Damian groans. “Open your eyes, Sky. You’re not invincible. You’re no match for him. Slade might have scared him off when he tried to grab you on the sidewalk but he learned from that and came back swinging.”
“Give it a rest,” Slade says, keeping his eyes on me but focusing his comment at Damian. “She knows what’s at stake. You and I have been dealing with this for a few months, Skylah’s been doing this her whole life. She’s survived. We may not like it but she knows what’s best for her, you just have to trust her.”
Damian turns his scowl on him. “Are you fucking serious?” he demands. “How could you possibly think that’s true? Yeah, she survived, but she could have avoided being hurt if she’d run earlier, but instead, she waited around, hoping she’d be alright and she ended up getting raped.”
“Damian,” Slade snaps.
“No,” he demands, throwing himself to his feet and grabbing the ball as he goes. “This is fucking bullshit and you both know it. She needs to leave.”
I get to my feet and storm toward him as Slade gets up behind me. “I’m not weak,” I yell at him, hitting my palms into his wide chest. “And I’m not leaving. I have too much to lose. Blake’s in the fucking hospital. What am I supposed to do? Just leave him there defenseless so Lucien can come and take him out? Am I supposed to leave this bullshit on Shay’s door so Lucien can come and find her in the middle of the night? What about Daniella, Emma, and Rain? You or Slade? If I’m not here, Lucien will go for someone else. That is how he works and I refuse to let anyone else get hurt because of this. If someone is going to go down to end this, it’ll be me.”
“Woah,” Slade says, grabbing my waist and spinning me around to face him. “That’s not part of the deal. You don’t get hurt. You’re not some martyr who’s about to give yourself up for the greater good. We fucking fight this until that bastard gets put down, you got that?”
“Slade…” My eyes drop away, unable to handle the intensity in his. “Can we just…not talk about it? I’ve made my decision. I’m not leaving my family and you. I’m not letting him win.”
“I’m not just going to ignore this. He’s coming for you, Sky. He’s not going to give up without a fight and I. Will. Not. Lose. You.”
“I know that.”
“Then you need to be smart about it.”
“I’m not running.”
“I never said you should.”
Frustration claims me and I pull away, storming off until I’m dropping down on the bench by the side of the court. Thankfully the boys leave me alone, knowing me well enough to give me space.
Slade watches me and drops back down to his ass while Damian shoots hoops, trying to get his mind off it. I keep my eyes on Slade, watching how his chest rises and falls with rapid movements. Surely he must know that I’m not just going to go and offer myself up to Lucien. I know I have to fight this. I’m going to fight it and I’m going to win. I’ve already lost too much.
The longer I keep my eyes on Slade, the more we both seem to calm down and despite knowing that he’s going to want to discuss this later, I’m grateful when he looks back at Damian with the ball and tries to take the focus off me.
“Come on, man,” he says. “Give it to me straight. What’s going on with Nessa? Are you just boning or is it something more?”
Damian stops what he’s doing, letting the ball get away from him as he turns to face his best friend. “We’re just fucking, you know that,” he says, shrugging it off. “Besides, I wouldn’t even call it fucking. It was a fuck. One fuck. It happened once and probably never again.”
“Nah, man,” Slade says, his tone low and accusing. “This is more than just a fuck. You’re into her.”
Damian turns away, scoops the ball up and tosses it back toward the hoop. “Nah,” he laughs, watching as the ball misses the hoop by miles. “You know me better than that. I’m not down for that lovey-dovey shit that you two are into.”
I roll my eyes, able to see right through him, though I can’t help but wonder why the hell he’s lying to himself. It’s as clear as day that he’s into her and if it’s that obvious that even Slade can see it, then I’m sure as hell that the rest of the world can too.
He’s an idiot. Scratch that. They’re both idiots. Clearly, they have something and they’re both too moronic to do anything about it. Nessa wants to be stubborn and not make the move despite telling me this afternoon that she liked him while I’m not really sure what’s going on with Damian. He’s usually so sure of himself. At least, he is whenever she’s around. He talks a big game, he flirts and calls her sunshine, he smiles and she flushes. They’re a match made in heaven and I can’t for the life of me figure out why he’s denying it right now. I know she’s tough as nails but so is he. He couldn’t be scared of rejection, could he? She rejects him all the time, he should be used to it by now.