Now you owe me

T w e n t y - T h r e e

Chapter Twenty-Three

I love you, Haley Parker.

- Damian's POV -
The moment when I walked downstairs, a huge grin automatically formed on my face when I saw her sitting on one of my black bar-stools, staring at the wall. It seemed like she was still lost in her thoughts. She has been lost in her thoughts for quite a while now.
I, on the other hand, was just astonished that she was still here. She didn't make a run for it, and I appreciated that. Never, did I want to feel the pain that she put me through when she wrote that damn note yesterday.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?", she hissed the moment I planted a short kiss right behind her left ear, my hands resting on her hips.
"Good morning Miss grumpy." Mornings were her weakness.
"Hmm." Within seconds, she jumped off the stool, slapping my hands away when we heard the front door open. Ouch. Was she feeling ashamed of being seen with me?

Five familiar faces stared at us. Amusement in four out of five and a pair of dark-green ones which were staring at my Haley intensively. And only at Haley. Jason.
She didn't even hesitate before she ran into Jason's wide arms as if she searched for comfort. His comfort. Even though I was more than willing to give her every comfort that she needed. Didn't she see that? Why was she stabbing me on purpose?
"Haley", he murmured softly against her hair, and I noticed that she was smiling against his chest, reminding me how she smiled against my skin just yesterday. Smiled while we shared the most intimate memory together. It felt like she fired a bullet straight into my heart.
My hands clenched into firm fists the moment when I watched him lifting her chin up before he placed a kiss on her raspberry-colored lips. Two out of the four familiar faces stared at them, but two glances landed on me. Kate and Steven. Somehow, they seemed to figure out what I felt for this stubborn girl called Haley. The pain traveled through their eyes. Pity.
It wasn't only the shock that he just kissed her that caused the pain in my chest to increase. It was rather the fact that she didn't pull away. She just stood there, frozen. Literally doing nothing. She didn't even push him away as she did to me all this fucking time. Damn. She. Was. Mine.

**
Two more days passed since Jason the jerk kissed my girl. I was about to kill him before Steven and Kate stood up for me, telling him what was going on. His face went through different stages of emotions: happy at first, ere they told him the truth, followed by guilt, confusion, and eventually sadness.
"I didn't know that, Damian. I am sorry. I swear if I would've known, I would've never done that. Especially not in front of you. Damnit, I feel like the worst best friend ever. I am so sorry. It was an accident", he apologized quietly before I watched him walking up and down the aisle in front of my door.
"Do you like her?", the question seemed harsh.
"Yeah, I did. Well, you know we shared a moment or two", he started, and I ground my teeth. A moment or two? What was that supposed to mean?
"We kissed Damian. And I thought there was a spark or something, but she told me that we're just friends. Good friends."
"So, you like her?"
"I do. As a friend", he explained. His voice was weak.
"Why did you kiss her then?", the burning rage inside of me was still increasing.
"Because I-I just-. She looked like she needed it. It was the same look she had on her face when we kissed before. I wasn't thinking, it's like she had me under her spell or something", he continued. I watched him raising both of his hands in a defending position.
"I'm not going to hit you, Jason. Fuck. She is still playing her little games with us, but I will end this right now", I spoke, and he nodded approvingly. End this once and for all.

I grabbed her wrist when she tried to walk past me. Her head bowed until she felt the touch of my fingers around her tiny wrist. She couldn't even look into my eyes anymore, and it angered me that she was so dismissive. Even on the day when we kidnapped her, she had acted differently than she did now. She was so distant as if she shut me out of her life. Completely ignoring me. It was killing me.
"Let go of me!", she demanded. She was using the exact same tone that she'd used when we kidnapped her while she glanced at my hand which was still wrapped around her wrist. Her eyes seemed full of fear. I thought that we have already been beyond that point of no return.
"Talk to me", I begged. This girl changed my old self in every single way that was possible. Usually, I never begged. I never had any reason to do so.
"I said. Let go of me, you idiot", she hissed. My second hand searched for hers as I got a tight hold on her; pushing her softly against the wall. My body pressed against hers while I pinned her arms beside her head. Each hand in a tight grip.
"What did I do so that you give me the silent treatment Haley?" My voice deeper than I expected and her eyes widened. My grip tightened unconsciously before she winced in pain. Her eyes stared at me alarmed.
"Nothing changed between us. That's what I already told you", she whispered so quietly that I had the feeling she lost all of her confidence. Fuck it.
"Damnit, I love you Haley", my voice filled with pain and anger. Her expression softened slightly as she tried to push me away. Naah, not this time baby.
"No, you don't", she spat. Her eyes suddenly filled with despair.
"You think that you do, or you want me to believe that you do, Damian. That's our game, right? Nothing changed. I'm still not good with feelings. So, when are you going to understand that, you stupid fool? You should've never kidnapped me for your own and my fucking sake. So, let go of me! Now!", she shouted. Her words were loud and harsh. They cut me like a knife. Straight into my heart.
Did she really believe that I would play her with those words? Did she think so low of me? She had never been loved. She wasn't good with feelings. She told me. She warned me, but I was too determined to change that. For her and my own sake.
My lips brushed over hers slightly, begging for her permission, as I watched how she fought to keep her eyes open. Her eyelids became heavier with each second that passed. Shit, I had an effect on her, and she couldn't deny that.
"I love you, Haley Parker", I mumbled against her lips before my hands lost the grip of hers, and my arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. She smelled like vanilla. I loved it.

"I-I can't", she stuttered before she pushed me away, catching me off guard, and I watched her running out of the house. My mind yelled at me to go after her, showing her that she couldn't treat me like shit while my heart ordered to let her go, giving her the space that she needed. Wait!
She didn't run out into the backyard this time. She used the front door. She only ever used that door to escape from here.
Was that her plan? Escaping after I finally confiding in her? Did she want to hurt me on purpose so that she could escape for good? Fuck no. This wasn't how the game was supposed to end.

AND WHO THE HELL DIDN'T LOCK THE FRONT DOOR AGAIN?!

- Haley's POV -
Shit. This couldn't be real. This better not be real. I had a plan that I needed to stick to. How could he just tell me those words again? He didn't mean them, right? Why was he confusing me this much even though I was so eager to win this game that I planned into detail for such a long time?

Maybe this was the perfect time for another escape.

The moment when I came to a dead stop around the corner of the badly illuminated house, cold raindrops blew against my face, meeting my hot skin. Damnit, how was it even possible that he had such immense power over me? It was like he knew what he needed to do and say in order to wrap me around his fingers. As if I was an open book he could easily read through, but I wasn't. He thought that he knew me, but the truth is: He didn't. He never had.

"Fuck, Haley. You made a run for it again?", he yelled angrily, and I was about to sprint into the opposite direction before his voice stopped me.
"You know that you're doubting it, right Haley? That's why you stopped", I heard his deep, calm voice softly mumbling behind me. My eyes widened ere I turned around to face him, staring at him from this safe distance between us. Staring at his brown, frizzy hair which was soaked in rain. His glance intense, intimidating.
"Why did you follow me out here? Can't you take any hints?", I snapped, surprised and shocked. A small piece of me thought that he might never want to deal with me again after I rejected his confession and clearly started to escape once again. Being a hostage was one thing, but being a burden was a whole different story. He fell for me and I used this trust, his feelings for my own good. That's just who I am.
"I know you, Haley. Even if you pretend that you don't feel a thing, you're having doubts. I can see them reflecting in your eyes", he started quietly and took one massive step forwards as I immediately took one protective step backward.
He couldn't come any closer. He was my kidnapper who ripped me away from my family, destroying my life. How long had it been since I haven't seen my worried mother and father? Almost four months?
Moreover, I couldn't stand inhaling his aftershave. The smell of a fresh breeze in spring. You know the smell when you're standing in a field of flowers when a hot breeze surrounds you, whirling up the different scents of those beautiful flowers? That's what he smelled like and goddamnit, I didn't even know how he could smell like that, but his scent has always been my weakness.
"Stop right there Damian! I mean it! Stop! I want you out of my life because I can't deal with all this anymore. With you! Dang, it! You fucking kidnapped me. Why can't you get the hints? I can't live like this because it's destroying me", I mumbled under my breath, telling him the truth. I couldn't and didn't want to continue staying here. This stupid fella kidnapped me goddamnit! I couldn't fall for him, but, somehow, he already believed that I did. No fucking way!

My promise was still buzzing through my mind.

In silence, I stared at him, watching him approaching me in full speed and pulling me into his warm embrace. I didn't even have the chance to react to his hold of me before his cologne reached my nostrils, and I inhaled deeply. Shit. Haley, you incompetent fool.
While I tried to struggle out of his grip, he was closing the distance between us by pressing his warm and extremely soft lips against mine. And I was completely lost once again. For Pete's sake!
"This time, I'm not asking for your permission, Haley. You belong to me and only me", he breathed against my lips before his lips collided with mine.

[Edited February 2019]

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A/N OMG Are you ready for the FINALE?! LAST CHAPTER HERE WE GOOO!