After a relatively quiet and peaceful dinner, it was late in the night. It felt nice not having to eat dinner all alone just by myself. Even though none of us really spoke more than a few words, having a meal with them felt good.
It was time to sleep now judging by how Zack yawned, causing Liam who was talking to him to yawn too.
My eyes were starting to get heavy with sleep. Images of my comfortable bed and cozy sheets were enough to lull me into a sleepy slumber. But one single thought snapped away all the tiredness right out of my soul.
"I don't want to sleep in that basement!"
"Where else will you sleep then?" Zack asked, looking uninterested.
"I'd rather sleep on this couch." No I won't.
Zack yawned again before replying, "We don't have more rooms so you are only left with the basement or... This couch would do just fine." He shrugged.
"We do have a room." Max interceded.
"No." Damien immediately dead panned, shutting his idea off.
"C'mon Damien, Celine is not here. Jennifer can use her roo-" Max started, trying to argue with the emotionless boy but Damien was having none of it.
"I said no." He pressed more focus into his words, looking right into Max's eyes.
I glanced down at my feet, not knowing what to say or feel about this. I was still a kidnapped victim by them even if we had become somewhat like friends with each other.
Damien moved his gaze away from Max to look at me. By the contemplative expression on his usually blank face, I could see that he was giving it a thought. Who was this Celine? By his reaction, it seems that she is someone close to Damien considering he is hesistant to let me stay in her room. She also seems to be the reason for my kidnapping in a way.
"C'mon Damien, please." Max held a pleading glint in his blue eyes, requesting a more comfortable environment for me. My heart warmed up at how fast he had grown to care for me.
Liam had already left for his room, rubbing his sleepy eyes and suppressing a yawn when he walked past me, wishing me a small 'goodnight'.
Zack, however, was still hanging around, watching the drama.
Damien looked at me again, giving my heart a startled flinch. Looking into his bright green eyes, I felt my cheeks heating up- causing me to look away from his face.
Oh, that is a nice wall over there.
Dude is so damn handsome, I want to dissipate.
After a few more minutes of Damien denying and Max pleading, he seemed to finally give in. Zack's head was leaning to the side before he abruptly jerked up from his sleep, watching the drama right from where he had dozed off from.
"Fine. Come with me." He addressed to me.
Zack looked stunned, light brown eyes widened and suddenly devoid of all their previous sleepy haze. I looked up to see Max to see him giving me a proud smile.
He was proud of himself.
I smiled and thanked him quietly to which he just waved me off.
I followed after him as Damien guided me to Celine's room. I felt conscious of how the two of us were currently all alone with just the company of each other. Being in this close proximity with him, alone, made my nerves to go crazy. My heart was beating so loud that I was sure he was able to hear the palpitations. But one look at his handsome face was enough for me understand that his mind was already occupied by his own swirl of thoughts.
Taking a key out of his pockets, he unlocked the door. Heaving a heavy sigh, he stood there just looking inside the room, searching for someone who was no longer there.
"Are you okay?" I asked him in a soft voice, being vary not to trigger him.
He merely nodded and went inside.
I temporised for a moment, feeling doubtful whether I should go inside or not. Something about the way Damien was acting made the ambience of the room feel sacred.
Nevertheless, I continued to follow after him, absorbing every inch of the architecture being presented in front of me.
The room was absolutely beautiful. The walls were a mix of Lavender and white with a bunch of creative paintings hanging on the walls. The bed was neatly done and the smell in this room was heavenly. I even spotted some fairy lights decorating the confined space. The closet was white in colour but it was locked.
Leaving Damien's side, I went up to admire one of the paintings. It was a portrait of a girl. She wore a crown made of white and pink roses on her head. Her grey eyes looked so empty yet at the same time, so expressive. Her lips were painted a lighter shade of red, curled up to form a smile so small that it felt negligent. Her long, wavy brown hair fell over her shoulders eligantly.
She wore a simple white nightgown, all the crinkles and folds clearly painted in a realistic fashion. The background was a beautiful shade of blue and white. It was so detailed that it looked professional.
Near the bottom of the painting, was the name of the artist in calligraphy - Celine.
"These painting are awesome!" I exclaimed, turning towards Damien who was standing beside me, admiring the paintings as well.
"These are all Celine's." He said with a clear fondness in his eyes.
I then went towards the bedside table, having have caught sight of a photo frame kept on it. I instantly recognised Damien in the picture. The other person in the photo was a girl, who had long blonde hair. Her eyes were a shade of light blue and she was wearing a pretty floral sundress.
She looked like a goddess.
Damien was hugging her from behind, his head was resting on her shoulder. The girl, Celine, had her hands placed on Damien's arms that were wrapped around her waist. The both of them were smiling adorably at the camera.
They looked so happy and perfect.
I ignored the small twinge of jealousy that aroused within me, opting to compliment her instead.
"She is so beautiful." I whispered only for my ears to hear but Damien heard it too. He came towards me and took the frame from my hands to look at it himself.
"She is." He replied.
"Who is she?" I couldn't stop myself from asking this. My curiosity had reached its peak and I really wanted to know who this Celine was.
"My girlfriend."
Two words and my heart sank. The blooming flowers in my heart died right down. Why hadn't I figured that out already? It was so obvious.
"What happened to her?" I might as well know this.
He sighed and his green eyes met mine. I felt myself being overwhelmed by sympathy when I saw the moisture coating over his hurt eyes. He kept the frame down where it was and sat down on the bed.
Patting the area beside him on the bed gently, he asked me to sit down with him, something I immediately obliged.
"They took her." He stated.
"Who?" My eyebrows furrowed. The hurtful reflection of emotions on his face dissolved to merge into a mix of anger, fear and helplessness.
"The mafia."
"What?" I gasped. "Why?"
"After we had refused to work for them, they started threatening us. We didn't want to do all those cruel and illegal things anymore but they just wouldn't let us go. That's how mafias work- once you get in, there's no going out." He rubbed his hand over his face, trying to get rid of the agitation he fell under.
"So, Zack stole money from them with which we bought cars and this house. Soon after they found out about the stolen money and our house here. They attacked us one night. They were many and we were just five. They had weapons with them and they took Celine away while I couldn't do anything."
Though he tried to stay strong, his voice wavered to betray him. He looked so lost, not knowing just what to do. Like a lost child crying on his bed in the middle of the night after he saw a nightmare, not knowing how to escape the images of the terrifying motions his brain tortured him with.
Doing what my brain adviced me to, I kept my hand over his in a small attempt at providing comfort to his bruising heart.
"They asked for 5 million dollars to get Celine back. That's why we had kidnapped you. I was desperate to get her back and I would do just anything to have her with me again. I know it sounds selfish but Jennifer, I just want my Celine back."
"You will get her back, Damien." I tried to assure him. Giving his hand a squeeze, I smiled at him in reassurance.
"Now they want double the money. I don't know how we are going to get it."
"Don't loose hope, Damien. You will get her back."
Lifting his gaze up to meet mine, a small smile accentuated over his features. Then as if driven by pure instinct, his arms wrapped around me to hug me, seeking comfort from the embrace he stole from me.
C'mon Jennifer, hug him back otherwise he'll pull away and apologise!
So I listened to my mind and hugged him back. It felt amazing to be held by him but I scolded myself internally for my selfishness. A small, evil side of me couldn't keep herself from feeling jealous over the fact that his heart belongs to someone else.
No, Jennifer. Don't feel like that! You just saw how much he loves her.
You told me to hug him...?
So? I didn't want him to feel that he crossed any lines with you.
He pulled away, leaving me cold and craving more of his warmth. Getting up from the bed, he gave one last smile to me before wishing me a goodnight, leaving for his own room to rest for the day.
I laid down on Celine's bed with my thoughts racing over a hundred miles per hour. My chest was still buzzing with all these fuzzy feelings I was newly acquired with. My face felt hot as I thought back to the smiles Damien gave me and the lone time I spent with him, given that the subject of discussion wasn't one of the most pleasant ones there could have been.
Why am I having these feelings for this guy?! I have never felt like this before. I shouldn't feel attracted to him, right? He's already someone else's.
My heart is a traitor. My own body works against me and I am sick of this. I need to stop these feelings before they grow otherwise I'll only end up getting hurt.
These are my feelings. I should be the one controlling them not the other way around.
I have just found new friends and I don't want to loose them because of these stupid feelings.