“Look at her, Damon. Is this what you’re into? Girls who look like they’re sporting ever single fucking STD known to man.”
“Eva!” he barks, vengeance in his eyes. He’s protecting her. Protecting her like he’s never protected me.
“Oh, cut the shit, Damon. How much are you paying her to suck your cock? Or is it the other way around? Is she the one paying you? If you needed money that bad, you could have asked me!”
He grinds his teeth together, then has the nerve to look at Angelique like he wants to make sure she is okay. Like, in all of this, she is the one who is wounded. “Eva…leave.”
This whole thing is beyond humiliating. It feels like the world is playing some kind of sick joke on me. Or maybe I’m dreaming. Yeah, that’s right, this could all be some fucked up dream. If I pinch myself, I might be able to wake up.
“I-I-I lo--”
I can feel the tears building up behind my eyes. It’s hard to breathe and the world spins even faster. I fucking loved him. I. Fucking. Loved. Him. It wouldn’t hurt this much if I didn’t, would it?
I try to move, try to run, try to breathe. Tears are streaming down my face now, hot as lava and my heart feels heavy enough to crush everything inside of me. Damon’s barking something in the background, cursing, trash-talking, but I can’t hear him.
“Damon, that’s enough,” Angelique squeaks and the sound catches my eardrums like an arrow piercing flesh. She gets up from the bed and puts a hand on his shoulder and snakes down across his chest. When she manages to pull him back into her embrace, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. I can see his body relax under her touch. He’s never done that for me.
“I think you do. Look Eva, I know this is a pretty shitty situation, but I am not your enemy here,” Angelique says, fixing her focus on me. “Damon and I, we just happened. We fell in love. We didn’t handle it well, but even if we’d never met, you two were still going to end up like this.”
I suck in a deep breath and take hold of my pride. She doesn’t know it yet, but I’ll ruin her. “I don’t lose to people like you, Angelique,” I tell her. If only she knows just how much of a promise that is.
She gives me something like a smile and looks at me with pity in her eyes. If I was a smaller person, I’d slap the smile right off her face.
“The fact that you think this is about winning and losing is proof that you have no idea what love is about. We’re people, Eva, not exams. You don’t get extra points for having the right answers. You don’t get more love because you are the better candidate. If you had a soul, you’d know that.”
“Don’t waste your breath,” Damon says, turning toward her and kissing the tip of her nose. “Get dressed, I’ll take you home.”
“You should get dressed too,” I say, my eyes returning to his naked cock, still slick with her filthy juices.
“And you should get the hell out of here. Who did you come with? Your brother?” His tone is calm…even.
I just caught him fucking some other girl and he acts as if everything is normal.
“Are you really asking me how I’m getting home?”
“I’m an asshole, okay, but I still don’t want you to get hurt. If you have a ride, then that’s great. If not, then let me call you an Uber.” Hmmm… well, isn’t that something. An idea pops into my head and I quickly shelf it to ponder over later.
“Fuck you, Damon!”
“Great!” He snatches his pants on and pulls them up over his hips. How many times have I dreamed of him naked in front of me, my thighs wrapped around his hips, my hands on his hot skin? I’d held back then because I didn’t want him to think I was easy. Besides, I needed to be sure that he was the one. Now I’m regretting it all. If I had been a little more reckless, maybe he wouldn’t have done this. Maybe he wouldn’t have ever left. Maybe I wouldn’t have found him balls deep in this twenty-five cent bimbo.
I stumble out of the room, unsure of what I’m supposed to do next. For the first time since I was in third grade, I don’t have a plan of action. What’s the right way to handle a cheating boyfriend? How far do I need to go with the revenge to feel justified?
“Eva, are you okay?” The chubby redhead walks over to me and touches my arm. I look down at the warm hand on my skin and smile at her.
“Of course,” I say. It isn’t until her face becomes a blurry mess that I realize I’m crying. But, I keep smiling. Of course, I do. It’s a habit by now. It means nothing.
Revenge, though…revenge means everything.
Chapter 13
NOW
I should have been out shopping for a dress, but I was going to miss Homecoming this year. It seemed like a shame to miss it during my senior year when I’d made it every other year, but I had no desire to spend my night making trips back and forth to the punch bowl or holding up the gym walls. No date, no dress, no dance; that was my fate.
Instead, I was out shopping for supplies for my project. I was building a mini-biodome as part of my project on sustainable housing. This year the honors science courses were all required to do a year-long project. This was mine, partly because I knew I could complete it alone, and partly because earth ships and off-grid living was one of the many odd subjects I’d spent hours discussing with Adam. I felt like we’d already worked out a lot of the kinks so I wouldn’t have to start from scratch. In a way, I was just proving that our dream was still viable even if we weren’t.
I was browsing through the fish tanks at PetMart when I heard a voice that sounded too familiar to ignore.
“I don’t have much time. My mom thinks I’m going to get a smoothie. What do you want?”
I was too afraid to turn around. I recognized the voice right away, but the tone was icy cold and harsher than I’d ever heard it.
“I want out,” said a deeper, male voice.
“Out? Out of what?”
“You know what I’m talking about, Eva. I want out. What do I have to do to get you to let go?”
Eva! I moved to the side and caught sight of both Eva and Damon in the reflection of a darkened tank. I’d almost forgotten that he worked here. He looked menacing, despite the dopey orange vest that he had to wear.
She looked up at him with contempt, her normally smiling face twisted into a malevolent sneer. I knew she had a dark side. I’d learned that the hard way, but I’d never seen her turn on anybody this way. She wasn’t trying to hide her disdain the way she normally does.
“I’m not holding you back, Damon. You are free to do whatever the hell you want.”
“And what if what I want is to go back to Angelique?”
“She’s taken. Sorry.” Eva flashed her trademark smile at him. It was so fast that it scared me. The way she said the words swirled in my head, but I couldn’t quite figure out what to make of it.
“We both know that’s a joke,” Damon hissed. “You engineered that relationship just the way you engineered everything else.”
“There wasn’t much engineering involved. Angelique is a smart girl. She took one look at you and what you have to offer and then she saw my brother and made a much better decision.”
“Right. And you had nothing to do with that, I suppose?”
“Maybe she found out about what you did at the hospital and decided she didn’t want to be with a guy who does things like that. She doesn’t want to be associated with you when you finally go down. I wish I had been as smart as her and dumped your ass before you could cause me any trouble.”
He bit his bottom lip and put his hands on his hips.
“Either way,” Eva said, “It doesn’t matter. She’s with Adam now, and she’s going to do everything in her power to stay with him because he’s a sure bet. And you are going to stay away from her because I am the only person who knows exactly what you did and why you did it. And Damon, I would hate to remember something from that night and tell the police what I saw.”
Damon took another deep breath, his shoulders shuddering as he exhaled.
; “I know I was an asshole. I know that and I apologize. I am so sorry, and if I could do it all over again, I would do it better. I would’ve done everything differently, okay? But I was angry, Eva. Angry that you lied to me. Angry that you were trying to control me. But I can’t change the past and you have got to let this shit go. Don’t you want to be happy? You can’t be happy like this.”
“Who said I’m not happy?”
Her syrupy sweet tone of voice was creepy. It was amazing how she’d managed to turn smiles and sweet words into threats. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
I moved a little further down the aisle, out of the view of anybody who would pass by. I could see them still, but you’d have to turn the corner to see me. This was obviously a private conversation and the last person either of them would want to have overhear them would be me. I was really missing my headphones at that moment.
“Are you? Really? Because nobody else seems to be happy. Your brother isn’t happy. Angelique, Anna, we’re all suffering because of you!”
“And I’m not suffering? Look at me! I’m stuck in this damned chair,” Eva threw her smoothie on the ground, covering it in orange slush. “What about my pain and suffering, Damon? Have you ever thought about that?”
Damon leaned over, his curly hair falling into his face as he placed his hands on the sides of his chair.
“And how did you end up in that chair in the first place, Eva? Huh? You still don’t want to admit it, but all of this is because of you. You’re dragging everybody down with you because you’re miserable. How many people have to suffer because of your mistakes?”
“You’re right. This is all my fault. My first mistake was dating you. But, I’m going to make sure that nobody else makes that mistake.”
She rolled away without giving him a chance to respond and I felt myself exhale a breath I didn’t even know I was holding.
“You can come out now,” Damon said.
I froze in place. Was he talking to me?
“I can see you in the mirror,” he pointed up to a security mirror mounted in the corner. “The really expensive and exotic fish are down that way.”
I stepped out from around the corner.
“I wasn’t trying to listen. I really wasn’t.”
Damon shook his head and smiled sadly.
“It’s okay. I wanted you to hear it. I know it doesn’t make anything better, but I figured you should know who to blame for all of the bullshit that has been going on as of late.”
I looked down at the orange smoothie creeping across the floor.
“I already knew.”
Damon literally jumped backward.
“What! You knew?”
“I mean, I didn’t know you had anything to do with it, and I promise not to say anything. But, I knew it was Eva who told everybody that I tried to kill her. I didn’t know she was the one who set Adam up with Angelique, but I’m not surprised. She’s not as nice as she pretends to be. I knew that from the very beginning.”
Damon chuckled. “Maybe that’s why she hates you so much. You’re the only person she can’t fool.”
“She just doesn’t really know how to make friends. She thinks being envied is the same as being admired.”
“Astute observation, Ms. Henderson,” he said.
“Ooh, astute. Somebody’s been studying their SAT words,” I joked.
“Don’t let the earring fool you. I’m not an idiot.”
I nodded.
“Probably not.”
“I mean, I’m not on the Honor Roll or anything, but I still have my plans, you know?”
When I thought about it, besides his arrest and fights, and relationship with Eva, I had never heard anything about Damon. I knew nothing about the guy who was probably the only other person on the planet who would believe me if I told them the truth about the accident. I felt ashamed.
“What are they?”
“What?” The question seemed to surprise him. As though nobody had ever asked him what his plans were. And, in Donnerville that might have been the case. People were always more interested in your faults than your plans.
“What are your plans after graduation.”
His eyes lit up with excitement.
“Wait one minute. I have to get a mop and clean this up.” He darted away and only shortly after, returned with a stool in one hand and a mop in a big yellow rolling bucket in the other.
“Here,” he said and plopped the stool down on the floor in front of me. I put my purchases in my backpack and sat down.
“I want to be a vet.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I know I don’t have the best grades, but I have a lot of experience. I volunteer with an animal shelter and I work with my Uncle in the summer. He’s a vet too, mostly livestock though. I prefer smaller domestic animals.”
“Puppies and kittens.”
“Right, but also lizards and tarantulas and stuff. I just don’t want to spend all of my time with my arm up a horse’s ass.” He crinkled his nose and I was pretty sure he knew exactly what that felt like.
“Cool. At least you know exactly what you want to do. I still have no idea where I’ll end up. I know what I’m good at, but I have no idea how to turn it into a career.”
“The future’s just one big box of uncertainties, isn’t it?” he said, but didn’t wait for me to agree. “Sometimes that’s a good thing. Sometimes it’s not. I mean, if I had been more focused when I was younger, my grades would be better. They aren’t too bad now, but if I want to get into a really good school...”
I smiled at him and on the off chance of coming off really cheesy, decided to pass on advice I’d learned from my father.
“Whether you graduate at the top of your class or the bottom, the degree is the same.”
He smiled and nodded. It was the first time I’d ever gotten a really good look at Damon. I was surprised to find that he actually was very good looking. His looks were totally opposite of Adam’s. His hair was dark, thick, and curly. It bounced around his ears and touched the tip of his shirt collar. His green eyes were framed by long, black lashes and thick eyebrows. He had a scar on his forehead that bisected his left eyebrow and a tiny lump on his nose from where he’d obviously been punched multiple times. His strong jaw and pierced ears helped to complete his bad-boy image.
He kept his eyes on the floor as he mopped up, taking special care to make sure that every drop was picked up. His hands were large, and two knuckles were swollen. His forearms, tight with muscles, showed strength as he worked with quick and diligent motions. In fact, his whole energy radiated strength. Even while wearing that dopey vest he was a sight to behold.
I saw then, just what it was about him that Eva fell in love with. Funny how a broken heart can make your vision clearer.
“I’m going to remember that,” Damon said with a smile. He looked like a little kid who just got praised by his favorite teacher.
“And, if you need some help, I’m pretty good at studying.”
“Oh yeah, you helped Adam pull his grades out of the toilet. He’s even dumber than me! I’m definitely going to take you up on that, Henderson. There’s no way you’re going to get rid of me.”
Adam wasn’t dumb, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I kinda liked the fact that Damon threw the insult in there. Heaven knows, I was angry with Adam. And anybody who was willing to talk shit for a minute, was someone who could be on my side.
“Yeah,” I said, not dropping the smile I was wearing as I stood up to leave.
Damon wasn’t joking when he said I wasn’t going to get rid of him. Gently, his hand latched onto my arm and he spun me around.
“Wait!” he said and pulled his phone out of his back pocket and swiped a couple of times. “Give me your number. I really mean it. I need help. I have to write essays for college applications and I’m no good at that stuff.”
I looked at his phone and debated whether or not to trust him with my phone number.
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“Promise me that you won’t give it to anybody. There is only one other person in school who has this number, so if it gets out, I know it’s you.”
He stood at attention and raised his right hand.
“I promise to keep it to myself. I won’t even put your name in my phone. I’ll give you a code name,” he said.
I put my phone number into his contact list and handed it back. He typed a name into the screen and then showed it to me.
Beta Blue.
I arched a brow at him. “Beta Blue?”
Damon nodded and smiled, then pointed to the tank behind me where a giant blue beta fish swam in a constant circle.
“Oh.”
“And just in case you wanted my number,” he said, then called my phone, letting it ring twice before hanging up.
“Make sure you answer my call, Henderson.”
“If I’m not busy,” I teased, swinging my bag onto my back and making my way out.
“Yeah right,” he winked at me and went back to cleaning up Eva’s mess.
Chapter 14
NOW
“That was bad,” Angelique said.
It was probably the one thing that we could both agree on. We hadn’t been on the same page about anything all night long. We weren’t at odds, but we simply couldn’t seem to find our rhythm. And we sure as hell didn’t fall into a comfortable groove the way I did with Anna which terrified me. Because what if Anna really was it for me? What if everyone who comes after Anna is just a big mess of incompatibility.
I know it wasn’t fair to judge my future based off this one potential flopping relationship, but it was hard not to. It was hard to erase the line of standards Anna had set. Hard to forget just how compatible Anna and I were. Angelique and I, by contrast, had different definitions of a good time. Finding something to talk about was like trying to pull words out of a mute. But mutes had sign language. We didn’t even have that.
Filthy Pride: Dark Bully Romance Page 9