Chapter 2-Memories

Emily

As soon as everyone left, I dropped to my knees and sobbed. I can't explain this fear I have, deep inside I know one of the two men I love will not be coming back alive. Dan my brother and best friend, Damien the man I have loved since I was six years old. I remember that day, the first time we set eyes upon each other.

Twelve Years Ago

"Who's the girl?" I hear a boy say; I follow the voice and look up to see two boys my age sitting in a tree. One boy has eyes the color of that brown sauce Mrs. Woods puts on my ice cream. It tastes sweet, so I wonder if he's sweet too. The other boy with the kind blue eyes is my foster brother Dan

His attention shifts from his friends and gives me a warm smile. Since I came to live with the Wood's, Dan was the one to make me feel the most comfortable. He says he's happy because he finally gets a sister since he's the youngest of four boys. 

Tucker is eighteen and away at college, Jamie is Sixteen and Mitchell is twelve then there is Dan who is only a few months older than me. I worried about coming into a family full of boys, but it's been great. I've never felt so loved and protected.

"She's my sister, Emily." He tells his friend. "She's been through a lot so be nice D, I mean it. I'll beat you up if you hurt her." My six-year-old heart melted at Dan being protective. His parents haven't told any of the boys the truth of why I live with them now, but Dan knows. 

He heard me crying out my first night and ever since he's stuck by my side.  His friend starts climbing down the tree and I watched in awe how he glides down the massive trunk.  The bottom of his T-shirt rides up his back and I get a glimpse of a purple and yellowish bruise; I wonder if he's a kid like me. 

He pulls his shirt down then spins around, his light brown eyes fixed on me and for a moment I think he might be angry but then he smiles. He stands in front of me with his hand out.

Hi Emily, I'm Damien Michael Reed and one day I'm going to marry you." I grab his hand and say, 

"I'm going to hold you to that." Then giggle and run away.

                                                   *******

There were several occurrences where I would be the one to tend to him, he didn't want my parents or brothers to know how badly he was injured. Many times, I begged him to tell someone since his wounds needed stitches, but we always cleaned them up as best we could and hoped for the best. He didn't want to bother my parents because in Day's mind we've already done so much for him. My damaged boy asked me to keep his secret and even though I knew it was a bad idea I agreed. I understood Damien more than most people when it came to hiding things, I'm sure it's what brought us closer. We're empathetic towards each other's needs. 

When I was twelve, I broke down and told Damien all about my Biological parents and what they did to me. I was only five when I was taken from them because they were really bad people and I did horrible things to me as well as other people. 

"Daddy, please don't hurt me," I beg Daddy in my innocent four-year-old voice. When Daddy is not himself, he hurts me, mommy took her pills while Daddy was out and is now sleeping. It doesn't matter any because Mommy doesn't stop him. 

Daddy sits down on my bed and touches my leg, his calloused flesh on mine makes my skin crawl. I scoot on my bed and move closer to the wall, just hoping it would suck me in and take me away. I put my knees up to my chest and pull my nightgown over them. I won't let him touch me again, I can't.

"Shush, baby girl, it's all okay. You're such a good girl and Daddy loves you so much. Do you love your Daddy?"

"Y... yes, Sir." If I don't tell him I love him he'll cause more pain.

"If that's true then show me how much." His hand moves up my leg and slides under my nightgown. The tips of his fingers play with my underwear and I just want to disappear, I don't say a word and let him do what he wants to me because it will be so much worse."

 My sperm donor didn't just use his hand, he stole my innocence. My father was a vile man and I prayed someday I would be rescued. My prayer was answered a year later when a lady with a kind smile and gentle eyes came to my house with a police officer. They informed my mom there were reasons to suspect abuse and my father was under investigations, I was too young to really understand what that meant but I knew it wasn't good. My mom was too doped up to even care. I was taken to a group home where I lived for another year, then Mr. and Mrs. Woods took me in.

 I haven't seen or heard from my birth parents in twelve years, not since that day in the courthouse. The Woods wanted to adopt right me, but the sperm donor and birth mother had appealed the adoption, so it went to court. It didn't take long for the judge to see what kind of people they were and granted my foster parents the adoption.

So, a year after being rescued by the Woods family, I became one. Sometimes my mind drifts to them, I wonder whatever happened to them but decide I just don't care because I was happy.

I have a loving family and two best friends, the only thing that made it better was when one of those best friends asked me to be his girlfriend. 

Five Years Ago

I slam my locker shut and nearly jump out of my skin when my friend Danika pops up. "Geez, Dani, a little warning next time."

"Sorry, I'm just excited for you!" She exclaims.

"Why?"

"Oh, could it be because a certain brown-eyed hottie is looking for you?" She smiles and my heart thumps wildly in my chest. That brown-eyed boy is Damien Reed, my crush and my brother's best friend. What could he want to see me about? The three of us are still tight but things are different at school. Both boys are very popular; Dan plays football and basketball and has been the captain of the basketball team since junior year.

Damien is the most sought-after guy in school, every guy wants to be him and every girl wants to get with him. He only plays football and incredibly good at it. He made captain junior year as well, so you see any girl would sell a body part just to get a chance to be near him. I don't have to sell anything since he's my best friend and I don't have to slutty myself up to get him to look at me.

The girls in school see the way he smiles at me and hate me for it. Especially, Jennifer Morris, the lead cheerleader. Rumor has it she and Damien are dating but neither he nor Dan has said anything about whether they are true or not. Jennifer terrifies me because whenever I'm nearby, she stares me down with an ice-cold glare. I'm sure she wouldn't have a problem ending me if it meant her getting a chance at Damien. Damien isn't the typical jock who ignores those lower on the high school hierarchy. He's very kind and tries to make everyone feel accepted; I believe it has to do with his life at home.

Jennifer and the other girls just don't understand why a sexy popular quarterback would smile at the loner geeky nerd who likes to hide behind a camera. However, none of those girls could even begin to imagine the bond Damien and I share, so how could they understand why he smiles at me like I hang the moon. Yet, even if Damien wanted to date me it could never happen because he would be committing social suicide, it would make sense for him to be dating Jennifer Morris, isn't that that the way it goes?

The Queen belongs to the King and as it stands right now Damien is the king and Jennifer is the queen. Ugh, picturing my Damien with her makes my skin crawl, since she is known to be the school tramp. She's been with almost everyone on the football team and as far as I've heard the basketball team, I just hope my guys aren't included in her long list of hookups. Danika grabs my hand, without a care of what's going through my head.

"Come on Em, they're on the football field and I want to watch Dan practice." Oh, sweet Danika, she doesn't stand a chance with Dan. He goes for the non-judgmental clingy girls; Dani is all the above. I won't even begin to explain why I'm friends with a girl like this.

"Look there they are." She points out to the field where both my brother and crush are running drills. Damien stands out among all of them; he's 6'1 and has the body of a God. Heat rises to my cheeks when I picture the day, I saw him shirtless. I wanted to run my fingers down his chiseled chest. His muscles ripple as he throws the ball back and forth.

I probably look like some crazy stalker but who cares, he's delicious eye candy. His head turns in our direction and he says something to Dan, who goes back to running drills. The two are brutal together. My heart races widely when he jogs towards me. I go to leave but Danika blocks my path preventing me from leaving. Amusement flashed in her eyes with a mischievous grin and I fight the urge to push her out of my way. My chance is shot because Damien is standing right in front of me. Sweat slides down his face and onto his bare chest. His blue football pants cling to him like saran wrap. I suddenly feel jealous of those pants. "Get a grip Em, he's just a boy." I chide myself.

"Hey, Em. His voice is a deep tenor which always makes me shiver. His hand and runs through his damp hair, and I stand there like a freaking moron watching him. "I was wondering if we could talk for a minute." He shifts his feet, something I notice he does when he's nervous. I figure if he's this nervous I'm going to give him a hard time.

"I don't know Day, I'm pretty busy. Derrick asked me out again and I may say yes this time." A low rumble comes from the back of his throat and I see the frown marring his handsome face. He doesn't like Derrick Smith; the guy has been sniffing around me for years. Damien and Dan have warned him off many times, but he doesn't listen. They both know I don't even like him and find him creepy.

"What are you doing with him, Emily? You know he is bad news and doesn't have good intentions when it comes to you. Dan has already warned him to stay away and I will kick his ass if he comes within an inch of you."

His desire to protect me is enduring and adorable. He gets so upset when Derrick is around me. I inch myself closer to him and now our bodies are only centimeters apart. I feel his warm breath on my skin and his hands on my shoulders. He pushes me away and I can't help but feel dejected.

"Em, I'm all sweaty and stinky from practice. Can we talk after I shower?" I don't want to wait; curiosity is getting the better of me.

"I can't Day, I have an appointment with my therapist." His eyes widen when he realizes what I said. I've always been able to talk to him about my feeling regarding my sperm donor, but I've never openly talked about seeing a therapist.

"Well, I wanted to ask you something?" I arch my brow and give him the best sexy smile I could come up with.

"Oh, and what's that?" I suck at this teasing thing, but it seems to be making him more nervous since he shifts his feet and runs his hand through his hair again.

"I was wondering if you would go to the dance with me and if youwouldbemygirlfriend." I stare at him, with a dumbfounded look on my face. I understood the first part and I felt like a giddy little schoolgirl. I thought he asked me if I would be his girlfriend, but he said it so fast I didn't quite understand.

"Would you mind repeating the last part?" I giggle again. He takes a step closer to me and suck in a breath when he tucks my hair behind my ears. Damien doesn't understand what his touch does to me.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Yep, I was right but why me? He could have any girl in this school and wants me.

"Why? Why would you want me when you can have any girl? What happened with Jennifer, I thought you two were dating."

"I don't want just any girl Em, I want the most beautiful girl who has held my heart since we were six. The girl who consumes my every thought and the one I'm so head over heels in love with.” If I were capable of becoming a mushy pile of goo I would have. Yet, he still didn't answer my question about Jennifer.

"I want to say yes, but I need to know what happened with Jennifer."

"I promised to never lie to you Emily so when I say I was never with her, I mean it. She just told everyone we were dating so you wouldn't be competition for her."

"That's insane; I've never been anything to her, I'm a nerd and she's beautiful also ever boys dream girl."

"She's not my dream girl and I wouldn't call her beautiful, you are. She doesn't stand a chance or even hold a candle to you. Jennifer is tainted and vile, you are pure and kind. I would rather be with someone who has a beautiful soul, so what do you say?"

"Yes, Damien I will be your girlfriend." I run and throw my arms around his neck. He lifts me up and my legs wrap around his waist. "I've been dreaming of this day since we met."