Forgotten Royalty (Escaping The Throne) (4 page)

“I’m fine,” I begin to sway in my seat, “ugh, okay. Maybe I do need the
nurse. I don’t feel so hot.”

Damian wrapped a napkin around my finger. “I’m gonna walk her down
there, she looks a little faint.”

What? He takes my hand and we start to walk down the hall.

“What was that all about?” I ask.

He looks at me stunned. “I thought you might want to get out of school early.”

I could scream, “So you stabbed my finger? That is not exactly how I
had planned it. Wait, how did you know I was gonna skip?”

He thought for a minute, “You just looked a little upset after drama
club so I thought maybe I could help fix it. It was my fault, wasn’t it?” He
hit that dead on the nail. Well if I’m gonna skip; at least it’s not my fault.

I spent ten minutes letting my face pale as we walked to the nurse’s
office. She ‘knew’ that I couldn’t stand the sight of blood. I had feigned
sickness from it enough. She took one look at me as we entered the office and
started writing slips. “Mr.?”

“Lykaios, mam. Damian Lykaios” He answered swiftly.

“Yes, Mr. Lykaios, would you be able to take Ms. Payano home. She knows
she’s supposed to get an excuse from me on the days she has these types of
projects, but she always seems to forget.” The nurse goes on a silent rant.

“Of course mam.” Damian smiles sweetly at her.

We walked out of the nurse’s office together. She had given us both
notes to go home. I went to my locker and put away my books. I closed the door
and he was still there.

“What? Do you want some kind of thanks or something?” I turned to leave
him, but he grabbed my arm.

“No, you don’t have to thank me. I just wondered if you wanted to hang
out at the library or something.”

Is he trying to ask me out? “No, I have to go home. My aunt grounded me
yesterday. So, I can’t be out when I’m getting sent home from school.” I tried
to walk away again, but he still had my arm.

“Well, can I give you a ride home? We could practice the play or work
on our homework together.”

Why won’t he just give up? “Maybe another time, I really shouldn’t push
my aunt right now. Aah! That hurts, Damian! Let go!” His hand had tightened on
my arm.

He lets go of me fast. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I mean, are you
okay?”

I look away, “I’ll be fine.”I turn back to him.

“I gotta go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Damian suddenly turns to walk
away.

Wait, shouldn’t I be the one leaving. “Damian?”

He doesn’t stop. I walk to the pay phone to call Thai, but I decide to
walk. I leave the school and start down the block. I’m only two blocks from my
apartment when it starts pouring down. Could this day get any worse?

I run under an awning. I couldn’t try to run home in this, so I would
just have to wait here. I watched the cars go by as I sat in the rain. If it
didn’t let up soon, I would be just as wet as I would’ve been if I had run home
in this. A red car was coming up the street. Was that Damian again? Maybe I
could wave him down. No, he’s probably still upset about hurting me. The car
pulls up to the curb. I watch as he rolls down his window.

“Sara, get in!” Now he’s ordering me around.

“No, I’m waiting for my ride.” I hoped he would buy my bluff.

“Sara, you didn’t call anyone. You don’t have a cell phone and even if
you own one, your aunt would have taken it away if she grounded you. Now get
in, you’re getting soaked.” He never gives up.

“No, it’ll let up. I’m actually just taking a breather. I think I’m
going to start walking again now.” I start out from under the awning and he
rolls his window up. Maybe he’ll leave me alone. I just have to go a block to
get to the next awning. I just get to the corner when I see the same SUV that
has tried to hit Thai’s cab the last two days. They pull over and a man gets
out. It’s the same man from the library yesterday. I freeze. He starts toward
me. He is about to take a hold of my arm when Damian steps between us with an
umbrella over him and I. He doesn’t look at the other guy.

“Sara, there you are. I told you to wait down the street for me. Come
on, the car’s running.”

I had to think fast. Go with Damian, or try to run from this man. “Uh,
okay. Sorry, I thought you said to wait on the next block.”

We turn and start back to the car. Damian doesn’t take his eyes off of
the car, but I know he is listening for the man to come after us. I drop my bag
and trip. Damian catches me before I hit the ground but I have to turn to get
my bag. As I grab it, I realize the guy is right behind us.

“Sara,” Damian says in a ‘you’re in trouble young lady’ voice, “Run!” I
don’t wait for him to say anything else. I sprint for his car and hear him
yelling, “Get in and lock the doors!”

I don’t ask questions. I just get the doors locked in time for the man
to hit the door and try to open it. He raises a fist to hit the window, but
Damian grabs his arm and throws him away from the car. I turn to unlock the
door so he can get in.

“Leave them locked!”

I watch in horror. The man comes at Damian throwing punches and
kicking. I see him take something out of his pocket. It’s a knife.

“Damian! Watch out!” I shout as he turns toward him.

Damian knocks the knife away but it grazed his arm. He’s bleeding and
he looks like he is gonna have a seizure. The man looks at him and thinks
better of his self. He runs back down the street and Damian falls to the ground
when he is out of sight. I unlock the door and run to him.

“Are you okay? You’re bleeding. We need to get you to a doctor. That
looks really bad.”

He shakes his head. “I’m fine. It’s just a scratch. Let’s get you home
and out of the rain. He rips his shirt and ties a piece around his arm where
he’s bleeding. We walk back to the car and he drives me home.  

“Can I come in?” He opened the door and my mouth dropped. He had his
shirt off and if he wasn’t bleeding I think I would have stared at him for
hours. “You need stitches! I thought you said it wasn’t that bad.” I made him
sit down on the toilet seat and grabbed the medical kit from under the sink.
Aunt Lynn had bandaged me up enough times that I knew the routine. I swabbed
his arm with Betadine, dried it off, and started putting steri-strips on it.
When I finished my makeshift stitches, I wrapped his arm with gauze. “There, if
you won’t go to the hospital, at least I can keep it from getting infected. Do
you know that guy?” I dabbed his lip where it was broke open with a damp wash
rag.

“His name is Bane and in case you’re wondering, no he isn’t my friend.”

I find a scratch on his shoulder to fix. “I didn’t think he was. Why
did you do that? You didn’t have to save me.” I was trying to look anywhere but
in his eyes. I was running out of places to clean up. I moved to a spot on his forehead.
“Last one. There, good as new. Well almost.” I turned to the sink and started
cleaning up my mess.

He stood up behind me and I looked up to see him behind me in the
mirror. “Yes, I did.” He looks straight into my eyes in the mirror. My knees
felt weak.

I broke the gaze. “No you didn’t. Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate you
doing it. But,” I drop the first aid kit and as I bend to pick it up, he kneels
beside me. He puts the first aid kit on the sink and takes my hands.

“Yes I did. I couldn’t let him hurt you.” He lifted my chin with one
hand and I melted. My eyes started to water, I was about to cry when he leaned
forward and brushed his lips against mine. He pulled away just a little as if
he were asking if this was okay. I laid my face against his palm and he came
closer again. This time, he really kissed me. I had never kissed a boy before
but it seemed so right. I didn’t want to stop but he pulled away. He caressed
my face and took my hands again. As we stood up, he wiped my tears away.

“I should get dressed now.”

What? I forgot he was still soaked to the bone and shirtless. “Oh,
right. I’ll just go change in my room. I’ll be out in a minute.” I walked to my
room and closed the door. I leaned against it and bit my lower lip. What was I
thinking? I just met this boy and I’m kissing him in my bathroom while we’re
home alone. But I felt the urge to go back to the bathroom and do it again.
Think Sara. Priorities: First, change out of your wet clothes. Second, Fix your
hair and wipe your face off. I start to strip out of my wet clothes when
there’s a knock on my door.

“Sara, can I come in?” Damian sounds a little concerned.

Crap. “Just a second.” I already had my bra and shirt off. I grabbed my
night shirt from the back of the door and threw it on. My pants could wait.
“Okay. You can come in now.”

As he opened the door, I could see that he hadn’t changed out of his
clothes yet. He was still shirtless and he’s coming into my room. He slowly
walks in and turns back toward the door.

“I can wait in the living room.”

I find myself grabbing his arm. “Wait. Don’t…I mean, you don’t have to
go. Why didn’t you change?”

He looks down. “I was gonna ask if you minded me taking a quick shower,
but then I saw you standing here. I guess I just wanted to say that what happened
in the bathroom, if you want to pretend it didn’t, I’ll understand.” He looked
down and started to turn around again.

“Wait.” I hadn’t let go of his arm yet, “Do you want to pretend it
didn’t happen?” I waited for him to look at me. He kept his head down. If I
wanted him to look at me, I was gonna have to play his game. I reached out to
his face and put my hand under his chin. He lifted it automatically. “Damian.
Do you want to pretend it didn’t happen?”

Our eyes locked and he reached up to my hand. He turned his face into
my palm and kissed it. He reached his other hand over to my face and slowly
caressed my cheek. I turned my face as he had and kissed his palm. He ran his
fingers through my hair and wrapped his other arm around my waist. He pulled me
closer and I ran my hands down his chest. He leaned into me and gave me such a
passionate kiss that I couldn’t feel my legs. He picked me up and sat me on my
bed.

He stopped. It was as if he was waiting for something. I started to ask
him why, but he put a finger to my lips. He went over to my closet and shut
himself in. I heard it then.

Someone had come in the door and was coming up the hall. It wasn’t my
aunt because she wears high heels to work and I would have heard her at the
door.

As if he heard my thoughts, Damian opened the door back up and reached
for me. I grabbed his hand and he pulled me in with him. We were pushed
together tightly between the door and the clothes. He had pushed me in first
and had his back to me.

I wish he was facing me now so that I could see his expression. The
footsteps were outside the bathroom. I heard something like a dog sniffing.
Then the footsteps came to my door. I heard the knob turn and before they could
open it I heard my aunt at the front door. Her keys jangled as she put them in
the lock. She wouldn’t realize I had forgotten to relock it. The footsteps
moved down to the hall closet and I heard the door shut.

Aunt Lynn started into the kitchen and put down her purse. “Sara, what
on God’s green earth is all over my carpet? Did you get in another fight at
school?” Of course, it had to be me that was hurt. I squirmed to get around
Damian.

“You can’t go out there,” he whispered

 “I have to. If I don’t they might hurt her.” I started trying to
squirm around him again.

He pushed me against the wall. “Stay here!” He growls, “I’ll make sure
she’s safe. I mean it Sara, don’t move! I’ll be back.” It was like he was
yelling at me, but in hushed tones. I could barely hear him, but he knew I
understood. He quietly opened my closet door and left me there as he closed it
behind him.

I was so scared, I couldn’t feel my legs. I quietly crouched down until
I was sitting on the floor. I couldn’t hear Damian’s footsteps in the hall. Was
he still in my room? I heard my bedroom door creaking open and I would have
thought it was Damian sneaking out, but I heard a small whimper that I assumed
had to have come from Aunt Lynn.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and waited. The door opened and the
footsteps entered my room. Damian had gone to make sure Aunt Lynn was safe and
now I was here by myself. The footsteps came towards the closet and stopped. I
heard the sniffing again.

Suddenly it sounded like two dogs fighting. I heard whimpering and
yelping and I didn’t know what was going on. My closet door was made like
venetian blinds. I crawled to the door and peeked out. I couldn’t believe my
eyes. There were two dogs fighting in my room.

I picked up my dad’s hockey stick that I kept in my closet as I stood
up. I managed to sneak out of it, but one of the dogs jumped at me. The other
one head butted it just before it bit.

The second one turned and glared at me as if to say get back in there.
That cost him though because the other one grabbed his leg and tossed him
across the room.

The first one turned to me again and I swung dad’s hockey stick just
like he showed me when I was little. Smack! Yelp! The first dog hit the wall.
He didn’t get back up. The other one started toward me slowly and I raised the
hockey stick. It lay down as if to say “I won’t hurt you.” I put the hockey
stick down slowly and the dog, no wait, it was a wolf. The wolf came over to
me. It grabbed my shirt in its teeth and pulled me back in the closet. He
looked at me again like he was telling me to stay put. I nodded and shut the
door. I heard whimpering again. I didn’t try to peek this time. I heard someone
or something dragging what I assumed was the other wolf out of my room and down
the hall. The front door shut and I heard the locks engaging. Then I heard
someone running down the hall from the kitchen.

Aunt Lynn burst into my room. “SARA?” Should I answer?

More footsteps came down the hall. “Sara, it’s me, Damian. You can come
out now.”

Damian? “Is it safe?”

He comes to the door and opens it. I’m huddled with my knees against my
chest again. He crouches down and takes my hands. “It’s okay. He’s gone.” I
jump into his embrace and he holds me tight against him. “Can you stand up?” I
felt kinda shaken, but I tried anyway and fell. “Whoa, we keep meeting like
this.” He laughs. “If I didn’t know any better I would say you were falling for
me.”

Aunt Lynn just looked at me with huge eyes. “Will someone explain to me
why a huge dog was just drug out of my apartment and while you’re at it, why
don’t you throw in why there is a teenage boy in your room?”

Busted, what could I tell her. She wouldn’t believe me if I told her
the truth and I can’t lie to her. “If I could try to explain Mrs.? What did you
say your aunt’s name was again?”

“My name is Lynn Thielman. I’m a therapist.”

Here we go. “I just started school with your niece today. I saw her
walking in the rain on the way home from school and thought I should pick her
up. When I stopped someone tried to grab her off the street and I fought them
off. I got a nice mark on my arm here to prove it. So she invited me up to look
at my arm and forgot to lock the door behind her. She bandaged me up in the
bathroom and said she had some sweats that I could borrow. As you can see, I
didn’t get to change. Somehow that dog got into the apartment and she had been
in her room changing. She opened the door and it charged in. I heard her scream
and came running in. I fought with the dog and that’s why I didn’t hear you
yelling in the hallway. The rest you pretty much know.”

Wow, did he just make that up as he went? He must be used to thinking
fast on his feet.

“Is that true Sara?”

I looked up without a second thought, “Well, it’s not like I bring guys
up here all the time for make out sessions. What do you think? You know I don’t
have a boyfriend, and, no, Shaun doesn’t count.” Did I just announce all of
that in front of Damian?

“What did you say your name was young man?”

“My name is Damian Lykaios, and I’m pleased to make your acquaintance
Ms. Thielman.” He really seemed like he was too.

“Well why don’t you let me take a look at those cuts while Sara finishes
dressing? You can change in the bathroom after I look you over.”