The Fighter

Chapter Twenty Two

"You didn't have to shoot him,"Jer says as he helps my brother into the car as I remain storing by the door. "You could have talked it out, June." I raise a brow. "I don't care if you didn't know it was him! You could have, I don't know, hit him really hard and then asked questions."

A scoff from Damien. "If she'd hit him, he'd probably be dead." Jeramy was about to say something until he thought about it and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's a," Jeramy wipes his hand down his face and grips the back of his neck, "that's a fair point." Looking back at his husband, he lets out a long sigh. "You still didn't need to shoot him."

"He deserves worse."

"Again, you are right." Jer slams the door on his truck closed. "You shut down."

"He put my family in danger."

"J, baby, he is your family."

"No. Right now, he is blood. He has to to earn being called family." Damien wraps an arm around my waist and kisses my head gently. "He left me. He left us. How can you forgive him?!"

"Someone told me that holding a grudge is the same as drinking poison and hoping the other person dies. You'll only end up hurting yourself more. Forgive him but make him work his ass off in order to earn it, because I know he feels like shit about what you've been through. Derek went off on him the other night and told him almost everything, he cried for a good three hours thinking about what you two went through." Jer walks up to me and pulls me into a long hug. "Make him suffer but make sure you don't kill yourself while you do it."

I nod slowly to Jer and pull him in for a hug, letting myself relax slightly. Holding my head with one hand, he kissed my forehead firmly before shaking hands with Damien and walking off to the truck. I see my brother watching me with a sorrowful expression on his face and I turn myself to steel, sealing off everything and everyone. Once they drive away, Damien tries to pull me into him but I back away.

"I need a minute," I say coldly.

"No." There's no question in his tone and I almost blow up on him but I take a long, deep breath, still not looking at him.

"I am angry, people tend to not like me when I'm angry." He lets out a small scoff and walks down a step to look me dead in the eye. "Please."

"No." Firm and unquestionable, I feel trapped. "You have been fighting yourself for too long, and most of it has been by yourself. Not anymore, Darlin', I'm not going anywhere."

"No," I say with a slight shake in my voice, "I'll hurt you."

"Wounds heal, baby, all the powers that be know that I've had my fair share. The only difference is, I'll cherish the ones you make because I'll know," he takes both of my hands in his and hold them to his chest. "I'll know that you chose me over someone else because you are beautiful," he kisses my hands lightly, "kind," my nose, "caring," my forehead, "and most importantly, you are mine."

With that last line, his lips meet mine gently as I've slowly realize that I'd began crying. I know that Derek and Jer love me and I know that I am cared for but sometimes everything seems to drown that out. Everything seems to be going against me, but not this. Not right now. For the first time in since the accident everything is quiet.

There's no sparks, no dives flying around, no music playing in the background. Right here, right now, there is only us and, by the gods, I haven't been this happy since Jake graduated Kindergarten.

" I just remembered something. You were my first kiss." He looks at me with a raised brow. "No, I mean you were my first kiss. I was about four years old wearing a bright pink shirt with blue pants and green crocs," Damien lets out a snort.