𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐌𝐄

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟓

carmen

My brows furrowed as I took in the woman before me. Her hair was platinum blonde and sleek straight, red lipstick and an extremely strong French accent. In other words, she reminded me exactly of my mother. "Excuse me? Do you speak?" She repeated.

"Oh, y-yes. Sorry, I just wasn't expecting anyone to be here." Stuttering, I pulled myself together in front of the formidable woman.

She stood for a moment, biting on her bottom lip with a weird look on her face. "Were you here to see mon cheri?"

"Sorry?" I asked, dumbfounded. Who the heck was 'mon cheri'? Was it Damian? If so, what was a much older woman doing calling him that? I didn't take him for the type of person that went for older women.

The woman grew agitated, rolling her eyes and letting out a quiet sigh. "I said Damian. Are you here to see Damian?"

Oh right, she did mean Damian. "Yeah, I came to see him for something but I can just come back another time. I didn't mean to be a bother, I'm sorry." I most definitely shouldn't be apologizing to the rude lady and if Damian heard, he would glare at me for being a pushover. But I disturbed whatever it was that they were doing and felt bad.

I fiddled with the chain in my fingers as I waited for her to speak up again. The tension was thick and I looked like an imbecile compared to the confident and tall woman. She appeared just a little taller than Nila's 5,9 which meant she was about 5,10-5,11 roughly.

"We're not busy, you can come in." She spoke.

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude."

She opened the door further and stepped to the side, the familiar hallway facing me. "Of course not. Any friend of Damian's is mine."

I hesitated, not sure if I should listen and walk in. But I wasn't sure if Damian was stressing over the chain or not and this would be one of the few chances I would get to hand it to him, so I stepped into the apartment, wincing slightly when I heard the door slam shut.

"Damian, my darling, you have a visitor!" The woman overtook me and began walking to the lounge, expecting me to follow. "My name is Rose, and yours?" She added.

"Oh, um, Carmen." I smiled.

"Carmen." She tested the name out on her tongue and smiled bitterly. "You're a very pretty girl."

The compliment sounded far from sincere, but it was still something nice so I accepted it. "Thank you."

A moody voice called out from further into the apartment. "Who?" My mood brightens when I hear Damian's voice. Sure, he sounded like a psychopath plotting his next murder but it was kind of hot.

"See for yourself." Rose purred, leading us into the lounge and there I found Damian sitting on the couch playing a video game with a little boy next to him. Gun sounds and shouts came from the television but were paused when Damian turned around, dropping his controller.

Instantly, his expression hardened as his eyes narrowed on mine. This wasn't good. I thought he'd be more excited for me to come see him? Granted, it was last minute and I never told him but still.

"Carmen." Damian clenched his jaw. "Why are you here?" The little boy groaned in defeat when he realized the game wasn't going to continue anymore and dropped his controller on the couch, turning around as well.

The resemblance was uncanny. Despite the younger boy having lighter hair and softer facial features, he still looked exactly like Damian.

"Nonsense, come sit down, Carmen. Don't be rude to a guest, Damian." She warned.