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Avalyne
Irun ahead with watery eyes that make the world in front of me a blur.How could he do this to me?! How could I fall for him despite all the warning signs?!I beat myself up, having recurring images of him and Mallory kissing.
“I’m such a fool!” I scream out, letting my emotions go.
As if in a trance, I keep running for God knows how long until I bump into someone, and a familiar scent hits my nose.
“Avalyne?” I hear a deep voice and look up to see Oliver.
Why did I choose to run into his arms?
He looks at me questionably, holding me tight as if I am about to crumble apart. And that’s how I feel. Like I’ll crumble apart any moment now. I am not sure if I can endure this pain.
“What happened? Why are you crying?” He asks and the way he speaks, so calm and soft, soothes my nerves.
I don’t answer. Instead, I just bury my face into his chest and cry.
“Oliver, can you just…,” I mumble, crying into his arms, hardly catching a breath. “Take me home?” Maybe I shouldn’t run to him. Maybe I’m not thinking straight. Hell, I’m sure I’m not thinking straight. But all I feel now is pain. Excruciating pain tearing my heart apart.
“Of course.” He caresses my arms reassuringly. “It’s okay. I’m here.”
“Don’t touch her, you asshole!” I turn back to see Damien running toward us with both pain and fury on his face before shoving Oliver away from me.
“What the hell, dude?!” Oliver shoves him back, stepping between Damien and me.
Damien tilts his head to the side, not paying attention to his cousin.
“Firefly,” Damien says pleadingly, but I cut him off again.
“Don’t call me that!”
“Let’s get you out of here,” Oliver turns to whisper into my ear but loud enough for his cousin to hear.
Damien lets out a heavy breath, raking his hands through his thick black hair. He clenches his jaw, seething. And it looks like he’s about to break. I watch him for a few seconds as a lump starts to form in my throat. I wish it all was just a bad dream. I wish I could just hug him, kiss him, and make love to him. But I won’t fall back into his arms. Not after what I saw. Not after he was unable to admit his feelings to me.
Damien looks deeply into my eyes with pure agony painting all over his face, “Avalyne, please. Let me explain. I swear it wasn’t what it looked like.” He sounds so genuine. And he sounds as hurt as I am.
I shake my head, unsure if I should believe him, but I can’t fight the urge to let him explain. Even though I can predict what I’m going to hear.It wasn’t like that. It was an impulse.Same old excuses. But despite that, I want to give him a chance to tell me his side of the story. This is how hard I have fallen for this man. I am willing to let him fool me. Except, does he?
Damien
I watch Avalyne letting out a deep breath while wiping away the steady stream of tears running from her smoldered eyes, and it breaks me. It breaks me because I know I am the reason for this. I am the reason for her pain. And as ridiculous as it sounds, I don’t want her to suffer. Not because of me. Not because of anyone. I know I am a hypocrite because I showed up in her life with a vile plan. I wanted to use her to get away with what I’ve done. I wanted to save my own ass using her, but not anymore. Everything has changed. I have changed. And it’s all because of her. She made me believe in love again when I thought it was impossible. After Mallory left me two years ago, with my heart shattered into pieces, I have sworn that I would never let myself love anyone ever again. I’ve become cold and ruthless. I believed in Mallory, and she broke me. I was just a nineteen-year-old boy, but I could see a future with her. I pictured us together, having a family, kids. Such a fucking fool. But not experiencing what love is, I was craving it without even realizing it. I’ve never got to know my father. I wasn’t allowed to ask questions about him. My mother hated him with passion, and I don’t even know why. I only know he betrayed her. He betrayed us, our family, and Black Venom, so he had to pay the highest price for it. After his death, my mother took the lead over his mafia, creating her own empire, and claiming herself its queen. She’s never showed me love. She used to say love makes you weak. And she was right. Because after I met Mallory, who seemed to be a cure to my damaged soul, I let myself lose in it.Love. And that was my biggest mistake. This shit called love made me vulnerable, blind to what was happening around me. Mallory used me to get closer to my mother, who then made her one of her most trusted women and sent her to Europe to be in charge of our crime circle. Mallory left. She left me just a note. A fucking note saying, ‘I hope you’ll forgive me for chasing my dreams.’But it wasn’t that what broke me. Destroyed me to the core. Two days later, I found out she was fucking my biggest enemy. The leader of the rivalry mafia trying to bring Black Venom down. Mallory was a rat. She got closer to me, making me believe she loved me to gain information. The information she then passed on to the rivalry mafia. This was the real reason why she left, and the whole‘chasing my dreams’shit was arranged by my mother.
“Damien?” Avalyne’s soft voice snaps me out of my thoughts. She looks at me with those beautiful blue eyes hidden behind tears. “Fine. Say what you have to say.”
“Can he leave us?” I say dryly, refusing to look in Oliver’s direction.
“Oliver, can you give us a minute?”
“But, Ava–,” he whines.
“Please, just a few minutes.” She squeezes his arm, and I shudder. If only she knew who he really is. Fuck. If she knew who I really am… And I don’t mean my mafia associations. I mean the fucking bet.
“Fine. I’ll be waiting for you just around the corner.” He gives up, frustrated. “But Avalyne?” He peeks at me before continuing, and I know he does it on purpose to play on my nerves, but I look away. I won’t let him provoke me. “Call me if you need me.” He finishes, clenching his jaw before shoving past me.
I will not let him provoke me.
“Well?” Ava looks into my eyes, crossing her arms. “What do you want to say? That she kissed you, and you didn’t want it?”
