Black Eye

Summer before Senior Year - 17 years old

Sophia's P.O.V.

At eight a.m. the next night, I met Damon in the virtually deserted gym. There were a couple other gym-goers who were busy doing their own thing and not paying us any attention.

"Ready, Belikova?" he asked me as we stepped into the fighting ring.

I put my hands on my hips. "I was born ready."

He appeared thoughtful for a moment. "You're probably right about that."

I smirked and unzipped my gym hoodie and hung it over the rope. Damon did the same with his sweatshirt and I had to practically force my jaw to remain shut in order not to gape at his enormous muscles. I can see why everyone tosses the nickname 'bodybuilder' around with him. When he turned back to me, I caught a glimpse of black ink all over his right arm. Forgetting about our sparring session, I marched over to him and grabbed his right arm. This time, I did gape.

Damon had a full tatted arm.

There were so many intricate designs, whorls and swirls and it…It was the most wonderful piece of artwork I have ever seen on a human body. Or well, dhampir body. It was also the hottest thing I've ever seen.

"Damon!" I exclaimed. "You have an arm full of tats!"

"So do you," he teased.

"Not quite, but you already knew that." He was somewhat right. I did have a couple tattoos on my left arm that took Mom and particularly Dad a lot of convincing and bribery. "How come you never told me you have tattoos? How have I never seen this before?" I rambled on. Thinking back, I had never seen Damon without long sleeves before today. And honestly, why would he randomly bring it up in a conversation?

"Okay, our next DNM is going to be about tattoos," I declared.

He chuckled. "Alright, whatever you say, Belikova. Can we spar now? Or would you rather continue admiring my tattoos?"

"Admire," I breathed in awe immediately. It was the half-truth. I turned his arm around and continued gawking.

"Sophia? Sophia?" he said. I blinked, snapping myself out of it and looked up at him.

"Yes?"

"You can look some more later," he promised. I shook off my dazed state and nodded. For the next hour or so, we were at it. He got the drop on me and won a few fights but I have to say we were pretty equally matched. Our last fight was the toughest yet and when I was so sure I was about to lose, I gained momentum and dominated him. I slapped his chest and said triumphantly, "Dead."

He regarded me with amazement as we bounced out of the fighting ring, adrenaline running high. We grabbed our water bottles and drank, catching our breath.

"Not bad, Belikova," he commended.

I grinned. "You're only okay, Petrov. For someone who's been a guardian for years though…" I trailed off to taunt him.

He rolled his eyes mockingly. "Maybe when you're my age you'll be able to win every fight."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I said, as I moved into some cool down stretches. Damon did the same and we shortly left the gym. Thankfully, no one I knew walked in or caught us leaving. I made it back home safely, feeling giddy over our gym session.

Without fault, Damon and I met up three times a week in the forest. Each time I had some excuse ready to lay out to my parents - going to a party; a friend's house; another friend's house; going to the gym (for our early night hangouts). It worked every time until one night it didn't.

I was out all day and hadn't returned home once. I stayed out till it was time to meet Damon. When I met him at our tree, he gave me a warm grin. "Hey, Beauty Queen." I half-rolled my eyes, he never ran out of nicknames for me. "What's with the shades?"

I was wearing my big black Bvlgari sunglasses today which was not normal for me. "It's sunny today."

Damon snorted. "It's the middle of summer. It's sunny every day." He took a step forward. "What's going on?"

I angled away from him. "Nothing," I lied through gritted teeth.

"Sophia." He reached for the sunglasses and I knocked his hand away.

"I'm fine, Damon, I just want to wear these today."

"Okay, if you're fine then you won't mind taking them off for two seconds so I can see your face."

I kept dodging around him as he reached for them again. He was fairly patient as we grappled. Eventually, he grew tired of the game and grabbed my forearm, pulling me close to him. His scent was stronger this close to him and made me go weak in the knees. He trapped me between his body and a tree, pinning both my hands behind my back. "Stop fighting me," he breathed. "Tell me what happened."

I shook my head.

"Sophia." The way he said my name sent a shudder down my body. I didn't shift or move in his grasp and once he decided I calmed down enough, he slowly reached forward and gently removed the sunglasses from my face. I winced from the bright sunlight as they slid off. Damon's face remained neutral for the most part but his voice gave him away.

"What happened?" he repeated, growing concerned at my black eye.

"I got into a fight earlier today," I said quietly. "Some people…tried to attack me." His jaw tightened.

He didn't say anything, he simply clasped my hand in his large one and yanked me away from the tree. "Come with me."

Damon led me through the woods, the entire time clasping my hand. I had a feeling he was only holding it so I wouldn't run the opposite way. I wasn't quite sure where we were going exactly, but I knew we were moving across Court with how much land we covered.

We didn't speak but I could tell from his posture he was in an agitated state. When he made a sharp right, I finally spoke, "Damon! Where are we going?"

He didn't respond, he just kept leading me around. A few minutes later, he pulled us out of the trees and into a main part of Court. The Palace came into view. My jaw dropped and I instantly tried to make a break for it.

"No." I barely made it two steps before he grabbed me from around the waist.

"Yes." He half dragged me along the grounds towards the Palace. I kept resisting, trying to run the opposite direction but he had a firm grip on me.

"Damon, please," I begged. "They can't know."

"You have a black eye, Soph! They're going to find out anyway unless you plan on camping out in the woods until the bruise clears up."

"Don't be ridiculous, of course not," I muttered. "I was going to cover it with makeup."

"Oh for goodness sake," groaned Damon. I tugged away from him again as we climbed up the steps to the front doors.

"Sophia," he warned. I didn't listen. I continued to fight him and fight him. He wasn't having a bar of it.

A loud sigh sounded before my feet were suddenly swept up from underneath me and my body was momentarily suspended in the air.

"Oomph!" My stomach connected with something solid and round and I was now staring at the ground.

"Damon!" I exclaimed. He had literally thrown me over his shoulder. "What the hell! Put me down!" I banged fists on his back. He didn't give in to me or my bellowing. He simply locked his arms around my legs as he charged into the Palace and onto the elevator. I seriously hope no one saw us though I very much doubt that with the amount of security in this place.

Damon had key card access to the general areas in the Palace but he needed me to get into our part of the Palace. With great reluctance, I handed over my key cards to gain access up to the apartment. The entire time I was hoisted over his shoulder, even when he started beating down the door of the apartment.

I was going to be in so much shit. My parents thought I was at a girl friend's house tonight sleeping over. They were going to lose it when they found out I've been hanging out with Damon.

We heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the door and I hastily jumped down from Damon's shoulder. Just as the door opened, I ducked behind Damon's broad shoulders.

"Damon? Wh—" It was my Dad who answered the door. Fuck. He stopped short and sighed, exasperated. "I can see you, Mila."

Damon wrapped a gentle, warm hand around my forearm. Shyly, I stepped out from behind him. My father's face shifted from disgruntled to shocked the minute he caught sight of my eye.

"Get inside," he said in Russian to me. There was no arguing with the tone he used and I dove past him into the apartment.

"Thank you, Damon," said Dad, dismissing him. I passed Damon a wistful look hoping to convey that I wished he could stay. He sent me a look back to say everything would be okay.

The door shut quietly and Dad spun around, his face etched in lines of worry. "Come on." He gestured for me to sit on the couch while he woke Mom and got me ice. It was going to do little since the bruise had been developing for a few hours. Still. Better than nothing.

Mom entered the living room, yawning. When she saw me, her eyes widened instantly. "Baby! What happened?" she cried. I pressed the ice against my eyeball. The cool chill a welcome against my warm skin. "Are you okay?" She fretted over me. "I swear to God, I'll kill whoever did this."

"I'm fine."

"Soph, don't lie to me. I've had a black eye before."

"I am fine. It's just a stupid bruise, it'll heal."

"It's not just a stupid bruise if Damon was worried enough to bring you here," Dad pointed out.

Mom frowned. "Damon? He was here? Wait—what were you even doing with him in the first place? Never mind. We'll discuss it later."

I blew out a breath and leaned back on the sofa.

"Mila," Dad said gently. I didn't look at him. I didn't look at my mother either.

I bit my lip, not knowing what to say. If I told them the truth…they'd have every reason to keep Damon away from me.

I shook my head. "Don't worry. It was just a dumb fight." I stood up. Mom promptly gripped my shoulders and forced me back down.

"Milana," she used her guardian voice on me and my full Russian name. She never did that.

"Who did this to you, Mila?" Dad leaned forward in his chair, his face concerned and…determined.

I shrugged. "I don't know," I said in barely an audible whisper. There was a shakiness to my voice that I hadn't expected. I squeezed my eyes shut. "There was four of them; dressed in all black and ski masks." Mom clasped both my hands in hers and rubbed my cheek. "All I know is that they were Moroi. They used their magic against me. None of them physically touched me. One of them used a tree branch which I barely dodged. That's how I got the black eye."

My parents tried to hold back their pained expressions. Dad's jaw set, the only sign that he was holding back his anger about the situation. Mom was equally outraged but to me, they were comforting, concerned, and caring.

"Don't worry, Mila. We'll find out who did this. Anything distinct about them?" asked Dad. I pondered. They were all dressed the same and relatively the same typical annoying Moroi height. I started to shake my head, then stopped.

"One of them had a…citrus-y smell. Kind of like oranges," I remembered.

Dad nodded once. "I promise we'll find out who did this, Mila."

Mom released my hands and cradled me to her chest. I shook in her grasp, fighting back tears. Why did this kind of thing keep happening to me?

"Do you know why they attacked you?" Mom asked.

I bit down on my lip, fighting the urge to cry even harder now. I didn't want them to take him away from me. If I told them, they would do exactly that. And I needed him. I needed my friend.

"Soph?" Mom prompted after some time.

I pulled away from her silently. I stared down at my lap and traced patterns with my forefinger on my palm. I took three deep calming breaths. A mental image of Damon popped up in my head. The look he gave me when he saw the bruise…the worry and concern he held for me this entire time…how he knew the right thing to do was bring me home straight away. He was right. My parents did need to know the truth.

I swallowed. "Y-yeah, I know why they attacked me." I took another deep breath. "They saw me with Damon. They think we're together."

"Assholes," she grunted. "But I do need to ask. Why were you with Damon tonight?" The question piqued Dad's interest.

I wish I could swallow my tongue. "I…uh…have kind of been hanging out with him."

Mom jumped up. "After we specifically told you not to? Hey—wait a minute! You said you were staying at Lily's house tonight! Did you lie to us?" I nodded meekly. "Sophia!"

"Rose—" Dad tried to interrupt but she glared at him.

"Nuh-uh, comrade." She turned back to me. "How many times have you lied about where you were and gone to see Damon instead?"

"A few times," I muttered, not looking in her direction.

She threw her hands up in anger. "Unbelievable!"

"It's your own fault that I lied! You forbade me from seeing him. Something neither of you have ever done! If you had just let me be, you would've known from the get-go."

"This isn't up for debate, Sophia! We warned you to keep your distance from him. Now look what's happened!" She gestured to my bruise. "You're never seeing him again."

I stood up angrily, matching my mother's height. "That's bull—"

"Mila," interrupted Dad calmly, finally joining the conversation. "It's for your own safety."

"Damon isn't the bad guy here!" I exclaimed.

"You may be right," said Dad. "Nonetheless, being around him has resulted in you being attacked. We don't want this to happen again. So for now, until we found out who did this, you're to stay away from him."

My eyes flickered between the two of them. They wore the same expressions and were in agreement about this whole Damon thing.

When I didn't say anything, Mom said, "Get to bed, it's late," nodding to the direction of my bedroom. Sighing, I picked up my ice pack and left for my room.

Damon's P.O.V.

I was sitting on the couch, pondering over Sophia and what I saw last night when a knock on the door rudely disrupted my thoughts. Groaning, I peeled myself off the sofa and opened the door to not just one visitor but two. I stood aside and let the dynamic duo enter.

"Belikov. Hathaway." I gave a respective nod to each. "What can I do for you?"

"Did Sophia tell you what happened before you brought her home last night?" Rose asked straight away, not bothering with formalities.

"No. I didn't ask. Figured you guys wanted to deal with it in-house, firsthand."

Rose exchanged a look with Dimitri.

"Well, what happened has to do with you," said Rose.

I was taken aback. "With me?"

"Sophia was attacked by four Moroi using their magic against her. She said they were attacking her because of what happened at the Ball. They seemed to think you two are dating," explained Dimitri.

Shock coursed through me. What? Why wouldn't she tell me herself before I dropped her off? She had plenty of time to. The answer smacked me in the head almost immediately. Of course she wouldn't tell me. She didn't want me to do anything about it. And she knew I wouldn't hesitate to.

"Any ideas on who would care enough to do this? Would anyone want to use Sophia to hurt you?" asked Dimitri.

I thought long and hard. Sophia wasn't my girlfriend by a long shot. However, I knew at the Ball it appeared that way. I only did those things to protect her but now my actions had inadvertently done the opposite. Whoever did this was smart enough to not go up against me - especially if they were Moroi - but instead hurt someone I care about, regardless of girlfriend status or not, however they didn't know she wasn't my girl.

"Did she say what elements they used against her?"

"Earth and air mainly but she said there was one fire user too," answered Rose. I knew a few Moroi that I could see possibly doing this but I don't think any of them would care about me or my love life. Wait—that's it. Love life. Who would care about my love life? The only person that flitted to mind was that psycho, Lila. She was an air user. And her brother…he was earth. I'd bet anything she set this up. Hell, she could've been one of the attackers. And she could definitely get her brother in on it.

My hands drew into closed, hard fists. "I have an idea but finding proof could be hard."

I gave Rose and Dimitri Lila and her brother's name. They left afterwards. I waited a minute or so to create some distance between us before I left my room. Time to find Lila.

Sophia's P.O.V.

A week had gone by. The bruise was pretty much cleared up and my house arrest was over. My parents didn't want me out alone for the time-being and insisted I take one of the girls with me any time I left the Palace. It was suffocating and frustrating. I was training to become a guardian and I had to walk around with a chaperone! Even if it was just Aliya or Nadya. Sometimes they had Jensen tail us from afar or some other guardian. I was beginning to understand what Aunt Lissa and Aunt Jill go through.

We were down to the last couple of weeks of summer break and there was another party on tonight. Normally, I wouldn't care to miss out but being practically chained to the Palace this past week, I was dying for some relief. I had to beg my parents to let me go out tonight.

"On one condition," Mom said. I raised my eyebrows at her. "Declan goes with you."

It was better than nothing and Declan was young enough to come to these parties as well.

"Fine," I agreed.

I dressed up in tall sparkly heels, a black skirt and plaid pearl white top which showed a little midriff.

"When we get there you can go do your own thing," I told Declan on the way.

"No way, Soph. Your parents entrusted me to make sure nothing happens. So, nothing is going to happen."

"You can't stick by my side all night like glue! I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, but I'm not going to disobey orders from your Mom and Dad. They asked me to protect you." He passed me a side-long glance. "I'll be your not-too-far-guard if it makes you feel any better?"

Reluctantly, I agreed since it was as close to freedom as I could get right now.

The party was lit and abuzz when we arrived. Crowds of different groups of people were here. Some were our age, some older like Declan's age. We tried to stay as a group as much as we could, though we couldn't be at every section of the party as a group of five. Declan split us into two groups - he was on guard for Stasia and me while Ali and Nads were to stick together. It worked fine for bathroom breaks and food and drink bars.

I suppose I was having a mediocre time. Once I got here, I remembered why I didn't like parties much. That is, until I spotted a dazzling face that exuded a pop of blue edged against his dark hair. He was with his friends, joking and laughing. His smile lit up his face that much more. Tonight he was wearing a white cotton shirt underneath a long sleeve with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, half of his arm tattoo on display. He scanned the party - as trained guardians do whether on shift or not - and his eyes landed on me. I couldn't interpret the expression that fell across his face then. Was he happy to see me? I gave him a very small half-smile. He turned away so I could only see one side of his face. He wasn't looking my direction at all but when he winked, I knew it was directed at me. He was playing it smart. He knew I couldn't be seen with him for the moment. I tried to keep an even bigger grin off my face.

"What are you so happy about?" A voice snapped me out of my daze and focused my gaze on Declan.

"What? Nothing." It was too late though. He glanced around the party and found Damon all too easily - with his extraordinary height and build.

"Soph," Declan said pitifully. "As much as I hate it, I know you guys are friends and all but—"

I held up a hand to stop him. "I know." Suddenly, an idea occurred to me. I gave Declan a pleading look. The kind I always pulled when we were younger kids and I wanted my way. "Five minutes?"

Declan regarded me sternly. "Please? I haven't spoken to him—"

"Good. Keep it that way."

"Declan!" I exclaimed. "Please! I'll lead him somewhere private." I stared harder. Eventually, he relented. As always.

"I'll be watching from afar."

I gave him a brief hug. "Thank you!"

I left our little trio and walked dangerously close to Damon, brushing past him. I knew he saw me exit the party. I walked out to the front and down a couple blocks where it was deserted and isolated from the party house.

Stasia and Declan followed me and were out on the porch of the party house so they could clearly watch me. A few moments later, Damon showed up.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hey." I embraced him in a hug, my arms going around his waist; his came around my upper back. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" he repeated in astonishment. "What do you have to be sorry for? If anything, I'm sorry. If I hadn't approached you at the Ball—"

"It doesn't matter, Damon. Besides, you don't need to apologise for anything. You were just trying to help."

We let go of each other. "Do your parents have any leads yet?"

I shook my head. "Not quite. What about you?"

He opened his mouth to respond when three Moroi guys came walking down the street from behind me.

"Hey! Damon!" One of them cheered obnoxiously loud.

"Oh shit, it's Damon! How have you been, brother?" Another said, the group coming closer to us. They clapped hands with Damon as way of greeting and made small talk. One of the guys' eyes flicked over me and did a double-take. It was super brief but I noticed. I refrained from frowning. What the hell was that about? And that's when it hit me. That citrus-y scent. Like oranges.

I had only smelt it one other time. Just over a week ago.

I took one cautious step closer to the boys and inhaled. I was fairly certain the guy who did a double-take was the one with the citrus smell.

I took a slow step backwards and then another, retreating into Damon's shadow and making his body a protective shield. Their conversation wrapped up fairly quickly and the boys scurried off to the house hosting the party.

I wrapped a shaky hand around Damon's forearm. He jerked in surprise. Not at my touch, though. At my shakiness. "What's wrong?"

"D-Damon, that was him. The guy with the brown hair and green eyes. He smells like citrus. The exact same scent as one of the guys who attacked me last week," I managed to get out. Gosh. It was getting hard to breathe.

"Are you certain?" Damon asked.

I paused and tried to calm my breathing. Was I certain? "Yes."

And like that, Damon sprung into action. He charged after the trio who just made it to the porch and tackled Citrus Guy. Damon called for Declan's help who quickly muttered something in Stasia's ear. She immediately shot off the porch towards me, avoiding the guys.

"We're going home. Right now."

"But—"

"No arguing. Declan's orders. Let's go." With force I didn't realise she possessed, Stasia yanked my arm and ran out of the street with me trailing behind. I caught one last glimpse of the front porch: Damon and Declan had Citrus Guy and the other two restrained.

Anastasia's P.O.V.

I had never been scared for my older cousin in my life. She had always been the one taking care of me, ensuring my safety, protecting me, standing up for me. Tonight was the first time it was the other way around. And I didn't hesitate. Declan said we had to leave and run back to the Palace and tell our parents everything. So leave we did. I was afraid Sophia would fight me and get herself involved so you can imagine my surprise when she actually listened and came with me.

I had to look after her now. I had to protect her. I had to keep her away from her attackers.

Running in heels was a bitch, one I felt like quitting once I thought we were far enough from the party. I didn't. I pressed forward like a dhampir would, my hand never left Sophia's.

Once we burst through the Palace doors, we took a minute to shed our shoes before charging upstairs to our living quarters. The guardians gave us weird looks and began questioning me right away. I shook them off and told them I had to see my mother. They let us pass through and I didn't stop running until we made it to the main family parlour room.

We entered breathless - well, me more than Soph. Our parents regarded us in utter shock, hounding us immediately with questions.

"Party…Soph's attackers…there…Damon…with Declan," I managed to pant out. I couldn't say any more until I sat down and caught my breath. So I did exactly that while Dad fetched us a bottle of water each. Aunt Rose and Uncle Dimitri were already in action. With my mother's approval they left the Palace and headed to the party.

Mom sat with Sophia and I and rubbed our backs soothingly.

"Are you alright?" she asked Soph.

Sophia gulped her water down. "Yeah, I'm okay."

We didn't speak much after that, we all just sat around and waited and Mom continued to comfort us.

A few minutes later, Nadya and Aliya burst into the room.

Sophia jumped up. "What's happening back there? Did you see Mom and Dad?"

"Saw them on our way home," replied Nadya.

"We did see three guys in handcuffs though. Damon and Declan were standing nearby and some other guardians showed up too," Aliya further explained.

They flopped down on the couch and Mom sent for some soda and snacks for us to munch on.

An hour had almost passed and still, nothing was happening. "Go to bed, Stasia. You don't have to stay up for this," Mom said quietly to me.

"No, I'm fine. I should stay up. Soph needs us," I said. I felt like a little guardian.

"No, I don't," Soph argued. "I'll be alright. You guys should head to bed."

I looked to Ali and Nads. They were as worn out as me. Waiting around was kind of boring and…tiring.

"Okay. We'll be up in my room. Come up when you're done?" I said to Soph.

"Yeah," she promised. I gave her a parting hug and left with Ali and Nads - and a guardian - to retreat to my bedroom.

Prior to the party, we had set up my bedroom for a sleepover with extra mattresses, blankets and pillows. All we had to do was take off our makeup and change into our PJ's.

"I can't believe her attackers were practically under our noses tonight," Aliya murmured in the dark, settling into a cocoon in the sheets.

"I know. It's kind of…scary, really," I whispered.

"But she doesn't look scared, at all," Aliya said.

"Does Soph ever look scared? She killed two Strigoi with no hesitation last year. A bunch of Moroi in ski masks isn't as bad," countered Nads.

"I suppose that's true in a way…but still…it's frightening," I said.

"Yeah. And traumatic," added Ali.

Nads yawned. "I guess you're right. Now let's sleep. We'll talk about it more tomorrow."

Sophia's P.O.V.

It was extremely late when Mom and Dad came home. I was still waiting in the parlour room with Aunt Lissa and Uncle Chris.

"So?" I approached them eagerly. "What happened?"

They looked exhausted. "We got them. All four of them," Dad replied.

"We got proof too. One of them admitted everything and now they're all locked away," said Mom.

"Uh…wait, what?" I was surprised. I didn't expect either of them to catch one attacker let alone all four.

"The one you said that smelled like oranges, he was the one who admitted everything," said Dad.

I didn't quite know what to make of that. Why would he oust himself? I brushed it off for now, deciding it was too late in the night to ponder over it. I hugged both of my parents to show my gratitude.

"Thank you," I murmured to them.

The parlour room door creaked open and Damon slipped in. His appearance was more scruffy than earlier and he appeared just as exhausted as my parents. How much of a headache did these four losers give some of the best guardians?

I went over to him and hugged him too. I didn't care what my parents would say or the fact that they were witnessing this. Damon had done so much for me. I was indebted to him.

"Damon, thank you," I whispered to him.

"You don't need to thank me," he said.

"Yes, I do." I squeezed him a little and then let go. He presented a file to me. "What's this?"

"The four people we arrested," he replied. I stared at the file. Mindlessly, I walked over to the dining table and took a seat. Damon slapped the file on the table in front of me. While I sat there composing myself, my parents informed Aunt Lissa and Uncle Chris details of the night in hushed whispers. I tuned their voices out; not interested in listening to it all right now.

I sat there hopelessly twiddling my thumbs. I was unsure of what I wanted to do. Was I ready to face them? I mean, it was just a photo of their faces. I wasn't really facing them in real life.

A warm callused hand wrapped over mine. "You can do it."

"No, I can't," I choked out.

"You can. You have to. So that you can put a face to those blank ones. There were real people cowardly hiding underneath the masks. You need to see who they are so you can put this nightmare to rest." Damon guided my hand to the file. With his encouragement and support, I felt I could do it. I nodded and he let go of my hand as I opened the file.

I flicked through the reports, skimming through it and the images of four people. Three men and surprisingly, one girl.

"Lila?" was the name of the girl according to the file. "Who is she?" I had never heard of this Lila before, nor seen her. Dad told me last week that this entire attack was probably orchestrated by some jealous ex-girlfriend of Damon's. Bitch wasted her time on the wrong girl though - not that I want her to beat up on some other poor innocent but she's in jail now all for what? It was like Tasha Ozera all over again.

"She's my…" Damon groped for the right word. While he did, I realised that she wasn't really his girlfriend, "…ex," he finished plainly.

I couldn't help it, I giggled.

He playfully narrowed his eyes at me. "What's so funny?"

"Only you would have a psycho ex," I laughed.

"Glad you're amused." He closed the file and took it back.

I jumped out of my chair and caught his hand, the one that was holding the file. My smile dropped. "Damon, what happened to your arm?" There was pink skin on the underside of his forearm and the skin on his knuckles was torn and bloody. His wrist wasn't very pretty either.

"It's nothing, BK," he said sheepishly, wriggling his arm out of my hold. I hardly paid attention to it but I couldn't believe he used one of his nicknames for me in front of my parents; it was kind of an inside joke. 'BK' was a shorter way of calling me Belikova.

"That's not nothing! Those are burn marks!" I cried.

"That fire-using prick tried to set me on fire when I arrested him," Damon admitted through clenched teeth.

"Wait here," I told him. I raced to the nearest kitchen to get him a first aid kit and two ice packs.

When I returned, my parents were standing on the threshold of the door bidding Aunt Lissa and Uncle Chris goodnight. Damon had moved to one of the more comfortable sofas.

"Just come up when you're done, Soph. We're all going to bed," Mom announced to me.

"The girls and I are sleeping over in Stasia's room. I already told them I'll come up there when I'm done," I replied.

"Okay then. We'll see you in the morning. Good night," they said. I bid them good night and they shut the door behind them, leaving Damon and I alone which was kind of surprising. I figured they'd drag me the hell away from him then and there. I suppose they were allowing us to regroup just because of the events earlier tonight.

Kneeling down on the floor beside Damon, I cleaned up the open wounds. I then pressed one ice pack on his hand and the other underneath his arm.

"I got it, Soph," he said.

"There's two of them, you can hold one in place and I'll hold the other. It's the least I can do after what you did for me tonight."

He didn't argue with me and he just held on to the pack on his forearm. I looked up at him through my eyelashes as I pressed the ice pack a little firmer against his knuckles. His gorgeous marine eyes swept over me, enrapturing me, tantalising me. I sort of got lost in the unique colour of his eyes. If his eyes had the ability to speak, I think they would never shut up.