Chapter 28

“Qué estás haciendo? Ven au ahora!”

Exasperated, Lena turned to Damon with a look of disbelief on her face. “Mexico? Seriously?”

His response was a cheeky smile. “Best place to have fun. Come on, loosen up. You're acting like you have a stick up your ass.”

“There's no way on earth I'm getting on that.”

She pointed to the direction he was facing. Damon had brought them to go hang-gliding and for the life of her, she didn't understand why. This was something they did in the movies, not real life for God's sake. Who knew? It was probably illegal and dangerous. They could end up smashing their skulls on the rocks if something went wrong.

The prospect of being high in the air with nothing to support her but a flimsy belt across her stomach didn't exactly appeal to her.

“Uh, why not? It's fun,” he whined childishly. “Or at least it looks fun.”

Her eyes almost popped out of its socket. “Wait one second. You mean you've haven't done this before?”

He eyed her before directing his gaze somewhere else. “Uh... not really.”

She threw her hands up in defeat. “This is it. This is how I'm going to die. In a country where I don't know anyone surrounded by rocks and dumb people.”

The area was deserted and empty. It pretty much looked like a desert, except for the hills and the rocks. Around her, Mexicans bustled with energy. It was disheartening to think that people actually took pleasure in doing this shit.

“Is this even legal?” she asked.

The look on his face told her all she needed to know.

Sighing, her gaze traveled to the part that looked like a runway for takeoff.

One particular blondie that was about to take off was screaming on top of her lungs with a huge smile plastered on her face. God, she made it look so easy. The minute her foot touched the edge of the cliff, she went down. Lena's heart caught in her throat. She could hear it beating through her ears. But when the blondie's shout filled her air and she came up into view again, But when the blondie's shout filled her air and she came up into view again, Lena visibly relaxed. Next to her, Damon's deep laugh rang in the air.

“Oh, my God. I can't believe you're enjoying this.” Lena literally facepalmed. This was such a bad idea, she thought, or maybe it was just mere nihilism that was preventing her from even trying to like it.

Damon took her by the hand, turning her to face him. “Listen,” he began, and with his index finger brought her head up for eye contact. “Nothing's gonna happen. Yes, it's a bad idea but we're not gonna be the first to do it and live.” As he made the statement, the blondie landed on the thick sand somewhere far from the cliff they were standing on, laughing hysterically. “Trust me. It might be too much to ask of you right now, but just trust me.”

How could I not? she wanted to scream. I'd do anything you ask me to. Anything.

Her resolve weakened, and hesitantly, still eyeing the ridiculous amount of people around, she nodded.

“Okay. Let's do this.”

Several long minutes later, it was their turn. With a pounding heart, she waited until the Mexicans in charge had fixed her up, firmly.

It was simple. She'd seen enough to get the hang of it. All she had to do was run until she got to the edge then let go. Like, literally fly. Easy, right? Now all she had to was actually take the first step.

God, she looked far and wide. It looked beautiful. The view was magnificent. The sky was beautiful this morning. But still, people had fucking died here.

Right?

God, she was so uncertain about this. Although she wasn't against taking risks, it definitely didn't appeal to her to die in the process. Or maybe hit herself hard against a rock and have a mild concussion. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.

“You know,” Damon let out from beside her, “those legs aren't going to move themselves. At the rate, we'll probably land next Tuesday. Get a fucking move on.”

The exasperation was clearly evident on his face and it prompted a stern glare from Lena. “Shut up, I'm thinking.”

“Oh, not again,” he whined, adjusting the belt strapped to his back. “Please stop thinking. It never helps anyone.

“Fuck you.”

“Whenever you want, love. Now, get on with it.”

“Damon, so I was thinking—”

“Sweet baby Jesus.”

“Maybe this wasn't such a good idea because—”

“Ahhh!”

One minute he was there and then the next he wasn't. Lena blinked. Had he seriously just left her? Whether it was the feeling of abandonment or just pure competition, her legs ran as fast as they could and then, she let go.

Her scream was ear deafening. The entire world seemed to stop as she dropped, then ascended again. Though that tiny shred of fear was constantly itching at the back of her mind, she couldn't deny the fact that the euphoria she felt was out of this world.

“Oh my God!” she yelled out, laughing. “This is so fucking amazing!”

“I know right?” Damon laughed above her, breathing in. But then something changed.

Lena.

She seemed to look more.... delicate. Softer. Her brown eyes reflected joy, hope and though there was a tinge of sadness, one could really see that she was as happy as she could possibly get at the moment. She was beautiful. In and out, although her looks never stood a chance compared to how breathtaking her soul was. Her smile seemed to light up the whole world and the sparkle in her eyes was enough to captivate one's soul.

With her hands clutching the glider and her laugh echoing through the air, she really was an angel.

His angel.

No matter what.

In silence, he watched her and realized that her joy was his joy. Her pain was his pain. Whenever she was sad, his heart cracked. When she cried, it broke. When he was the reason for those tears that ran down her face, it shattered. Into a thousand tiny pieces. And every time, every fucking time, she was the one who put them back together even as they pierced her delicate hands without a care for herself.

She laughed loudly. Damon thought he hadn't ever seen her as excited as that. In that moment, he hated himself. He was pushing away the only person he wanted most. The only woman he'd ever loved. He caused her pain knowing that if he ever lost her, his entire world was gone. Because that was what she was. His entire world.

But she chose to stay. Every single time. She chose to be by his side. God, who was this woman? He didn't deserve her. He really didn't.

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” she panted with a grin on her face, removing the straps surrounding her. They'd landed. He'd landed a few seconds before her and he still hadn't realized he was staring. “God. I can't believe I haven't done this before.”

When he didn't answer, she focused her gaze on his face. “What's with the look?”

She looked at him with concern etched on her features, and he hated himself more. God knew he'd have given up on himself a long time ago. Lena was strong. Too strong in fact and it scared him. He didn't need her to be strong right now.

He needed her to be vulnerable. To be weak. That was the only way he could protect her from his demons. From Jackson. From the rest of the world. The mistake was his, he concluded. After all, he was the one who'd chased after her, who'd awakened the love inside her.

And now she'd fallen and she'd fallen deep. Lena might not admit it, but Damon could clearly see she loved him.

He hated it as much as he loved it.

“I remember.”

“What?” she asked, perplexed.

“Everything last night. I remember. I remember how beautiful you looked when you opened the door. I remember how wasted I was. I remember how my heart twisted when you cried. I remember the relief I felt when you didn't shut the door in my face. I remember that I said loved you. I remember when I said I was yours. I remember everything.”

She stared at him blankly for a few minutes, then inhaled before turning on her heels and walking away.

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

He ran after her, blocking her path. “Wait. Wait,” he breathed. “I'm sorry. I really am. I'm sorry I lied. I said I didn't remember and I did. It's just...” He gingerly ran his fingers through his black hair. “I can't deal with this.”

She lifted her head up to look him in the eye. “Deal with what?”

“This.” He gestured to them. “Us. I've never been in love before. I've never felt this way. I don't know what to do. I don't know anything except that I don't want to lose you. You're everything to me,” he moved closer to grab her face in his hands. “You're my beginning and my end. You're my treasure. My heart.”

Her eyes watered and her tears were in diamonds as they fell down her face. Damon leaned down to kiss her wet cheeks, ignoring the distance screams above them. “It's not fair.” She shook her head, sobbing. “It's not fair that you do this to me. One minute you hate me and you want me out of your life and then the next you love me. It's toxic. Leave me alone. Stop messing with my head.” She shoved him away from her.

Fuck it, he thought with a groan.

Wrapping his hands around her, he locked her in his grip, making all her efforts to push him away futile. “I know that no amount of sorry will ever be enough to ease the pain I've caused you and I know that I don't deserve someone as amazing as you but I'm begging you, don't leave me. Please. Love me. Stay with me. I promise, the part of me that's you will never die. Every time we say goodbye, baby, it fucking hurts.”

“Is this your genius plan? That's why you brought me here? So, you can reel me in again just to push me away? Are you masochistic?”

“No. No. No. Not again, I promise.”

“Your promises mean absolutely nothing to me.”

It took a few minutes before he spoke. “All my life, I never wanted to settle down. I never wanted love. For me, it was just a 'fuck and go' kind of thing. It was fun. It lasted. Because I knew that my past would never let me have a family of my own, one where I have a loving wife and beautiful kids. I saw it all as a facade. But then I met you and everything changed. Slowly, I became jealous of my parents' relationship, of Sophia's. And I found that I wanted all that with you. You've brought light to my life, Lena, you've made it better.

"You've made all the pain bearable and for you, I swear I would move mountains. I'd do anything because you broke into my life when I least expected it like a fucking storm, breaking all my walls and pushing past them and now you've filled my heart with love. That's all I feel when I look at you, when I think of you. Tesoro mio, when I said I love you, I meant it.”

Her chest heaved with heavy cries. Before long, she was wrapping her arms around his waist, drawing him close. Without saying a word, she poured her heart out through her tears, clutching at him like he was a dream she was going to suddenly wake up from if she let go. This was everything she ever wanted; hearing him say he loved her. And though there was gladness in her heart, it felt like the calm before the storm.

“I'm scared. I'm scared you're going to get fed up with my craziness and my drama and I'm scared that one morning I'll wake up, and you won't be there. I'm scared you're going to see me the way I see myself. I know I'm not the easiest person to love and I know I make you go mad most often, but I promise baby, it's gonna be you and me all the way. No matter how much we fight and argue, trust me, you've got me. I've got you. Just please. Don't leave me. Please.”

His voice was hard, rough, needy. He held her so tight she thought she couldn't breathe. But she didn't care.

Through thick tears, Lena smiled.

Maybe. Just maybe, they were going to be alright after all.