SURVIVOR of the WOODS

(16)

Freya stood up and went to open the door but before doing so, she told me to go into the kitchen. She opened it and surprisingly two hands grabbed her and squeezed her in a bone crushing hug.

"Damien, let go." Freya said, pushing his hands away.

"I'm happy to see you too." Damien got inside and Freya closed the door.

"What are you doing here?" Freya didn't even let him breathe.

"I see you were having lunch. I'm starving! Is there any left for me?" He put his bag on the couch and directed towards the dining table, "Where's Dorothea?"

"Hey!" I greeted as I entered the living room.

"There you are!" He walked towards me and slightly hugged me by the side.

"Damien, I need to talk to you." Freya climbed the stairs.

"Somethings never change." He sighed. Then, winked at me and went behind Freya. I got curious, so I followed him to Freya's room and listened closely to what they were saying.

"You better have a good reason to be here. You didn't even inform me."

"Freya, I came here for you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know, Dorothea is a bit uncomfortable with you. I wonder how she spent these nights alongside you but thankfully, she survived."

I chuckled softly.

"So, you came for her?" Freya asked.

"No, you got me all wrong. I came here for you so that I could teach you how to befriend someone like her."

"I don't need your rizz lessons Damien. We're fine here, even without you."

"Ouch that hurts. Listen...I know you feel something towards her, I just wanna help."

"I don't need it! Tell me what happened with my dad when I was gone."

Damien sighed, "He didn't come. He sent two of his men, Mark and Jeremy. Mark was the one who sent the team to assassinate Dorothea's family. They won't tell the reasons. Mark is your dad's personal assistant and I was hoping to extract answers from him but my charm didn't work."

"Charm? My ass! Go back to the island."

"Why?"

"We don't need you here Damien. There's not enough room for three persons."

"Your parents plus you used to stay here. How is that different now?"

"We're grown ups Damien. We need our personal space."

"I'll sleep on the couch."

"No, you'll get uncomfortable."

"I won't."

"Fine! Do as you please. But don't get too excited."

Freya's phone started beeping. "He's calling." Freya's voice showed hesitation.

"Answer him. Otherwise he might sense something wrong." Damien said.

Was the mafia king that terrifying?

"Hey dad. ...yes...I'm in our vacation house in New York. There are some unfinished business here. ...what club? Okay. Got it."

"So, what'd he say?" Damien got impatient.

"There's a club I need to go tonight"

"Let's go together. It might be a fun experience for Dorothea."