11. Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Grey
"We're going ahead with the ASS ," Damon says as soon as we step inside the library, his waiting frame leaning lazily against a table.
My lips curl up in silent laughter as Avery pauses in her steps, looking bewildered.
"Whose ass?"
"Your ass," I grin, giving hers a little pat as I stop next to her.
Theo glances between us, raising an eyebrow in perplexity. I had intended to fill him in before breakfast, but I was too distracted seeing Avery awake to relay the information properly. I can't help it—she has that effect on me. Plus, she's lost some weight in the past few days, enough to be noticeable. I was determined to get some food into her as soon as possible, even if it was just one pancake. She had complained that she wasn't hungry. A blatant lie, but after Arthur's little announcement, I'm fairly certain it killed all our appetites.
Just like I'm going to kill him.
"It's a new schedule we're implementing," Damon answers. "The Avery Sleep Schedule. "
She blinks once, eyes locked on him. "So, literally my ass. What does this entail then?"
His lips twitch at her words, eyes lighting up slightly. I know he's missed her playful banter, and once again, that knot appears in my stomach. It twists violently like a knife, ripping uncomfortable feelings to the surface against my will.
Now that I know what I do, it's all becoming ridiculously obvious. Maybe I was being deliberately blind, turning away from what was in front of me. But ever since Avery told me about their kiss, it's put me on high alert. Every single interaction between them, I can't help but watch—their body language, the words exchanged, the tension. It's a science experiment, a chemical reaction under way. And the more I observe, the clearer it becomes.
Damon likes her.
Not tolerate, not like as a friend.
He LIKES her.
I've barely gotten comfortable with Theo, proud of myself for stepping outside of my cage of demons to put Avery first. To his credit, he made it somewhat easier. Theo's lack of jealousy and equal need to protect her made me respect him. I was able to fight back the hatred I felt initially because we shared the same goals. But Damon? I don't know how to feel about this.
Besides Avery, he is the person I respect most in the world. My brother and best friend, the one person who took me under his wing when I arrived. The trust between us is greater than most—there's nothing I wouldn't do for him. Well, almost nothing.
You'd think that would make things easier. I'd give my life for Damon without a doubt. But my girl? That's another question.
It's not because I don't trust him. And it's not because I feel the need to compete with him.
It's because I know him better than anyone here. And even then, I still don't know him completely.
Damon only lets people see what he wants them to see. I've seen multiple sides of him—the bad, the good, and the worst. And from that, I've seen the way he treated Avery when she first arrived, heard the words he spoke about her.
I've always accepted Damon as he is because I can't judge. I'm the worst anti-hero here—maybe even more horrible than him. But from the moment I met Avery, I knew I wanted her. Damon would have killed her and not thought twice about it.
With all that in mind, it drives me insane thinking that we are now here. Is he even capable of love? Would he love her like I do?
Or will he break her into a thousand pieces and make me choose?
Because I know without a doubt, I'll choose her.
Avery has this ridiculous ability to see the good in everyone. I think she lives in a world where she does so to protect herself—which is stupid and ironic because everyone has let her down.
Even me.
I don't know how she can live with the constant disappointment. Maybe she wants to be saved so badly that she waits and hopes that one day, her suspicions will be right, and it will validate everything in her mind.
Part of me loves that. Another part hates it.
The thought of her being hurt and let down makes me want to slaughter anyone who makes her cry.
I love that she sees flaws in people and thinks they are beautiful. I was never enough for my family growing up—I was either too much to handle or, in comparison to my father, not enough. I was forgotten and tossed aside, treated like an insane criminal. But Avery accepts me for who I am, allowing me to be the devil in her dreams and her nightmares.
And now I have a hard-on thinking about it.
I shake my head to clear my thoughts, focusing on the two of them again.
"Are you even paying attention?" Damon snaps at me with a raised eyebrow.
Grinning, I shrug. "I was thinking about Avery's ass."
Her face flushes with embarrassment and a hint of need. I laugh, winking at her.
"I was saying that while you were at the appointment with Markel, I spoke to the guards. Apparently, Arthur is going to start conducting ' welfare checks ' in the evenings."
"Meaning what exactly?"
Damon's eyes flicker over to Avery. "They are going to be checking the rooms to ensure people are safe. "
"To make sure we haven't killed ourselves?" Avery asks with disgust.
"That's the general story they are running with," Damon agrees. "But I don't believe them for a second. It's just another way to access patients without witnesses."
Her face twists with anguish. "And if they notice I'm not there, it's going to raise alarm bells."
"You're not staying there alone," I interject angrily.
Theo crosses his arms, eyes narrowing on Damon. "What is the plan then?"
Damon nods. "We're creating a schedule so that one of us is always in the Eastwood Wing keeping track. We'll monitor the guards to determine their checking times and make sure no one is taken from their rooms."
"Still unsure what this has to do with my ass," Avery mutters.
"We'll be there to make sure your ass stays glued to the bed," Damon says coolly. "But in rotation so that we aren't caught out of the rooms either and get rest just in case. Byrone is working on it at the moment. It appears we have gained enough access so that we can manipulate the systems to receive notifications of which doors are being unlocked to know where they are at all times. One of us three will be watching your room specifically."
She relaxes slightly. "And what's the plan if they do try to take me?"
"We kill them," the three of us say in unison.
Avery smiles before shaking her head. "And if they kill you first?"
"You give them too much credit," I laugh. "The guards barely know their dicks from their toes—which I'll happily remove one by one."
"I've already removed fingers before," Theo teases. "Piece of cake."
"What if they try to take you?" Avery asks quietly.
Her expression changes, a darkness falling over her features. I can see her mentally reliving her time downstairs, my blood boiling when tears build up in her eyes. But they are quickly gone, her face hardening once she realizes what's threatening to come out.
"What did they do?"
My words cut through the silence in the room, asking the question that's been on all our minds. I don't know if she's ready to talk yet—but I do know some of what occurred downstairs. Damon filled me in this morning briefly and to say I'm murderous is an understatement.
They used Leah against her. Led Avery to believe I wasn't coming for her because I was with someone else.
The nerve of them, especially considering they are the reason she is dead in the first place.
I made a mistake once by letting my guard down. It will never happen again.
Avery sighs and starts pacing the library. We watch her in silence, waiting for her to speak. When she does, her voice is stronger than I expected.
"They tortured me. Decided to play God and treated me like an experiment."
Theo's fists curl next to his legs while Damon nods to himself quietly. We knew this already—just never the extent. People rarely come back from downstairs, but the few stories we've heard have all been the same.
We should have told Avery weeks ago when we knew things were on the rise again. I wanted to protect her, but by doing so, I let her down. In my mind, she was always going to be safe because we would protect her. I didn't want to scare her with tales of the monsters lurking below. But in doing that, she went in blind, unable to prepare and fight against the evil. And I hate myself for that.
"You knew this already."
Her voice is softer, gaze directed at Damon. It's not an angry accusation, just a general statement. She's a smart girl—putting together the dots and small clues along the way.
"It's not new," he answers gently, surprising me with his tone. "I was going to tell you but then you were taken."
She stops pacing, body sagging slightly. "It's the secrets you warned me about."
"Yes."
Avery's glance shifts to me and Theo briefly before returning to Damon. "Is that why your father visited me when I was arrested?"
At the mention of his sperm-donor, Damon stiffens. "My family are the owners of Lilydale, Avery."
If she's surprised by this revelation, she doesn't show it. If anything, a moment of sympathy passes across her face.
"That's why you're untouchable," she remarks.
"I'm untouchable because I made myself that way," he answers, emotionlessly. "I was their biggest target at the beginning."
Her brows furrow. "What changed?"
"I changed. I wasn't giving that asshole any power despite their best efforts. So, to keep money flowing, they entered into an agreement to use the facility for medical research . But I've done my best to cease those attempts. But it wasn't enough—I'm sorry."
The library falls silent again, this time with disbelief. I've never heard Damon apologize to anyone, despite knowing he carries this heavy burden personally.
Theo even looks a little shocked, shoving his hands into his pockets as he glances at the floor. Yet, in true Avery fashion, she doesn't seem astonished at all.
Like she always knew this side of him existed.
"It's not your fault," she says gently. "You were fighting a battle without resources. If anything, it says a lot about you that you tried to stop it. You could have just kept yourself safe and turned a blind eye—but you didn't. You did your best to protect everyone."
"I couldn't protect you though. I failed."
Avery slowly walks over to him, arms by her sides. "Damon," she starts, pausing in front of him. "You saved me." Her gaze flutters over to us, smiling sadly. "You all did. If it wasn't for your efforts, I'd still be down there."
Damon tilts his chin up. "We should have gotten to you faster."
It's a different knot in my stomach now—one full of pity. He knows as well as I do that we had to time it right. The reason I'm still standing here is because he held me back, calming me down from the brink of madness when I was ready to rush in without thinking. On the other side of things now that it's over, we can all agree that timing was everything. It was his level-headedness that got her out of there.
"No," Avery answers, shaking her head. "None of that matters. What's important is that I'm here now, and that they know we know the truth."
"They will keep trying. If not us, then another patient."
"We'll protect them," she murmurs, stepping closer to him.
Next to me, Theo shifts his attention to me, sensing the change of atmosphere. His feet turn toward me slightly, but for the first time, I don't want to punch Damon in the face for being near her.
It feels…
Almost wrong to stay here and witness this moment between them.
There's this strange sensation in my gut, making me feel like I'm intruding on an important moment. As if they both need this second to connect, to relate.
When no one says anything, it starts to dawn on Avery that she's having a moment with Damon. She straightens up, taking a small step back as her hands clasp together. She wiggles her fingers together, looking over at me with unease.
I don't know what I'm feeling or thinking, but I give her a bright grin, running my hand through my hair. "I need to go locate someone. Theo can come with me in case the guards try anything."
"Who? Where?" she asks, but I wave my hand at her.
"Don't worry about it. Stay here with Damon and work out the details of your ass . We'll be back shortly."
She tilts her head in confusion at my chilled response, chewing the inside of her bottom lip. But slowly, she nods.
I gesture for Theo to follow me, the two of us stepping outside the library. When the door closes behind us, he looks at me expectantly.
My eyes close for a second, taking a moment to gather myself from the strange emotions bubbling up.
"Where are we going?" he asks indifferently, just going with the flow.
Opening my eyes, I nod in the direction of the staff rooms. "We're going to find Christopher."