Damien may not eat much, but I need my sustenance. And I’m definitely not getting it at home. My latest foster parents decided the day I moved in that I was old enough to fend for myself, and I could only look to them for a bed. Their permanently-locked fridge door means that any dollar Iscrounge up goes straight toward buying myself food. The forty dollars I once spent to get Lia out of trouble feel like a distant, unreal memory. I haven’t seen that kind of money in what feels like forever. But I haven’t once regretted spending it on her.
At last, I feel satiated, though I’m already wondering where my next meal will come from. It’s moments like these when I realize just how much I depend on Damien. I don’t doubt for a second that my next mealwillcome, and it will be thanks to him.
“C’mon,” he says, putting a protective hand on my shoulder. “Oh, and Vale, we’re around, so whenever you want to give us a toilet to scrub—”
The latter glowers at him, while Carmelo Moretti raises a surprised, slightly amused eyebrow.
I heave a sigh of relief once we’ve left the building and joined Everest on the sidewalk across from the bar.
“What the fuck was that?” I hiss as we begin the walk back to school. “How the fuck did you meet Carmelo Moretti? What the hell is going on?”
Damien shrugs. “How were the fries?”
I glare at him. “Don’t switch subjects. When did you even have time to get cozy with the mafia? We’re together all the time.”
“Not at night.”
“Don’t you ever sleep? Don’t you have any mortal needs at all?”
Damien merely chuckles.
“I’m not done talking!” I say in exasperation. “Sometimes I wonder if I even know the first thing about you. Come on, Damien, talk to me. Honestly, you have some explaining to do.”
At last, Damien stops walking and faces me. His eyes are harsh.
“No,” he says in a quiet voice. “Youhave some explaining to do, Logan. I heard what happened with Lia Cabello.”
Fuck.
4
Logan
“Hold on, Damien. Whatever you’re thinking of, don’t do it. Hold on!”
I’m trying desperately to catch up to Damien as he heads back to school. Everest, as usual, is behind us, following like a clueless golden retriever.
We’re very late. The bell for classes must have rung thirty minutes ago, but that’s the last thing on my mind right now.
“Damien. It wasn’t her fault. It was mine.”
He snorts at those words, but doesn’t slow down. “Yeah, it was. What kind of a fucking softie are you? I’d kill myself before I submitted to some stupid girl.”
Anger flares in my chest, but I don’t want to yell at him. “She’s not a stupid girl,” I say in a strained voice. “And I didn’t submit. I just chose my battles.”
“Uh huh. You certainly did make a choice. It took only thirty seconds for the entire school to start talking about how pathetic it was that Damien’s best friend got called a loser by some silly girl, and took it like a whipped dog.”
“Damien!” I’m shaking with rage, my hands fisting at my sides. “I did not fucking take it. I just don’t give a shit about her. I’m not about to lose my cool over a girl.”
As we enter the school building, he looks at me with a smirk. “Liar.”
By now I’m seeing red. “How? How am I a fucking liar? When have I ever lost my cool over a girl?”
Damien’s smirk deepens. “You’re lying when you say you don’t give a shit about her. I know you do.”
I open my mouth a few times, but not a sound comes out. I have no idea what to say to that. But something in Damien’s expression scares me.
“Fine. I’ll deal with it,” I say at last. “I don’t need you to get involved, Damien. Okay?”
