CHAPTER 19
VICTORIA
BY THE TIME Damon comes back for me, I'm a shaking, sobbing mess. I'm still sitting on the ground, my clothes in total disarray and my neck and face thumping with pain.
"Victoria," he says before kneeling down in front of me. His hoodie is gone and he’s only wearing a black t-shirt now. He reaches for me, but I flinch. "It's okay. He's gone. I chased him as far as I could, but he got away."
I close my eyes at his words. The man who attacked me deserved to be caught and to pay for what he did, but I'm glad Damon didn't put himself in any more danger. The guy had a knife, and I would never forgive myself if something happened to Damon because of me.
Suddenly, I throw myself into Damon's arms, crying against his chest, my entire body trembling in his arms. "He was…he was going to…" My voice breaks as I can't even voice what almost happened to me.
His hand brushes down my back, soothing me. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here now," he whispers into my ear.
I pull back just far enough to meet his concerned gaze. "If you wouldn't have showed up when you did…"
He shakes his head. "Don't think about that right now, Victoria." He brushes a lock of hair behind my ear that must have come loose from my ponytail, and I flinch when he grazes my sore temple. "Fuck…I'm sorry," he says with a deep frown. "I'm so sorry, Victoria."
More tears leak out of my eyes as I grasp onto his shirt, holding onto him for dear life.
Damon holds me tightly, soothing me with calm whispers in my ear as he gently fixes my clothes.
My instinct is to reach for my necklace, which has been like a lifeline to me over the years, but then I realize it’s gone. “Oh, no,” I cry, almost to the point of hysterics. I barely remembered my attacker breaking it.
I release my grip on Damon and immediately go to the ground, frantically searching for the only thing I have left of Arlo.
Damon tries to help me up, but I wrestle from his grip, feeling around in the leaves and dirt. “My necklace. I lost it,” I sob. The attack and everything that just happened doesn’t even matter to me right now. I have to find that locket.
Damon doesn’t say a word as he kneels on the ground and helps me search.
“It’s silver,” I tell him between sobs. “A locket.” Tears blur my vision, but I’m still crawling on the ground, refusing to give up searching.
I vaguely notice Damon has gone still beside me. And when I look up, I see the locket in his hand. It’s open, and he stares intently at the picture inside. When his green eyes meet mine, there is an undecipherable emotion inside of them. “Is this it?” he asks, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Yes!” I cry out in relief. Snatching it from his hand, I inspect it carefully. The locket is fine, but the chain has been broken in two different places. I’ve had to replace the chain over the years anyway, so it’s not that big of a deal. But the locket is irreplaceable. “Thank you,” I tell him wholeheartedly as I crush the locket against my chest, and Damon simply gives me a tight nod.
“Let’s get you out of here,” he tells me before standing and helping me up.
Gripping the locket tightly in my hand, I lean on Damon for support as we make our way out of the park together.
CHAPTER 20
DAMON
I ROYALLY FUCKED everything up.
I thought I could detach my feelings from this situation, close myself off and not think twice about it.
But seeing Victoria in pain, the fear in her eyes did something to me.
It took me back to a time when we were both innocent. We were young, maybe seven or eight years old. Victoria fell off her bike and scraped her hands and knees up pretty good.
I remember seeing the big, fat tears rolling down her delicate cheeks, and it gutted me back then.
I just didn’t know her tears would completely gut me today as well.
And to know that I was the source of the pain, the source of her anguish…it was like a knife being thrust into my stomach and someone twisting the handle.
The only saving grace is that my plan worked and that no more drastic steps will have to be taken. I can actually feel Victoria’s adoration for me now. I’m a hero in her eyes. And even though I did the unthinkable, I need to focus on moving forward and salvaging my plans for retribution.
