Always You

Chapter 15-Gianna

It still amazed me how quickly a good time could turn into something terrible.  Just like the party at Eric's house, one minute we were all laughing and having a good time and the next, something bad happened and ruined the mood.  It was an interesting coincidence that both times happened to include Damien being the center of it.  I should've known that something bad was going to happen when I noticed him tensing up from the guys at school staring at me. I noticed them staring when we came in but I didn't think anything of it since it was known that I with Damien.

As soon as we saw him beating up one of them, my body went numb.  The boy who held my hand and kissed my forehead just moments before was the same boy who repeatedly punched a guy to the point of blood being everywhere. For a moment he became someone I didn't even recognize. It was too much.  Fortunately, Maya saw me spiraling and got me out of there.  Even though my heart ached from not being near Damien, the feeling of needing space to process what happened outweighed it.

"What are you thinking about?" Maya asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.  I looked out the window and saw that she was driving us further away from home.

"Do you think he's okay?" I asked.  "I mean, I didn't even check. I just left him there."

"He's fine," she waved me off. "This isn't Damien's first fight and it sure as hell won't be the last.  He knows how to bandage himself up by now.  The real question is are you okay?  You looked like you saw a ghost when it was finally broken up.  Like you've never seen a fight before."

I shook my head.  "Not one that involved someone I care about.  I know about him beating up that guy for you when he first got out of juvie but to see something like that up close is...unreal.  It's like mentally he wasn't even there anymore."

Maya paused before speaking.  "Look, I told you that he would never hurt you and you said that you knew that, right?  Nothing's changed."

"I know what I said.  I just didn't realize how bad it would be.  And what happens if he gets like this and accidentally hurts me or someone else?  I didn't take that into consideration."

She stayed silent for so long that I thought she might've been mad at me for doubting her cousin. Eventually, she finally pulled over to the side of the road when we were in the country.  Horses were walking around in a field and it reminded me of when my dad took me horseback riding for the first time when I was nine.  I was terrified but I knew that I was safe because he was with me.  I wanted to feel that safe with Damien but after today, I wasn't sure if that would even be possible.

"Me and Damien always love to take drives like this," Maya said, standing next to me.  "Whenever my parents would piss us off or we were mad at the world, we'd drive out here and just wonder what it was like to be like these horses.  Free from judgment, free from everyone giving us shit over making a mistake or not getting everything right the first time.  It made us feel good to imagine that."

"I can see the appeal," I replied, smiling at the horses walking around.

She looked at me.  "Damien's never going to be able to escape his past.  To a lot of people, he'll always be that loser who got sent to juvie.  It'll make his life a little harder but it's also what makes him the great guy that you started to like in the first place.  Yeah he got into a fight but for all we know, it could've been for a good reason.  Don't be so quick to write him off just because you're seeing a side of him that's different than you're used to."

I nodded in understanding. "Can we stay for a little longer?  I'm enjoying watching the horses."

She smiled and nodded as we watched in silence.  Regardless of what happened, I knew that my feelings for Damien hadn't changed.  He's still the guy I fell for and want to be with regardless of what his temper may look like.  Plus, I really didn't know what had happened in the first place so it wouldn't be fair to make an assumption and walk away like I was sure everyone else had done to him.