by Lechna Baram
Chapter 12
Cupid and Stupid
“Athena! Come play with me,” Thomas said as he pulled on my hand.
I smiled and nodded. Rose and Jace were walking around, hand in hand. My sister and Dean were sitting on the bench staring at us. I knew they wanted to be left alone and I didn't want to be the third wheel. Damian was somewhere around.
As I approached the area where kids usually play, I sat next to Thomas who was staring at the other kids playing. I nudged him and motioned him to go towards the others. I knew that he was really fragile and he shouldn't be putting much effort in any activity that he does. But still, I wanted him to play with the other children.
“Damian! Come play with me.” I heard Thomas shout to him. I turned around and saw Damian's sexy self walking to us while tucking his phone in his pocket.
“Sure,” he answered with a cheery smile. I watched as Thomas pulled him to the football area and they started playing. A little boy walked to them and I quickly recognized him. Aross!
“Goddess of wisdom!” A smile spread on my face when I saw Ross coming in my direction.
“The guy with the not-so-unique name!” I greeted cheerfully as he sat next to me.
“You're more cheerful than the other day.” He pointed out. I nodded and motioned to my little brother.
“That's my brother, playing with Aross,” I said and he smiled.
“What's his name?”
“Thomas.”
“And who's the man with him?” he asked as he eyed Damian.
“The future brother-in-law's brother,” I said, now my eyes fixed on Damian.
As if he felt that I was staring at him, Damian lifted his head to look at me. His eyes soon traveled to the person next to me, which happened to be Ross. He narrowed his eyes and I noticed how his demeanor changed.
“And why is he glaring at me?” Ross asked as he shifted in his seat, feeling slightly uncomfortable. I shrugged and turned my attention to Ross.
“Why didn't you text me?” I asked, trying to change the topic of the conversation and judging by the smirk on his face, I knew that I succeeded in distracting him from the glaring monster.
“I didn't know you were waiting for my text.” He nudged playfully, pride radiating from him.
“I wasn't.” I laughed. “It's just weird when someone takes your number and you don't even have theirs,” I explained. He grinned as he raised both his eyebrows.
“Smooth way to ask me for my number, Athena,” he teased, making me huff.
“You're impossible.” I laughed but then stopped when I felt a presence behind me. I turned to see Alena staring at us with a huge grin on her face. Ross turned as well and stared at both of us.
“She's your sister,” he concluded and I nodded. “You look alike,” he said, and Alena and I scoffed at his words. We looked nothing alike.
“I'm Alena. And you are?” she asked as she pushed me aside and sat in between Ross and me. Yes. That would be something my sister would do.
“I'm Ross,” he said as he extended his hand. My sister shook his hand and turned to give me a big smile.
“How come I never met Ross before?” she asked.
“It's the second time we're meeting,” I told her. Ross nodded smiling. Alena gave me a wicked grin before turning to Ross.
What the hell is she going to do?
“Well, Ross,” she started. “I'm getting married in six days and I would really appreciate it if you come,” she said, making my eyes widen. Ross stared at my sister as if she lost her mind. In fact, I think she lost her mind. She was trying to do something.
She was trying to play cupid. Stupid.
“Alena! How can you invite a stranger to your wedding?” I exclaimed in disbelief.
“He is not a stranger! You know him,” she exclaimed back.
“I've talked to him twice! Only twice!” I pointed out as I stood up and crossed my arms over my chest.
“Uh girls? I'm still here,” Ross mumbled as he stood up as well. “I won't come if you don't want me to,” he said and I quickly shook my head.
“Of course not! I wouldn't mind you coming. “It's just that I'm pretty sure that my sister has something planned in her head.” I glared at Alena who simply grinned and smirked.
“I planned nothing. I simply like him and Ross seems nice,” she explained. Yeah. As if I would believe her.
“Thank you,” Ross said with a smile, making me roll my eyes.
“She's evil, Ross. Don't get lured with her nice words!” I exclaimed childishly, making Ross chuckle. Then his phone rang, making him stop. He pulled out his phone, then sighed.
“Well girls, I'll talk to you later. I need to go. I'll call you,” he said. I smiled and started to lift my hand to wave goodbye, but the guy bent and kissed my cheek before walking away. I blinked several times and finally stopped when I heard my sister squeal.
“He's so cute,” she gushed. I huffed in annoyance and walked to where Dean was sitting. I sat next to him and groaned.
“Why is she so annoying?” I asked, knowing that Alena would soon be next to me. I saw Damian walking to us. I looked around for Thomas and saw my little boy walking with Jace and Rose.
“I was trying to get you a date for my wedding!” Alena huffed and sat on Dean's lap.
“Since when do we need a date?!” I shouted in exasperation.
“Come on! The guy is so into you! Give him a chance at least,” Alena said with a sigh.
“The guy with the teen face?” Damian asked, his eyes focused on mine. I nodded and rested my head on Dean's shoulder.
“Alena invited him to the wedding,” I groaned. “Your girlfriend is so annoying,” I told Dean as I pulled away to assess his reaction. He chuckled and pecked Alena's forehead.
“One of the reasons why I love her,” he said. “And she's my fiancée. Not girlfriend,” Dean said proudly, making a smile spread on my face. They were so cute.
“Wife in a few days,” Alena whispered before going into a full make out session with Dean.
I fake gagged and stood up. I walked to Jace and Rose. Thomas ran to me when he saw me approaching.
“Well guys, I'll talk to you later. I'm going to spend some time with my boy.” I took Thomas hand in mine.
“I want Damian to come. He's so nice,” Thomas said suddenly, making me stop. I turned to see Damian sitting on the bench. He was staring at his phone, typing furiously. I didn't want to disturb him so I turned my attention to Thomas and gave him a little smile.
“He's quite busy right now. What about we spend some time together?” I asked with a bright smile. I took the ball and ran to the playground. I took off my shoes and tied my hair in a messy bun.
“What do you want to play?” he asked.
“Let's play one touch,” I said. I wanted him to do the minimum effort possible. “You have the right to touch the ball only time. Kick it only time and in that one touch, it has to reach me, okay?” I asked, making him nod vigorously.
“If I touch two times, I lose?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
With that, we started playing. I was pretty sure that my feet were damn dirty right now and by the amount of times I've fallen down, my jeans were ripped. Cool. I won't have to buy ripped jeans. The smile on my brother's face kept me going. We played till he said he was tired. I walked to the nearby candy shop, barefoot because I was too lazy to put my shoes on. Apparently, it was not a good idea as I stepped on a sharp piece of wood.
That bitch hurts like hell.
Thomas stared at me in alarm and then looked at my foot. I rose it and slowly pulled out the piece of wood, trying not to wince at the pain. Blood started oozing from the wound, making Thomas sob.
“Hey, little boy! I'm okay! It's just a little blood,” I reassured. I wiped his tears away and watched as he stared at me with his big blue eyes.
“I'm sorry.” He apologized.
“Why?”
“If I didn't ask for candy, you would
n't be hurt right now,” he said, wiping his cheeks.
“Tommy, it's not your fault. I wanted candy as well. Now stop crying. You're a big boy, right?” he nodded and gave me a little smile. “Now do something for me, take my shoes and go wait for me with Alena,” I told him. He nodded. I watched as he walked to the playground. I stared back at my wound and winced. I took a deep breath and wobbled to the candy shop. It was as if I was leaving my mark behind as the blood was dripping all the way.
“Is something wrong?” the girl working in the candy shop asked with a frown on her face.
“Do you happen to have a Band-Aid? I stepped on a piece of wood,” I explained. I tried walking on the foot but as soon as I applied pressure on the foot, I felt it burning.
“Yeah, I do,” the girl said and quickly disappeared through the back door.
“Are you okay?” I turned to see Damian standing close to me, concern dancing in his gray eyes. I nodded but he soon glared at me.
“What happened? Thomas said you stepped on wood and there's a lot of blood,” he said. I took a deep breath and shrugged.
“Just a little wound,” I explained. Soon the girl came and gave me the Band-Aid. “Thank you,” I said. Her eyes were on Damian the entire time, making me roll my eyes.
His effect on women is tiring.
“Let me take it,” Damian said and soon the Band-Aid was pulled out of my hand. I yelped as I felt Damian's hands on my waist and he lifted me. He put me on the counter and bent on his knees. I tried not to react to his hands on me. I put my hands on his shoulder for support. His head turned slightly to my hands and then he lifted my foot. He huffed and glared at me.
“That's a lot of blood,” he said. “There's still wood stuck in it,” he sighed in exasperation. “How can you be so reckless? Who walks barefoot in a park?” asked
“Kids do that all the times!” I retorted. He glared at me, shutting me up. Yeah. I should probably not argue with him.
“You're not a kid,” he snapped. He lifted me bridal style and started walking out of the shop.
“I can walk,” I muttered.
“Shut up and be grateful,” he said, walking to the bench where everyone was. “Jace will have to look after your foot,” he said. My eyes widened.
“No. I can take the wood out myself,” I said and tried to wriggle out of his hands but he held me tighter. “Damian, let me go!” I begged. He turned to look at me and then grinned.
“You're scared?”
“Yeah. I am! I don't want him to open the wound! I can do that myself! I know my pain threshold. He doesn't.”
“He's a doctor,” Damian deadpanned.
“Exactly.” I huffed. “It hurts like a bitch when someone else take care of a wound.” I probably sounded stupid.
“Athena. Shut up,” Damian mumbled as we reached my friends, who were now staring at us with wide eyes.
Did Damian really had to hold me like this?
“I'm sorry you got hurt because of me,” Thomas said in his cute little voice. He was staring at my now bandaged foot. We were all in the living room and everyone was chilling. I pulled Thomas on my lap and pinched his cheek smiling.
“Tommy boy, it's not your fault,” I whispered and kissed his cheek. “That's why you should always wear your shoes,” I said and he nodded. He lay his head on my shoulder and wrapped his hands around my neck.
“I'm sleepy.” I heard him mumble. I wrapped my arms around him and patted his back.
“Sleep sweetheart,” I whispered and kissed the side of his head. This little boy was everything that I have and cherish the most in my life. Everyone was quiet, staring at our exchange with a smile on their faces. Damian was the only exception. He was staring at me with a frown on his face.
Soon, I heard Thomas's soft snoring next to my ear. I gave Dean a sheepish smile and motioned to Tommy. He smiled back and walked to me. Slowly, he picked up my little brother and walked to my room.
“Did you give him his medicines?” Jace asked, leaning against the couch. I nodded and leaned my head back on the couch as well as I could, feeling my neck hurt. Why did life have to be so difficult? I have to face the hurtful truth. I was going to lose my little brother sooner or later. I could feel my heart hurting at the thought. How was I going to live without him and his cheerful smile? As if his illness was not enough, he had to get parents like mine.
“He's becoming weaker,” I mumbled and closed my eyes. I felt the couch dip next to me. I sighed and turned my head to see my sister next to me. I gave her a smile. She rested her head on my shoulder.
“Everything will be alright,” Alena whispered and wrapped her arms around me. I could feel myself breaking down. I quickly stood up and walked away as I felt my eyes becoming teary.
“Athena.” I heard my sister call.
I stopped and took a deep breath.
“You've hurt your foot,” she called out.
“I just need some time alone. I'm going for a walk. It's not hurting,” I told them as I walked towards the door.
I didn't wait for their response as I quickly rushed outside. I walked down the street, thinking of better ways to get my brother treated. I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks. I wiped them away. I needed to be strong for my brother. I needed to be strong for him. I felt a droplet of water fall on my cheek. I lifted my head to the sky and watched as the droplets of water started falling more and more. I closed my eyes and let the rain cool me down. My eyes were soon mixed with the rain as it started pouring heavily. The truth? I never felt so relaxed before. I lifted my head and let the droplets fall on my face. I was drenched by now. Goosebumps rose on my skin as wind blew.
And now I'm freezing.
I stayed like this, head facing the sky, letting the rain drenching me, hoping that somehow it would melt me down. I heard a car's engine. I knew that someone came to pick me up. I still refused to look. I didn't want to move. I knew that my tears were rolling down my cheeks. I was happy that it was raining. No one would see my tears. I hated crying. I could hear the door of the car open and then footsteps in my direction. Soon, I didn't feel the rain anymore and this made my eyes open. All I could see was darkness.
The umbrella was black.
“Get in the car.”
I stared at Damian who still looked emotionless. I wish I was like him. He seemed so strong. Wind blew again and I instinctively wrapped my arms around myself and I started shivering.
“Get in the fucking car, Athena,” he said and opened the passenger door.
I didn't bother to argue. I got in the car, getting the seat all wet. The door closed and soon Damian got in the car as well.
“I'm s-sorry for ruining your car,” I stuttered as I was freezing. He turned to look at me and sighed when he saw I was shivering.
“Why are you so fucking careless?” he asked and leaned in the back and pulled a sweater from the backseat. I took it and was about to put it on me when he pulled it from my hand. “Are you that stupid?” he huffed in annoyance and I stared at me with clenched jaw. Why did he have to be such an asshole?
“Can you stop insulting me and tell me what I did wrong?” I asked, trying to take the sweater again.
“You're drenched. You'll get this drenched as well if you put it over your wet clothes,” he said. I sighed and stared at the road.
“Drive back to the house,” I sighed.
“Put this on.” He ordered making me turn to glare at him.
“You just said that–” I started to talk but he stopped me as he pointed to my clothes.
“Take these off,” he demanded. I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
“No,” I finally answered with a huff.
“I'm driving only after you've taken off those clothes,” he said with finality. Damn. He looked hot when he gave orders like this.
Snap out of it, Athena.
“Fine.” I pulled the sweater out of his hand and analyzed it. “Whose sweater is this?” I asked and pulled it to my face as it smelled so dam
n good.
“Mine,” he simply said, staring at me with rose eyebrows. “Now stop acting like a creep and put it on,” he said. It was a bit long and I was sure that it was going to cover my butt, so I decided to take all my clothes off as I was really freezing.
“Can you at least start driving?” I asked as I turned to stare at him.
“I don't want to crash this car because of some distraction,” he said as he eyed me. I could feel my cheeks turning pink. “And I've already seen all of you,” he added, his voice dropping a bit, turning all sexy. I hated and loved that effect his voice had on me. His voice only had me pressing my thighs together in want.
Athena! Concentrate! His girlfriend is coming to stay with you all.
I really wanted to listen to my mind but I couldn't. I needed him. Only Damian could get me to forget about all those fucking problems. I decided to tease him. Slowly, I moved my hair back and arched my back so that I could take off my top. His jaw clenched and his eyes focused on mine, trying not to go elsewhere.
“You can look somewhere else,” I said tauntingly, making him growl a little bit. Then I lifted my hips and pulled off my jeans and my underwear after I took off my shoes. My left foot was bandaged as Jace said it will make the wound heal faster. His eyes trailed to my legs and I could hear him take a deep breath.
“Don't tease,” he snapped and I saw his eyes filled with lust. I smirked and shrugged as I took off my bra, tossing it in the backseat. I heard him take a deep breath, trying to control his breathing. “Athena, I swear to God, if you don't stop, I'm taking you in this car,” he said. I turned to face him and tied my hair in a messy bun.
“What are you waiting for?” I asked seductively. He stared at me and when I bit my lips, he lost it. He pulled me on his lap, making me yelp in surprise.
“If I fuck you right now, I will not permit this deal to end,” he whispered as he buried his head in the crook of my neck. When his tongue touched my skin, I moaned out loud, making him groan. “Did you hear me?” he asked, his hands on both sides of my waist, tightening his hold. I nodded but that didn't seem to please him enough. He tugged on my bun, making my wet hair fall on my back and then tugged on my hair, to make me make eye contact with him. “Say it,” he said. More like demanded it. I couldn't think straight. I needed him.