Mr. Lawson's Assistant

Chapter 26

I groaned, peeling my eyes open at the sound of my name in the distance. Everything was dark, besides the white spots dotting my vison above me.
I didn't know where I was, until I heard the waves washing up on shore in the background.
"What...?" I trailed off, slowly pushing myself up into a sitting position, when I noticed that someone was crouched beside me in the sand.
"I've been looking everywhere for you." Damon's voice came again, and I detected a slight bit of anger in his tone. Reaching up to push my hair out of my face, I started brushing some of the sand off my arms.
"I fell asleep."
"I noticed." Damon retorted under his breath. I pursed my lips.
After a moment, Damon spoke again, "We need to go inside."
Standing to my feet, I started to pat off the sand, and a yawn slipped out of my mouth, before I started walking back towards the house. Damon was beside me because I could see his tall black outline against the stars.
"Don't worry about the sand." Damon opened the back door for me, when I tried to shake off more of the grainy substance, before walking inside. Glancing at his face, as I walked into the dark house, I watched a brief flash of moonlight wash over part of his face, lighting up his green eyes. Something about the night light made his eyes seem deeper-- more soulful than I had cared to notice before. Once inside, Damon locked the door, and we headed up to the main level.
I walked down the hallway first, Damon right behind me, until he split off into his room, and I moved off into mine. I'd barely removed my clothes and thrown on my nightgown, before I collapsed into bed and fell asleep.
*
Everything was black and white. I lay on the floor of the kitchen, gasping for breath as my step-father loomed over me, a smashed beer can in his right fist.
"S-stop!" My voice shook as I tried to move back away from him.
My side hurt.
Glancing down, I saw a shiny red liquid seeping out of my side onto the floor, staining the grey floor tiles.
Tony roared again, stepping towards me and raising the bottle again. "You're not my daughter!"
"No, n-no, don't-"
I screamed, sitting up in my bed, sweat drenching my back, and soaking my forehead, as I threw my head around trying to see through the darkness.
Nothing.
I was alone again, in my room.
A nightmare?
Letting out a slow breath, I dropped my head into my hands, and focused on my breathing. A few stray tears slid down my cheeks, but I wiped them away. Staring into the darkness, I exhaled another shaky breath, slowly reaching down to touch the raised scar on my left side. It was throbbing gently, but it wasn't real pain. It was only my mind playing with me.
I'm safe.
Closing my eyes, I pulled my knees up to my chest, feeling like a child, as I tried to calm my racing heart.
I haven't had a nightmare since I was nineteen.
I thought, shaking my head at myself. Almost two years ago, was the last time I' had nightmare, and I'd thought I'd gotten rid of them.
Apparently not.
Sighing, I slid back down into the sheets and pulled the blankets up over my cold shoulders. Hugging the pillow to my chest, I rolled onto my side and tried to fall back asleep.
*
The next morning, Damon was up before me as usual, and he'd made cinnamon toast with the bread he bought yesterday.
"Good morning," He said over his shoulder, as I walked into the kitchen. I hummed my good morning and took a seat at the bar, sipping the glass of water I'd grabbed from the fridge. "Did you sleep well?" Damon asked, turning to me. I forced a nod, dropping my eyes to the counter top and as he served me a plate. I mumbled a thank you.
"As convincing as you are, I think you you might be lying." He commented, stepping back after handing me the plate.
"I didn't get enough sleep." I quipped, not even throwing in the effort to sound convincing. It was true, I hadn't slept well at all. After I'd woken up from my nighmare, I couldn't get back to sleep for another two hours.
Damon kept his eyes on me. "I heard you last night..." he said quietly, and I stiffened. "Is everything alright?" He pressed, standing in front of me at the counter, his face washed with concern. I nodded, stuffing some toast into my mouth, so he wouldn't ask me another question. But he didn't take the hint. "Can you tell me what happened?" He pressed, and I was almost surprised at the sincerity in his voice. "You screamed."
"It's nothing to be concerned about, just a bad dream." I lifted my eyes, which turned out to be a mistake. Damon seemed to see right through me. The piercing intensity of his gaze made me want to look away, but I couldn't.
"Stop." I jerked my eyes away, gripping the side of be counter.
"Stop, what?" Damon frowned.
"Acting like it matters." I narrowed my eyes at him, as I stood up. "It's none of your concern." I snapped, pushing my plate towards the sink.
"Oana-" he started, but I cut him off.
"Leave it." I said sharply, looking at him, this time with my own piercing glare. His eyes were darker than the last time, but I didn't really care.
Four more days. Four more days until I'm out of here, away from him.
Without a second glance back, I bee-lined for the back exit, moving down the steps, and out to the beach path. Half way to the shore, I heard Damon calling my name behind me. I clenched my hands and forced myself to stop walking.
"Oana," Damon circled around in front of me to cut me off, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." He spoke earnestly, meeting my eyes with sincerity in his own. Earnestness wasn't the only thing I caught sight of when I allowed myself to look him in the eyes; pity was there also. I wanted to spit at him and tell him to leave me alone...but I couldn't. Not when I knew I was partly in the wrong.
I stiffened, prying my fingers from digging into my palms, "It's fine." I paused, trying to bite back my next words. "I overreacted." I said quietly, looking away. Damon reached over and pulled my chin up gently, causing me to snap my eyes back to his.
"You're not fine." He said, his finger and thumb gently grasping my chin.
His eyes weren't as pitiful now, it was more of a certian respect that swirled inside them. After a moment, he seemed to realize what he was doing, and he slowly released my chin, dropping his hand to his side, but not taking his eyes off me. We stood there for what felt like minutes, staring at each other, neither of us finding something to say. After that moment, a half-smirk appeared on Damon's face, and he gestured to my bathing suit strap that peaked our from under my shirt.
"What?" I frowned, glancing down, but he just shook his head.
"Nothing, I just thought that since we're already here, we might as well spend some time on the beach." He chuckled, and I raised my eyebrows.
Nice change of subject, Mr. Lawson.
"Where's your suit?"
Damon smirked this time, crossing his arms over his chest, and pulling off his t-shirt. I immediately felt a blush rising to my face, but I met his eyes, in an effort not to gawk at his bare chest.
I wanted to say something smart, but my brain wasn't working. The worst part was, Damon seemed to know exactly what he had done. The amusement was evident on his face. I raised my eyebrows at him, not even glancing to his chest, but his smirk widened and he winked at me. He stepped to the side, gesturing that I start walking ahead of him.
"Ladies first."