Damaged
Chapter 1
Everyone has a past before the house of night. Some people miss their old lives of normality but for some students being a vampire fledgling is exactly what they needed. Students like Jack Twist for example. Mature for Violence, Abuse and maybe some sexual content later on.
The dreams only returned to me, months after I joined the house of night. Everything was okay, had a great group of friends, a loving boyfriend and a great school to go to, but my past still managed to interfere. The first night of the dreams was a Saturday. We had hung around in the boys dorms all day, just me and Damien. We spent half the day snuggled up together on the sofas downstairs and some time doing homework. We found the time to go for a walk around the school and I loved how he would lock his fingers with mine and soothe me until I became accustomed to the stares we got as we turned a corner. I had left Damien early because he was finishing up watching 'Rent' and I was really tired. I stripped off my lazy jeans and climbed into bed wearing my boxers and a plain white T. I shut my eyes and let sleep come to, followed by a dream.
The room was black, just how I remembered it, a dark damp smell assaulting my senses and suffocating me. A single light shone from a dangerous wire above the centre of the room. The remnants of DIY gone wrong strewn in the corners and wallpaper tugged off of the walls in large pieces looked terrible and frightening under the circumstances. I licked my lips trying to restore a drop of moisture to my painfully dry lips. I pulled at the tie that dug into my wrists, and realised that struggling was no good. Tears started to form in my eyes before I could stop them. I knew I shouldn't be crying. It was a sign of weakness. Failure. Pain. And if he saw me I would be dead. Literally.
As if on cue the door swung open and a figure stumbled into the darkened room. His steps were loose and careless. You could smell the alcohol from the 10 metres that separated us, as if his breath was on my lips. I blinked hurriedly trying to clear the tears from my eyes.
"Jack, my boy." Dad called taking a few haphazard steps toward the chair I was sat on. "Jack... Jack, listen to me, if you did what I...I.. sssaid then maybe... I wouldn't have to punish you Jack!" His body fell towards the floor and he stumbled, grabbing on to a box to steady his fall. His face came into view and his expression twisted into a mixture of confusion and anger. His hand hit me full force against my cheek.
"JACK!" He cried.
I woke with a start, my body covered in sweat and tears. The room that surrounded me was too dark and too empty. I felt alone, like I always did when I was at home. I sobbed into the duvet for a moment before rushing out into the hallway. It was very light out in the communal area but I still felt alone. I steadied my breathing and started towards Damien's room.
I knocked on Damien's door quickly and paced the floor outside, waiting for an answer. When I heard movement from inside I rushed to the door as it opened and fell into Damien's arms. He didn't say a word, he held me softly to his chest and pulled us both inside of the room.
"Oh, Jack." He whispered softly and hugged me tightly. I swore I could feel a tear run down his face, but ignored it and gripped onto him. He was all I had left that I could call family.
He sat down and pulled me onto his lap. I sobbed into his neck and listened as he whispered sweet words in my ear. He fell back until we both lay together, I was curled up into him and he supported me and held me for a while.
"What happened, Jack?" He whispered softly to me, stroking my cheek. "Is it me?" I looked up at him quickly, tears were running down his face and he hurriedly wiped them away as I looked up.
"No, its not you Damien. Its never you. I love you." I sobbed hugging him close.
"Good because I love you too much. I didn't want you to be upset because of me." He told me softly, stroking my hair.
"I had a bad dream. A really bad dream." I cried burying my face in his chest.
"Well, don't worry Jack. I'm here. Sleep with me and nothing will hurt you I promise. Right here curled up together, separated from everything else in the world okay?" Damien breathed pulling the covers up over us both, and shifting me slightly so that we were both curled up facing each other.
"I'm here." Damien whispered as I fell asleep, and somehow I could deal with everything else, as long as he was with me.