Killings Of Midnight |✔️|

Chapter 23 (Edited)

      Damaria woke up and looked around to see she was in her own bed. Her clothes were the same from last night but her face wasn't covered in makeup. She slowly stood to her feet but stumbled over and fell, knocking the clock and glass of water from the bedside table. The water spilled everywhere and the glass shattered to pieces. She held her weight on her hands until they started to shake uncontrollably. Her arms gave out and she lay still on the cold hardwood floor.

There was a rushing of footsteps and then the door opened and Lance swiftly walked towards Damaria and helped her up. He helped her sit on the bed while he went to find a towel. When he came back he wrapped one of the towels around Damaria and the other he used to clean the floor.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I did when I was younger, after a beating." Lance froze. Damaria sighed. "Sorry, I should not have said that." She pulled the towel closer to her.

Lance quietly cleaned the floor and then brought the broom and dust pan. He cleaned the shattered glass pieces, slowly and quietly, as though he was contemplating on what to say next.

"Lance please say something." Damaria pleaded, clutching the white towel. The bright light from the windows shone in her room and the white walls were contrasting with the black furniture. Lance glanced all around before returning to look down.

Suddenly, Lance stopped his cleaning and turned to her. "You scared the crap out of me. This isn't even the first time. When we were younger and you would come back from school with ripped clothes or a bruise and I'd question you. You'd lie to my face! Then when I started going to university and you were in high school. I would visit in the holidays and find you still covered in bruises. And again if I asked and you'd make up an excuse! Every time, every single time I asked what happened you'd make up an excuse. At first I dropped it because I thought that you could handle it. But when it became a habit of seeing you in the same state every time I saw you. I'd had enough!" He sighed. "Because Damaria the first few times I let it pass. After that I wanted to know the truth because I don't know whether you were hiding it because you didn't want to feel ashamed or because you wanted to protect me. I don't know. But I'm older and it's my job to protect you. So Damaria all I ask right now is," He ran a hand through his hair. "Will you tell me what happened last night?"

Damaria stared at him wide-eyed. After years of practicing and hiding her emotions, she could not hide it now. She wasn't able to hide the pain she felt or sadness or shame or anger and all because Lance had her a life awaiting speech. Something she'd never gotten. She released a sigh, as though some how all her problems would blow away too. But she knew that wasn't true. She knew they still sat on her shoulders, weighing her down.

     "I know Stefan knows about what happened back then, I just don't know how." He shrugged.

     Damaria looked down. She was scared she would break if she looked into his eyes while telling him the truth. "He was da-Kurt's friend. He was also a janitor at my high school." She clutched the towel closer. "I had never noticed. But it seemed strange when we would be talking while working at the museum and he would throw little hints about something I did when I was younger. Or some habit that I used to have or something that changed about me." Damaria took a deep breath. "But when I visited the hotel to check on the manager and found he was that manager. I lost it. I did not understand how a security guard could become a hotel manager. I just did not understand. But when he admitted that he knew everything about me and you. I froze. My worst fear was coming true. Someone was reopening my past and bringing it into the present." 

     Lance sat down next to Damaria. He'd never seen his sister so down, so broken. It hurt him that he couldn't do anything but say lies to keep her happy. It was something people did when things were turning out for the worst. They would create a story and believe it, because when all else is at a lost, a story, something false, can distract you. But in this situation Damaria was too old for a story to cheer her up, she needed to know the truth. And the plain truth was, the world just sucked at times.

     The silence that settled over the two was calming. Damaria finally felt as though some, even if it was very little, of the weight was off her shoulders. She was glad she had Lance as a brother to always be there for her. And she was glad Kurt had passed away, because now she was free of the fear she had gained over the years. But most of all she was glad that Lance married Gemma, a girl she would not mind calling a sister.

---

     Ryder stopped the car in front of the mall. He was a little anxious about entering the mall. Afraid that one of his friends might see him.

     Libby seemed to see through his act. "You can stay in the car or just drop me off. I'll take the bus back."

     Ryder was quiet. He had the option too and sure was debating on it. But then he thought of his aunt finding out and how Libby cried yesterday while mumbling about her family breaking. Then he thought about his mum and dad and everything in his head became emotional and his anger grew. He hated everyone and everything. They always seemed to make the simplest things complicated.

     His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel. He didn't knew what to do and it was only further aggravating him. But he didn't need to answer Libby. She was already out of the car walking to the mall entrance without looking back. He sighed and rested his head on the steering wheel. Guess he was waiting in the car.

---

Libby knew this would happen once they reached the mall. Ryder was going to give up and chicken out. But instead of feeling hurt, like everyone around her makes her feel. She held her head up high and continued to walk towards the only store that would never let her down. The book store.