Chapter 12 #4
“Oh, Ash! Look at these bottles I found!” Serena slides her phone across the island over to me, and after I put the dish in the oven, I look it over.
Damien steps up to stand directly behind me to glance over my shoulder, curious as well.
When his scent invades my senses, I can’t help but lean into him a little, wanting to soak it in.
His head rests against mine, and while it might not be much compared to our normal affection, it still has my heart fluttering in my chest. When his hand moves to cradle my belly, I have to refrain from melting against him like I want to.
“Apparently, those are the best ones to use while breastfeeding, because they’re shaped the same as a real nipple. ”
I can’t help but chuckle and avoid looking over at my father-in-law. All of this is normal conversation, sure, but Serena has always been much more abrasive than me. I also would've been a little quieter about it.
“The Dr. Brown’s bottles are good, too.” I look over at Victoria, reacting to her voice as she walks in from the home gym, sweating and panting softly. “I used those for Elizabeth. They’re good for preventing colic.”
I look back down at Ser’s phone and then over at Victoria again, battling with myself. Even if I don’t end up taking her advice, it’s nice that she gave it, and I suppose after last night, I can give her some grace.
“Thanks. We’ll look into those.” I grin at her briefly before handing Serena her phone back.
Damien kisses the top of my head, seemingly grateful, when Carter walks in from Damien’s office.
Apparently, just because we’ve found our way into the kitchen, that means everyone else needs to congregate here, too.
“Here’s your new phone, D. I managed to restore all of your photos and contacts.
” He holds it out for Damien to take, and I can only hope that he doesn’t look at it right now.
The Attic’s software isn’t on this phone yet.
I asked Carter to leave it off for now so Damien doesn’t try to go back to work too soon.
But as he takes the phone and immediately opens it, I know that’s exactly what he’s looking for.
“Where’s the system, Carter?” he asks accusingly, like he knows we did it on purpose.
I can feel him tense behind me, and I anticipate his reaction.
He’s clearly upset, but I’m hesitant to turn around.
It’s my fault that he’s so upset. When Carter looks over at me for an answer, Damien slouches behind me, understanding it was by my demand.
“Don’t look at her. This is not her fault.
I asked you to make sure that everything was there. ”
Well, shit. I didn't know that.
“I know, D. We just thought that—"
“It’s my fucking organization,” he cuts in angrily.
“If anyone has a problem with me wanting to go back to work, then they can talk to me about it. Until then, I’ll decide when to go back to it.
We don't have much time to find that piece of—” He stops himself and shakily inhales, willing himself to get it together.
I should’ve talked to him about keeping the Attic’s software off his phone for now, but he hasn’t said anything to me, either.
Apart from him telling me not to worry about him, I don’t get much else.
I just wanted to give him as much time as possible, knowing that he’s far from okay.
He’s waking up more and more, and he gets so lost in his own mind sometimes that it’s like he’s not even here.
I’ve been able to bring him out of those dazes, and most of the time, I can soothe him back to sleep.
But I’m not sure how much longer he can keep going like this.
“Never mind, I’ll do it myself.” He pockets his phone and starts to pull away from me.
“Damien…” I turn to talk to him face to face, finally getting the guts to try and get him to open up, when Alex walks up from behind him.
He reaches out to console him, but the moment his hand touches Damien’s shoulder, time both halts and speeds up all at once.
Fear overcomes his face in an instant. His eyes widen, and it’s like everything around us changes.
A blanket of darkness coats his irises, and pure, unfiltered rage takes over.
Before I can even register it, he snaps around and grabs Alex’s throat, shoving him back into the other set of cabinets.
Damien’s muscles are taut and strained, using so much force that the veins in his forearm rise to the surface.
Alex cries out in pain and claws at Damien’s wrist to stop him, but it does nothing.
Damien’s hold tightens, and he bares his teeth, allowing his rage to flood him.
“Damien!” I dart over to him, only to be held back by Serena’s tight grip.
As I try to jerk away, Carter manages to slip between him and Alex, using all of his force to push him back.
Damien’s eyes widen and his jaw drops in the most heart-wrenching way when he snaps back into reality.
He jerks his hand back like he was burned, and his eyes water at the sound of Alex’s coughing.
“Alex…” His voice trembles and his hands start to shake. He takes a staggered step back, and when he hits the kitchen island, he flinches. “Fuck, I’m… I’m sorry…” He looks down at his hands, like he sees something that no one else can.
“It’s okay, man. I’m fine.” Alex tries to console him through small gasps, but Damien slides along the counter, eyes glued to his palms. Serena finally lets me go, but as I step up to him, he just shakes his head and backs away from us all—away from me.
“Baby…” I try to step towards him again, but then he just turns around and storms off, leaving his phone on the countertop. John looks at me briefly before stepping after him, and as the crowd starts to disperse, I’m stuck only looking at one set of eyes.
Dr. Von stands by the stairs, watching over the commotion, and her face isn’t what I expect.
It’s not worried or scared, and there doesn’t seem to be any empathy there, either.
Her features are tense with acknowledgment, like she predicted this would happen, and my anger returns just as it did last night.
I can only imagine what she’ll say to him now, and the thought alone scares me.
I’m sure he already hates himself even more for what just happened; she doesn’t need to make it any worse for him.
She clearly isn’t helping him, and while John may still see a need for her services, I’m not sure I do.