I wanted Alannah, but for her sake, I wouldn’t let myself claim her. She wasn’t for me ... no one was.
CHAPTER FOUR
Eighteen years old ...
After Alannah entered the bathroom, I sat on the edge of the bed feeling sick until a hard knock sounded on the door. The knocking was constant, so I hurried to open the door, and when I did, Bronagh stumbled forward.
“Ye’ scared me, ye’ bastard.”
I grinned at her, trying to appear like nothing was wrong and my heart wasn’t ripped in two, but she didn’t seem to buy it.
“Where is she?”
I raised my eyebrows. “In the bathroom—”
“Did ye’ have sex with ‘er?”
My hands flexed, and my sadness over Alannah was quickly turning to anger thanks to Bronagh.
I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t think that is any of your business, Bee.”
Her eye twitched. “It is me fuckin’ business when it’s me friend you’re fuckin’ over.”
She pushed by me to enter the room, but just as quick, I wrapped my hand around her arm and brought her to a stop.
“I didn’t fucking rape her!”
Bronagh’s eyes widened in alarm, but only for a moment.
“Let go of me arm or I’m tellin’ Dominic.”
I let her go. “Is that how you deal with problems? You have my brother fix them?”
“Fuck you, Damien.” She took a step back away from me. “Ye’ know fuckin’ well that I deal with me problems meself. I don’t need Dominic to defend me from anybody!
I humourlessly laughed. “Jason Bane and Gavin Collins would disagree.”
She looked me up and down. “Ye’ can go and fuck yourself.”
I didn’t reply.
“Is she okay?”
I looked at the bathroom door, then back at Bronagh, and said, “She cried because after we had sex, she realised we would never be in a relationship.”
Bronagh lifted her arms and shoved me as hard as she could. I locked eyes with Bronagh and willed her to hit, kick me, to physically hurt me in some way to take away from the raw pain in my chest, but she didn’t. She looked at me with disgust, and it made me feel sick.
“I was very wrong about you. I thought ye’ were a good person; I didn’t let what Dominic told me about your past change me opinion of ye’ because what ye’ did wasn’t planned or even thought on. Ye’ did it to protect yourself, your brother, and Nala, but this? Ye’ knew how much Alannah liked ye’, ye’ knew she was a virgin, and ye’ knew she didn’t want to be a one-hit wonder, yet ye’ still pursued ‘er and persuaded your way into her knickers all because she rejected ye’ and ye’ liked the challenge of pullin’ ‘er.”
Was that what I was doing?
“You’re no fuckin’ better than any other scumbag out there who uses girls, and I hope ye’ realise what a cold and cruel person ye’ are for doin’ this, Damien Slater!” She stepped away from me. “After hearin’ a description of your ma and da from Dominic, it looks like the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree after all because ye’ only think about one person just like they did. Yourself. I bet they are so fuckin’ proud.”
I couldn’t breathe, and it felt like the room was closing in around me. Bronagh’s words ran through my mind, and my heart slammed into my chest, pleading for them not to be true. I fled the room without a backwards glance, and before I knew it, I had made my way through the club and out into the night air. I bent forward placed my hands on my knees. Bronagh’s words hit me harder than a train, and they hurt so much because I knew they were true. I was treating women like they were disposable. I made it clear I only wanted sex from a woman, but my attitude towards that was vile.
I could see that now, and it made me want to vomit.
I turned back towards the club with the intention of talking to Alannah and clearing everything up with her. I would beg her for her forgiveness, I would make it clear to her that I liked her more than I had ever like anyone and that she made my stomach fill with butterflies whenever I looked at her. I was rehearsing in my head what I was going to say when I felt hands on my shoulders.
I looked over my shoulder, and when I saw a smiling Marco Miles, my spine stiffened.
“Damien, my boy. It’s good to see you.”
Before I could answer, something hard slammed into my head, sending me spiralling into darkness. When I woke up an unknown amount of time later, my head was pounding, and my entire face felt like it was on fire. I groaned and tried to sit up, but my body felt heavy. Panic flared as I looked around the room I was in, trying to figure out where the hell I was. I heard a groan from my left, and when I turned my head and saw Bronagh, my heart stopped.