“Come on, Addie. No hello? I haven’t seen you since—”
“Since that night,” I bit out. “What do you want, Frank?”
“I came here to see you and you’re already thinking badly about me. You see that was always your problem, Addie. You always think the worst about everyone. You were always a stuck up bitch,” Frank said spitefully.
“How the hell did you know I was working here?” I fired back.
“Ah little Sofia, I’m guessing you never told her anything since she so willingly told me you’re working here.” He was right, I never did tell Sofia and neither did my dad. She was young and I was afraid of what it would have done to her to see me that way. Dad told her he had sent me to see our family back home to cover up my time in the hospital.
“You stay the hell away from her. Do you hear me? Stay the hell away from Sofia!” I shouted.
“Addie?” Daimon called, finding us in the corridor.
“Hello,” Frank said to Daimon.
“Who the hell are you?” Daimon asked, not too pleased seeing me with him.
“Just an old friend, isn’t that right, Addie?”
The way he said my name, made me shiver uncontrollably as bad memories came flooding back. Daimon came closer, closing the gap between us.
“Well, I'm her boyfriend. Daimon,” he said curtly.
“Interesting and I'm her ex. Frank,” he told Daimon. “Well, it was nice seeing you again Addie.” Frank lowered his head so I could see his face and the stupid grin he wore. “See you around.” Frank waved at me and walked off.
The moment he left I was able to breathe again. I reached up and placed my hand on the wall, trying hard not the let the world around me spin out of control.
“Addie? Who the fuck was that?” Daimon barked.
“No one,” I said under my breath.
“No one? No one? Well it appears this no one came here just to see you. What Addie? The money I’m giving you isn’t enough? You need another hand out?” God, Daimon always had a way with his words. He knew exactly how to hurt someone and was rarely sorry for it.
I slinked into the female bathroom and walked into a stall to cry. I had cried so many goddamn times in my life that I knew how to keep silent. My tears were always my own as I lamented my life and its constant pitfalls. What I hated the most was Daimon was the only one in my life who had been close enough to see me breakdown. Mainly because he knew how to take apart everything and find the one thing which could hurt me. I finally composed myself, washed my face and headed back out. At this rate, there was no way Darren would keep me.
“Addie?” Jace called out.
“Baby girl, if that asshole Daimon hurts you, you tell me,” Jace said bluntly.
“Why?” I asked quietly.
“Are you being serious here? First off, look at you; you look like he attacked you ‘Daimon style.’” Jace always referred to Daimon’s sharp cut-like words as his style; to Jace he was seriously an asshole.
“Where is he?” I asked so I could avoid him the rest of the night.
“He left.” Jace looked annoyed. “The asshole stormed out of here.”
“Oh.” I bit the inside of my lower lip, nervous that I might actually lose this job. “Is Darren around?” I asked, looking around for him.
“He went after Daimon,” Jace offered. “Don’t worry, just go to work. Okay?” Jace winked and smiled.
“Okay,” I nodded.
MEETING THE FAMILY
“If Frank ever calls you again, I want you to promise me that you won’t pick up. If you ever see him, you walk away, okay?” I literally begged Sofia.
“Why? You loved him and he loved you. He says he still loves you and wants to see if you guys can work out your issues,” she frowned.
To Sofia, Frank and I were the perfect match and she had a hard time understanding why we had broken up. She was young and had grown attached to him, like he was her big brother.
“Sofia, I'm serious. Do not speak to him.” I nearly ripped her head off.
“Look, Addie, maybe you need to talk to him and see, you guys might be happy again,” she almost begged.
“Sofia, let me ask you this. Would you like it if I involved myself in your future relationships?” I asked knowing she’d hate it.
“No! But he says you’re dating some asshole and I don’t want you to get hurt,” she fired back. Fuck, he told her about Daimon.
“What did he say? Exactly,” I waited.
“He said he’s some big shot and you’re blinded by his money and he treats you badly,” she frowned.
“He doesn’t treat me badly. He’s good to me. So please, Sofia, don’t get involved.”