Levelling the Playing Field (HD&D Sequel)

Chapter 17 - A First Impression

Bennett grunted as he sat down on Davina's bed. He took his time to look around her room. The whitewashed walls bared nothing but a single clock, and guitars littered one end of the room, ranging from electric to acoustic. Nothing showed the type of person residing in the room other than the guitars. There was no window into her soul in the room.

"Here, keep your foot elevated," Davina came in, handing Bennett an ice-pack.

Bennett leaned back on the bed and put his injured leg up. He then leaned forward and rested the ice-pack on the swelling, hissing as he did this.

Davina slumped in the desk chair. She swivelled it towards the bed facing Bennett as she took her own ice-pack and relaxed it against her ribcage, closing her eyes on the impact.

"Does it hurt?" She asked him without opening her eyes.

"Only when I breathe," He replied.

She snorted.

"Sorry about this," She said after a minute.

"Don't worry about it. I deserved it," Bennett waved her off.

Davina opened an eye. "What do you mean by that?"

Bennett chuckled half-heartedly more for his own amusement. "This is what I got for not trusting you,"

Davina joined in him in his half-hearted laugh.

"That was quite a story, you know," Bennett started looking at Davina.

Davina murmured in agreement, looking distracted.

"What is it?" Bennett asked, eyeing her.

"It's just looking back now, I hadn't given you a reason to trust me, so I'm sorry," Davina explained, cringing ever so slightly.

But Bennett waved her off. "I hadn't given you a reason either. I guess neither of us is very trusting,"

Davina tilted her head and smiled. "But when we do trust, we usually get it right,"

"Right," Bennett then leaned slightly forward, causing Davina to notice the lack of space between them. "Who would you have sacrificed if you went through with it?"

"Well, isn't that a loaded question?" Davina answered, eyeing him with a smile. "I don't believe we're that close just yet to for me to answer it,"

Bennett shrugged nonchalantly. "You don't have to answer it. But you and I both know we're a lot closer than we care to admit,"

Davina thought it over for a moment before replying. "Truth be told, I don't think I could have hurt any one of you." She looked him straight in the eye.

"Naomi is...Naomi is strong, resilient and brilliant. She's inspiring, you know, her story is one for the books, and she reminds me so much of my own friends, I could never do anything to her,"

Bennett hummed in response.

"Then there's Declan. We sang those duets at the fundraiser, remember? He's nothing but talented, passionate, admirable, reminiscent of my own brother,"

Davina laughed slightly before continuing. "As for Jordan, I could never hurt that ball of sunshine. Jordan is love and life and a sense of relief. He's a breath of fresh air, don't you think?

"Yeah, he is," Bennett agreed and then looked down. "What about me?" He whispered.

Davina stopped short. She looked at him, admiring how his hair fell over his eyes, hiding them vaguely from her.

"Something tells me you only asked the question to know about yourself," She teased, a wry smile gracing her lips.

"Well, I did think I could do with an ego boost right about now,"