Mr. Lawson's Assistant

Chapter 40

Tears welled up in my own eyes as Damon reached into his pocket and drew out three more hair ties.
"So, that's why I have a hair tie," He breathed, shoving the ties back into his pocket and shifting back against the counter.
I didn't know what to say. By the look in his eyes, his sister had meant the world to him. Talking about her must have been torture for him.
Who wouldn't be devestated if they lost a sister?
Pulling my knees up to my chest, I scooted a little closer to Damon, drawing his eyes back over to me. Letting out a breath, I gave him a small smile, and lay my head against his shoulder. His tensed muscles relaxed under me and a quiet breath escaped his lips. Then, he slowly lay his head down on top of mine. Closing my eyes, I let my heart rate slow, as I listened to his rhythmic breathing against my ear. My stomach started to settle, and as my own breathing steadied, I let myself slip off to sleep.
*
I woke with a start, startled by a set of long knocks on the bathroom door. The sound stirred Damon as well, and I opened my eyes to see him slumped over me, his arm draped over my hip, and my legs crossed over his knees.
Glancing at Damon I lifted my head from his chest and shifted off him quickly when another set of knocks rapped on the door. Wincing against my sore muscles as I stood, I used the counter to steady myself as Damon pushed himself to his feet and opened the bathroom door.
"Kenya said you'd be in here-" The woman standing in the hallway stopped short when she saw me standing unsteadily against the counter, blinking at the light that flooded into the bathroom. Her grey eyes switched from me to Damon, and then back, as if she was unsure of what to think.
"Dear Lord! tell me you've taken her to a medic, Damon?" The woman bypassed Damon and stepped into the bathroom towards me. I shied backwards when she reached out towards my cheek and pressed her palm gently on my cheek. She took a short breath, "I'm sorry..." She retracted her hand, her expression softening. I didn't know what to say. My mind was still groggy from sleep. 
"Mom, this is Oana. Oana, meet my mother." Damon stepped in, gesturing between the two of us, obviously seeing how bewildered I was.
Immediately when Damon mentioned the word 'mother', I realized why the woman's features looked so familiar. Her long, straight nose and sharp facial features were almost identical to Greyson's, and her eyes were only a few shades lighter than her eldest son's baby blue eyes- though her eyes appeared more grey than blue.
"Nice to meet you, Oana." She smiled, offering me a soft hand. I shook it carefully, trying to avoid squeezing. My skin felt tight and when I moved even a fraction of an inch, it felt like I was stretching my skin off the bones. It hurt. A lot.
"Why don't you both come to the kitchen- when you're ready, of course- and have some breakfast." Damon's mother glanced between her son and I, her eyes conveying nothing but a mother's gentle concern. Of what else she was thinking, I had idea.
The older woman patted her son's shoulder, then left Damon and me alone again.
I grimaced at the thought of breakfast. My stomach was still unsettled from whatever had happened last night, and sleeping on the bathroom tile all night hadn't helped.
All night?
It hadn't felt like an entire night, even though my butt was really sore. Chancing a look in the mirror beside me, I winced at my bruises and the purple bags under my eyes.
Damon smirked at me, "That's what I thought when I saw you too." He grinned, seeing my expression. I shot him a glare and he ceded the bathroom to me when I odered him out.
After I'd washed my face and braided my hair back out of my face, I wandered out into the hallway, faintly wondering where David and Kenya had gone last night.
I entered the kitchen with another yawn, to see Damon's mother cooking pancakes on the stove. She turned and smiled at me over shoulder as I took a seat at the bar.
"Kenya tells me that you have an interest in buisness?" Her gentle aurora and tender voice were far from what I had expected when I'd envisioned Greyson and Damon's mother.
"I am..." I nodded, and she hummed.
"You work with Greyson." It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes ma'am."
Mrs. Lawson flipped a few pancakes onto a plate and began pouring a new batch into the pan.
"That's an appropriate place to start," she faced me with a faint smile, "Greyson is doing well with the family buisness."
I held back a knowing smile as she forked a few of the cakes onto a plate and slid it in front of me.
"I'm good at what now?" Greyson walked into the kitchen buttoning up his white buisness shirt. By the looks of his hair, he'd just woken up.
"Interrupting conversations you weren't involved in." His mother sent him a chiding stare and he chuckled.
"Sorry." He grabbed a pancake off the plate beside the stove and planted a kiss on his mother's cheek. I was slightly taken aback by Greyson's behavior. Mostly, because he had always been so calm and aloof at work. However, he looked completely comfortable around his mother. Greyson shoved a pancake into his mouth, at the same time he was trying to tie his tie, and ended up making a mess of both. His mother shook her head at him, setting down her spatula. She nimbly took the tie from Greyson's hands and, with flying fingers, she had it tied formally under his neck.
"Thanks mom." Greyson adjusted his cuffs and turned to me.
"Work today?" I asked him, praying that he told me I wouldn't have to work today too.
He sent me a small smile and shook his head. "No, I have a meeting with the chief of police today," He paused, grabbing a glass from the cubbard, "but that's beside the point, because you're not going back to work this week anyways." He said pointedly, his blue eyes skimming my scraped arms. I let out a breath and sat back against the bar chair, raising my eyebrows. He held up a hand and set his water down. "No arguments." With that, he bid his mother goodbye, before he headed out towards the front door. I heard him say something to Damon as they passed each other, and Damon entered the kitchen just as Greyson left through the front door.
Glancing up as Damon came in, I felt my cheeks flush, and I quickly dropped my eyes back to the counter.
His mother turned to greet him, but she frowned when she saw him. "Damon, go put some clothes on." His mom pursed her lips, scanning him once with her grey eyes.
Damon chuckled but nodded, slinging the shirt his had over his shoulder, into his hands. Trying to keep my eyes anywhere except on his extremely toned upper body, I lifted my eyes to the ceiling.
"What's for breakfast?" Damon asked, pulling the t-shirt over his bare chest. His mother pointed to the plate and continued flipping pancakes. Damon smiled, walking behind the bar and over to the plate of pancakes. Shoving one in his mouth, he grinned at his mother's raised eyebrows, and ran a hand through his damp hair.
"After so many years of trying to teach you manners," she paused, reaching up to brush some of his hair from his face, "I'd like to think you would have learned at least a few."
Damon smirked and shrugged, sending me a wink, as he put another pancake into his mouth. His mother sighed glancing at me with a half-smile.
"Men," She shook her head, "They're utterly unteachable." She rolled her eyes, and I smiled.
"I'm standing right here," Damon chuckled, pulling the fridge open and grabbing out the orange juice. After pouring himself a glass he glanced over, "Juice?" He held out the container to me, and I nodded. Damon turned and grabbed another glass from the cubbard, avoiding his mother when she moved in front of him to fetch more butter for her pan. Pouring another glass, Damon came around the island and set it in front of me, taking the seat beside me.
"Have you heard from my brother?" I asked Damon, sipping my orange juice and trying to ignore his knee pressing against my thigh. He hadn't seemed to notice.
"He and Kenya headed back to your place this morning to get your dad." Damon nodded, his eyes momentarily resting on my face. "I'll take you home after breakfast if you want," He offered, draining his glass.
"I can get a taxi-" I shook my head, and he smirked.
"We'll take the Lamborghini." He confirmed with a nod.
I pursed my lips and forced myself to shrug, "If it isn't any trouble."
"Not at all." He slid out of the chair and set his glass in the sink. "We can leave when you're finished." He called over his shoulder, moving into the living room to answer the door.
"Oana!" I heard Damon call my name seconds later, and I traded a look with his mother. Walking out to the front door, I faltered when I saw Tony standing a the door, blood dripping down his forehead.
I gasped. "What happened?" I rushed forward as he stumbled in through the door, his breathing ragged.
"D-david..." He coughed, and Mrs. Lawson appeared from the kitchen.
"Heavens-" she covered her mouth as Tony sagged against the wall.
"T-the men came to....to the apartment..." He wheezed, but I was no longer listening. Sprinting down the hall, I rushed into the room I'd slept in last night, and searched for a pair of shoes. Throwing on the first pair my fingers touched, I ran back towards the front door. Damon met me there with his own shoes on, and his phone at his ear. Mrs. Lawson was helping Tony sit down in the living room, but I wasn't paying attention to them. Damon and I rushed to the Range Rover parked out front, and in minutes we were speeding down the highway towards my apartment.
Dear God, let him be alive!
Damon jerked the car to a stop beside the side exit to the apartments, and I jumped out before he could yell at me to stop. I scaled the steps in record time, and dashed into the hallway, pushing down panic when I saw my apartment door open, hanging on only one hinge.