Page 8 of Broken Rules
Chapter Three
Before Damien threwhis legs over the side of the balcony, he took one last glance at her. Again, he was struck to his core. His heart pounded.
It was her!
He had no doubt.
Her wide eyes and blonde curls, framing the heart-shaped face that had been etched into his memory.
Taking a deep breath, he lowered himself, hanging from the balcony, then swung, wrapping his legs around the closest post, which he slid down, his boots landing with a soft thud on the wet sand. Removing his mask, he climbed into the unremarkable blue van he’d chosen for the job, and drove away in a haze of adrenaline and memory.
He could almost smell the disinfectant filling the air of the dormitory in the children’s home where he had lived from his fifth birthday to his eleventh. It was there, in that lonely place, on a cold winter’s day when he’d first seen her.
He had awoken that morning with a slight fever and was confined to bed. At the time, he didn’t mind because the neighboring public-school was paying the home a visit. The last thing he wanted was to be a freak show for curious children who could not imagine what it meant to not have a happy family at home.
The sisters who ran the place had told him the visit was an opportunity to make new friends, but he didn’t want to meet them. The arrival of public-school kids had caused his thoughts to wander to dreams he thought he’d already dismissed as impossible.
But there he was—with a heart full of longing that forced tears to drip from his eyes. His one consolation was that no one else was in the dormitory to see him cry; that was, until she appeared...
“Why are you crying?”
Damien sat up in bed, brushed the back of his arm across his nose, and looked around. Standing in the doorway, staring at him expectantly, was a girl with blonde curly hair.
He scowled and swiped at his eyes, wiping away any evidence to support her claim. “I’m not crying.”
She scrunched her doll-like features at him and frowned, showing her disbelief.
“What are you doing here?” he snapped.
“I had to use the bathroom,” she responded nervously “I lost my way.”
“Are you new?”
She shook her head while biting her bottom lip. Her sea-blue eyes gazed back at him with curiosity. “I’m visiting with the school.”
Damien rolled his eyes at her. “Oh, I get it. Well, here you go,” he said, extending his arms to encompass the rows of small beds. “Take a good look, then get the hell out!”
“What are you talking about?”
“You came to gawk at the poor orphan kids.”
Her hands went straight to her waist, and she raised her chin defiantly. “That’s not true.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, his scowl deepening. “Then why’s your school here?”
The girl dropped her gaze, clearly trying to figure out what to say. “We made you pies,” she said at last.
He shook his head, amazed by the school’s insignificant gesture. “Why pies?”
She dropped her arms to her sides and shrugged. “I don’t know. It wasn’t my idea.” Her gaze traveled over him while she continued to chew her bottom lip.
He shifted under her scrutiny. “What are you looking at?”
