?LIBIA (Find my confidence) ?
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Chapter Eight.
Libia wiped the steam from the mirror over the sink, grimacing when she caught sight of the bruise that had formed where Bailey had pinched and twisted so r0ûghly. Libia could pas-s it off as having been accidentally hit with a basketball, her mother would most likely believe that.
Sighing, she stepped out of the bathroom, heading down the hall to her room. She dressed quic-kly in comfortable shorts and a nice T-shi-t, before heading back out to where her mother waited, sipping her decaffeinated tea at the kitchen table.
She walked into the room, and the first thing her mother did was g@sp. “Honey! Where did you get that bruise?” She asked in alarm.
“It’s nothing, Mom. I just got hit with a basketball in gym. Nothing to be worried about,” She as-sured softly.
Letting out a breath, she sat back. “Alright. Make yourself some tea and sit down. I want to know more about this Damon guy,” Libia rolled her eyes, pouring some tea of her own, before sitting down.
“He’s really just a friend,” Again, her heart lurched painfully when the word pas-sed herl-ips, confusing her.
Her mother let out a scoff. “Honey, don’t give me that Horse Hockey. You don’t like to even as-sociate with people. God help you, you got your father’s personality. Your brother and I have been trying to get you to as-sociate with people for years, and you just shy away. And now you’re hvgging this guy like he’s your last tie to life?” She scoffed again, “I don’t believe it.”
Libia stared at her mother, her cheeks reddening with the truth that she couldn’t deny. Who was she kidding? She was falling for this guy.
“I’m pathetic, aren’t I?” She said quietly, using her tea as an excuse not to look at her mother, as she warmed her hands on the glas-s surrounding the cu-p, “I can’t even admit it to myself. How can I admit it to him when I’m too shy to let myself accept it? He probably doesn’t even like me back,” She mumbled, her f!ngerspla-ying with the handle of the mug.
Her mother sighed. “Honey, you really are blind.”
Looking up, Libia raised a puzzled eyebrow. “Huh?”
“He hvgged you back, Libia. He held onto you like his life depended on it. You can’t tell me that he doesn’t like you, because I saw the look in that boy’s eyes when he looked at you. It was like he’d just been sma-cked in the face with a heavy dose of Oh-My-God-I’m-In-Love,” Libia giggled at her mother’s an-alogy, shaking her head.
“Yeah right, Mom. Damon? Liking me?” She let out one short, humorless laugh. “Right.”
Her mother narrowed her eyes, disbelieving. The girl could be a super model, if she wasn’t so shy. Her face was petite, and she knew from experience that when that little nose sniffled and those big, innocent eyes filled with tears, you’d want to either kill the person that hurt her, or kill yourself for being the one that hurt her. The girl puts off this vibe that screams “protect me!”
Libia took a sip of her tea, before looking up at her mother, whom was studying her closely. “What?”
Shaking her head, her mother sighed. “Tell me about Damon. What’s he like?”
“Well…he doesn’t seem like it at first, but he’s…sweet. He helped me…a lot, with school related stuff. He doesn’t let anyone mess with me at school. He’s got this s-en-se of humor that can either have you looking at him like a mad man, or laughing too ha-rd to stand up straight,” Libia paused as she saw the knowing smile on her mother’sl-ips, “What?”
“How long have you known Damon?” She asked, taking a drink of her tea.
Raising her eyebrows in confusion, she shrugged. “I don’t know, a couple days I guess?”
The smile wi-de-ned. “Really? So you’ve been hanging out with Damon for the duration of those couple days?”
“I guess. What are you getting at?” Libia asked, shaking her head with a confused smile.
“Well, you seem to know this boy pretty well. At least, personality wise,” She explained.
Libia stared at her mother for a moment, before it cli-cked. “Oh no! You’ve got it all wrong! He’s been helping me with some stuff!” Libia exclaimed, laughing at the absurdity of what her mother was implying.
Libia shifted in her chair at the idea that they had been d@t!ng. It wasn’t true, of course, but she wished it had been. She remembered the way he’d smiled at her in school. It was such a soft, affectionate smile. She wished it had been real. And she hated that she did.
Sighing, her mother stood. “Well, just for the record, he’d be crazy not to like you,” Her mother murmured, dropping a k!ssto her forehead as she pas-sed.
“Where are you going?” Libia asked, standing.
“I’m headed to the grocery sto-re. We’re out of a bunch of stuff,” She called.
“Grocery sto-re…oh $h!t!” She said, not loud enough for her mother to hear.
Libia couldn’t believe she’d forgotten. It was a good thing her mother had reminded her, or she would have fallen asleep tonight without a single worry – and she’d be fired from her job.
She had to go at eight tonight. Which means she had two and a half ours to either sleep, study, or watch TV.
In the end, studying won out. It always did. So two hours later, she was throwing on an outfit, and putting her hair back into a messy ponytail.
Putting her headphones in, and calling a quic-k goodbye to her mother on the couch, she stepped out the door. She jogged down the sidewalk, her ponytail bouncing every which way. Listening to her favorite songs as she c@m£ around the corner, seeing the grocery sto-re a block down.
On her way, she pas-sed two men leaning on the wall of a bar, which was bustling on the inside, the doors open. She felt uneasy, but otherwise paid them no mind, as she adjusted her headphones.
When she c@m£ to the grocery sto-re, she shed her headphones, and her purse, setting them in her locker. She headed out, waving to her coworker as she pas-sed.
“Hey Libby. I thought I saw you on the night shift schedule,” Benny greeted her with a half hvg.
Smiling, Libia nodded. “Yeah. I’m only able to go in early on the weekends,” She shrugged.
Shaking his head, Benny let out a laugh. “You work too ha-rd , girl.”
Waving him off, she stood behind her register and began turning everything on. “Yeah right, I work five hours a night. That’s ha-rd ly too ha-rd . You should see my mother. Now that’s a ha-rd worker,” Libia said, typing a few things in on her keyboard.
Benny shook his head. She never did take the credit she deserved.
After four and a half hours and few customers, Libia yawned heavily, now wishing that it was caffeinated tea or even coffee that her mother had given her. The music pla-ying overhead was almost comical. It didn’t fit the monotone persona of the place.
“Who pla-ys Conga in a grocery sto-re?” She laughed to herself.
Still, just to entertain herself, she danced in her small space, skillfully moving her h!ps. Her coworker, Lizzy, laughed as she danced as well.
She let out a yelp as Benny pu-ll-ed her from her space, and they began dancing.
She couldn’t st©p laughing, as they stumbled throu-gh their messy dance. It was nights like these that made working here all the more worth it. When it was slow, the manager didn’t mind a few minutes of fun, unless they ignored a customer to do it.
For the end of the song, Benny spun her out, laughing along with her.
She wiped a tear from her eye as her laughter settled down, giving Benny a hvg. “That was a wonderful dance, Benny!” She said as she stepped back behind her register.
“Thank you very much, madam,” He did an exaggerated bow, chortling affectionately like a good-natured grandfather.
Laughing to herself, she turned back around, only to jump as Damon’s face c@m£ into view.
“Wow,” He chuckled.
Her cheeks turned bright red. “You seem to be here at the most innoportune moments.”
“I disagree,” He murmured, his eyes twi-nkling with amusement.
“Hey, Damon! Come over here and look at this thing!” Someone called, his voice slurred and full of amusement.
They both looked to see who it was. A boy stood with a group of guys, all of them laughing at some discovery they’d found. A couple of them were drun!k.
She raised her eyebrows. “These were the friends, I’m guessing?” She asked with an amused smile.
Shaking his head, Damon let out a disbelieving laugh. “We go out to have some fun, they get drun!kand want to come to the grocery sto-re to mess around,” Damon gro-an ed.
Libia ti-pped her head back, letting out a laugh.
Damon was caught in that innocent maneuver. Her black hair, which had been pu-ll-ed back, brushed the hem of her jeans. Her beautiful smile was big and full of life. Her brown eyes seemed to shine. She was gorgeous. His thoughts went back to when she danced with Bennett. The way, even when she stumbled, that her b©dy moved so lithely. He wished that he could dance with her like that.
Shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts, Damon sighed. “I’m going to have to go and see what they’re blabbering about.”
Giggling, Libia nodded. “Yeah. You should probably go do that.”
Rolling his eyes, he sh0t her a wi-nk, before heading over to where his friends stood, still laughing about their apparently hilarious discovery.
Libia watched him go with a small smile. She was unaware of her surroundings, until someone stepped in her line of sight. “Hey,” Brit, her coworker greeted.
“Hey Brit. I thought you weren’t coming until one. It’s twelve thirty,” Libia reminded her.
“Yeah, I c@m£ in early,” She explained.
“Ah, so does that mean my shift is over?”
Brit nodded. “Seems like it,”
Smiling, Libia began turning off her station. “Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow night, right? You’ve got the same time as me.”
“Yep. See you then,” Brit said, waving her off.
Walking back to the break room, Libia gathered her things. She pu-ll-ed her hair from it’s ponytail, letting out a relieved breath as the weight was evenly distributed instead of focused on the back of her head, causing a slight headache.
“See you Benny!” Libia called as she headed for the door.
“Bye sweetheart. Hey you be careful walking home this late, you hear?” He said to her, sternly.
Smiling, Libia waved him off. “I’ll be fine.”
Still, he watched worriedly as she left the sto-re. She was a beautiful young woman, and that, sometimes, could be a curse.
Damon also watched as she left, ignoring his idiotic friends who had decided to interrupt his time with Libia to show him some honey-filled plastic teddy bear whom had his head dented in. He felt uneasy, hearing that she had, in fact, walked here.
“Go on, man. I’ll keep these idiots in check,” His best friend, Neil told him.
Neil had stayed sober, as always, and was the only one, aside from Damon, that wasn’t rolling on the floor laughing about stupid $h!t.
Letting out a breath, Damon nodded, anxious to find her for some reason, as he alre-ady began walking. “Thanks, man.”
The cool, but muggy night air around Libia was relaxing. She listened to the city sounds, mixed with the sounds of the crickets whom had found their homes in the lawns and patches of gras-s in front of buildings. Far off, there was the sound of sirens, and the familiar, nightly sound of a distant train horn. It had taken Libia all Summer to get used to those sounds, seeing as her room wasn’t exactly sound proofed to it all, and she had lived in a small town without all those sounds. The only sound that she had found really familiar, were the crickets. She had tried to focus on those, like a lullaby.
Now she didn’t think she’d be able to sleep without these familiar sounds.
She sighed softly as she walked, pas-sing by the bar again, which was still bustling, though not as busy as before. She wondered if this was where Damon had been with his friends. It struck her to realize that he’d never actually told her about his friends before. In fact, she didn’t know much about him at all, save for the fact that he had a brother. Other than that, he’s not at the legal age to drink!
Sighing to herself, Libia shook her head of those thoughts.
Let him be. She thought to herself. You have no idea who he is.
She had to work to deny the fact that it hurt her to think that. He wasn’t getting to know her because they were d@t!ng, or he was interested, he was trying to help her. And it hurt to realize it, even though that had been what she was telling herself all along. There had been a seed of hope in her heart.
She hadn’t realized she’d paused her walk in front of Bear Village Park, until she was startled by a footfall behind her. Jumping, she turned to find a man, five feet away.
“Hi,” He greeted casually.
Taking a cautious step back, she spoke in a timid voice, “Hello.”
“It’s a little late to be walking alone isn’t it?” He asked her, following with a step forward.
“I…I just got off work. My home is just around the corner,” She explained softly.
“Hmm. Beautiful girl like you, working this late? You work at the bar or something?” He asked her, taking a step closer.
Startled, she took two steps back, only to stumble into someone’s grasp.
“St©p! Let me go!” She struggled as the man stepped closer, into the light of a street lamp.
Surprised, she paused. They were the two that had been leaning against the wall of the bar.
“It’s alright, Baby. Nothing to worry about,” The man promised casually, as if his hand wasn’t reaching for her shi-t.
She let out a cry asl-ips t©uçhed her ear, cringing away. “Leave me alone!” She sobbe-d, kicking out, and struggling.
The man’s hand began to untuck her shi-t. As the other man’sl-ips trailed down to her n£¢k. Revulsion wracked shivers down her spine, as she sobbe-d out her plea-s, struggling like a mad woman.
“Libia!” All three of them paused at the enraged voice.
Libia began to sob for another reason. Relief. “Damon!” She sobbe-d, this time being able to break out of the two’s hold that had gone slack in surprise.
She pushed past the man in front of her, but he caught her arm, causing her to skrie-k, “Damon!”
“Libia!” Damon ran fas-ter, hearing her sobbing, desperate voice calling his name.
He swung the corner, to see two men, one man pushing Libia against a tree, while the other waited for Damon. His gaze went red, and then black dots swirled, and he blacked out.
Libia sobbe-d uncontrollably as she saw Damon lunge at the man that waited for him. He didn’t expect Damon to be as strong as he was, as they went crashing to the ground. Meanwhile, with no regard for his friend, the man in front of her pressed his hand to her throat, before forcing hisl-ips on hers. Still struggling, Libia pu-ll-ed a bold move and bit down ha-rd on hisl-ip, spitting in his face when he pu-ll-ed away.
She heard the sound before she felt the sl@p, as her head went back against the tree. “You bit-!” His words were cut off, as he was pu-ll-ed from Libia. He was thrown on the ground by Damon, his head sma-cking the concrete sickeningly. Damon didn’t st©p there, the man gro-an ed as Damon sat on t©p of him, reeling his fist back and slamming it down with the f0rç£ of a sledge hammer. The man was out cold.
Breathing ragged, Damon stood, his back to Libia as his che-st heaved and his fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly.
“Damon,” Libia sobbe-d.
When Damon’s sight c@m£ back to him, the two were lying on the ground, faces bashed in and bloodied, and his fists were bloodied and bruised. Had he done that?
“Damon,” Libia repeated, louder this time.
Damon turned, and when he caught site of Libia, his rage was pushed aside, replaced with worry so strong it almost knocked him to his knees. Her cheek was bruised in a handprint, and her clothing was rumpled where they had tried to take them off. Taking three steps, he fell on his knees in front of her, reached out, and pu-ll-ed her into his che-st.
“Baby, I’m so sorry,” He breathed as she broke down in his arms.
She sobbe-d, taking in harsh, shuddering breaths between each one. He held her close, rocking them back and forth. “Shh, Baby. Shh, it’s alright now. I’m here Baby. I’m here,” He whispered to her as he stood, letting her curl into him and bury her face in his che-st.
“I’m gonna take you into the bar and we’re gonna call the police, alright?” He said to her in a soothing tone.
Libia only had the strength to nod her head, as her b©dy shut down on her. It took all of a minute to get to the bar, and the whole place went silent when they entered.
“Call the police!” Damon ordered, his voice loud and demanding.
“Oh gosh! I’ll get her some water,” Bertha, a good friend of his Aunt told him, running to gr-ab a clean glas-s.
“What happened?” Danny, Bertha’s husband asked as he dialed.
“She was attacked around the corner in front of the park. Two drun!kidiots. I was lucky I got there in time,” Damon answered, sliding onto a stool and helping Libia to sit up on his l@p.
Despite the stress, rage and worry the night brou-ght on, it still warmed his heart when she cu-mddled into him, burying her face in his n£¢k. She still huccu-mpped every once in a while, but her sobbing had died down. He liked to think that she felt comforted with him around.
“We’ve just had an attem-pted r@p£ in front of Bear Village Park. An eighteen year old girl named Libia. Description of the men?” He asked Damon.
“They’re bloodied and bruised. In fact, they should still be pas-sed out on the sidewalk,” Damon answered, taking the water from Bertha with a nod of thanks.
Danny smiled, although it wasn’t happy, nor humorous. “That’s my boy.”
He explained that they should be pas-sed out on the sidewalk, and where to find Libia and Damon, gave his own name, and then hung up. Danny watched as Damon carefully pu-ll-ed Libia from where she had wilted into him. He had her take long sips of water, wiping the tears from her face as if she were an easily-broken piece of china. In all his years, he’d never seen the boy so tender. He spoke to her in soft tones, as she stared up at him with eyes that were so trusting, you’d think she would follow him off a cliff.
Shaking his head, Danny leaned against the counter across from them with Bertha, wra-pping an arm around her shoulder. “Those two are hopelessly in love. And I bet you they don’t even know it yet,” He said to her.
Chuckling, but ha-rd ly with humor, Bertha knudged him. “Like you and I for ten years?”
He shook his head, still disbelieving that he had waited so long to realize it. “Exactly like you and I.”
Damon pushed the hair tenderly behind her ear, as she stared up at him. She was in shock, he could see it in the way her eyes were glazed over. He just hoped that this didn’t affect her in the long run. He hoped that she could move on, without living in fear.
He would help her, in fact. He would keep her safe. Forever. She wouldn’t feel the nee-d to live in fear, because he would be by her side. Always.
He was cut from his thoughts when Libia began to shiver. She began to shiver uncontrollably. She said her first two words since being attacked, “Oh God!”
Libia could feel her revulsion, pain, anger, and fear all come crashing down on her. If Damon hadn’t been there…they’d have R@p£d her, and possibly killed her.
“Oh God!” She repeated, sobbing now as she buried her face in his che-st. “I could have been…I was almost…they would have…” Her s£ntences were incoherent, and muffled in his shi-t.
It killed him to see her like this. He rocked them back and forth yet again, his eyes closed as he buried his face in her hair.
“It’s alright Baby. They’re gone. They won’t hurt you anymore. I’ve got you Baby. Shh,” He murmured to her, his mouth moving down to her ear as he brushed the hair behind it, pressing a k!ssto the skin just in front of it.
Danny stood straighter as a policemen entered the bar.
“Danny Fiorelle?” The man asked him.
“Yeah, you got the right guy. This is Damon Slain, and Libia…?” He looked to Damon.
“Libia Fields,” He answered idly, still comforting the shivering, crying girl.
“We’ve got the two in custody, but we’re going to have to take you two down and ask some questions. That okay with you?” He asked.
Sighing, Damon crinkled an eyebrow as he gently pu-ll-ed Libia’s face from his che-st. “Libs, this man wants to ask you some questions about the men who attacked you. Do you think you’re up to it?” He asked her, cradling her face gently in his hands.
Libia wra-pped her arms around herself, still shivering. She gave a nod, her l-ips till quivering.
“Can…can you s-stay with me?” She whispered.
Damon looked at the police officer, whom nodded.
“Of course I can. Do you want me to carry you?” He asked her, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
She nodded, knowing that her legs would be too weak to even try.
Gathering her carefully in his arms, he stood up, coddling her like he would a baby. Nodding to the police officer, he followed him out, Danny following close behind.
Suddenly, Libia jo-lted in Damon’s arms. “I have to call my mother…my brother! I was supposed to be home by at least two thirty!” She cried, sniffling.
Damon shushed her, shifting her to one arm so he could coddle her face in his other hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll call them.”
She stared up into his eyes, those de-ep blue ones calming her almost instantly. It shocked her to feel a warmth flooding her heart. Tender feelings that should not be there for a man she just met fertilized the seedling that had been planted inside her, quic-kly growing, unfurling it’s red, fiery petals and flourishing. This was much more than a simple crush. This was morphing into love.
The way he held her, comforted her. She even recalled him calling her the pet name ‘Baby.’
And she loved it. Was this simply a hero complex? She was seeing him this way because he had saved her from certain violation, and possible death?
That had to be it. She couldn’t love him…not now. Not when they had just met.
Sighing, she closed her eyes. If that was so, and this was some sort of damsel-in-distress complex, then why did she feel so right in his arms? His t©uçh on her cheek still tingled, although he’d taken it off seconds ago. What was this, exactly?
She knew for a fact that he did not harbor any sort of infatuation towards her. Despite what her mother said. This was just him, comforting a distraught girl any way he can. He was being the hero she nee-ded him to be. Nothing more.
They sat in the car, Damon studying Libia’s face as they drove. She hadn’t fallen asleep, he knew it by the troubled look that still marred her features. She was thinking. He hoped that it wasn’t of the two that had attacked her, but it was highly likely that she wouldn’t just forget it. It had only happened just fifteen minutes ago.
Her eyes slid open again, catching his own as they stared down at her. She ba-rely managed a small smile. “Are you okay?” He asked in a whisper, tucking her hair behind her ear.
She nodded. “Yes. Thanks to you.”
Shaking his head, he looked away. “I should have gotton there sooner,” He mumbled.
She lifted a slightly shaky hand, very gently taking his jaw and turning his head down to look at her. “Don’t say that, Damon. You were there. That’s all that matters to me,” She whispered.
He stared down at her, eyes stinging with tears that he refused to shed. “They hurt you. Not just mentally, but physically. All because I-”
“Because I was stupid, and walked home at one in the morning,” She interjected. “You saved me from much worse, Damon. And for that, I will be forever indebted to you,” She murmured.
He stro-ked the bruise forming on her beautiful cheek, his anger still boiling un-der the surface. Idly, she pu-ll-ed his hand back and examined his bruised, battered knuckles, frowning. He still didn’t remember what happened. One minute, he was standing there, watching as they as-saulted her in front of him, and the next…he was standing over both of them, fists clenched and bloody.
He noticed, also, that herl-ips were bruised slightly. Taking his hand from her grasp, he ran his thumb along her bottoml-ip. “Did he…?”
She nodded. “Don’t you remember? You pu-ll-ed him off of me,” Libia reminded him.
He shook his head. “The only thing I remember is one minute I’m standing in front of the guy, the next you’re calling my name, and both of them are on the ground,” He explained in a whisper.
She didn’t answer, as they pu-ll-ed into the police station. She only cu-mddled into him, burying her face in his n£¢k and closing her eyes. He held her close, feeling content to have her in the one place he could keep her the most safe, his arms.
“I’m sorry, Libia. If I could have been there with you…they wouldn’t have t©uçhed you, even if they tried,” He whispered to her, as the policeman got out to open his door for him.
“Don’t blame yourself, Damon. I don’t,” She whispered back, herl-ips moving against his n£¢k, s£nding tingling warmth down his spine.
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Tbc