The Imperfect Girl

Chp. 41- Secret Spot

[Adeline's POV]

I found myself standing at the old wrought-iron gate, overgrown with ivy and half-hidden behind campus buildings. 

The place looked untouched, exactly as I'd left it. 

My secret garden—a patch of calm amidst the chaos of college life. It felt like forever since I'd been here.

The soft rustle of leaves greeted me as I pushed through, stepping into the quiet sanctuary. The benches were weathered but sturdy, and the air smelled faintly of damp earth and wildflowers. I dropped onto my favorite bench, my bag falling to the ground beside me.

Life had been loud lately.
Loud with Damon's jokes.
Loud with my family's screaming.
Loud with the constant buzz of deadlines and expectations. 

I hadn't had a second to breathe, let alone write.

Pulling out my phone, I opened the notes app where my next chapter draft waited. My fingers hovered over the screen. So much had happened, and I wasn't sure where to even begin.

For the next hour, I typed- and typed, pouring everything out. My characters always seemed to know what I was feeling before I did—those fictional lives making sense of the mess of my own.

I was so absorbed that I didn't hear the crunch of footsteps behind me.

The faint sound of crunching leaves made me pause mid-sentence. My fingers hovered over the screen as I glanced up, half-expecting to see a squirrel or maybe a campus security guard.

Instead, there he was. Damon.

He strolled into the clearing, lazily chewing gum, hands stuffed into the pockets of his hoodie. His face was unreadable, as if he'd just happened to wander here by chance.

"Damon?" I asked, my voice more surprised than I intended.

He stopped near the bench, eyeing the garden like it was familiar to him. 

"Huh," he muttered, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "Haven't been here in a while."

"You... know this place?" I asked, baffled.

He shrugged, popping his gum. "Yeah. Used to come here. Didn't think anyone else knew about it."

I blinked at him, the coincidence making my brain spin. "Wait, this is your spot too?"

Damon just smirked, settling onto the other end of the bench without so much as an invitation. "Looks like it."

"Didn't expect to find you here." he said, crossing the small clearing to stand in front of me. "Why are you sneaking out anyway?-"

He eyed my suitcase but said nothing. I could never be more grateful to him.

I frowned, stuffing my phone into my pocket. "I'm not sneaking anywhere. I just needed some space."

Damon tilted his head, giving me a knowing look. "From what?"

I rolled my eyes. "From everything. College. My family. Life."

He dropped down onto the bench beside me, the warmth of his shoulder brushing mine. "You could've texted me, you know."

I sighed. "I didn't want company."

"And yet, here I am." He grinned, his presence both infuriating and comforting at the same time.

For a while, we just sat there, the quiet hum of the garden filling the silence. I thought he might crack a joke or start pestering me, but instead, he simply stared ahead, like he was waiting for me to speak.

Finally, I said, "I feel like I'm always running. From my family, from expectations, from myself." My voice was quieter than I intended, but I didn't care.

Damon glanced at me, his expression unreadable. "Maybe you just need to stop running."

I huffed out a bitter laugh. "Easier said than done."

"Hey," he said, nudging me with his elbow. "You're here now. That's something, right?"

I nodded slowly, looking around at the tangled beauty of the garden. It was something.

"You gonna tell me what you were writing?" he asked, a teasing lilt in his voice.

I smirked. "Not a chance."

Damon raised his hands in mock surrender. "Fine, fine. Keep your "smutty-books" a secret. But you should know, I'm a fantastic beta reader."

I laughed.. halfway atleast.

"Damon?" I said, turning to face him fully.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," I said softly. "For... being here."

He smiled, the kind of smile that made my chest feel warm and achy all at once.

"Anytime, Addie," he said. 

And I believed him.

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