"She conquered her demons and wore her scars like wings."
- Atticus
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I CURSE AS THE SUNLIGHT BRIGHTENS THE ENTIRE ROOM, interrupting my much-needed sleep after drinking like crazy and I regret so hard not closing the blinds.
How could I forget?
The exact moment I ask myself that, the picture of Damien's handsome face between my legs last night comes up in my mind and I feel my cheeks get redder just by the memory.
There is the reason.
I go through the entire scene, remembering everything we did and the sensation of his hands traveling my whole body but I stop myself before I reach the point where things got more intense, the last thing I need being to want a second round at this time.
The clock on my nightstand marks 7:00 am and a breathless 'fuck' leaves my lips when I see it. It's a Saturday and even without Tom in my life, I can't sleep until late.
I turn around, my eyes closing again hoping to get more rest, and let my arms fall next to me but instead of meeting Damien's body, the cold blankets welcome me.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I whisper underneath my breath as I wake up just to find the emptiness of the bed in front of me. The bad boy really is a player.
I don't know why I expected something else because I know we are just taking advantage of the sexual tension that appears way too much between us. I let out a bitter laugh for even thinking I would wake up next to him.
If that's what Damien wants, two can play this game.
With one deep breath, I stand up and head to the bathroom, urging to clean myself from the amount of sweat that it's stuck on my skin.
I can't help but laugh at my reflection in the mirror when I take off my clothes, my smudged eyes standing out but still, the bad boy's marks of a memorable night grab all my attention. My lips are bruised from the harsh kisses and trails of his tight grip covers my thighs and butt cheeks.
It's a reminder of how I got under his spell and when the sexual memories take up my mind again, I turn on the cold water.
"Fuck you, Damien," A small sigh leaves my lips as I enter the bathroom stall and I know it won't be the last time I will say that.
I shake away all thoughts regarding him, shoving his face to the back of my mind, and quickly turn my focus to myself. I let the water run through my entire body and wash away everything that happened, trying so hard to look like I didn't drink like crazy the night before.
With my wet hair in a bun, I quickly grab a matching black set of sweatpants and a tank top and change into them, already feeling a bit more refueled to get through the day.
I'm spending it with Sammy and nothing can make me get in a bad mood. I will enjoy all the moments I can get with him.
Before I can even begin to search for my cellphone, my belly hurts by the lack of food on it and I decide to go downstairs for a quick breakfast. I know the Stone's wake up as early as possible for their 'business' so luckily, I won't meet anyone.
At least I hope so.
The way to the kitchen is quick now that I know by memory the path to it but still with my every step, I take a moment to analyze the entire place. It screams fanciness and wealth and I don't think I'll ever be truly comfortable around it. Even though it's gorgeous, it lacks something, the comfort of your home.
I've lost that when my mom died.
"The night was good, huh?" Kayla's voice comes from the kitchen the moment I step into and a startled gasp leaves my lips, these siblings really know how to scare someone. I was so lost in my thoughts that I haven't even noticed her tall slim figure sitting on top of the cabinets.
Her honey-blonde hair is up in a messy ponytail, which I don't know-how, makes her even more pretty and her hands are playing with her long black nails. A cup of dark coffee and a half-eaten pancake takes place next to her.
She chuckles at my reaction and I show her my middle finger, a funny and caring gesture for the two of us, before grabbing a cup of the coffee that's already on top of the counter.
I lean against it and take a sip of the bitter liquid in front of me before playing the innocent card with her. The one thing I've learned with Kayla and her brother is that I can't give out information they don't know or else they can use it against me later.
"What do you mean with that?"
"You moan way too loud," I almost choke on my drink and I widen my dark brown eyes at her but that only makes a laugh escape from her red lips, "I assume the sex was good, right? From what I've heard my brother definitely knows how to fuck."
My lips curl in a smirk before I even get the chance to answer and I know Kayla figured out the entire thing when she winks at me. I don't think she wants to know every detail about our night.
"Do you know where he is by the way? Not that I care." The emphasis I put on the last sentence makes the girl in my front catch me in the lie immediately but I thank mentally her for not asking what happened now in the morning, how dumb I was for even consider that he would be by my side.
"No, sorry, Lina but our dad was really pissed before he left so there might be something with it." She's short in her answer and probably doesn't want to something she might regret. I understand her side and nod, not wanting to continue the conversation.
I take another gulp of the strong coffee, needing it to get me through the day.
"I'm going to visit Sammy today, ok? Don't expect me for lunch."
Now it's her turn to nod, a huge smile dancing on her lips from the mention of my little brother and I blow her a kiss before leaving the kitchen, going straight to my bedroom to gather all my things.
The ache that grows in my heart will finally be relieved a bit today.
After making sure I have everything I need, I head to my car that is parked in the massive driveway, a fountain made of marble standing tall in the middle of it. If anyone told me a year ago that I would be living with the Stones, I would have laughed straight at their face.
How quickly our lives can change.
The way to Linda is quick and short and with every kilometer I ride, the thought of seeing Sammy makes my heartbeat thunder against my chest.
Luckily, there's a parking spot in front of her apartment.
I see their shadows on the glass door that separates the street from the building and when they see my car, Samuel opens it and comes running in my direction. He takes his hand away from my aunt's who wrinkles her nose at the act but I don't give a fuck and get out of the car to kneel down on his level.
"Lina!"
His small arms hug me and I tighten the grip around him, never wanting to let go. If I could freeze a moment forever, this would be it.
"I missed you too, gummy bear," I whisper in his ear before ruffling his chestnut curls which causes him to show me his tongue and I let out a genuine laugh, "Any good news?"
"I can now ride my bike without training wheels!" His green eyes so equal to my dad's flicker with excitement and even though I'm happy that Sammy is having a normal childhood, his words sink in my chest. I wanted to be there for him. I notice he's a bit taller as well but I keep my emotions to myself, a fake smile spreading on my lips.
I need to accept that I'm no longer his support and that most of the time, I won't be there for what he needs. At least not now.
It hurts.
"I bought him a beautiful dark blue bike so he could finally learn." There's acid behind Linda's kind words and I have to take a deep breath not to discuss with her. She's giving him all the moments I failed to and even if she's throwing that right in my face, I'm so thankful for her help.
"I'm so happy for you, Sammy," I kiss him on the cheek before standing up and my aunt looks at me up as I do so. I place my arm protectively around my brother, uselessly trying to control the situation, "Ready to go?"
He opens the widest smile possible but when it comes to the woman in front of me, no emotion is written across her face.
"Bring him back no later than 6 pm if possible, Adelina. We usually have dinner at that time." That is all she says as she kisses Sammy in the forehead, her act of care catching me off guard, and heads straight to her apartment.
I contain myself from rolling my eyes and I take a deep breath before placing my brother in the car, losing no time in getting further away as possible.
I need to enjoy every single minute.
"What do you want to do, gummy bear?" I ask him through the rearview mirror as I get on the street, his chubby cheekbones and angelic eyes appearing on the reflection.
"Can we visit mommy again? I miss her already." I hold back the tears that appear on the corner of my eyes every time someone mentions her and smile weakly at his soft voice filling the entire atmosphere.
"Sure, Sammy." I don't even realize I know the way to the cemetery by heart until I park in front of the enormous black iron gates, all places leading me to here and I let myself shed one little tear before cleaning it quickly with my thumb. I don't want Samuel to see me sad, for him, I need to be strong.
"Do you want to grab some beautiful flowers for mom?" That's enough to cause my brother to open a smile, sad yet full of hope, and I lose no time in taking him out of the car and grabbing his little hand to cross the street.
Miss Daisy's flower shop stands cute with its white and red signs grabbing all the attention and I can't forgive myself for forgetting to come here more often, it's been a while and I curse underneath my breath for that.
The doorbell rings immediately as we enter it, the smell of recently picked roses and tulips filling my nose, but now instead of running around like he did the other day, Sammy holds on tighter to my hand and lets a soft smile come across his lips while looking up at me.
It's his way of seeing that he wants to meet Daisy, that he's finally ready to open to someone else and let them enter his life and I nod at him, so proud of the little boy he's becoming.
"Miss Daisy!" I call her as we enter further into the gorgeous shop that became almost like a second home to me during the time I was with Tom, all the aromas mixing together to create a lovely flowery scent.
I don't know how she knows every time I will pass by but she does it again and appears from the dark wooded door with a dozen of jasmine wrapped in a white silk bow. Her ginger hair stops below her ears, curling at the bottom, and her warming chocolate eyes are flickering with anticipation.
I smile at her, at the sight of those delicate flowers but I notice her gaze shifts from me to my little brother and before I can even stop him, Sammy runs to behind the counter and hugs her legs. A laugh leaves her lips and I can't help but open an even wider smile at the scene.
"You are Sammy, right? It's lovely to finally meet you this close." Daisy gets down on his level the best way she can and let him hold her.
I never thought I would see him getting close to anyone other than Linda and me and the sight of it makes my heart warm.
So different from the last time we were here.
We spend the entire day together and after visiting my mom's grave, we ate ice cream at a charming parlor down the street. It brought a happy smile to Sammy's lips while he ordered all the scoops he wanted and those moments are the ones I want to keep in my mind.
Not the way his tears streamed down his cheeks each time he saw Tom slap me with all the strength. No, that part of our life is over.
As I'm seated in my bedroom after leaving him with Linda, trying to catch up with all the school homework that I didn't have time to do over these past days, I remember the feeling of my brother's skin against mine.
These short visits like today's are good to miss him less but I know deep down that they will never be enough to stop my heart from aching.
Fuck.
A loud sound of motor takes me back from my mind immediately and the thought of being Damien is what pushes me to go outside. It's probably stupid when I know he was the one who left without saying anything yet I still run throughout the hallway and downstairs, my heart thundering in my chest.
I haven't seen him all day and I have no idea where do we stand now.
The cold breeze of the night hits me instantly as I leave the house, causing a shiver to run on my entire body but when I catch the sight of the bad boy getting out of his motorcycle, I let myself breathe.
I don't know why but I freeze in place, not thinking straight of what I want to say to him. I curl a strand of my dark brown wavy hair on my fingers, trying to come up with a start for the conversation but when I notice he already saw me, his hazel eyes looking directly at me, I let go of everything.
"Didn't expect you to be waiting for me to come home. That's new." Damien mocks me while coming closer with a smirk on his lips and I restrain myself from rolling my eyes, showing that I care about what he says.
I put on a daring smile before getting along, pushing down the need to talk about my feelings.
This is the only way we can let go of control, so be it.
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{A/N: Hey guys, thank you for reading my story! I really hope you liked this chapter and if you did please comment and don't forget to click the little start below, it's what helps my story grow! Apparently, we still have trouble in paradise, huh? This was more of a filler chapter, to get an insight into Adelina's feelings towards Sammy and Damien.
Stay tuned for the next chapter, which I hope will be published this Friday because lots of interesting things will happen ;)
Lots of love and stay safe, Ally.}