Chapter 17: Two steps Back
Damon leans toward me and his eyes glow with recognition. "No wonder you wouldn't help me. You've got an angel on one shoulder, and the devil on the other." He says the last part directly toward Elena with a sly grin.
"Bet you didn't even know that we knew each other, did you, Jakey?"
"Go to hell." I snark, my hands forming into tight fists. I feel Elena climb down the rest of the stairs behind me.
"I probably already am. It's just good to know I'll be in good company during my stay." With another lasting glance toward Elena, he starts for the door.
"Damon." She says. I hate how she says his name. The word is so familiar on her tongue. It's as familiar as my own. He turns around and stares at her. I don't look at Elena but I feel her rest a hand on my shoulder. "You're better than this."
He laughs and pushes out the door without a second thought.
When he's out of sight I shrug her hand off my shoulder. When I turn to look at her, she looks like a child who's about to be scolded and that pisses me off because that means she's done something wrong. And if what I think happened has happened then I won't have her anymore and she won't have me. It pisses me off that she would single handedly ruin that.
It would be just my fucking luck that I finally like a girl who has history with my brother. It's my luck to be fucking interested in a liar. I disguise my hurt with nonchalance and ask her.
"Do you know him?"
She doesn't answer, instead she bites down on her lip and tries to give me excuses. "Let me explain-"
"Do you know him?" I reiterate with no inflection in my voice. I give her a pointed look that tells her I'm not interested in the 'how.' All I want is to know.
She hesitates and looks down at Nellie, who grasps the collar of her shirt. "Yes."
I hold my hands out and turn my head away. "Give me Nellie."
"Jacpn, let me explain. You're being irrational."
I bite down and stop myself from growling at her. "No. You're irrational. This isn't one of your fucking games, give me back my daughter."
She winces and for the first time I notice the watery nature of her eyes. She kisses Nellie once and hands her over, planting her where she belonged. With my daughter in my arms I felt better. The punctured holes in my heart didn't seem as big. The sound of her giggle almost made me smile. Almost.
I turn to Elena, glance at the fallen eggs, and head for my own apartment. Her tiny sniffles exacerbate the further away that I go.
But maybe this is how it's supposed to be: me and my Mini, and her and her fucking eggs.
Katherine is prattling off about knock off Jimmy Choos when I reach our lunch spot.
"If you can't afford the real thing, don't even try." I have no idea what she's talking about, because she definitely could not afford the real thing. I didn't say anything about it.
I slammed my lunch down on the table and scowled down at the two slices of bread with day old cheese and a slice of meat. I glared at the watered down applesauce in my container that looked suspiciously like Mini's baby food before sticking a plastic spoon in and shoving it in my mouth.
Bonnie nudges me and I don't respond. Katherine trails her foot up my leg and I push it back down.
"Don't."
Maybe it was in my tone, but she knew I wasn't in the mood today, not for her flirting or Bonnie's interrogations.
Matt peeks over at my sandwich and his nose scrunches up. "Man, that reeks."
