Damien and Juliet (ON HOLD)

C8| Just another guy

Thank you all so, so much. I know I only uploaded yesterday but your support has been amazing and so I thought I'd give you an early update!

Enjoy, my darlings (decided I'll be calling you that from now on and if you wanna know why, just look up the translation of 'my dear' or 'my darling' in Italian).

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C8

Once we'd eaten dinner and finally finished training, it was well into the evening. Damien hadn't spoken much and any signs of playfulness we'd had in the past was long gone whenever he did. Throughout the day, even when he started testing my skills in hand-to-hand combat, he was always careful not to touch me in any way that could be perceived as threatening. His voice was consistently soft and I was beginning to realise that the fact I was afraid of him, was seriously affecting his mind.

Despite how much I wanted to ease his pain –I simply couldn't change my feelings.

After taking me back to my room, Damien waited for me to enter before silently parting ways, his actions and his eyes as distracted as they'd been all day.

For a while I absently stared at my bed, refusing to move from where I leant against the door. Eventually, after what seemed like hours, I decided to slip out of my room and into the now-dark hallway. From memory I quietly navigated down the halls and back to the training room, automatically tugging a bobby pin from my hair when I found the door was locked.

With ease, I snuck into the room and reactively I flipped the light switch on by the door, watching as the bright lights lit up the training equipment. I took in a deliberate, deep breath and despite my screaming muscles, I started repeating the workouts Damien had taught me.

Hours passed and when I knew it'd be about one in the morning, I decided it was time to head back to my room so I could shower and get some sleep. First I stopped outside of the kitchen, choosing to get a drink to quench my thirst. To ensure that I didn't wake anyone sleeping, I slipped into the dimly lit kitchen as silently as humanely possible.

When I heard Damien's voice and realised that he was lowly speaking to someone, I instantly reacted and dove under the kitchen counter, peeking out to look at him as he sat playing chess at the dining table. The moment my eyes focused on his body, the fatigue I'd felt from training all night washed away and was replaced with a sense of security and comfort.

"I don't think I could reject her if I tried," he quietly admitted as he precisely pushed one of his pawns across the chessboard -obviously very unaware of my presence. From my position, I could just make out the relieved smile spreading across Cynthia's lips as she carefully watched his movements while sitting by his side.

"You know she's hurting, right?" her voice was soft and without a trace of hostility –but her words were filled with meaning. When Damien leaned back in his chair, signalling the end of his turn, she leant forward and stared at the board.

"And afraid," he whispered, staring absently at the table with sad eyes. "I didn't mean to scare her."

Cynthia worriedly glanced up at that, her fingers hovering above a white knight. "Did you hit-"

"God no," Damien instantly denied, pushing his hand through his hair as he sharply exhaled. "But you should've seen the look on her face, Cyn. I might as well have."

"She's broken," Cynthia faintly replied, finally touching the chess piece even though she no longer seemed as focused on the game as she was before. "Anyone can see that. I doubt it was entirely your fault."