Chapter Seven Damion #2
“It’s a long story, but—oh my God, there’s a cat in the kitchen,” I said, interrupting myself because, holy shit, there was a cat in the kitchen.
A fluffy white Scottish Fold walked through the doorway and meowed. I couldn’t believe my eyes. “You have a cat. In your kitchen.”
Dear God, that is the cutest fucking cat I’ve ever seen.
“Oh. Yeah,” Julia said, looking at me like I’d just insulted her. “We allow her to move freely about the building. We’re wild that way.”
Ah. She thought I was judging her for allowing her cat to be in the kitchen. But the truth was that I’d just never seen a cat in this kitchen. I’d seen a multitude of cats downstairs, because Rem had fucking loved cats, but he’d been weird about cats and food.
“What’s her name?” I asked.
She still looked annoyed, but she said, “Clank.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. And for the record, her manners are perfect, so she’s better in the kitchen than my dad. Probably better than you, even.”
“Her manners,” I repeated, staring at the cat.
“She doesn’t jump on counters, has never had an accident, and that girl doesn’t know the meaning of a hairball.” Julia’s gaze was challenging when she looked at me and said, “Perfect.”
As if she understood, Clank—what a fucking name—gave me a tiny meow before gracefully exiting the kitchen.
I was disappointed by the quick exit.
Come back, honey.
“Speaking of perfect—”
I was interrupted by the doorbell, which made her smile disappear and her eyebrows scrunch together.
“What is with this day?” she said under her breath as she set down her soda.
“Lots of visitors?” I asked.
“So far you’re the only one,” she said, “But since we don’t know anybody yet and everyone at school hated me on sight, a second doorbell ringer seems excessive.”
“Don’t you have a brother, by the way?”
“He left in search of a basketball court,” she said, standing and pushing at the hair that’d fallen out of her bun. “He said he was in dire need of a pickup game, and I am definitely not about that, so he’s on his own. I’ll be right back.”
She walked out of the kitchen, and I felt like I could finally let out my breath when she disappeared. It’d been killing me, being in Remi’s house and pretending I didn’t belong there, that it wasn’t somewhere that’d felt more like home than my actual home.
Because this was my safe place, the place where I could be myself.
Because Remi let me be myself in this place.
I could still hear the words he said to me that changed everything, the words he’d said in this very room.
He’d looked me in the eyes and said, Figure out who YOU want to be, Gardenwood be damned. No one’s opinion of you—except for yours—matters.
Heavy words to say to a thirteen-year-old.
But it’d been right after a rugby match, when I got hurt from a cheap shot by a guy twice my size. I’d hated rugby, but my dad had forced me into it. He’d played and his father had played. It was “a Rutledge tradition.”
Reputation and appearance were everything to him.
Which was probably why instead of asking me if I was okay afterward, my dad looked at me with disappointment and said, “Christ, Dame, you need to nut up and get dirty. You do whatever it takes to get the best of your opponent—to get the win. The win is all that matters.”
I remember sitting on top of this very island, Remi bandaging me up, his words echoing.
You don’t have to please your dad—you know that, right? You have to respect him and you have to follow his rules, but you don’t have to please anyone but yourself.
And that was that.
No more following the herd for me.
Which… made me a rebel in my dad’s eyes.
Something I leaned into, proudly.
So yeah, this place was important to me. Remi’s presence felt heavy in these walls. I’d walked past the house every day since I’d learned it wasn’t Remi’s anymore, needing to know what was going on with it.
Are they moved in? What are they doing in there?
Does it look different?
It’d driven me crazy.
I started pacing while I waited for her to come back, and when I paced by the desk in the library, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I leaned closer, my heartbeat picking up speed as I looked at the legal pad sitting out for all the world to see.
Holy shit.
I didn’t know what it meant, but the masculine scrawl on the top page obviously had to do with Remi.
Holy, holy shit.
REMINGTON
Bernard Elizando
REMINGTON??
3-15
school house
What the hell did it all mean, though? I pulled out my phone and took a quick picture, every cell in my body buzzing as I realized I’d actually found something.
Underneath the legal pad were some random documents—moving company contracts—but I could hear Julia talking in the foyer, so my pulse pounded as I kept my ears open for any other sounds.
God, what am I doing? It seemed insane, creeping around like a spy, but at the same time, maybe that legal pad could provide the information necessary to get the house back.
After another minute of espionage, I put my phone away.
But I felt like laughing or jumping up and down because holy balls.
This was too easy.
I suddenly realized that tutoring her was going to be a golden opportunity. Not only did I get to visit my fucking house, but I already had something. My dad might employ a team of investigators on his payroll, but I’d found something already, praise Jesus.
I had to figure out what it meant, but at least it was something.
“We live close,” I heard. “So it just makes sense.”
I recognized Donovan’s voice, so I walked out of the kitchen and into the foyer.
“Oh hey, Donovan.”
“Damion?” she said, her eyes narrowing. “What are you doing here?”
Her eyes went back and forth between Julia and me, and you could almost see her brain churning out the story. Damion was at the new girl’s house—I’m serious!
“He just showed up at my door,” Julia said quickly, glancing at me in a way that let me know she wanted me to keep my mouth shut about the tutoring.
“I thought we could hang out,” I said with a shrug.
Julia’s eyebrows crinkled together, and I could tell she didn’t like that answer.
Which I fucking loved.
“You guys are hanging out?” Donovan asked, her eyes huge. “Already?”
“You know me,” I said. “I have a hard time stopping myself from diving in headfirst.”
Julia’s eyes narrowed, and I kind of wanted to laugh because of how uncomfortable—and irritated—I was obviously making her.
“Classic Damion,” Donovan said with a grin, and I knew that was only going to confuse Julia even more.
I had a reputation at school for… hell, I wasn’t even sure what. For daring to do and say the things that I wanted to do and say, as opposed to following the rest of the privileged sheep as they did whatever our insulated bubble of the UWS dictated they should do…?
Yeah, that was kind of it.
“I just wanted to get to know our new neighbor a little bit better,” I said, stepping closer to Julia.
“Is that right?” Donovan’s eyes clocked the motion, and she asked, “So you just ran over here right after school, huh?”
“Sure did,” I said with an intentional smirk.
“I didn’t invite him,” Julia clarified defensively, looking even more nervous as she took a tiny step away from me.
“It’s true—she had no idea I was coming,” I said, letting my face slide into the smile that I couldn’t have kept away if I wanted to. “I took it upon myself to be a one-man welcome wagon.”
“I just bet you did,” Donovan said with a laugh, putting her hands in her jacket pockets. “Well, I’ll let you guys get back to hanging out. I just wanted to drop by and invite you to help tomorrow morning if you want to.”
“Yeah, um, thank you,” Julia said, looking anxious and confused as she smiled at Donovan. “I’ll text you.”
“Cool,” Donovan said, and then she headed for the exit.
And the literal second Donovan left, Julia whipped around and gaped at me, her eyes huge as she leaned her back against the door. “What the hell was that?”
“I thought you didn’t want anyone to know I’m tutoring you,” I said slowly, like she was the ridiculous one for not catching on. “So I said we were hanging out.”
Her brown eyes watched me, like she was waiting for more.
“I was just trying to keep your secret,” I added. “But I think I have Donovan’s number if you want me to text her and tell her the truth. My priority was hiding the tutor thing, but if I overstepped—”
“No,” she interrupted, looking more frazzled than she had when I’d showed up at her door. “The last thing I want is for everyone to think the new girl’s stupid, so I’m glad you said it. I just—”
“You’re not stupid,” I heard myself interject, not really sure why I cared but… I mean, I didn’t care, but also she wasn’t stupid and it seemed wrong that she’d even suggest that.
“I know I’m not,” she said quietly. “But I don’t want anyone at school to think that before they even know me.”
Oh honey, they’re never going to know you. They’re going to chew you up and spit you out without ever going deeper than your tragic fashion mistakes.
“By the way,” I said, needing to kick her out of this moment of vulnerability, because it’d actually made me empathetic for a split second.
Empathic to her, holy shit, what was wrong with me?
I’d just found information that could help to eventually evict her squatting family, so I definitely didn’t need to be concerned with her insecurities.
“Donovan is pretty gossipy, so I’d get ready to field some questions about us tomorrow. ”
She sighed as if I’d just said the worst thing possible. “Why why why whyyyyyy did this have to happen?”
“This isn’t a big deal, Nebraska. Just act like I’m a guy you met who came over and wanted your number. I’m sure it happens all the time.”
She made a snort noise, like it didn’t happen all the time. “You’d go along with that?” she asked, her eyes all over my face.
I shrugged. “I don’t give a shit what people think.”
“Hmm,” she said, still watching me carefully as her teeth toyed with her bottom lip. “Maybe we’ll just wait and see what happens. Maybe she won’t mention it to anyone.”