Page 62 of Hard Rock Heat
"It's okay," I said quietly,shaken.
"It's fuckingnot okay." Damon stormed toward the kitchen, then stopped and stormed toward the living room, prowling back and forth like a jungle cat, agitated and onedge.
I hesitated, staying back. I'd never seen Damon this upset. His eyes blazed with fury. It wasalarming.
"What if Ian were here?" His voice raised loudly, arms gesturing wildly. "What if he were visiting instead of you? What if that asshole showed up somewhere in public when we weretogether?"
"Your brother's a grown man," I said. "I'm surehe—"
"You have no fucking idea," Damon cut me off, seething. "None."
"Damon—"
He growled and whirled around, punching the wall. I jumped again, heart pounding, this time more frightened than startled. My stomach twisted, rising to my throat with panic. As passionate and impulsive as he was, I'd never seen Damon getviolent.
"I amnotgoing to let that fucker ruin our lives again," Damon shouted. His knuckles were red, bleeding. Before I could make a move toward him, to try and calm him maybe, he cursed again. "Fuck this shit." He marched toward the frontdoor.
"Where are you going?" I didn't want him following his father. Who knew what he might do in thisstate.
"I need to talk to August," was all hesaid.
He stormed toward the door. I flinched back unconsciously. I didn't think he'd hurt me. Not really. But seeing him like that was scary. I didn't know what he mightdo.
Damon brushed past, not giving me a second look. He stalked out the door and slammed it shut, leaving me trembling andshaken.
Chapter Nineteen
Ilookedat my phone with a sigh. No new messages or voicemails. I was disappointed, but also relieved. I still hadn't decided what my response should be when Damon finally contacted me. It had been days since I'd last seenhim.
Damon's behavior had been distressing. I hadn't known he had that kind of a temper. When he'd slammed the door behind him, I'd been more than shaken. I'd been almost frightened. Punching walls and shouting… He'd never acted that way in front of me before, and I was sure if Hope had seen him that way, she would have warnedme.
Then again, I'd never heard someone threaten his brother in front of him like that. It was his protective instinct. I felt the same way about my sister. If someone had ever threatened Hope in the same manner, I probably would have been just as eager to give them a beatdown.
But it wasn't onlythat.
Damon was keeping a secret from his brother. If their father had been blackmailing him since they first hit it big, Damon would have been lying to his brother for years. The fact that he could keep something a secret for so long was troubling. Did Damon regularly lie to his brother about other things as well? He was such a straightforward person. Damon didn't seem like the type who could keep a secret for verylong.
Then again, I was keeping something from my sister. The comparison between us made me vaguely uncomfortable. I'd never considered myself to be an exceptionally good liar — except regarding onething.
With a sigh, I flopped onto my living room sofa and mindlessly flipped through the channels, searching for bad reality TV. That bridezilla wedding show was on again. Goodenough.
I was five minutes in when I got another urge to check my phone. I'd been looking at it every fifteenminutes.
I'd asked Hope about him, worried, but she hadn't heard from him, and neither had his brother. I hadn't wanted to say anything, to explain why I was worried. From what Hope had told me, they figured he'd gone on a bender somewhere and would turn up in a few days with the mother of allhangovers.
I hadn't texted Damon, either. I hadn't known what towrite.
Maybe,Your behavior scared me and I think we should take abreak.
Or perhaps,I'm worried about you. Call me so we can talk thisthrough.
Or even,Please tell me you didn't follow your father and now you're sitting in jail arrested forassault.
That last one was just as likely as Damon going on abender.
I stared at the TV screen. I tried to pay attention, but my mind kept wandering. Not only to Damon, but to my sister, and my dad. Seeing Damon confront his own father had been nerve-wracking in itself, but the whole scene had only reminded me of my ownsituation.
My father wasn't blackmailing me, or threatening Hope. But his actions hurt the two of us nonetheless. Emotional abandonment, neglect, resentment… Telling your father you were nominated for Valedictorian, showing him your acceptance letter to your first choice college, asking him if he'll attend your graduation, only to have him stare right through you, as if you didn't exist, and walk away without aword…
