Page 128 of Give In

Damien.

I spun back to the man. “Okay.”

“Okay?” He opened the car door. “I mean, yes. Okay.”

Sitting in the back of the beautiful car, my thoughts raced. Not because of the family I’d just left behind—I’d never been more confident about a decision in my life. It was Damien who I thought about.

Will Joker still want his Harley Quinn when he finds out she’s more dysfunctional than he is?

*******

I’d assumed the driver had been hired to take me back to school. By the time I’d realized he hadn’t, we’d been more than halfway to Damien’s. I could’ve pitched a fit or run into the middle of traffic, but both had seemed like overkill at the time. In my anxious mood, I’d been grateful for suburban silence instead of the slamming doors and raucous talking of the apartment. I’d tried to utilize that quiet to get schoolwork done, but my focus had been the equivalent of a hyper puppy watching a field of squirrels.

As I saw Damien’s car pull into the driveway, I regretted my decision… I really should’ve fled like a madwoman.

This is good.

Like a band-aid. Just rip it off and get it over with.

My eyes went to the clock for the fiftieth time that hour. It was late. Much later than he usually got home.

Maybe he picked up dinner.

Or got caught at work.

Or maybe he’s pissed about the lies and thinks I’m totally fucked-up and not worth the effort.

I paced until I heard his key in the lock then flopped down on the couch, trying to look nonchalant.

He walked in and dropped a couple bags at his feet before heading over to me.

My breath burned in my lungs as I waited to see what he’d do.

It’d never even occurred to me he’d kneel in front of me, concern clear on his face as he searched mine. “You okay?”

I nodded.

“Must’ve been a shock to see your parents, what with them being dead and all.”

I gave a small huff of a laugh. “I know you think I lie all the time, but that was the truth… kinda. My parents have been dead to me since the moment I left home. Before actually.” I shrugged. “Now it’s a mutual thing.”

“Shit.”

“No, no. This is a good thing. I just want to put it all behind me and forget today happened.”

Damien studied me for moment, likely trying to gauge how on fire my liar pants were. Deducing I wasn’t on the verge of a meltdown, he moved on. “You didn’t return my texts.”

“Sorry, my phone was on silent.”

“I was worried,” he whispered as he cupped my cheek.

“You were?”

“Of course I was. It’s my job to take care of you.” He half-smiled. “Sometimes that means spanking your ass and other times that means worrying.”

Caught off-guard by the burning in my eyes, I closed them, unwilling to let any tears fall. I leaned into his touch. “You probably have a lot of questions.”

“Your dad is the governor of Iowa. Your mom is an alcoholic. He’s misogynistic and she’s checked out, so you took off to live your own life. Got all that. I just wanted to know what flavor ice cream you like and what you wanted for dinner. I went with cookie dough and sushi.”

---