dad for one second. A chuckle comes from the bad boy's sister, "C'mon, let's go."
Kayla signs to the dark wooded doors that seem unused for a long time and we quickly walk together to the house. There's no one but us on the streets and I don't see Chad anywhere, ever since Kayla took me out from the car.
He must be with Damien.
The thought of him makes my heartbeat go frantic, my mind panicking from the amount of blood but I take a deep breath, trying uselessly to reassure myself he is in safe hands.
We reach a dark hallway that leads to an old industrial elevator, exactly where we are going. Odd compared to the rest of the old house.
Adrenaline is going through my whole body and my heart is frantic, a mixture of fear and excitement to wherever Kayla is taking me. She presses the basement button and soon we are going down.
There it is, the soft spot of Damien's gang.
The girl next to me looks at me from the corner of the eye, sweat clear in her face, and a side smile on her lips. All I do is smile at her back as we stop, the elevator's door opening in front of us.
I'm caught by surprise as I analyze the room in front of me, nothing like the rest of the old building. Thick metal covers the walls, probably for safety, and light gray concrete takes place on the floor. A few storage cabinets next to the walls, protecting something I have no clue about and I'm not sure if I want to know or if I'm supposed to. There are two black leather sofas on the back right corner of the room facing each other and a small table in front of them giving the place a little sentimental touch. A TV is also on the wall.
Pillars here and there but despite that, this gives me chills.
To think about what happens down here where no one can listen.
The moment I spot Damien on the right middle, sitting in an iron table, my lips form a smile involuntarily. The same guy that took him out the car is now stitching the injury and I have to contain a laugh as I watch the boy in front of me make faces. He hasn't seen me yet but Kayla that is now out the elevator signs me to come closer and I do what she says.
He no longer has his leather jacket on and the white tank shirt is dirty with blood but it still marks his muscles and I have to contain myself not to stare at them.
Chadwick is next to his friend, probably telling him a dirty joke as I see a malicious smile on Damien's lips and a laugh coming from the two. There is not a single bruise on Chad's face and I wonder what happened to the guy that went against him.
He smiles at me as he watches me closer to them and this is all it takes for his friend to notice my presence. Damien murmurs something to the "doctor" and he nods, heading to the elevator where I was minutes ago. He doesn't look at me and soon, he is gone.
My heartbeat stops as Damien's mesmerizing hazel eyes lock in mine when I look back at him. I hold my breath as we keep looking at each other, biting my bottom lip is involuntary but he still raises his eyebrows and I throw my head in a good laugh.
"Thanks for the help but you two can go, I need to talk to Adelina." He orders and I stay where I am as his friends do what he says, Kayla giving me a roll of eyes before entering an iron door on my back that I haven't noticed, disappearing in the dark hallway.
As I turn around to Damien once again, his eyes are no longer bright, his face is angry and I can imagine why he's pissed at me, despite my attempt to help him, I might be the reason why he's like this.
"What the fuck you were doing there, Adelina?" He asks, his voice so low that I almost can't hear it but the moment I do, my heart starts beating frantically.
"I was lost and that was the only place I knew," I mumble, my mind out of lies as to why I've stayed there and watched the whole thing. He stands up but doesn't come near me, his jaw is clenched and I can tell he's on the verge of his anger.
"It was a fucking fight, you should have never been there!" Damien explodes at me, catching me out of guard and even though he's right, I get pissed at him. All of this started because of the football game in the first place.
My feelings are all over the place but I don't care, not when I get close to him and point my finger to his chest.
"If it wasn't for that fucking gunshot near the match, neither of this would have happened!" I snap at the boy in front of me, my hands trembling from anger as I try to hit him in the chest, "You and this messed up game between gangs fucked up everything!"
He raises his eyebrows and I let out a deep breath, ready to let everything out at him, but, before I manage to hit him again, Damien grabs both of my arms in a single movement and takes me to the nearest wall, pinning me against it with his right good arm.
Breathe.
I know he won't hurt me but Tom has made so deep scars on me that I still have to contain myself from trembling, reminding myself to breathe before I break.
The smell of Damien's cologne is strong against my noise as he finally closes the inches between us. Our height difference is not much but I still have to look up at his hypnotizing hazel eyes that are flickering with interest from my little scene.
Breathe.
"When will you understand that I'm not playing here?" His whisper caresses my ear in a way that it shouldn't have, shivers going through all the way to my spine and I know he did this in purpose.
Even if he's mad, this little game he has created is something twisted that he doesn't want to lose. Damien managed to make me stop talking, my hands tied in a powerless way.
This bastard.
Breathe.
"I know you want this, Lina." He assures me before placing his forehead on mine, his eyes so close that I can notice flickers of gold in it, so handsome.
"We can't. It's-" My voice fails when a playful smile dances on his lips, my heart slamming against my chest.
"You do have a debt with me, remember?" Flashbacks from the party cross my mind instantly and I have to take a deep breath, "It's not like you can say no." His voice is low on my ear, stating the obvious, and deep inside, I'm scared of getting too involved.
I guess you just made a deal with the devil, gorgeous. The exact words Damien used that night reverberates through my mind, causing me to shiver.
"Are you willing to use your part of the deal now? After what, one week of knowing each other?" I honestly ask him, my breath still irregular from all of this. He lifts his head back, and instantly I miss the warmth of his forehead against mine.
How can I let him have this much control?
"Trust me, Baker. I know what I'm doing," he lets go of my arms and by trusting blindly at him, I place them around his neck. Damien grabs me from behind, his strong hands circling my waist, and closes the only few inches between us.
My heart is frantic and I'm almost sure that the bad boy can hear it, but he doesn't say anything about it, not even once.
"One kiss, that's all." I look up at him, pointing my right finger directly to his face and he throws his head back in a laugh, a malicious smile following it right after.
"Let's see if you will want only one, gorgeous."
Before I can state anything else, he brushes his lip against mine, making sure I'm comfortable, and without thinking twice I let him in, our tongues dancing with each other. Damien kisses me slowly, his lips playing with mine, and gives me all the control when I keep savoring him in every way possible, sparks going through my whole body.
After what it feels like an eternity, the boy in front of me parts away, the warmth of his lips against mine being missed instantly, and there's a smile on his lips like he enjoyed this as much as I did.
Red flags are all over my mind but for once, I don't care.
I want him.
The bad boy waits for me to say something but instead, I close the space he has created, running my nails through the back of his neck, pulling his hair back a bit.
Damien lets out a small groan in response, raising his eyebrows and his eyes flicker with delight. I nod at him, biting my lip, and now with all my permission, he smashes his lips against mine.
We are hungry for each other, his tongue playing dangerously with mine, quick, electric, and delicious. When he bites slowly my bottom lip, my mind goes crazy. The boy in front of me has all the control now, possessive and seductive.
"I warned you," his whisper is low on my ear and I let out a little chuckle before taking his lips against mine all over again.
"Shut up."
The ride to Bella's house is quiet but not an awkward way. Our little makeout session is on repeat in my mind and somehow I know it's on Damien's as well as he keeps circling my inner tight on the hole of my ripped jeans, butterflies playing on my belly the whole time.
I didn't see Chadwick or Kayla again when leaving the building and I wonder where did they go, or what they were doing. When I asked the boy next to me for a ride, I thought he would ask one of them to take me but even with his arm injured, he wanted to bring me in person, making sure I was safe.
He didn't ask why I couldn't go to my house or why I was at Bella's in the middle of the week and I mentally thank him for that.
The way Damien respects my boundaries is one of the things I like in him, probably one of the reasons why our kiss isn't weighing on my mind.
I can be myself with him and I wish he knew how much this means to me. I don't know the meaning behind what we did in that room but it's been a long time since I felt alive.
"You can leave me here," I tell him, my heart starting to beat faster, Bella's house becoming more and more prominent.
"You sure?" His eyes are looking worried at me but I form a smile on my lips, caressing his hand on my tight. Pretending that everything is ok is something I'm a master on. Lying to my best friend burns me inside.
I nod, opening the door but before I'm out the car, Damien grabs my hand. I lower my head to see him and the type of smile that is playing on his lips, a light one, is something I've never seen before. It flushes my heart with happiness that he is opening at least a bit to me and I almost forget what I'm about to do to my best friend.
"Take care, Lina."
"Thanks for everything, Damien." I smile at him before letting go of his warm hand, closing the car's door.
I watch as he goes away and when the bad boy is finally out of my sight, I lose no time in walking the last few meters to Bella's house, my breathing a bit irregular from the thought of facing her after all that has happened.
She can never know and it hurts me deeply to lie at her.
I knock faithfully at the door, trying not to wake up her parents and praying that she's downstairs.
My best friend opens the door in a heartbeat, worries are reflected on her pretty face but when Bella finally notices it's me, her forest dark green eyes light up and she hugs me.
Typical of her.
We stay hugged for long minutes, acknowledging each other's presence and how could we lose each other. She hasn't even changed her outfit and I know that's a sign that she was truly worried.
"You bitch! Eric and I were fucking worried," Her voice is high pitched and all I manage to do is laugh, a smile forming on lips as I realize how much I missed her excitement. We were only apart for hours but with all that happened, it feels like days, "I called you a dozen times!"
"Yeah, sorry about that. My phone died and I had to walk all the way to downtown to take a cab." The lie is perfect against my teeth and the bitterness of it fills my mouth. It's been a while since I felt that and it frustrates me that I can't escape it.
"Fuck, that must have been tiring," she widens her eyes and I nod, a sigh escaping my lips, "I'm going to send a text to Eric and then we can go to sleep."
Bella hooks her arm around mine and takes me inside, my heartbeat slowly calming down as the worst part is gone. The splendor of the white marble staircase never failes to amuse me every time I enter her house.
"Is Sammy ok?" My heart sinks to realize that I haven't thought about him this whole night and how he must have been worried. My best friends probably notice my concerned face and winks at me.
"My dads put him and May to sleep pretty early so don't worry. He is fine," her voice is reassuring and makes me relieved to think that he was taken care of, but the feeling of guiltiness is still here.
How could I?
We enter her bedroom and quickly change into our pajamas, the tiredness finally hitting me. I notice she's exhausted as well and we lose no time in getting in her bed, the soft touch of the blanket making me feel relaxed.
"Good night, Lina," Bella whispers before turning off the lights and I whisper back, my mind finally calming down.
A smile forms on my mouth before I fall asleep as I touch my lips, the burn from Damien's kiss still here.
What a fucking night.
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{A/N: Hey lovelies! What a chapter huh? The writing of those scenes caused butterflies on my belly, what the heck lol. Hope you all enjoyed it and please don't forget to vote! Lots of things are coming and I'm so excited to share the chapters with you ;)
Also, I wanted to thank you for the 20k reads! It's surreal how much my account has grown and I love this book from the bottom of my heart so it's always amazing to see that you enjoy it as much as I do.
Stay safe, Ally.}