Chapter 23

“No, no, no no, young lady. What on earth do you think you're doing?” Gabe grabbed Lena by the arm before she could sit. A look of impatience took to his features and he looked ready to toss her out of the house if she didn't speak.

“Uh…” she stammered, “sitting?”

“Exactly.” He let her go. “Which you shouldn't do. Come on, I booked the house for the entire day, you can't stay here.”

“What is this? A hotel?” She rolled her eyes. “Where're the folks?”

“At the family house, where they should be.”

“So, what do you mean by you booked the house for the day?” She fell back on the couch, ignoring the small ache in her sides.

Gabriel literally facepalmed at the action. “It means, I have the entire house to myself for the day, at least until 8pm. Caroline's coming over and I don't want interference.”

Lena groaned. “Ugh, can't I stay? I promise I'll stay in my room and be a good girl. I don't have anywhere to go.”

“Trust me, I'm doing you a favor. You won't like it when it starts.” He gave her a wink and she caught the meaning of the words.

“Ew.”

“You can 'ew' all you like, I don't care. Now get up, and get out.” He grabbed her by the arm yet again, pulling her to her feet. Lena groaned all the way past the kitchen where Gabe grabbed her bag on the chair it rested on, to the door and out of it. “You're welcome.”

****

Then he’d shut the door in her face.

So yeah, her best friend was an ass. But he'd always been one, so she wasn't complaining.

Looking up at the building, her hands watered in anxiety. She'd got in her car and one second later, she found herself outside Damon's penthouse.

It'd been six whole days since she'd left the hospital and Lena hadn't heard from Damon. Not even a text. It hurt, she admitted, but it wasn't going to stop her from getting answers. Besides, there was no point delaying it. Worst case scenario, he'd throw her out. She shrugged, but she'd live.

Anne hadn't let her out of the house in that time. Not even to go to work. Perks of being best friends with the boss. She'd been put on bed rest, and the only time she'd gotten up was to go the bathroom. Lena shuddered; she didn't want to know what would happen when they found out she was pregnant.

Lena finally got the surprise Jackson had been talking about. He'd sent her a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates and a card that read, ‘To the start of a productive friendship’. Surprise didn't even begin to explain it. She had been furious. How do you send someone gifts some days after trying to kill them? Foolishness. Nevertheless, she ate the chocolates, because let's face it, one couldn’t really turn down chocolate.

Her feet carried her into the elevator and she found she didn't feel nervous. Not sure if that was a good thing or not, instinct made her pull at the doorknob.

When she thought about it later, she'd chide herself for forgetting how to knock. At the moment, she didn't have the mind to care.

The noise hit her the minute she stepped in.

“Are you blind, EJ? Braun is obviously going to win this. I mean, look at him. Roman is no match,” Damon argued, and Lena smiled. God, he had no idea what his voice did to her.

“You're the one who need glasses. Roman Reigns is a fucking legend. Strength isn't in muscles, you idiot, and even if it were, he'd win. Look at those guns, for fucks sake,” EJ retorted. Lena wondered how long they'd been arguing for with a roll of her eyes. Boys be crazy.

“Oh shit,” Damon wheezed, and Lena heard a soft thud. “Roman is so going down.”

“Tell you what? I'll give you ten thousand if Braun wins, and you give me ten thousand if Roman wins.”

A pause. “That's a bit too much for a wrestling match, don't you think?”

“Don't be cheap. You're worth millions.”

“Fine then. But fair warning, you're going down, bitch.”

Lena rolled her eyes again. She'd been standing by the door for over five minutes and neither of them knew. And ten thousand dollars? Over a wrestling match? God have mercy.

“I thought I was the child here. You both are unbelievable,” the small voice, Lena recognized as Ella's. She moved forward, to the living room.

“Boom!” EJ exclaimed as a bell rang from the TV. “That's how you do that, bitch! Told you, Roman fucking Reigns. You hear me?!” He jumped to his feet, doing a weird dance with his hips. Ella burst out laughing while Damon rolled his eyes. “I want my money, bruh.”

He drew the last word out, mockingly.

“Shut up,” Damon mumbled. “You'll get it.”

“You're a sore loser, Uncle Damon,” Ella let out through a tiny laugh.

“I second that.”

The laughs came to an abrupt halt.

All eyes turned to her.

But she had her eyes on one person.

He looked well. His blue eyes were a bright blue, just like the sky but not quite. It was an enchanting shade, something that drew you in. Even so, they looked haunted and apprehensive. Atop his head was a rough mane of black hair, which she'd seen him gingerly run his fingers through. His mouth was agape, no doubt at the woman standing in front of him.

“You look well,” she commented, making no move.

“So do you.”

“Wrestling? Seriously?”

“EJ obviously cheated.” Damon gave his brother a look.

EJ groaned in exasperation. “Don't be an idiot, man. Everybody knows wrestling is staged. It's not my fault you're a gullible moron.”

“I knew that too,” Ella added. “Hi, Leehna.”

“Hi there.” Lena smiled; she'd missed the little girl. “How are you?”

“I'm okay. My uncles told me you were in the hospital. What happened to you?”

“Had a little accident, but I'm better now.”

Damon snorted.

The atmosphere tensed. Damon took the time to assess Lena. He hadn't been bluffing when he said she looked well. Well enough at least. There were some bags under her eyes, and her cheeks were lacking in color. It hurt to think he was the reason her eyes looked so empty. Her sunflower dress flowed to just above her knee, doing nothing to hide the fact that she'd lost some weight.

“Uhm, Ella, how about that ice-cream you wanted?” EJ spoke up, sensing the big elephant in the room. There was no way he was staying for that.

“But I don't want to. Leenha just got here.”

“I'll buy you a big bucket, don't tell your mom. Come on, let's go.” Reluctantly, the girl stood, walking ahead of him to the door. Lena watched EJ as he came close to her. With a nod of his head, he walked past.

Then there were two.

It felt like she hadn't been in a room with him in like a month so she used the few minutes that followed to bask in the feeling again. That was what she loved most about his company: she always felt safe.

“You shouldn't be here.”

“Says who?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “Jackson? Is he the reason you didn't come to see me at the hospital? At all?”

“You shouldn't ask too much questions.”

“Everybody's talking about how ignorance is bliss. Nobody's talking about the fact that it's usually what you don't know that gets you killed.”

He stared her down for a few moments. “Go home. We can't be together anymore.”

“Were we even together? I'd hardly call when we had 'together'.”

Lena watched as his jaw clenched and his nose flared. He was getting angry. Good. Angry people always said truths.

“You want me to spell it out for you? Fine. I don't want you anymore. Is that clear enough?”

As she hadn't expected that, her resolve quivered. “You don't mean that.”

“Yes, I do. More than you can even imagine. I don't even know what I was thinking, you're not my type.”

“If this is about money—”

“Of course, it's not about money, even though I know you're loaded.”

Lena thought about the baby in her womb. She was going to fight, even if it was not for herself, she was going to fight for her baby.

“Don't let them win, Damon. We're bigger and better than this; me and you. We can get through this; I know we can. Just don't let them win. Fight. Fight for me, for you, for our future. Fight for what we feel for each other. And just know that I'll be right there beside you, every step of the way.”

He was silent for a few minutes, then suddenly, like a cobra, he had his hands around her, his mouth pressed firmly on hers.