Page 53 of In This Iron Ground
Damien’s laugh was solid this time. “Yeah, dummy. You too.”
He felt lighter, somehow, as they made their way down before dinner. He was worried for Olive, but he had so much faith in her. In who she was and what she was capable of.
He sat next to Koko on the couch and they giggled over YouTube videos, snatching the phone from each other to pick the next one.
“Kids! Dinner’s almost done, come set the table.”
“That means there’s another twenty minutes until dinner,” Koko grumbled, and then rolled her eyes as her mother obviously responded. “I’mgoing,” she said, getting up. Damien followed with a smile.
As they ate dinner, amidst the noise and the laughter, Damien looked around. At these people whose house he was living in. Whose life he had been invited to. Not to join the pack but almost, almost the family.
It hit Damien then, a jolt of faith. Of belief. Things had gotten better.
And maybe. Maybe. They would stay that way.
*****
Damien lounged on Hakan’s bed after dinner as Hakan finished up some homework on the desk. It was amazing how comfortable Damien felt in occupying Hakan’s space without constantly feeling like he was infringing where he wasn’t wanted.
It took a while for Damien to notice that Hakan had stopped typing and was simply looking at him.
“Creep alert,” Damien joked. Hakan’s face twitched in mild annoyance, but he didn’t look away. Damien tensed.
“You seem happy,” Hakan said.
Damien frowned. “Uh…yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?”
Hakan let the silence collect for a few moments. Damien sat up, crossing his legs on the bed.
“What?” he asked a little defensively.
“Nothing. It’s…I just meant, your scent has changed.”
“Changed how? When?”
“Since you came here, kind of. Slowly. It’s…clearer. Like, more of you and less…muddled. Like a river you can see the bottom of.”
“Okay…well that sounds good, right?”
“Yeah. I mean, you like it here, yeah?”
“Um. Yeah, man,” Damien said, confused as to what point Hakan was trying to make.
“The McKenzies…” Hakan started and there it was. Damien immediately tensed. “You don’t have to talk about it. I just…I just want to make sure that we’re not doing anything that reminds you of them,” Hakan said quietly.
Damien snorted. “Don’t tie me down and we’re set,” Damien scoffed before he could think about it. His mouth clicked shut with instant regret. He curled a little further into himself.
“Is that what they used to do to you?” Hakan asked after a pause.
Damien sighed. “Yeah. I’m, well you know me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I can’t keep still sometimes.”
“Neither can Dee. Should we tie her down?”
“No!” Damien’s voice burst out sudden and loud. “Don’t even joke about that,” he said, agitated.
