DAMIEN: Book 2 of The De Luca Brothers Series [COMPLETED]

29:

I wake up to the sound of clanging and a scream. Damien leaps out of bed fully nude surprising me, causing me to wake up startled and crawl flush to the headboard panicked, setting a hand on my bump and the covers pulled to my chest. He rushes out of the door with a pistol in hand- no idea where he got it from- before running towards the noise. It goes quiet for a couple eternal seconds, before I hear another scream then hysterical laughter, then even more screaming. Curiosity killed the cat as I wrap the cover around my torso and go to peak around the doorframe, however Damien marches back in, hand covering his goods and a stormy look on his face.

I bite my lip, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" He asks, kicking the door shut with a loud slam. "What's wrong is that my sister Vipera can't fucking cook! First of all she burnt the muffins yesterday, now she wants to batch produce fucking pancakes and she can't even flip the pan apparently because said pan was on the fucking floor along with a depressed, undercooked pancake! The poor guy."

I laugh and smack a hand over my mouth, eyes going wide. He sends me a deadly glare before looking me up and down and raising a brow, "Are you trying to have sex with me?"

I roll my eyes, "Please. I'm still sore from last night."

He smirks and walks over, hand leaving his prized jewels for the world to see as he kisses me forehead and mumbles a sweet, "Mornin'."

"Morning."

"Are you feeling any better?"

"A little bit. I haven't quite come to terms with it all yet, but I'm getting there," I murmur, resting my head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologise for. If you apologise then you're thinking that it's you who killed the members. Were you the person pulling the trigger?"

"No but—"

"No buts," he tuts. "You weren't the person behind the weapon, holding it and pulling the trigger. We all made a mistake by letting Zoe and Rita in, not only you— don't you dare shoulder the blame of something you couldn't control."

I lone tear trickles down my cheek as we sway, his arms wrapped around me, my hands to his warm chest with the silence engulfing us in a pleasant atmosphere.

"Come on lovers! I've made breakfast!" Exclaims Vipera from behind the door. "From all that banging last night you're probably hungry!"

I flush bright red and once again comprehend that we're both naked. I bite my lip to hold in my laughter as Damien sighs pressing his forehead against mine, "Fucking morons."

After we get dressed, me wearing his oversized shirt and boxers, we file out of the bedroom and into the main area where Vipera is wearing a bright pink apron as she stacks pancakes on a plate, "Come and get it, you don't have to thank me though. Your voices are probably tired from screaming."

I blush and awkwardly glance around the room where Zac is trying to hold in his laughter whilst snuggled into Toro's side; Toro shakes his head to himself and shovels in a mouthful of breakfast. Leone is in his own little world, typing away on a laptop whilst sat on the other settee. Ashley, the doctor and Dylan are nowhere in sight.

"Thanks for breakfast," I mumble, not making eye contact with her knowing grin and take a pancake before sitting down next to Gufo. He has approximately eight on his plate.

He glances at my one and frowns, "Why don't you have any more?"

"Maybe 'cause I'm not hungry," I mumble.

He huffs and forcefully swaps plates with me before getting up and getting more on my original plate. I sigh and play with my food, taking little bites due to my lack of appetite. He sits himself back down next to me and digs in indifferent, wolfing the entire plate down under five minutes. Meanwhile I haven't finished one.

"You have to eat," he grumbles. "Think of the baby. It's probably very hungry."

"Well I'm not," I ground out, suddenly feeling very irritated due to his persistence. "Can you just leave it alone?"

"Babe, I'm just trying to look out for your health—"

"I'm an adult. I've survived long enough on my own to know what to do. Stop acting like my damn father just because he was a shit one," I snap, standing up abruptly and throwing the breakfast onto the coffee table with a loud thunk.

A torrent of emotions hit me hard in the chest and my bottom lip trembles, hating the feeling of vulnerability that he makes me feel. He probably doesn't even care about me, only the baby. Always the baby. If it wasn't for the baby, he wouldn't even talk to me, I wouldn't be here with him, he'd be off with Sapphire, pounding into her like he did last night to me.

I storm out of the cabin, slamming the door shut behind me and leaving the tense atmosphere of the lounge. I can't stand it. If he never met me then I wouldn't be a murderer. If he didn't meet me, then I wouldn't be pregnant. If he didn't meet you then you'd still be alone.

I sit on the swing and look out into the woods, my mind a whirlwind of confusion and emotions and pain. Like a blender scrabbling any reasonable thoughts other than him and me. I hate the fact that he acts like her cares- he doesn't fucking understand anything. Nothing about my past, about why I ran, about anything. Nothing I went through can be justified by a piece of paper.

"Chloe?"

I look up to see Zachary closing the front door behind him, a look of concern on his face. He wouldn't be concerned with me if it weren't for my relationship with Gufo.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm a terrible person," I whisper more to myself, looking away from him after a moment.

"No you're not," he replies softly. "You're just too selfless to realise that you're not at fault here. Stop shouldering the blame, it's unhealthy."

I bite my lip and exhale slowly, closing my eyes and trying to recuperate any clear thoughts. Zac takes my hand and squeezes it, "Gufo's blaming all of this on the hormones."

I scoff, "They're just a catalyst."

"A catalyst for what?"

"The truth."

"Of?"

"He doesn't really care for me," I snort. "If it wasn't for the baby, then I'd not be here right now. I'd just be another nightstand out of all of his hundreds of girls. Another face and memory."

"Are you serious?" He blinks. "He's head over heels for you! Before he hooked up with you, he barged into Toro's bedroom with me in it and described you to every last detail. Sweetheart, I know it's difficult with the baby, Ashley, the massacre and college... but you need to stay strong and know that Gufo has never been more sure of something in his entire life."

"I'm not worth it."

"Says who? You? A hormonal pregnant mother staying strong despite being forced into a gang she never wanted to go to in the first place, meanwhile studying for her fucking PhD and running from her ugly past."

I shoot him an alarmed look.

"Yeah, don't think I didn't hear about that little comment you made. Believe it or not, you're like family to us. Even Toro likes you- he doesn't like many people, including Gufo. We love you."

He tugs me into his arms and holds me tightly against his small frame, letting me mull over his speech.