Neighbor Dearest(59)
“You know,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Ty told you.”
“Yes.”
He dropped his head. “Fuck.”
After allowing him almost a full minute to process, I finally spoke. “I understand.”
“No, you don’t. You just think you do.”
“I do.”
“This doesn’t change anything, Chelsea. The end result is the same.”
My instinct was to argue with him, but the smarter part of me knew that this wasn’t the right time. He was recovering, and the last thing I wanted was to upset him. So, I just focused on today.
“Do you remember fainting?”
“No. I only remember waking up with the paramedics there.”
“The dogs went to your rescue, you know. They alerted Murray, who called 911.”
“Remind me to make them some bacon.”
“Remind me to stay far away that day.”
The mood lightened a bit when he cracked a slight smile. “How’s your boyfriend, Marky Mark? I see you’re still in one piece.”
“I never went back into the theater that night. I skipped out a side door, never saw him again.”
Damien feigned disappointment. “Such a shame.” He looked so cute when he puckered his lips.
“How’s the whore you were with?”
“She wasn’t too happy. She told me I was way too interested in my sister’s business, made me drive her straight home.”
“Shame.” I sat down next to him on the bed. “Nice try changing the subject off of you, by the way.”
He let out a deep breath. “Didn’t Tattle-Ty tell you everything? What do you want to know?”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
His stare burned into mine. “You know why.”
“It doesn’t matter to me.”
“That’s exactly why I couldn’t tell you. It was never that I thought you’d leave. It was that I knew you’d stay. You don’t realize what getting involved with me could mean. Here today, gone tomorrow, Chelsea. You’ve already had your heart broken once. Is that what you really want?”
“You don’t know what will happen. Any one of us could die tomorrow.”
“But only some of us are wired to die early. It happened to my father. I have the same exact defect. And I don’t want what happened to my mother to happen to you. I care about you far too much. End of story.”
A moment of silence ensued.
“Your brother told me that they’re trying to convince you to have surgery.”
“That comes with its own risks.” He paused. “I’m considering it, though. I don’t want to get into that right now, okay?”
Respecting his wishes, I asked, “Are they discharging you soon?”
“Yeah. It really was just a fainting spell. Because of my condition, I’m more prone to that. Probably happened because I was dehydrated and under stress.”
I hesitated to ask, “Were you stressed about me?”
He chuckled. “I’ve been stressed about you for months, so that probably wasn’t it.” He playfully tapped my thigh, causing my skin to prickle. “How did you find out I was here?”
“I’d gone to the apartment to apologize for being so harsh, and because I missed you and the dogs.”
“They miss you, too.”
“They said so?” I smiled.
“Not in so many words.” He smiled. “But they stop at your door all the time.”
“I miss the Double Ds. Actually, I miss…the Triple Ds.” I cracked myself up. “I can’t believe I’ve never thought of that before.”
“That only just now dawned on you? I was waiting for you to figure it out.”
“Thank God I went to the building when I did. If I’d waited until tomorrow, I would have never known about this. You would’ve never told me anything. I just know it.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t have. But like I said, your knowing doesn’t change anything. I’m not good for you.”
“Don’t tell me what’s good for me,” I barked.
I stood up and walked toward the door, peeking outside to see if the doctor was coming.
Returning to Damien, I began to massage my fingers slowly through his hair and watched his resolve weaken with each second. He closed his eyes before clutching the material of my shirt and pulling me closer to him.
He leaned his head into my chest. “You’re not allowed to come around anymore.” Breathing into me, he said, “You make me forget all the shit I’m supposed to be doing right. I can’t think straight.” He then looked up at me. “You have no idea how much I wanted to kill that guy for touching your ass that night. I realized then more than ever what a lost cause I am when it comes to you. It pissed me the hell off.”