Strangers in the Storm ✔

Chapter 14: Headfirst

DAMIEN 

Over the next three weeks things somehow got almost unbelievably good. After that unfortunate rendezvous with his father, Damien laid off the booze, well, he lay off whiskey, and, just like every time, concluded that life was way better when one didn't drown oneself in alcohol.

His mother seemed okay, as well. No, she still didn't want treatment, but Damien tried to live with it. After all, it was not up to him to decide. It was her life, her illness.

Instead of getting treatment, she booked plane tickets, deciding she hasn't spent enough of his father's money, and was now on her way to Italy, even though her doctor almost had a heart attack once she mentioned travelling.

Damien let her do what she wanted. If it meant visiting the place she has always wanted but has never been to, he was alright with that. There was nothing he could do either way, she wouldn't listen.

On the bright side, he could spend more time with Roxanne, which he began to want more and more.

He hated to call her different from others, because he felt like it turned her into a cliché, but she greatly differed from women he was used to. She did not strive for perfection, she did not particularly care if her hair was messy or if she had no makeup on, she handled things casually, through laughter, like nothing was too big of a problem.

So, when Damien suggested they should go to the coast, find an abandoned piece of land, dock the boat their and spend the day in the forest, she agreed. They did not, however, count on Andre and Brenda, who have been spending way too much time together, coming along.

By the time Damien reached the clearing, surrounded by thick trees on one side and short, but steep cliffs leading to the sea on the other, Roxanne, Brenda and Andre were already there. Damien gave Andre a key to his boat and brought food, drinks, barbecue and a tent by car.

Andre jumped up to help him carry stuff out, while Brenda sunbathed on a towel on the grass. Damien didn't quite understand Brenda's appeal. She was far from ugly, of course. Everything about her, every single detail, was taken care of; her dyed blonde hair, her drawn eyebrows, her perfectly-sized tiny bikini. It was also quite obvious she worked out a lot. But she was predictable.

Damien knew he would find her sunbathing on a towel while sipping a margarita. He knew she would have bottled olive oil next to her and a carrot cream. Hell, he also guessed she would be reading her daily horoscope on her phone.

"Is the path clear enough?" Andre pulled the tent out of the car and carried it to the middle of the clearing.

"A little rocky, but fine." Damien lifted the fridge and put it in the shade. "Where's Rox?"

Andre tilted his head towards the sea, "Let's hope she hasn't drowned."

Damien walked over to the cliffs and looked down. Roxanne held onto the rock above her head and tried to lift her leg and pull herself up to the higher rock when she lost her balance and fell back into the water.

Damien laughed out loud, "Need some help?"

She pushed her wet hair off her face and swam to the cliffs again, "No, I can do it, I'm a siren."

"Of course you are." Damien chuckled.

The girl pouted and grabbed the cliffs again. Damien stood on the edge and waited to see whether she might need some help after all. But once she came midway up the cliff, her entire body came out of the water and Damien got caught up in the sight.

For three weeks, they've done nothing but occasionally make out. After that fiasco on the boat, Damien decided not to push anything. He could see her frustration, he could feel it, and it wasn't helping his resolve. The coy little thing grinned once she noticed him watching her.