Rites of Passage | Damian x OC

32. A Draw

"You make me feel like I can feel again
You make me realize the story didn't end
I didn't know my heart could hurt like that
Everything was numb and just like that,
You make me feel like I can feel again"
~ Kina, Au/Ra, "Feel Again"

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Chapter 32: A Draw

"Jessica."

Though the air had vanished from her lungs and she could hear the blood pumping in her ears, Jess met Damian's blazing eyes. "I told you to wait for me," he snapped in a sharp tone.

"I..."

She couldn't form a sentence let alone a coherent thought; all she could do was stand there like an idiot, her brain attempting to connect the faces in the room and the few pieces of information she had about what was happening.

"Jess, why don't we give them a minute?"

Selina was walking towards her then with a small smile. Jess couldn't bring herself to answer; she let the woman take her arm and lead her back into the hallway, though the teen couldn't help glancing behind her shoulder to see Damian's gaze lingering on her before returning to Jason. A minute later, the two of them were in the kitchen, Jess seated on a stool with her elbows on the marble countertop. There was just silence as Selina rummaged around in the fridge — Jess was straining her ears, trying to figure out if there were any raised voices or some kind of argument taking place.

Red Hood, aka Jason Todd, was here. And somehow he knew the Wayne family. Did that mean they knew...?

"Hungry?"

Jade green eyes widened curiously at Jess as she looked up from the fridge.

The teen shook her head. "Oh, I'm fine, thank you."

She hardly paid attention as the woman heated up some leftovers in the microwave, leaning against the counter and watching her. Too many questions were running through her mind.

"Who is he?"

Selina's face was unreadable at Jess's question as the microwave hummed in the background. They'd been getting to know each other little by little recently since the woman was spending more time at the manor (she hadn't quite moved in yet considering she wasn't in a hurry and the wedding wasn't until next year). Though Jess didn't quite feel like she was in a place to be completely open with her, her curiosity and impatience to understand this weird situation were stronger.

She looked the teen up and down. "What has Damian told you?"

Jess paused then replied softly, "Nothing... I mean, I don't think he's mentioned him before."

She would've known if Damian had ever brought up this Jason Todd/Red Hood guy, right? Come to think of it, the only other people in his life he'd spoken about were his siblings, who were all off living their own lives, like Dick, Steph, Cass, Tim, Jason—

Jason.

Something seemed to feel like it was clicking in her head now. He'd talked about him very briefly, never going into much detail about the older brother's whereabouts or where he lived nowadays. Of course, "Jason" was a relatively common name, so she couldn't have assumed that the Jason Damian hardly spoke of could be the same Jason she'd met this summer.

But now that guy was standing under the same roof as her because somehow he had some kind of relationship to this family. And there was only one explanation her befuddled brain could come up with.