The Survivor (Book #2)

Chapter 41

I could feel myself blushing from the root of my hair down to my toes.

"Um," I squeaked, unsure of what to say.

"We were just..." Asher tried to explain, but Damon just scowled at him. His black eyebrows were knit into a dark V and the way his muscles flexed and back straightened was undeniably threatening.

"Now." He repeated menacingly.

"I'm sorry!" Asher choked out, fumbling as he tried to disentangle our limbs and stand up. He grabbed his backpack and threw it over his shoulder, taking a wide step away from me. With the way Damon's eyes tracked his every movement, that was probably smart.

Damon nodded to the door and Asher zipped away from me with an apologetic look in my direction.

"Bye, Maya! See you soon?" he suggested, before squeezing past Damon through the doorframe and racing down the hall.

I sat up on my elbows and glared at Damon. His jaw popped open, and he made a scoffing noise.

"What do you want?" I asked resentfully.

He let out a dark laugh at my confidence and walked over to me, leaning down closer to my level as I scooted into a sitting position. His steps were slow and measured, which made him even scarier. I liked hot anger because you knew it was going to burn out. I didn't know how long I could take his icy intonation and sharp eyes, or what it would turn into. 

"What do you think you were doing in here, little girl?" Damon said. His tone sent shivers down my back, and I tried to control my voice before I spoke. 

"He's just a friend!" I lied, hoping anger would conceal the fear in my voice. I avoided his eyes as he scanned over the position my body was in. How much of the kiss had he seen?

"Just a friend," he repeated, matching my tone. I knew he knew I was lying. He knew I wasn't going to tell him the truth. 

"Okay! I like him! I'm sorry! It's none of your business anyway!" I shouted, temper flaring as my stomach squirmed with nerves. My voice cracked as I spoke, betraying me by displaying my anxiety. I got off the floor so that he was forced to stop looking down at me. He still towered over me as I stood, but at least I wasn't powerless.

 "YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE BOYS IN THIS HOUSE." He yelled, making me flinch back and raise my hands slightly to cover my body.

"YES, I FUCKING AM!" I shout back, feeling the familiar rush of my temper. It was like I was a match and his sandpaper voice ignited me. There wasn't a chance to stop the fire, I just had to let it burn.

"NEVER AGAIN!" he shouted. I raised my hand up to hit him or hurt him or defend myself, I wasn't sure. He grabbed my wrist and locked it in place, blue eyes piercing my brown ones.

"YOU CAN'T STOP ME!" I screamed.

 "WATCH ME, BELLA." He yelled back before something seemed to shake inside of him, and realization lit his eyes.

"Maya, I'm..." he looked confused and focused his vision on the rigid hand that held my arm in place, before releasing my wrist like it was hot. I saw red marks where his fingers had pressed to my skin and pain shot through my arm in little surges. 

My anger faltered and that was all it took for the fear to take over as hot tears spilled down my cheeks, and I started to sob. I ran from the room and downstairs into Charlotte's office, practically jumping into her arms.

She held me on her lap from her desk chair and rubbed small circles on my back that seemed to be anchoring me to the world. I let the tears fall and anger evaporate until all that remained was shame.