Chapter 17
Music floats through the air.Its solemn tone breaks the silence and brings with it a sensation that numbs my senses.
Oh, little love, try to last longer than a whisper. We are dust, floating in the air, disappearing with the first summer storm.
Every few lines I stop to continue writing down the song. I cross out verses and jot down others as I try to bring a coherence to the melody that floats, scattered, inside my head.
Its beautiful, Damien affirms.
I slowly look up, and realize that he’s here and leaning against the door frame.
Of course, its no wonder hes here, since my apartment does belong to him now. At this point, everything that’s mine is his. But either way, even if he wasnt the owner of the record label, I would still have given him the keys to my apartment.
However, the apathetic look I give him now should be enough to make him understand that his presence isn’t welcome at all. You took your time coming here, I mutter, annoyed. Without looking at him, I strum the strings of my acoustic guitar again.
Damien slowly walks over to where I’m standing, crossing the room to stand in front of the bed.
I decided it would be better if I brought you an offering.
Curious, I look up at him. Dont think youre going to buy my forgiveness with flowers.
I never thought about that, he tells me.
Nor with food.
Not even with homemade pasta and mint chocolate chip ice cream?
Shit. I click my tongue and ditch the guitar. Okay. Ill join you, but only because you brought ice cream.
Damien flashes me a smile and reaches out to take my hand.
His fingers are strong, and his grip is firm. He pulls me to my feet, drawing me into his body and placing his palm on the curve of my waist.
Standing in front of him, I feel helpless and much smaller than I should. Damien is wearing one of his sleek, modern suits, one that’s dark blue and white. Im only wearing panties and one of his baggy T-shirts, which I stole from his suitcase during our last escapade.
Im sorry for everything that happened this morning, Damien says.
I give him a sour look, and hope that he knows that wont be enough to apologize. You dont trust me.
I do, he disagrees.
No, you dont, I slowly back away from him. Today, at the police station, you proved that.”
That whole event, I will admit, it brought back some bad memories.
Thats no excuse. Crossing my arms, I look at him, letting my gaze drill into him as anger wells up inside my chest again, along with the pain. Youre not the only one whos fucked up here, you know? You’re not the only one with wounds. I almost started to doubt you. When Logan said you were my stalker, I could have believed him. After all, hes got the cards, and the timeline fits. The stalker showed up when you did. It could make sense, if I wanted to believe it.”
Damien says nothing, but looks at me with impatience. His hands are clenched into fists and veins bulge from his arms as he holds all of his feelings inside.
Frustrated, I continue to speak. But I dont distrust you. I believe in you, Damien. I believe in you because I know who you are. I just thought that you trusted me too.
Slowly, he lets go of my hands. I can see a glimmer of relief in his eyes.
He’s clearly pleased to know that I trust him.
Damien slowly takes a step toward me and pulls me back to him.
Youre right, he states. I have no excuse for what Ive done, and I apologize for it.
I nod slowly, but I know that doesn’t change how this open wound is still latent inside me.
It will take me a while to trust you again, I tell him.
Ill be patient, then. He carefully pulls me towards the door. In the meantime, I brought you a peace offering.
I arch an eyebrow toward Damien as he guides me out of the room.
As soon as we step outside, I notice that the room smells of something sweet and delicate. Flowers? I ask, frowning.
Damien looks at me with a calm smile as he guides me down the hallway until we descend to the second floor.
Sure enough, both the living room and the entire hallway over to the kitchen are filled with roses. Hundreds and hundreds of roses, all perfect, all blood red.
Damien, what did you do? Raid a flower shop?
No need to, not when you own a few yourself.
I thought your investments were geared toward the music business?
I own a little bit of everything.
Of course you do, I mutter.
He leaves me in the center of the room, so I can take in the scent of flowers all around me. What am I going to do with so many? I ask, picking up one of the petals and examining it closely.
Whatever you want, Damien tells me. I can have someone come in to arrange them for you, if you prefer.
That wont be necessary... I sigh. You brought me so many flowers that you’ve probably left a couple of lovers without them.
I probably bought all of the roses in New York, he declares proudly.
I hope the amount of chocolate ice cream you’ve brought me is equivalent, I joke.
Maybe it will be. But I think you’ll like my other gift better.
What gift? I ask.
Damien takes my hand and guides me to the couch, motioning for me to take a seat. I think youre going to prefer to sit down for this, he tells me.
I look at him blankly. He holds out a stack of paper to me.
At first, I dont understand what this is about. You brought me a contract? I ask warily, looking down at the small, intelligible letters.
Its more than that, Damien assures me. You can have a lawyer look this over if you want. Ill put some very good ones at your disposal if you prefer. But, basically, this is a renewal of your contract with the label, and a cancellation of the old one.
What the...? I’m unable to finish my sentence. My mouth is hanging open.
Damien flips through some pages and points to a line. Basically, what this says is that you now own your entire fortune, which consists of about thirty million dollars.
Youre kidding.
Im not. You also own this apartment.
Damien, what… My mouth is still wide open, and try as I might, I cant manage to do anything other than open and close my lips like Im a fish out of water.
All you have to do is sign here. He points out a couple of lines at the end of the packet. The contract also notes that the label grants you, from this point forward, complete freedom to compose any music you want.
Those words, more than anything else, make my heart stop.
Are you serious?
Damien nods, and hands me his pen.
I hope you understand why it took me so long to come see you. Legal documents take time to write up, and I had to get everything notarized before I brought this to you.
He looks at me expectantly, as if hoping that his peace offering will take effect.
I dont know what to say. No one has ever done so much for me before.
Will I be able to compose whatever I want?
Youll be able to sing about whatever you feel like. Although, if you want my opinion, Id include the song you were singing when I got here on your new album.
His words catch me off guard.
Without thinking, I jump on him, wrapping my arms around his neck, which causes us to fall between the couch cushions.
Does this mean you forgive me?
Its a start, I agree.
My lips seek his, and by the time our lips brush he seems more than willing to turn this kiss into something more.
I feel the euphoria between us, which bursts in my chest and expands outward, causing all the sensitive parts of my body to throb in unison.
My heart begins to beat at an overwhelming rate, and I know that this joy has a first and last name.
Damien McAllister. The reason that everything in my life make sense.