Page 97 of King

Damien doesn’t take his eyes off me when he sits back in his chair. He stares at my eyes, my throat closing in again.

“Jo, I thought…” He looks down at my hand before I see him inhale, sitting up straight. “I thought I lost you.” He brings his finger along the trunk of the tree on my arm.

"You know it's not that easy to lose me.” My lips upturn. "It takes more than a bullet."

His eyes study my face like he's committing it to memory. “You mean the bullet you took for me?”

I meet his stare. He already knows the answer but I’m not sure if I'm ready to digest what happened. To consider the real reason I’m in this hospital bed. Closing my eyes, I hang on to the truth. “I—I don’t know why I did that.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Jo look at me.” He grips my hand. When I open my eyes, his grey eye is a cool, chilling silver. “I know you know.”

“Are we really doing this now?”

“Yeah. We are.”

“You’re unbelievable.” I pull my hand back. “You know, you’re the reason I came back here in the first place. To The Grove. You’re the reason I got bullied during my first couple of weeks at The Academy. You’re the reason Lea Huang is out to get me and you’re the reason I got my darkest secret spilled at the assembly.”

“I thought you were…” his voice breaks and it's startling. But he clears his throat, eyes narrowing. “Are you serious? You almost died and you’re thinking about some high school bullshit?”

“Yes, Damien! Because like all the above, you’re the reason I jumped in front of that gun!”

He sits back in his chair. “And why the fuck would you do that?”

There’s a lump in my throat and I don’t want to say it. “I thought I was going to lose you.” I don’t give it up that easy. “What are you doing in The Grove anyway?”

“What do you think I’m doing?”

Smug prick. “How did you know where I was?”

“I gave Willow my word that I would bring you back, in exchange for knowing where you are.”

“For what? Why did you come? I thought I was nothing to you.”

“What? I told my dad that horseshit so you wouldn’t be on his radar,” Damien says this as if it’s obvious. “I didn’t want him knowing about you. About us. I called you when you left but you didn’t answer. Went to your house but the Arhibalds said you weren’t home. I felt like something was up so that’s when I pulled Willow to the side.”

“Well…" I shift in the bed, pain ringing through my side. I wince. "You’re not going to be able to uphold your side of the bargain.”

“And why’s that?”

“I’m never going back to Eden.”

“Coward.”

My jaw clenches. I just jumped in front of a gun and he’s calling me a coward? “Watch it.”

“So you’re going to stay here and slum it up with Zane in The Grove? Maybe he’ll get the job done next time.”

“You’re a dick.”

“I know.” He leans in. “But you're so fucking stubborn. You don’t take my shit and it’s annoying.”

Damien’s eyes land on my lips. That look still gives me goosebumps but I’m not having it. “Gee, thanks.”

“It makes me want to do better." He rolls his eyes, a twitch of a smirk. "Or some stupid fucked up shit like that. And that’s why you gotta come back.”

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