Lavender

Chapter 21 - Damon

LAVENDER'S POV

Daisy is already sleeping as she was scheduled to sleep ten in the evening after taking her medications which helps to treat cognitive symptoms like memory loss, confusion, and problems with thinking and reasoning. 

 After checking everything to make sure that I don't forget any of my work, I immediately go to my room and start to wash some of my clothes as my bathroom already has a small washing machine inside. 

When I'm done washing my clothes, I immediately hang all of them in a mini-washing line in my bathroom. I wipe my sweat on my forehead before looking at the time in the wall clock that says it's eleven-thirty now. 

I sigh as I can feel my body tired but I just neglected it as I decide to have a warm bath in my bathroom. After making myself feel fresh, I instantly wore my white tee shirt that is quite hugging but cottony and paired it with a grey thick bottom pajama. After that, I continued to dry my hair as I listen to the song that is playing on my phone through the youtube app. 

Katy Perry's The One That Got Away is playing as I continue to dry my hair while humming together with Katy's song. It was a kind of slow and sadder version of a song that is making me feel sleepy so after drying my hair, I quickly pause the song on my phone before turning it off again.

Feeling parched, I walked out of my room to go to the kitchen. The whole mansion was silent as every maid in this time is in their quarters already. The place was quite dim because every night, all the lights inside the mansion are dimmed but it was enough to still walk here around the mansion so after drinking enough water to quench my thirst for water, I walked around until I remember the huge library where I accidentally found after Daisy's gardening session in the back part of the mansion. 

I walked silently in the center of a hallway as I feel my every step touching the slippery and glossy wooden floor in this very hallway. The silence inside the mansion is deafening but instead of feeling scared, I find it peaceful. That Damon's mansion was this silence every night as I think this is also the right place for Daisy. A fine and relaxing shelter for Damon's sister. 

When I saw the door to the library, I immediately walked towards it. All right. As soon as I saw the library, I have this brewing interest to visit so I asked Daisy if it's okay to visit the library and luckily, she said yes. So now, I blew a short breath before opening the black modern style door of the library. 

From the dark stained wood to the contemporary side chair and clean-lined ladder, the whole library is designed modernly. Even though there are only two levels, the book-print wallpaper on every wall of the library creates a warm atmosphere and even if the whole area was dark right now, the moonlight coming from the clerestory windows has given the library enough light to some corners. 

Feeling excited, I entered the library as I walked towards the center where a colored silver-black leather mid-century sofa has a modern look and is a great choice for a study, whereas the black velvet chairs and glass table are decidedly modern.

"Wow!" I said, whispering slightly as I roam my eyes to the surrounding. "I think this is going to be my favorite place." 

Libraries are always my favorite place to go. They will always have a part of my life as I also grow up loving books. Though because of it, I have always been teased and being called a nerd but it's okay. Those people like prying to someone's business and it's just a waste of time cleaning my image to them. I'd rather be called nerd than fake like what they are with their famous friends. 

Shaking my head, I continued to walk around the library as my eyes trace every title and the authors of the books I'm seeing arranged excellently on the bookshelves. I sometimes stop in my footstep whenever an interesting book catches my eyes but I was suddenly interrupted when I heard a loud dropping sound of books. 

Who the hell is in here? I thought I'm the only one awake right now. Confused, I lift up my right hand to see the time in my wristwatch. It was now past midnight so it means Damon can't also be at home right now. 

I gulped as I started to feel fear as the library becomes eerie quiet to me. Oh, god! I wish it's not someone who breaks in here. What if it's a thief? With that thought in mind, I immediately grabbed a super thick book I think is enough to use as a weapon. I know it's silly but what if the thief is armed? Maybe I should have just stayed quiet and just focus on escaping the library but what if the culprit saw me?

I shook my head as I feel my heart racing faster. I'm nervous as hell but I choose to see what made the noise earlier. I blew a silent breath before walking silently, step by step as I take the direction towards the leather mid-century sofa earlier. I keep my eyes open to be warier of what's hiding in the surrounding until I'm in the center where I can see the library's double panel door wide open. 

"Huh?" I don't see any books that have fallen in here. I'm quite sure it's books that created the noise earlier but... "Where is it?"

"What are you doing in here?" someone suddenly said that made me jump from my position, startled while feeling my heart racing in fear.  

Feeling my heart racing in false fear and nervousness, I slowly turn myself to see the culprit who just talked behind me. And my fear vanished into my system when I saw that it was Damon in his white unbuttoned collared shirt.

"f**k, you startled me!" I said then covered my mouth when I realized what I said. 

Damn it. I wish Damon's not angry with me cursing. He scared me like s**t. "I-I thought someone broke in. I heard a noise like books falling. Uh, did you even made the noise?" I asked, feeling nervous.

Silence answered me as Damon continued to stare at me with his blank stare. Wh-what's with Damon? He's acting weird again and because of it, my mind comes back to the incident where he teased me, playing with my hair while in my back as I remember Larry's word about Damon being dominant. 

"Uh, ne-never mind." I put down the super thick book I have grabbed earlier to the top of a wooden table slowly as I feel my heart being weird again while still feeling Damon's stare at me. 

I don't know if he is angry at me for entering the library or because of cursing or maybe still because of what happened back then. I can't think of any reason for him to look at me like I'm going to disappear in front of him. 

Da

"I, uh... I guess I will just g-go..." I cleared my throat, feeling it hard to say a word to him as I have no idea of what he is thinking right now. "... go back to my room. Sorry for entering the library. One of the maids said that you usually go home at dawn so..."

Oh, I forget! I must talk to Damon about Daisy. s**t. 

"It's been so long since I see you again in this kind of place," Damon suddenly said, still his eyes have this blank stare as he looks at me like he's not tired at all. 

And even if he's working too much, he doesn't look tired and spent at all. Actually, his stern but hot appearance continues to stay, and even if it feels uncomfortable to stare back at him, I just can't get my eyes off of him. 

But what is he talking about? "Uh, sorry. What do you mean?"

"You love... Damon said and my eyes immediately widen when Damon took one step towards me. 

Damn it! What is he even planning to do? Damon is so stern and cold but his presence is always intimidating since I met him again. 

"I-I..." I gulped as nervousness started to seep into my body again. "I, what?" I asked, trying to not look nervous. 

"You love going to libraries. I know it's your favorite of all places," he said which made quite a shock and confused. 

How the hell does he know that? I mean, he sounded like a stalker because of what he said. And it can't be possible that he knows it because he's really stalking which is impossible. I don't believe someone like Damon will waste his time on a girl like me. I take it he's into sports more than girls back then as I also never heard that he's dating someone when I noticed his existence after watching him play. 

"I- I don't know how you know that about me but really, Mr. Ellington. I don't think anything about me matters. I'm only here for the job and for your sis---" I stopped when Damon suddenly chuckles, making me a bit pissed. "Excuse me, is there something funny from what I said?"

Damon shook his head before lifting up his head to let me his goddamn smirk. His smirk that I find so sexy for the first time even if he looks like an evil character in those fiction or movies. My eyes widened and my heart started to beat way faster when Damon take one step, making me also took a step backward. 

"W-what are you planning to do?" I said as I take another step backward while Damon is also moving forward to me. 

"Right, Lavender. When did you ever really notice?" he said with a glint of evilness in his face.  

"No-notice what?" I asked, stuttering while I keep my eyes on Damon. 

"Notice that someone already noticed you, Lavender," Damon said that made my heart beats erratically as my memories of him confessing on the day of our school's last tournament happened came back crashing into my mind.

The embarrassment, shock, and the excitement. All of the things that happened that I have also forgotten came back like a spreading wildfire in my sleeping forest. I remembered all of it as my eyes don't leave Damon's grey ones. 

Shit! I thought Damon's okay with me now. I thought we are past this and that what happened in our past doesn't matter anymore as we are both adults now. But if he still has lingering hate towards me because of humiliating him for running away, I'm more than willing to apologize.  

"L-look, I'm sorry. If you still hate me because of what I did back then, I'm really, really sorry," I said while still feeling my heart beating crazily as I also watch Damon shakes his head again. 

"Lavender, who said I want your apology?" he said that made me f*****g nervous as he grins wider. 

"Th-then... what do you want, Damon? Do you want me to quit this job? Ju-just say the word and---" I scream in nervousness when I felt my left legs bumped the mid-century sofa behind me, making me fall in it as I feel my heart skipped a beat because of the fear my fall caused. 

I'm lucky that the mid-century sofa was bouncy but I immediately stilled when Damon suddenly move faster and placed his self on top of me while I'm still lying on the sofa.  I felt like the time stop as Damon's grey-colored eyes stare back at my hazel ones.

Oh, s**t! What the f**k is going on? I can smell Damon's perfume. It was manly and kind of compelling me to give in but my eyes instantly go back to Damon when I realized he's getting near and near to me.