Page 11 of Fallen Legacy

“Please, just get me inside,” I whisper. I’m terrified I’m going to breakdown right here in the carpark for everyone to see.

Damon wraps an arm over my shoulder and with me tucked into his side, he hurries us into school. As we pass through the main doors, my eyes lock with Vee’s, and she looks at me with so much sadness and regret.

Once we’re inside, I make a beeline for the girl’s toilet. I throw my bag on the floor and drop down beside the toilet, feeling like I might vomit again.

“You feeling sick again?” Damon asks me, having followed me in here.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” I sigh and take a deep breath. “I just need a minute.”

He’s silent for a second and I almost forget he is there as I attempt to pull myself together.

“Do you love him?”

I stand up and turn to face him and I shrug my shoulders. “Maybe. Maybe I was starting to, before he shattered my trust, and I learned it was all a lie.”

Damon offers me a sad smile as he tugs me into his arms and envelopes me in a hug that I didn’t realise I needed. “I’m sorry, princess. I’m sorry you let him in, only to have him hurt you.”

The toilet door bangs open, and Georgie takes in the sight of Silver holding me in his arms.

“Well, isn’t this cosy? At least you’ve finally learned that you belong with the trash on the other side of the Bay. Be careful you don’t catch something from him. Boys like him carry all kinds of nasty diseases.”

Damon drops his arms from around me and glares at Georgie. I take his hand in mine and pull him with me, shoulder-checking the bitch as we pass her. “Go to hell, George.”

“It’s Georgie!!” she screams after me. I chuckle out loud. It’s childish I know, but she brings out the worst in me.

* * *

At lunchtime,I feel his eyes on me. I risk a glance his way and find him staring at me. Seb is talking to him, but he doesn’t answer. He holds my eyes prisoner. I thought I could cope with seeing him every day, but now, I’m not so sure.

“You, okay?” Damon asks me, pulling my attention back to him.

I plaster a smile on my face. “I’m fine. So, tell me about this club. You didn’t seem happy about your brother taking me there later.”

Damon chews on his lip. “It’s a strip club, princess. That’s the kind of business my family runs.”

“Oh,” I reply, ripping a piece of bread off and dipping it into my soup. “That’s okay. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“I’m not embarrassed. I just don’t think it’s the kind of place you should step foot in,” he explains, then blinks at me when I laugh.

“Oh, Damon. I’m not some innocent little rich girl. I’ve never stepped foot in a strip club before, but I’m not that green. I didn’t grow up as a little rich girl in this Bay. I’ve seen things in my time. Don’t make me out like I’m someone who needs protecting from the harsh realities of this world.”

I look up when he doesn’t reply and my heart lurches in my stomach when I see my brother hovering at our table.

“Hey, sis,” he says sheepishly, messing with the strap of his bag as he assesses my reaction.

“Hi, Kit,” I reply. My voice croaks as I fight the emotions warring inside of me.

“How have you been?” he asks me. Kit glances over at Damon, who averts his eyes and pulls out his phone, trying to give us some semblance of privacy.

“I’m okay.”

“When are you coming home?” he rushes out the words like he’s desperate to say them.

I sigh and shake my head. “That house isn’t my home, Kit. Not with a man that just wants to use me as a tool to further his success.”

Kit winces at my words. “He’s not that bad when you get to know him. He cares about us. If you’d just come home, the two of you could patch things up and we could be a family again.”

There it is. My brother is so desperate for the family unit he’s been missing for all these years that he can’t accept what’s in front of him. It breaks my heart that he’s so desperate to feel like he belongs, that he’s trying to deny the glaring truth.

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