The Shadows

09| Family

I told Damien I would meet him downstairs in a few minutes so I could collect myself. As we walk down the hall, I take some time to think about what had happened in my bathroom not only thirty minutes ago. What would I have done if Damien didn't show up? I'd probably be dead. Who was he and why would he want me? I pause, shaking myself from my thoughts.

I come to an abrupt stop at the end of the stairs when I see Damien talking to a skinny, short-haired red head. I take a few slow steps towards them and stand beside Damien. She doesn't seem to care about my presence. She continues her conversation without as much of a glance towards me.

"So, Damien. I'd LOVE it if you could like show me a few things? You know... like train me? I have these SUPER cute shorts that Madilyn gave me, that would be perfect, you know because there like... stretchy; Good for training, because of the material, kinda like a breathable fabric, you know?" I look over to Damien, who seems lost in thought, obviously paying no attention to her. She is embarassing herself. "Damien? Are you listening? I feel like we have so much in common!" She places her hand on his bicep as she says that. She clearly doesn't know one thing about him.

Screw this, I'm dealing with this bullshit. "Uh, hey. I don't think Damien will have time. He's my full-time babysitter." I shrug. "Since I'm a flight risk and all." I say sarcastically. He turns to me, smirking, entertained by my unexpected reaction to red head. He seems impressed with my playful use of his own words.

Finally she moves her gaze to mine. "I think he can speak for himself." He quickly turns to her and shrugs. "It's true." She leans back slightly, squinting her eyes. "O-Oh, well maybe we can find time later Dami." She turns on her heals and makes her way outside.

"She didn't even notice I existed." I giggle. "What can I say? Look at me." He turns to me raising an eyebrow. I roll my eyes at him. "Cocky." He chuckles. "Dami?" I question. "I don't even know how to respond to that." He sighs. "Who is she?" He crosses his arms. "Why do you care?" He grins. Annoyed I respond. "I'm sorry, I don't think that answered my question." He chuckles. "Alright, relax feisty. Actually she has a similar story to you. We found Ria and another girl on our way home."

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<-Flashback->

They continue walking down the heavy dirt road, kicking up dust behind them. Jace continues on about Aryah and how much he despises her. I zone out from his one sided conversation and focus on my surroundings. This place is so peaceful to me. The sun gleaming through the leaves on the trees and the smell of the river, flowing alongside the pathway. I'm pulled from my thoughts when I hear a quiet wimper.

"Wait." I stop. Cutting off Jace's sentence he stops dead in his tracks and looks around. "Somethings not right." I turn around searching through the trees until my eye catches onto something red. I squint my eyes to clear my visual, when I notice it was a girl standing in the middle of the forest. It looks like she is talking to someone. I walk off the dirt path, walking around the trees and stepping over some fallen branches. She quickly whips her head around to see me standing a few feet from her. I didn't make any attempt to be discrete but I startled her none the less. She turns her body, her upper half facing me as her feet stay planted. Her short red curly hair was what caught my eye. I shift my gaze to see a young girl, probably mid twenties, short, light brown, beach wavy hair staring back at me with fear in her eyes. It seems she had been crying before I got here. Red head turns around fully before giving me a seductive smirk and an eyebrow raise.

"Well hello handsome. My name is Ria." I glance at her quickly and back at the young girl. "Is everything alright?" I say looking directly into the crying girls eyes. She doesn't respond, but it is obvious to see that she is not fine.