Chapter Five
The voice behind her made her stiffen in surprise and fear. It was a voice she’d dreamt of for so many years. During the day, she stayed busy enough that she could push him out of her mind and forget how he made her feel, but she couldn’t fight his presence in her dreams.
“Please,” Damon said.
She sighed and nodded. “That’s fine.”
He took her hand and led her outside, sitting beside him on the sofa.
She waited for him to speak, but he only stared at her. “Are we going to talk?”
“Yes. Hell.” He rubbed his eyes and sighed.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. She studied his expression and could see the fatigue and pain.
“Just a headache.”
“Do you get them often?” she asked.
“Yes. I had a bad concussion after the bomb hit.”
Emma swallowed several times to prevent herself from crying. She’d gotten some information from Trent after Damon got hurt, but not enough, and she was afraid to ask.
“What else happened to you?”
“A few broken bones and contusions.”
She hated that he’d been so hurt, and she hadn’t been there to take care of him. Hell, she could lie to everyone else about not caring about him, but she couldn’t deceive herself.
Emma looked away and then back at him. “I’m sorry you got hurt.”
He squeezed her hand. “Thank you, baby.”
“What did you want to talk about?” God, she needed to get this over with so she could go home.
“I’d like to talk about the night of your nineteenth birthday.”
She stiffened. “I’d rather not.” That night had been one of the worst of her life. The only time more devastating was when her parents had died.
“Baby, just listen. Everything I said was bullshit. It was all a lie. I wanted you so much my teeth ached. There hasn’t been a time I haven’t wanted you.
We, or rather I, thought it best not to give you any hope because there was a good chance I wouldn’t be coming back. I knew how bad it was overseas.”
Jesus, the thought of him not on Earth sounded obscene and made her stomach cramp. “Who’s we? You said we thought it best.”
“Your brother and I.”
“He lied to me, too. He knew about all of this?” God, she didn’t know how she felt about it. She reasoned he was trying to protect her, but it felt like a betrayal. It was something she’d have to talk about later.
“Yes. We’re both very protective of you. There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that I haven’t thought about you.”
She studied him. “How long have you felt this way?”
“Since you were fifteen.”
“Then why did you act like such a jerk and bully me constantly?” she asked.
“Baby, I was nineteen at the time. It would have been illegal for anything to happen to us. I told myself I could wait for you, but it got harder to deal with every time I was around you. So, I pushed you away. The only way I knew was to be mean to you. When that didn’t even work, I joined the Navy.
It would have been a bit easier if I didn’t have to be in the same area as you. ”
Frustration built, and she wanted to scream at him. “But I was nineteen that last time. I was legal. Why didn’t you do something then?”
“You have no idea how bad it could get overseas. Every day was a struggle. When I came back to visit, I knew I would have to return, and the thought of you waiting for me and then something happening and me getting killed...” He paused, looked away, and then back at her.
“As much as I wanted your attention and letters, you would have been devastated and would have had to deal with my death. I was thinking about you. We hated lying to you, but we thought it was the best way to go.”
“I wish you guys had let me choose,” she said.
“You were so young and ready to go to college. I wanted you to experience it all,” Damon said.
A thought popped into her head. “You were done with your tour and re-upped for another four years. Why?”
He looked down at her small, delicate hand as his thumb ran over her knuckles.
“Because you were living your life at college several states away, and it would have driven me crazy to be that close and unable to touch you.”
She looked away. How was she supposed to deal with this? She understood why he did it and commended him for thinking of her, but she put him out of her life. It was the only way to get through the days.
The front door opened.
“I’ll go help your brother. We’ll talk more. Just know I’m here for good now, so nothing is holding us back,” Damon said as he stood.
She watched him walk off. Her thoughts were jumbled, and she couldn’t focus on just one. The fact that she was sleep-deprived didn’t help. A sigh escaped. She might as well join them. She’d have time later to contemplate everything.
Her spine stiffened when she heard Marley’s voice instead of her brother.
She walked in and saw Marley trying to touch Damon, who gripped her hands and tried to push her away.
The flirty tone she was using made Emma want to blacken her eyes.
One, for fucking around behind her brother’s back. And two, for touching Damon.
“Jesus, lady, aren’t you dating Trent?” Damon asked her.
“Sort of. He’s fun to play with, but I’m getting bored.”
Emma stepped into the kitchen with her arms crossed. “You’re a piece of work.”
Marley jumped back. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Emma snorted. “It’s my house, you skanky bitch.” She turned to look at Damon.
“How should we handle this, babe?”
She watched one of Damon’s eyebrows lift and the glee in his eyes.
“What the fuck?” Marley said. “No way. You guys aren’t together. Are you?”
Damon immediately nodded. “Yes, we are.”
Emma wanted to smack the smug look off his face, but kept quiet.
The front door opened again, and Trent called out.
“We’re in the kitchen,” Damon yelled.
Emma looked at him to see what he would do.
Trent walked in with a paper bag in his arms. He looked around at the three of them. “What’s going on?”
Emma glared at the other woman.
“Well, this woman and I just met, and the first thing she did was come on to me,” Damon said.
Emma expected to see Trent upset. Instead, he just chuckled. “I see.”
Emma’s mouth dropped open. “Trent. How can you not be upset about this?”
Trent laughed. “Because I figured her out pretty quickly, but only kept her around for the sex.”
Both women gasped.
“She’s pretty good at giving head, too, but her personality sucks. I can’t stand to be around her unless we’re fucking.”
“You bastard!” Marley screamed before she stormed out.
“Well, hell, there goes my entertainment for later,” Trent yelled after her.
She stood with her hands over her ears. “Ew, that is not something I want to have in my head.”
Trent chuckled. “Come on. I’m hungry. Let’s make the steaks now,” he said, pulling food out of the sack.
When she caught sight of the cheesecake, she almost groaned. She hadn’t had cheesecake in months because it was only her at the apartment, and she didn’t want to eat the whole thing herself.
Trent laughed at her. “I knew you’d want some.”
She ignored the fact that her brother was studying them. She’d have her little talk with him later about his part in the lie.