Burn With Me

Chapter 2

Damien

I rubbed my temples as I looked down at the papers in front of me.

I'm looking over the proposals for new trading fleets that we are thinking of acquiring for our expansion and right now, I can't seem to keep my focus on the proposals in front of me.

I pushed of my desk and walked over to the large open window.

I looked down at the city lights and sighed.

I don't understand what's going on with me. I've just been so lost and confused.

I need to get the hell out of here.  There's only one person who can help me.

***

"What's on your mind, honey," my mom asked as she placed a glass of water and a piece of pie in front of me.

I smiled. "Nothing," I said. "I just wanted to visit."

"Honey, you know I love having you guys home, but I know you, Damien. You don't come unannounced or at this hour unless something is on your mind or something is bothering you," she said. "Is this about work?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Then what is it?" She asked.

I don't even know where to begin.

"Out of all of you, you've always been the one who has a hard time talking about how you feel. Even more so when your sister was kidnaped. It's like you took on this role of protector. It's as if you felt like you had to grow up fast and I'm sorry for that," she said and I shook my head.

"Mom, no. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"We do. We tried to shield you and your brothers and sisters as much as we can, but it was a hard time for our family. You took on a big role when it comes to making sure your siblings were okay and shielded them from the press and the attention surrounding Lia's kidnaping.

"You and dad protected us. I knew how hard it was for the two of you, but you kept strong and held us together. I wanted to help."

She smiled. "I'm glad you think so and I'm glad that we made it through everything. And we are so thankful for what you did for your siblings."

I smiled. I love my family and I'd do anything for them. Anything to keep them safe. But the real heroes are our parents. They were our role models and they were the ones who showed us how to care and protect the ones we love. They showed us the value of trust and the importance of faith.

"You and dad always made it seem so easy. Even if we were going through something difficult, you always had faith. How did you and dad do it? I mean how do you do it?"

"Oh honey, it wasn't easy and we've stumbled a few times, but we always knew that our love was greater than anything else. We knew that we were stronger together than we were apart. We love our family and we wouldn't let anything break us or make us lose sight of that."

I smiled and nodded. "Well we didn't see those stumbles.

She chuckled. "Good. We wanted you all to grow up knowing how to fight through all the bad shit in this world," she said making me laugh.

"Mom, do you realize that's the first time I heard you swear?"

She laughed too. "After what this family has been through, I think I deserve it."

I chuckled.

"Honey, whatever it is that's bothering you, just know that we're always right behind you."