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She turns her gaze back to me. “I’m going to hang out with Seth for a little while since he doesn’t have another class for a few hours. Call me when you are done here, before you head home, so I can run interference for you.”
Mara turns around to open the office door before giving Damien and me one last hopeful look and leaving. She closes the door quietly behind her and I watch through the open blinds as she walks down the hallway towards the building’s main double doors.
I’m truly so thankful that I have her in my corner.
Jake, on the other hand, is about to receive her wrath. Not to mention mine and Damien’s.
Chapter Twenty
Damien slowly gets up from his seat behind the desk and walks over to the door, pushing it softly to make sure it is shut. He clicks the lock in place before closing the blinds to give us privacy.
I sit up straighter in my seat and square my shoulders as I take in a deep breath.
I’m prepared for him to yell at me. I’m ready for him to tell me how horrible of a person I am to be suckered into being blackmailed. A pathetic coward for giving up on the two of us and what we had.
Except that doesn’t come.
He stands in front of me, hands in the front pockets of his athletic shorts, and leans back onto his desk. He doesn’t speak and for a moment my stomach fills with dread and my heart fills with more pain than I’ve ever felt before.
His refusal to speak only causes the worry to grow inside of me.
Staring at his face, I can see the exhaustion in his eyes and the heartache in his longer than normal beard. I instantly feel more guilty than I have this past week combined.
How many nights did I cry myself to sleep?
How many times did I hope the nightmare would be over so I can try to get Damien to understand why I did what I did?
Too many to count. Too many to keep track of.
Not once did I wonder how the break up affected him.
Not once did I think about how he felt or how he dealt with the break up and me blocking his number.
I can see now that he took it harder than I ever could have imagined.
He looked fine at the cafe, but that was all just a charade. He was pretending just like I was. He had to push past the pain and still go to work.
Unlike me, who stayed in bed for a week.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” His voice is barely over a whisper.
Heartache, pain, suffering, and disappointment are evident in his tone, and it breaks my fucking heart.
I wish I had. I wish I was stronger.
“He said he would go to the dean.” I say for what feels like the millionth time.
Damien’s voice is lighter despite me thinking he would turn angry. “So?”
I hesitate, wanting to convey my true feelings and reasonings of why I went along with Jake’s stupid blackmail plan.
“I didn’t want you to lose your job. I still don’t. Jake’s not going to be happy that I told you and Mara, and I’m worried about how he is going to lash out. Who is he going to try to take down first? You or me?”
Damien leans his head back and looks toward the ceiling a moment before a loud laugh comes from his throat.
The noise sounds foreign as it echoes off the bare office walls.
Even though I try to keep my expression serious, his laughter brings a smile to my face.
