That Emerald Vow (The Crimson Creed #2)

19. Chapter Nineteen

I t’s been two hours since I got to my parents house, and I’m already thinking of sixty different ways to torture someone. Maybe I’ll just have to make another pit stop on my way home like last time to relieve some tension. My mother’s need for perfection has reached its peak as she makes me move around the centerpieces in the backyard for the millionth time.

“Mother, I think you really got it this time,” I say as we both take in the floral arrangements. They’re in the same fucking spot as the first time I placed them, but she said I was an idiot and knew nothing about décor.

“I think you’re right. See, Charlotte, I told you I knew more about decorating than you.”

The muscle in my jaw twitches as I clench my teeth to stop myself from saying something that would make things worse. “Yes, Mother. Clearly I still have many things to learn from you.”

She smiles at me as she pats my shoulder, like I am some na?ve kid. Just as quickly, she pulls away as if I’m a stranger with a disease. That’s what affection has looked like with her my whole life. No wonder I’m allergic to any real form of intimacy.

I let out a sigh thinking about Damon. I really do want him here, but I didn’t want him to suffer through this with me.

I reach my phone as I feel it vibrate in my pocket .

Think of the devil and the devil shall appear. Or in this case, he’ll send you a really long text.

Damon:

Hi, gem. First and foremost, I want to respect your boundaries, but I’m also trying to read between the lines of what you may need, even without you saying it. So I may have taken a risk, and I’m a few minutes’ drive from your parents’ house just in case you need me. But if you don’t, I have plenty of crappy snacks and bad TV to keep me company. I just wanted you to have the option in case you needed it. 3 Please don’t be mad.

A warmth radiates from my chest at how thoughtful and perceptive he really is. Damon puts on a front of being silly, but his heart is like no other. The compassion for others’ needs is such a magical thing, so I decide to finally allow myself what I’ve been wanting to do since the beginning—be honest and let him in. Plus there will be no better test, no greater time I’ll need him than facing my parents.

Me:

Get your sexy butt over here now.

Less than fifteen minutes later, the doorbell chimes.

My mother is focused on the plating and doesn’t bother looking up to notice I’m already on my way to the door when she says, “It’s probably your uncle. Isn’t it sweet that he offered to come early to help?”

I feel like a bucket of ice water was thrown on me. In the excitement of Damon coming, I completely forgot the fear of facing my uncle again.

I slowly look around the backyard that’s completely ready for a party. She’s just moving things to get them “perfect.” Aka. moving things back to how I originally placed them but to show it was her idea.

“Mm-hmm,” I mutter, still unable to move .

Ding dong.

“Would you get that? I have to fix the place settings you messed up,” she huffs.

My legs drag like lead-filled balloons as I slowly make it to the door, praying it’s Damon and not my uncle.

Ding dong.

My mother is gonna be pissed that I forced my uncle to wait so long.

As I finally reach the door, I take a deep breath before opening it to my impending doom. But my mouth falls open as I take in the gorgeous man dressed in dark slacks and a nicely pressed, black button-down with the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows.

“My lord, Charlotte, how hard is it to open a door?” I hear my mom come up behind me. Turning to look between me and the guy at the door, she puts on her best smile that she saves for guests. “Hello. Who are you?”

“Hi, ma’am. My name’s Damon. I’m Charlie’s friend.” He respectfully extends his hand to shake hers.

She ushers him inside as she says, “I’m Vivian Thatcher, but you can call me Vivian. It’s nice of Charlotte to invite a special friend to celebrate our big day. I’m sorry she didn’t tell us you were coming.”

I try to say, “I’m sor—”

“She can be quite the forgetful one,” my mother interrupts.

She seems to miss it, enamored by Damon’s gorgeous smile, but I notice the tick in his jaw from her comment and clear disdain for me in her voice. “It was meant to be a surprise. Thank you for allowing me to crash, Vivy. ” She grimaces at the nickname for only a fraction of a moment before returning to a rehearsed smile. Damon doesn’t miss a beat. “ Your daughter is such an amazing woman. I had to see what forged such a strong and fierce person.” A snort bubbles up and escapes my lips. My mom flashes me a glare that anyone else would have missed. But having Damon here helps me not shrivel from her gaze.

“You’re too kind, Day. ” I enunciate his favorite nickname to say thank you for all he did in that short time without needing to spell it out. “My mother definitely had a lot to do with how I was forged. ”

Vivian Thatcher smiles at us, not realizing how sarcastic we’re being. “Charlotte has definitely gone very far with my guidance.” Yes, Mother, straight to becoming a serial killer to cope. Mother of the Year you are.

Damon smiles brightly at her. “Is there anything I can help with?”

“I think we’re basically done here. The bartender won’t be here for another hour.” She gestures to the bar area. “But Charlotte can fix you a drink.”

“How about I fix you both something instead? This place looks amazing.” He takes in the backyard. I must admit, it does look amazing. You would think this was a second wedding with how big my parents decided to go. There are string lights and floral accents throughout the backyard, stark white linens with lilac and light green accents everywhere. “You ladies deserve a break. Any preferences, Vivy ?”

She looks like she ate something sour, but she’s refusing to correct him. “I don’t like anything too sweet,” she says.

“I’m not surprised. I know just what to make you then.” Damon winks at her which instantly makes her smile return. She is definitely getting whiplash from her feelings about him.

“Let me help you,” I say as we both make our way to the bar area in the back corner.

Once out of ear shot, Damon says, “Well she’s as bad as I imagined.”

I purse my lips together. “And this is her on her best behavior. Now you know why I didn’t want you to come.” His smile falters. “But I am so freaking glad you’re here,” I say as I put my hand on his arm. “Truly, thank you.”

Damon’s smile returns even brighter. “I’m glad I was able to come. ”

“Speaking of which, how on earth did you know where my parents lived?” I ask.

“Some clever sleuthing. I’m not just a pretty face, you know.” He grabs the cocktail shaker and whiskey glass, juggling them once before he winks at me.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Makes one bomb-ass milkshake and he won’t shut up about it.” I smile warmly at him.

“I asked Reid to find it for me. He’s one of our go-to tech wizards,” he says as his eyebrows crease in concentration. He pours simple syrup into both the shaker and whiskey glass. Damon even sticks his tongue out at times as he continues to make the drinks, making flutters explode in my stomach and chest.

“So you were planning to ignore me saying not to come the whole time?” I ask, enamored by his process of muddling the mint with everything, making his muscles flex.

“Yes and no. I wanted to leave you the open option, which woulda been harder to do if I stayed back home. The ball was always in your court. If you didn’t want me here then I woulda respected that, but something told me you would change your mind.”

I guess I wasn’t as stealthy with my emotions as I thought. He could read me like an open book.

“I hope one day you’ll understand that if you need me, I’m there. I’ll always be there for you, gem.”

My breath hitches in my throat as tears flood my eyes. “I think I’ll always need you,” I admit and take a deep breath before bravely adding, “Want you.”

His eyes meet mine as he continues to shake the cocktail, and his tongue seductively traces his lip. “I guess we’re choosing not to pretend right now?”

“You’ve earned some honesty with the kindness you’ve shown me. ”

“Well, if we’re being honest. You may have ruined all other women for me because I think I’ll always need and want you too.”

Is it getting hotter out here?

He gives me a shit-eating grin as he passes me my passion fruit mojito. “This will help cool you down, little gem.”

I take the glass and take a sip as the sweetness from the passion fruit and mint explode in perfect unison across my palate. Half the glass is downed within the next moment. “Wow. That’s amazing.”

He smirks at me. “Here, you can have mine too. Let’s go give this old-fashioned to your bitter, old mother.”

“Okay.” I laugh, still focused on my drink.

“Who’s that with Vivy?” he asks. “He looks familiar.”

My heart stops, forcing my feet to stop in their tracks. I don’t dare look up. I chug the rest of my cocktail and grab the one Damon offered out of his hand and guzzle that one too.

“Char?”

“Charlotte!” My mother shouts before I can respond, not that I had a response. “The party hasn’t even started and you’re over here drinking like a floozy. I’m sorry for her manners, Demetri.”

“I’m sorry, Mother,” I say, looking at her forehead.

“Aww, shucks. Let her live, Vivian. She’s young.” You like them young. My uncle leans forward to give me a kiss on the cheek, but Damon’s hand shoots out, stopping him.

“Hello. Demetri, was it? My name’s Damon. I’m Char’s friend.” Even though he’s smiling, I can tell he is asserting himself as my protector. My heart constricts as no one has ever stood up for me like this before. Especially not with my uncle.

I’ve finally worked up the courage to tell my mother what my uncle has been doing to me for years. She has to understand, right? She’ll help me—save me from this demon. I look up hopefully at my mother as the last words come tumbling out of my mouth. “Please, Mother, make it stop.”

She wipes the tears from my cheeks, making my stomach flip thinking that this has to be the moment we finally bond, that she will be that loving mother I’ve always wanted. “You look ugly when you cry. Wipe these fake crocodile tears up.”

My heart shatters in my chest with each shard stabbing my lungs, making it difficult to breathe. There’s absolutely no one I can rely on in this world. “Mother,” I croak out.

“Stop it, Charlotte! This is a clear, blatant lie to get more attention,” she screams at me. But her voice shakes, and it never shakes.

“Mother?” I ask. Our eyes meet, and I can tell that there is mild guilt hidden deep behind the emerald eyes we share.

She takes a deep breath before saying, “Stop spreading lies. Disgusting behavior like this is why no one is ever going to be able to love you.” She abruptly stands up as I see fear and tears in her own eyes.

I clutch my throw blanket closer to me, not knowing what else to say. My body feels numb to the point that even my tears dry up.

“I am so ashamed to be your mother.”

My uncle takes him in, smirking, clearly seeing the challenge. I can tell the immediate disdain they have for each other with how hard their muscles flex as they shake each other’s hands.

“Glad to see Charlotte is making friends in her new town . ” I’ve lived there for over two years and he’s acting like I just moved there. “She was such a shy little thing when she was younger. Never wanted to leave her room. Isn’t that right?” I visibly cringe, remembering my childhood. “That all changed in high school though, when she started making more friends .”

“It’s nice to have close friendships. People who would kill for you because they want to keep you safe.” He looks at my mother as he hands over her drink. “Figuratively speaking of course. Seems like she didn’t have the right kind of company growing up.”

Hearing him defend me helps me find my voice. Usually, I avoid them both at these events. “It’s been nice to grow and find my forever friends. I’m definitely not the same scared girl I was as a child, or even the na?ve one I was as a young teen.”

“Clearly, you’ve blossomed into a strong woman. I would drink to that, but I don’t have anything yet.” Demetri looks down to my mother.

“I’ll get you a beer. We got your favorite exported one.” She scrambles towards the bar. I often wonder if she got the same treatment as I did from my uncle when they were growing up. And if she had acknowledged my assault, that would mean acknowledging her own. Not that it would ever make what I went through or how she treated me okay, but her also potentially being a survivor of some trauma with my uncle would make more sense than the idea of a mother not caring for her child. Iron fills my mouth as I realize I’m chewing my cheek raw from this interaction.

“What do you do, Demetri? You look awfully familiar,” Damon asks with an intrigued look.

“Oh, you may have seen me from time to time on Dauntless Dashers Airlines commercials. I’m the owner. It unfortunately makes me travel for work.” Fortunately . “ I rarely get to see my family. This is a treat.”

“I’m not sure if that’s it,” Damon says. And most definitely not a treat.

“Charlotte!” I hear my dad’s voice call out.

I instantly feel even more relaxed. While my father and I aren’t super close, he and I share a disdain for my uncle. But as my mother wanted, he never found out what happened. Uncle Demetri tended to be on better behavior and avoided me whenever my dad was around.

“Hi, Daddy. Happy anniversary,” I say, smiling as I hug him. I feel my mother’s eyes boring into my neck before she runs over now that she sees my father is here.

He kisses my cheek before turning to my mother and planting a quick peck. “Hi, honey. Demetri.” He gives a brief nod in his direction.

“Daddy, I want you to meet Damon. He’s a close friend.”

Damon reaches out his hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

My dad smiles as he shakes his hand. “Nice to meet you too, young man.”

“Sweetheart, let’s get you changed into the t—” my mother starts to say.

“I can dress myself, thank you, Vivian.” His face is light and smiling, but his tone is clipped. “I’ll be right back. I definitely want to learn more about you, Damon.”

Damon grins. “Looking forward to it, sir.”

My parents walk towards the house, and Uncle Demetri decides to go find the beer my mother never brought him. I turn towards Damon and roll my eyes. “Everyone seems to fall straight in love with you.”

“Many can say the same about you, my little gem.”

I bite my lip as I stare into his twinkling eyes.

He breaks the heated silence by smirking at me before saying, “Come on, Char. Let me get a look into your life. I want to know everything about you.”

I smile warmly at him. “Okay. I know just where to start.” I’ve never wanted someone to know me more than this man at this moment.