𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐌𝐄

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓𝟖

(i attached a song above <3)

carmen

"As good as that dinner was, I don't think my stomach has ever hurt more." We strolled along the sidewalk, my hand in his and us exploring this new town's center.

"Shame, I was gonna take you for ice cream." Damian sighed.

I stopped walking and glared at him. "You know what, I'm kind of hungry now."

He chuckled, wrapping his tattooed arm more protectively around my waist. "Come one, I'll take you to the best gelato place around." We crossed the road and he moved my body to the inner side of the sidewalk so he was now on the outer edge. Despite there being hardly any moving cars around, it was still a sweet motion for Damian to even consider doing.

He led me into a quieter street, with one or two couples making out and shortly, we arrived at a small gelato stall with an oldish looking man running it. The middle-aged gentleman was sitting on a stool, playing what seemed to be a game on his outdated phone. When Damian tapped on the glass, he looked up and a smile instantly crept onto his face. "Damian, what can I do for you? And who's this lovely lady?"

"Hi, I'm Carmen." I introduced myself to the man, named Gerald, and stuck my hand out for him to shake it. He did so willingly, pointing to his nametag.

"What would you like, miss?" Gerald pointed to the wide variety of colors and flavors.

"I'll have a scoop of chocolate chip, please."

He nodded and scooped my ice cream into a cup, taking another and taking two scoops of mint chocolate chip for I'm guessing, Damian. "Seven dollars, please."

Damian handed him ten dollars and we bid our goodbyes, turning back onto the main road. I took a bite of my ice cream and turned to him. "How do you know all of these places if you hate socializing, like you say?" He was the least talkative person I knew so it was surprising he was aware of hidden spots like this.

"When my brother used to visit with Rose, I would sneak him out at night and we would explore all kinds of places for hours at a time. Didn't matter where, just as long as we were away from Rose as much as possible. It's always been our little thing, but now you're let in on the secret."

"What's Adonis' relationship like?" He seemed confused at my question. "With Rose, I mean." If I'm correct, then she was his blood mother.

"Alright, I think. We tell each other everything so he would've told me by now if she tried anything. But Rose is hardly ever home, so he's left alone. I'm just impatiently waiting for the day where he moves out and can support himself. Once he turns eighteen, he can access his inheritance." Damian explained further, letting me be aware of his gradual takeover to be CEO of the family company once he graduates college. Then he can cut Rose off fully and support Adonis with his own money.

It took some time to wrap my head around it all due to his awful mansplaining, but I got there in the end. Throwing away my empty ice cream cup, I leaned my back against a vandalized brick wall, facing Damian. "Well, I like Adonis. He's sweet."

"Yeah, when he isn't trying to fucking flirt with you." He scoffed, peering inside the window of whatever shop I was using to support my tired body. "This is where I get all my tattoos done."

I pushed off the wall and span around, reading the shop name. Professional Ink. "Creative name." I joked.

"The name doesn't do it enough justice." Damian took one last look of the shop decorated with skeletons and flowers before smirking, scratching the back of his head. "I have an idea, but you might want to kill me on how we execute it."