Damien (Slater Brothers #5)(33)

“You won’t,” she said firmly. “There isn’t a chance your ma won’t beat this.”

“But there is,” I whimpered. “There is a chance she won’t survive.”

“Look at me,” she ordered, and when I did, she leaned in and kissed my cheek. “She will be fine.”

I nodded, repeating that over and over in my mind.

“I’m comin’ to stay the night with you,” she added. “Give me a minute to get clothes.”

“No,” I told her. “Stay ’ere with your family. I know I’ve had plenty of it, but bein’ on me own when things get too much for me is just what I need.”

She wasn’t happy with my decision, but she didn’t argue with me. He did, though.

“Excuse me, Bee.”

Bronagh moved aside when Damien stepped into the hall, and I stepped back when he approached me.

“I’m staying the night.”

I was sure my eyebrows reached my hairline.

“Excuse me?”

“You have a spare bedroom,” Damien said, his grey eyes locked on mine. “I’m sleeping in there.”

I looked at Bronagh, and she looked as shocked as I felt, but she said nothing. I turned my attention back to Damien. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He shrugged. “I’m still staying the night.”

A part of me was shocked at his boldness while another part of me liked it. A week ago, if he had made such a demand, I’d have argued with him until I was blue in the face, but tonight ... I had no fight left in me. I didn’t want to argue with him anymore, so I relented.

“Okay.”

Bronagh almost fell over at my acceptance, but she said nothing. She stood mute as she glanced back and forth between Damien and me.

“Good,” Damien said with a nod. “I don’t need anything, so we can go.”

Robotically, I said goodbye to Bronagh, hugging her tightly before I turned away from her, then along with Damien, I walked down the pathway and climbed into my car. I put my key in the ignition, buckled my seat belt, but before I put the car in gear, I looked at Damien in the passenger side of the car.

“Is this a good idea?”

He focused on me.

“Just for right now, forget everything that was said between us last week, and everything that happened today. I know mountains need to be moved for us to make things right, but tonight, let me be there for you. Please.”

It was the first time in a long time that I didn’t need to have my arm twisted to be in Damien’s company.

“Thank you,” I told him. “I’m not sure how I’m feelin’ right now, to be honest with you, but I really appreciate you wantin’ to help me.”

“I’ve got you,” he said, the promise in his words not going amiss. “You’re my freckles.”

Those three little words wrapped themselves around my hurt heart, and to my immense surprise, they made me feel a tiny bit better.

I looked forward, then back at Damien. “Can you drive?” I asked. “I’ll put us in a ditch. Me mind is elsewhere.”

We switched positions, and in a comfortable silence, he drove us to my apartment and parked my car in its designated spot. As we headed up to my home, Damien let me lead the way because he had never been in my apartment before. I knew he’d been in Kane and Aideen’s, but he’d never been on my floor, so he wasn’t sure which apartment was mine.

As we neared my apartment door, I felt his eyes on me, so I glanced over my shoulder, and to my surprise, Damien’s eyes were on my behind. He looked up at me, as if sensing my gaze on him, and instead of being embarrassed by being caught ogling, he simply grinned at me and shrugged his broad shoulders.

I quickly turned my gaze forward, feeling my cheeks burn.

When we entered my home, I flicked on the lights and went to turn the central heating on. When I entered the kitchen, Damien already had the kettle plugged in and was filling it up with water. I left him be and went into my bedroom to change into pyjamas. I had just finished changing when, out of nowhere, I burst into tears. I covered my face with my hands and sobbed. My ma’s face filled my mind, and the thought of losing her was unbearable.

It hurt.

I was so lost in worry and devastation that I didn’t even flinch when the mattress dipped next to me and arms wrapped around my body. Damien went one step farther; he pulled me on his lap and cuddled me against him. I could hear him whispering words into my ear, but I couldn’t make them out over my cries. He held me and I let it all out.

“I’m sorry,” I wept. “I don’t mean to be such a blubberin’ mess.”

“Hey,” Damien said firmly, pressing his lips against my temple. “If you need to cry, then cry. I’m not going anywhere.”

I shouldn’t have been comforted by that statement, but I was.

I wasn’t sure how long we stayed like that—me crying and Damien consoling me—but eventually, I sat upright and took a deep breath. I had to get it together. Whenever something went wrong in my life, my reaction was to cry and feel sorry for myself, but it was a chain that I had to break. I looked at Damien, and with the light of the hallway, I could only partly see his face. Without thought, I reached up, and tugged at his hair.

“When we were kids,” I murmured, “I was convinced you bleached your hair.”