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Iglanced at the handcuffs, then at his swollen knuckles, with disappointment rather than rage.Icouldn’t imagine what he did to the rest if he had beatenElijahover something that happened eons ago. “Whatdid you do to those people?Toeveryone who came before you?”
Insteadof beating around the bush, he answered plainly. "Didyou knowSarahLinemanwas a trust fund princess?"
Sarah!Thatwas the name of the girlIhooked up with at sixteen.Ishook my head.
"Guesswho manages her assets?"Damonasked.
"Yourcompany,"Iresponded mechanically.Ofcourse, he did.
Damongrinned. "Poorinvestments might have driven down the valuation of her trust fund.Awrecked financial future is worse than a broken nose.Wouldn’tyou agree?”
“Isthat what you did to the others?Abroken nose.”
“OnlytoTom.Hispromising job offers after college might also have disappeared.Heworks at the university café now.”
“Jesus.”
“Iwouldn’t display sympathy for these people ifIwere you,”Damonsuggested coolly.
"Theydidn't do anything wrong except like me for one random night.”
“Irespectfully disagree,” he retorted.
“Andwhat aboutSophie?”IrememberedDamonhad takenSophie’sphone.Technically,Ihadn’t heard from the realSophiein days.Didhe hurt her, too? “Whatdid you do toSophie?”
“Iwrecked one of her cars and took her phone.She’sfine otherwise.”
Ifrowned.Awrecked car wasn’t as bad as financial ruin, like what he did toSarahandTom. “Whydid you go easy on her compared to the rest?”
“Becauseshe waited until you were eighteen.”
“So?”Iasked, not fully comprehending his reasoning.
“So?”Heleaned forward until the tip of his nose touched mine, his piercing blue eyes resembling ice. “Ontop of touching what’s mine, they took advantage of you.Theydeserved harsher consequences.Trustme.”
Thatcould only mean the person who took my virginity suffered the worst ofDamon’swrath. “IsElijahstill alive?”
“Don’tsay his name in front of me.”Allwarmth from this morning suddenly vanished, his voice dripping with disdain.
“IsthatRAfromCornellstill alive?”Irephrased, focusing solely on the answer.
“Iheard an ambulance was called,” wasDamon’scallous reply.
Myshoulders sagged.
“However,”Damoncontinued beforeIcould get too comfortable, “Dankworthgave up a promising career for a job that no longer exists.Hishealth insurance lapsed during his transition between jobs, and he’ll be paying off hospital bills for the rest of his life.”
PeoplethoughtIwas cruel.Damonwas on another level, he was diabolical.Abroken nose would heal, but financial ruin would leave him with a dismal future. “Whydo you hate him so much?”Icouldn’t help asking.
Damonstraightened up, his anger palpable. “Ihate all of them, everyone who came before me.Therewas supposed to be no one else becauseIthoughtIkept everyone away from you.Studentson campus knew better than to approach you.MostthoughtIasked them to stay away from you because of some petty rivalry.”
Therewere times when boys on campus would hit on me, but they always mysteriously disappeared.NowthatIwas putting two and two together,Damonmust’ve paid them off to stay away or beat them up, perhaps both.Idecided against questioning him about another topic whereIcould be called to the witness stand.
Damonstared me right in the eyes. “ThenIoverheardSophieandRoseat a party a few weeks ago.Sophieasked if you hooked up with girls, andRosesaid you didn’t discriminate but suggested waiting until winter break.Untilthen,Ididn’t think you were sexually active.”
Damonstudied me intently, contemplating whether to delve further into the topic.Heran his fingers through my hair.
“ButIget it.”Foronce, he didn’t sound merely jealous but remorseful as well. "Yourmother's anniversary fell during your winter break, the day you felt the loneliest, so you sought comfort in sex."
