The last thing Valencia expected was to crash into Damien's life--- literally. Valencia Rodriguez is a sweet, shy, albeit downtrodden girl who was perfectly fine floating through her days. When she gets into a car accident with a biker named Damien, everything changes. Riddled with the guilt of almost costing Damien his life, Valencia agrees to nurse him back to health by living with him for 6 months. But living with an arrogant, handsome stranger might be harder than she expected.
View MoreOkay, I need to admit something— I'm a terrible driver.
Just the worst. Every morning as I'm gripping my steering wheel, knuckles white as ghosts, I curse the unmotivated DMV woman who let me pass my driver's test. The way she flicked that pen on her paper so slowly and carefree, I should've realized that she had already accepted a fate of death getting in that car with me. I really hope she's doing okay regardless. One thing's for sure, though, I'm definitely not okay.
The minute I stepped into my car this morning, something just felt off. It took me an extra 10 minutes to get dressed, adding an extra 10 minutes to my commute. On top of that, my fuel tank was a tick short of empty, so I had to make a stop. On top of that, I had to take a detour due to construction on my daily route. I thought everything that could go wrong had gone wrong.
While bobbing my head to the rhythms of soft classic rock, the warm, flowery breezes of the fresh Spring morning tickled my face through the car window. I inhaled the fragrance with a slight smile. Even if life was proving to be difficult, the small simple things seem to make up for it. The drive to and from work felt like my only moments of solitude.
Rows of cars surrounded me everywhere I looked, and I could a hear an orchestra of car honking behind me. I looked in my side window to see a man on a motorcycle weaving in and out of traffic only inches away from the vehicles waiting. I could hear some people shouting at the provocative way this man cut through. He was intentionally testing their patience, his expensive motorcycle exuding the same arrogance as his movements.
I scoffed. I may not be very good at driving, but I did my best to be courteous on the road. The biker stopped next to me as I sat waiting for the light to turn green. The sun glimmered off of his pitch black helmet and leather jacket. He let the handles of his motorcycle go and leaned back with his head tilted up slightly. Something about the way he bounced from one foot to the other was hypnotizing. He turned to me and gave me a gentle wave. I turned away flustered. I didn't expect him to notice me staring. My intrusive thoughts desperately urged me to leave my car and yank his helmet off like some sort of a Scooby-Doo villain. I shook my head trying to dismiss those thoughts. There was probably an old man under that helmet anyways.
Loud, obnoxious honking broke my thoughts and I suddenly realized traffic in front of me had begun to move quickly. A mix of guilt and adrenaline shot through me and I hit the gas petal much harder than anticipated.
SCREEEEECH
My body jolted forward as sounds of clanging metal and plastic filled the air. My breath caught in my throat and I clamped my eyes closed in anticipation of what's to come. The seatbelt dug into my body until my car came to a halt. When I opened my eyes, I saw debris in the road in front of me and a familiar motorcycle not too far from where I was stopped. No. Oh no. No no no. I unclicked my seatbelt and dashed out of my vehicle. Other than a slight soreness in my chest, I had come
out of this completely unharmed. I couldn't say the same about the man on the bike.He was lying on the road writhing in pain, unable to decide whether he should be swaddling his broken arm or broken leg. His jacket had scraped up pretty badly and his jeans were nearly shredded. He was coughing violently. The smell burning rubber and smoke stung my nose as I exited my vehicle.
I ran over to him in a panic and looked around hoping to see someone stop and help. Everyone was too busy trying to drive around the debris to notice the badly injured person on the ground. The world is a selfish place where people would rather get to work on time than help another human being. But I had no time to linger on that thought. After all, I was the one at fault.
I hovered my hands around him trying to see if there was anything I could do to help. Tears clouded my vision, but I made my way to his helmet and gently pried it off. Instant regret washed over me when I realized I was probably doing more harm than good.
I wanted to see what this man looked like earlier, but I never wanted to this way. He was coughing up blood and seemed completely disoriented. I ran back to my car to grab my phone and frantically dialed 911. It took several seconds to steady my breath enough to finally ask for an ambulance.
_____________________________
Beep... Beep... Beep...
Damien's breathing was steady, rhythmic, soft. That's his name: Damien.
I had accompanied him to the hospital in the ambulance, pretty much leaving everything behind. He was a stranger to me, but I didn't want anyone to get hurt. Seeing a man holding onto his life by a thread was completely, utterly terrifying. Doctor Adams, the one assigned to Damien, informed me that he had no emergency contacts or family members to contact. I stayed with him, of course. I wasn't going anywhere until I knew he was okay.
They had treated all of his injuries, but the severe internal bleeding made Damien exhausted. He had glanced at me very briefly with his eyes half open before being wheeled into a room for treatment.
I looked up at the clock ticking above the door -- midnight. It had been 15 hours since the crash, but it felt like it was only moments ago. I could still hear the grinding of the metal, ear deafening screech, and the wretched coughing as Damien clung onto life.
I looked over at him and admired his long, brown eyelashes draped delicately over his olive-tan skin. He looked to be in his mid-20s, same as me. His dark brown hair was short and slightly tapered in the back with soft curls near the top, nestled messily over his head bandages and into the hospital pillow. His face was jagged and rough with patches of short facial hair here and there and couple of scrapes still left over from the accident.
I had been sitting there anxiously sifting through the barrage of thoughts filling my head. Once Doctor Adams assured me Damien was fine, the financial dread had begun to envelop me. How will I get to work without my car? How will I afford my new insurance rates? The traffic ticket, the deductible, the hospital bills. Damien would surely want to sue me once he wakes up. I nearly cost him his life. A heavy burden had been placed on my shoulders and the first step was to convince this man to have mercy on me. My stomach was in knots thinking about how part of the reason I stayed at his bedside was for my own selfish reasons.
I lay my head down on the edge of the hospital bed.
"I am so fucked," I muttered softly to myself.
"That makes two of us."
I gasped and sat straight up. Damien was looking over at me with a smirk on his face.
"How long have you been awake?"
"Hmm not sure. Opened my eyes and saw the woman that tried to kill me having a pity party next to me."
I looked away in embarrassment. I had rehearsed a thousand times what I would say to him when he woke up, but all of that had disappeared after hearing his voice. It was smooth and a little rough, not too deep but just enough. It was hard to describe, but it's the kind of voice you wouldn't mind listening to for hours.
"Look... I uhh... I'm sorry," I let out a deep breath and looked back over at him, "I'm really really sorry. Driving just isn't my thing and I should've been more careful. Please forgive me. I can't afford to be sued right now. I'm really broke. I'll do anything. Please."
I knew I was rambling but couldn't stop myself. Damien propped up his unbroken arm against the bed and sat himself up with a groan. I reached out to him hoping to offer some sort of assistance, but he shook his head. Instead my eyes gravitated to his biceps as they flexed from his movement. Not the time, Valencia.
"What's your name?"
I hadn't even introduced myself before bombarding him with apologies.
"Valencia Rodriguez, but you can call me Val if you'd like."
"Well, Val, I'm Damien Stathos."
"Yeah I know. The doctor told me..."
"Come closer, Valencia."
The way he said my name sent chills down my spine. No one ever calls me by my full first name. I hesitantly complied and scooted my chair closer to the bed.
"No. Come closer. I want to see the woman that tried to murder me today."
My cheeks grew hot. This guy was clearly messing with me, but the guilt was overbearing. I leaned close enough to where I could almost feel his breath on my face. His hazel eyes were twinkling with mischief. He grabbed a strand of my wavy, black hair and ran it through his fingers.
"You said you would do anything right?"
"Y-yeah," I stuttered out. He flashed me a grin.
"Come live with me."
Six Months Later: "Come on, we're going to be late." I ushered Damien out against his protests and shut the door behind me. "I think I forgot something inside." He turned to open the door. I swatted his hand away and narrowed my eyes. "Stop stalling. He's waiting for us," I scolded Damien. I pulled on his hand and he followed along, grumbling the entire time. Once we arrived at the apartment parking garage, his whole demeanor changed. "Hi Betsy. How are we this fine evening?" Damien asked, his eyes sparkling. I stared at the motorcycle in front of me that was repaired long ago, just waiting for Damien's leg to heal. Sometimes I felt like he loved 'Betsy' more than me, but I'm not sure I want to find out. I'm still deathly afraid of driving, so I avoid it as much as I can. Sometimes I drive for longer trips, but nowadays, we take his motorcycle out everywhere. I don't fully agree with him riding it because I think it's dangerous, but me being behind the wheel might be more dangero
Damien led me through a path, our palms separating from the sweat pooling between them. The sun shone brightly and a thick humidity hugged us as we walked. The lake loomed over the distance, ripples sparkling from the sunlight like diamonds hitting the water. An occasional breeze cascaded from the water to us, sending a warm, floral scent in our direction. Most would consider this a perfect Summer day, but all I could worry about was ruining my new dress with sweat.Before we left the hotel room, Damien had pulled out a pink, floral sundress with the shortest skirt I had ever seen, off-shoulder ruffled sleeves, and laces at the front. It was a lot more feminine than what I usually wore, but I loved it nonetheless. He beamed as he explained how Ron helped him pick it out for me, and he insisted that I wear it before 'the thing' he has planned. I still hadn't met this Ron, but at least he had good taste. I eyed him suspiciously at first, unaware of his intentions, but put it on after so
Damien's in time out for the embarrassment I had to face in front of his online friends. There's not much I can do to really punish him, but I have continued sleeping on the pull-out couch against his protests and resisted every move he made on me. Every time I saw his muscular frame and attractive, heart stopping smile, I wanted to rip his clothes off. After awhile, I didn't know what I was even punishing him for, as my resilience began to falter.Part of me was relieved they were random strangers on the internet, and I would never have to face them in person. But I started suspecting that wasn't fully the case after a few awkward interactions with Matthew. I constantly ran into him even though our last meeting seemed like a forever farewell, but we were neighbors. It was simply unavoidable. Every time I greeted him with a friendly wave, he would look down, trying his best to avoid eye contact. The uneasy aura lingering in the elevator ride up with him was the last straw."Matthew, w
"My debt is paid off? What do you mean? I still have 3 months left."Damien cleared his throat and took a deep breath like he was about to drop a bombshell."I got the hospital bill a few weeks ago. My insurance had it reduced severely and covered most of it. I only ended up paying about $600 out of pocket, and you essentially paid that off in your first month," he explained.I was stunned. Both from finding out Damien hid this from me and that an insurance company in America actually did what they were supposed to."Why didn't you tell me?" I asked gently. Surprisingly, I didn't feel upset or angry. I actually felt a little proud of myself. He obviously kept this from me for a reason, most likely selfish ones. But from his words, I gathered he wanted to keep me around as long as possible. I placed my finger up to my mouth to hide the smile forming on my lips. Damien rubbed the nape of his neck uncomfortably."I just... I didn't want you to leave," he mumbled."Why not?" I asked, inch
Sunlight streamed through the large panes of glass covering the outer wall of the apartment. My eyelids flickered open only to close again as a reaction to the bright beam shining directly upon us. I propped myself up on my elbows, squinting around the room to adjust to my surroundings.Damien lay next to me, one leg hanging off the bed and the other resting comfortably on a crumpled up bedsheet. His arm was tucked under his head and wisps of hair hung messily around his forehead. I turned to face him, immediately feeling pain shoot through my body. Damien looked so peaceful with his long eyelashes draped over his cheeks and his palm resting on his heart. No one would ever guess that this man was named Damien for a reason-- he was the true spawn of the devil.Four times. That's how many times we kept going. I thought my body was going to break. If I hadn't passed out after the fourth, it would have been five. I'm not sure how anyone could maintain that level of stamina, but I was exha
Plates, forks, napkins... cups? Do we have enough cups? I scurried from one cupboard to another searching frantically for cups. Damien seemed to only own 5 cups, but I guess I couldn't blame him since he was living alone for years.I looked around at the nearly full blown party that emerged within a few hours. Although Damien's studio was gigantic for the two of us, it hardly contained the 15+ people that were within its walls. Some people had moved to the balcony to get away from the tight group of people. The amount of people, not too large, was still enough to heighten my nerves."Are you okay? What are you searching for?" Matthew asked, leaning over the small island counter in the kitchen."Cups," I hissed, fanning myself with my hands.I didn't enjoy large groups of people, and I could tell by Damien's narrowed eyes that he didn't either. Then why is he hosting a party, you ask? He's not.Word got around the building fast that Damien got his cast off. Many people cheered him on w
Tension between us hung thick and tangible in the air surrounding us. Damien seemed uncomfortable around me, probably as a reaction to my outburst. It had been a few days, and we exchanged only polite small talk with each other from time to time.Damien had become more independent the longer we were uneasy with each other. It seemed like it was easier for him to suffer through tasks than face the awkward situation we were both in.Nervousness crept in my stomach when I looked at him. His next appointment with his doctor was a big one because he was getting his cast off. He won't have full mobility, of course. But the thought of him no longer needing me felt like a punch in the gut. I was hanging onto every moment of us together, and my worst fear of growing apart was coming true.Summer was in full swing with temperatures climbing everyday. Still, I spent my nights on the balcony, embracing the loneliness I felt. I stood against the railing of the balcony, feeling the cold metal again
"You're back," Damien said with a warm smile. He was sitting on the sofa with his injured leg resting on the coffee table. He had a controller in his hand and his headset on. This was the first time I caught him doing something besides work, and it was a surprisingly refreshing sight to behold.I put down my things, catching Damien staring from my peripheral. He was gaping at me, committing the way my new dress hugged me to memory."You look... different," he said softly. I couldn't help but notice his breath caught in his throat as he said those words. His gaze was burning me up.I felt a familiar guilt gnawing at me when I remembered what I did to get this dress. How can I possibly explain that I spent his money on such a frivolous purchase as if owing him thousands of dollars already wasn't enough? I walked over shyly, preparing myself to tell him the truth.An item on the coffee table distracted me from my mission. Next to Damien's leg was a small cactus about the size of my hand
It was hard to focus on chores when my head was entirely filled with Damien. The way he pressed his lips against mine so delicately, the soft way he sighed after, and the dreamy look in his eyes. When we finally pulled away from each other, he turned away quickly."I should get back to work," he said while clearing his throat. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair while avoiding eye contact with me and did so until I left the apartment.I bit my bottom lip and daydreamed about being in Damien's arms all day. I was so caught up in my own fantasies that I hadn't noticed I was hugging a carton of eggs like my life depended on it, cracking a few in the process. I gasped and looked down at the mess I made.Slimy egg whites ran down my t-shirt and shorts then onto the floor, just barely missing my shoes. I looked around frantically to make sure no one noticed, but a small family had been staring at me for some time. I groaned loudly, not caring if I attracted any more attention. I somehow a
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