Page 92 of Sticks & Serpents

His mother watched me carefully, that sharp smile creeping across her lips like a predator savoring its catch.

“Oh, Damien.” Her voice dripped with a condescending sweetness that made my skin crawl. “You’ve finally found something worth protecting.”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t need to. I could feel the heat rising in my chest, the anger bubbling just beneath the surface, ready to explode if she pushed any further. But this? This was different. I had Holly by my side, and that made everything else fade into insignificance.

Holly grabbed my hand, squeezing tight as if she could sense the storm brewing inside me. Her touch anchored me, grounding me in a way I hadn’t felt in years. The connection between us pulsed like electricity, pulling me back from the edge.

“Let’s go,” she said softly, her voice steady and calm despite the chaos swirling around us.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I didn’t fight it. I let her take me away from my mother’s suffocating presence, away from the manipulations and lies that had plagued my life for too long.

As we walked together through the hallways of the venue, each step felt lighter than the last. The distance grew between us and the twisted games she played—a barrier I had yearned for.

But as we reached the door leading outside, something shifted inside me. A mix of relief and lingering anger threatened to bubble over again at the thought of what had just happened—my mother’s venomous words still echoed in my mind.

Regardless, Holly remained beside me, her hand warm and reassuring in mine. With every moment we spent together, I could feel the walls around my heart cracking just a little more.

And as we stepped into the cool evening air, rain still sprinkling, I realized this was no longer just about escaping my mother’s grasp; it was about choosing to fight for something real—something worth holding onto for once.

So when Holly turned to look at me, her eyes searching mine for reassurance or perhaps understanding, I knew this was just the beginning of something new.

Chapter27

Holly

The car hummed softly beneath us, the engine's gentle purr mingling with the quiet that enveloped the space. Damien drove in silence, his focus fixed on the road ahead, tension crackling between us like static. But it felt different this time—less like an escape and more like a decision. A choice to move forward, even if I wasn’t sure what that meant for either of us.

I glanced at him, taking in the way his fingers tightened around the steering wheel. The muscles in his jaw flexed, a storm brewing just beneath the surface.

“Where are we going?” I asked, breaking the silence. My voice was steadier than I felt.

“Cooper’s place.” His reply came quietly but held an unexpected weight.

I blinked, surprised by the revelation. “You’re moving in with him?”

He exhaled slowly, as if releasing something he had been holding back for too long.

I looked out the window. “Everly mentioned it.”

Damien shrugged slightly but didn’t elaborate. I could sense he didn’t want to dive into the details—the nuances of family dynamics or what it meant to share space with someone who had once been so far removed from his life.

The silence returned, thick and palpable as we drove through familiar streets that suddenly felt foreign under the weight of our recent encounters. Each block passed was another reminder of how much had changed—how much we had changed.

My heart clenched as I watched the world blur past outside the window. It wasn’t just about where Damien was going; it was about everything he was leaving behind. The weight of it settled in my chest like a stone.

His mother. His father. The chains that had kept him caged for years.

I turned to him, searching for any sign that he felt the same way. “Are you sure this is what you want?” The words slipped out before I could stop them, and I instantly regretted it. I didn’t want to push him, but I needed to know he wasn’t running blindly into something that could trap him all over again.

He glanced at me, his eyes dark and stormy, filled with emotions he often kept hidden. “It’s better than staying here.”

The way he said it sent a shiver down my spine. I wanted to reach out and touch him, to tell him everything would be okay, but the tension in the car was palpable—thick enough to choke on. I swallowed hard instead.

“Better how?” I pressed gently, my voice barely above a whisper.

Damien’s grip tightened on the steering wheel as if he were holding onto control by sheer force of will. “I can’t keep doing this,” he said, a hint of desperation creeping into his tone. “Being at their mercy… It eats away at me.”

His words hung in the air between us, heavy with unspoken truths and buried memories. Memories that clawed at the edges of his mind—fighting through all those years of manipulation and control.

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