The rest of the flight I spent wrapped in blankets in my seat, trying to ignore the pain, both in my head and in my heart.

I had my eyes closed the entire time and I didn’t look at Damien anymore. All I wanted was to leave this plane and go to sleep and try to forget all of this.

Fortunately for us, Charlie had fallen asleep about twenty minutes after take-off, after his excitement had eased off and he didn’t wake up until 5 minutes before the landing. As soon as the plane started to go down, the pressure on my head eased off and all that was left was the pure exhaustion and my headache.

It felt like the hangover I had after waking up in Damien’s apartment.

Just about 100 times worse.

When the plane had landed I got up and grabbed my purse immediately. I couldn’t wait to finally breathe fresh air and even Charlie seemed to have noticed that something was off between me and Damien, but he didn’t say anything and just grabbed my hand, yawning.

He didn’t say anything about my red eyes either, but maybe he had just become used to seeing me like this which made me even more miserable.

I still felt a little shaky and from time to time my vision turned blurry, but the worst part was over, so I was able to make it out of the plane and back to the airport without any more incidents.

Damien had grabbed the duffle bag, as it was our carry-on and hadn’t needed to get checked in, and walked next to me, his hand on my back so I wouldn’t stumble and fall. I was too tired to complain and that way I at least didn’t have to think about where we needed to go and whenever I got dizzy again. I squeezed Charlie’s hand tighter so he wouldn’t get lost in the crowd. The airport was busy as many were traveling over the weekend.

Damien guided us towards the exit. Didn’t we have to rent a car or something? Like Damien had read my thoughts he said: “Someone is picking us up.”

I couldn’t help but think that maybe, if my face hadn’t been so battered and Damien hadn’t looked like he was about to hit someone, one could have thought we were just a happy, young, normal family going on a vacation.

The car that waited for us was a black SUV with tinted windows.

The driver was a young man, maybe a little older than Damien, and he leaned casually against the car with crossed arms and sunglasses on, even though it was already dark outside.

“Man, I thought you were never going to show up.”, he said and rolled his eyes but then he saw me and Charlie, and he grinned.

“It is a pleasure to finally meet both of you. Everyone is waiting for you guys.”, he said with a wide smile and took his sunglasses off and offered me his hand. Perplex I took a step forward and shook it.

“Hi.”, I said, and he frowned when he was able to get a better look at my face.

“Damn, girl. Damien said you had a little dispute with your ex, but you look rough.” I flushed, not knowing what to say to such a straightforward statement.

Damien shot him a dark look. “Shut up, Jared.”, he said, and the other guy laughed.

“Or what? You’ll fire me? I hate to break it to you, but I don’t work for you anymore and I am only playing your little chauffeur because I am such a good friend and because I wanted to meet these two. I mean they are practically family now. And now you better get in. Your mom and sister are literally going to kill me if I don’t show up with you in the next…”, he took a look at his fancy golden watch, “… 30 minutes. So, let’s go.”

Damien got in at the front while Charlie and I sat down on the backrow of the car and when the doors all finally closed there was silence again while Jared started the car and we drove off.

Now that we were in the car and I finally had a chance to calm down a little after the eventful flight and my headache was coming back after I had been trying to ignore it while we had rushed through the airport. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the cool window while Charlie got more and more active the closer we got to Manhattan.

Every street corner he saw something new and he couldn’t stop pressing his nose against the window and admiring the tall skyscrapers, the fancy cars, and the blinking lights everywhere.

It was too adorable, but I was so exhausted from all the crying, vomiting and having to endure the pain in my head and chest, that I fell asleep at least 5 times on the ride, even though just a couple of hours I had been too nervous about meeting his family to even think of sleeping.

I really didn’t mean to but somehow my eyes kept shutting.

My whole body felt weak and my arms were just dangling at my sides like I didn’t even have control over them anymore when we finally got out of the car.

Every single cell in my body seemed to be refusing to get up but I still hauled myself out of the car.

When Damien put his arm around me to push me into the right direction I didn’t even have the will to pull back. I had been planning on ignoring him just the way he had done with me, but it looked like that plan had to wait until tomorrow.

We had stopped in front of a huge high-rise building with beautiful architecture in what seemed to be Midtown Manhattan.

There were only a couple of steps leading towards the what had to be the biggest entry doors I had ever seen but after I had reached the final step my heart was racing like I had ran an entire marathon.

Jared had grabbed the duffle bag and my purse for me, but he handed it the concierge that was holding the door open for us as soon as we entered the building. The concierge nodded and gave all of us a friendly gaze before he took off with our luggage.

Charlie gasped in awe and turned around looking at the painted ceilings that had to be taller that our entire home in Pittsburgh.

“I’ll give you a full house tour tomorrow, I promise buddy, but everyone is waiting, and your mom is really tired. Are you ready to go?”, Damien asked, and Charlie looked at me for a second.

Charlie nodded and grabbed Damien’s hand and we entered the elevator. Jared had left already, and I hadn’t even noticed it.

Maybe he wanted to escape the wrath of Damien’s mother and sister because it had definitely taken us more than 30 minutes to get here. Traffic had been terrible.

The elevator moved so fast and smooth that I didn’t even noticed we had stopped already until the doors opened.

Apparently the loft spread over the entire width of the building because when we stepped out of the elevator we had already entered the apartment.

“Mom, dad! They are here!”, I heard a someone scream and the next moment a tall, beautiful, dark haired girl stormed in our direction.

She had to be Damien’s sister as she couldn’t have been much older than me. 3 other people came up behind her, a younger guy around my age, and a man and a woman who had to be Damien’s parents.

The girl who had stopped a couple of feet away from us looked at Charlie, then at me and then she looked at Damien.

“Is that them?”, she asked squealing and the younger guy who was now standing behind her rolled his eyes.

“Of course, it is them, Clary, who else would it be? Just some strangers he picked up on his way here?”, he responded ironically and the girl casted him a deadly look.

“That was a rhetorical question, but of course you wouldn’t know that because you failed your English Literature class.”, she snorted, and the younger guy growled.

“If I remember correctly, you were the one who-”, he started but we didn’t get a chance to find out whether he remembered correctly because Damien’s father who seemed to radiate so much authority and sway that I instantly felt the urge to stand up a little straighter, spoke up.

“Enough, the two of you. I really thought that all of you would stop behaving like teenagers as soon as you get older, but it only seems to be getting worse.”, he said and he sounded definitive but I still heard a little amusement in his voice.

I shifted and tried to come loose from Damien’s tight grip. I didn’t have to make an even worse first impression. After a few seconds he let go and I instantly took a step back from him.

My legs felt wobbly, but I managed to stand up straight.

“Anyway… It is so great to finally meet the two of you.”, Damien’s mother said with a bright smile and she bended down to Charlie who was hiding behind Damien’s leg, a little confused about what was going on.

“Damien told us so much about you. And you have his eyes too, you know? We were so excited when we heard that you and your mom would be visiting us and I know this must all be a little overwhelming for you but we thought that we could maybe get you a little welcome present.”, she told him and grabbed a red box from the ancient looking chest of drawers next to her and handed it to Charlie.

He looked at me with big eyes.

“Go ahead.”, I said and carefully he opened the box. Inside was a caramel colored teddy bear with a big blue bow and dark beady eyes.

“His name Oscar. Your great grandfather gave it to your dad when he was around your age we are all too busy to take care of him so I thought maybe you would like to do that for us.”, she said with a smile and Charlie took Oscar out of the box and looked at him for a few seconds before he pressed him to his chest.

“I am an expert when it comes to teddy bears. I can take care of him.”, he claimed proudly, and I smiled a little.

“I am sure you will. And you will also have your own bedroom here so you can come visit us whenever you like. Do you want to see your room? Damien told us that you love cars, so we decorated a little. Your uncle Graham can show you.”, she said and at the word cars, Charlie’s eyes lit up.

“Can I go mommy?”, he begged, and I nodded.

“Sure. I’ll be waiting here.”

Graham seemed a little reluctant to leave and he crossed his arms and one of his sleeves slid up and revealed a tattoo on his right arm.

Curiously, I tried to read what was written there with black ink. The font was in cursive, but I could tell it was Latin. I could only see part of the tattoo.

It said -am inveniam aut faciam.

When he realized I was staring at his tattoo, he pulled his sleeve down again and when he saw Charlie’s excited face he grinned down at him.

“Then let’s go little guy.”, he said and led him up the spiral staircase at the end of the large hallway. When they had disappeared, the woman turned to me.

Unlike everyone else’s in the family, her eyes were the color of dark chocolate instead of blue, and they radiated warmth and kindness.

Kindness I probably didn’t deserve.

“First of all, I just want to say that I am so sorry. I really didn’t mean to hurt anyone or keep Charlie away from all of you. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I realized that I was wrong and-”

Damien’s mother pulled me into a hug.

While she squeezed me and the pain in my chest was back all of the sudden. I winced but I was so perplexed that I didn’t move.

A hug was the last thing I had been expecting.

“Mom you are hurting her.”, Damien interfered, and his mother let go with a gasp. “You are right. I am so sorry, I was just so excited to finally meet you and…”, she stopped and stared at my face that I had been keeping low, in shock as if she would truly look at me for the first time.

Damien stepped forward and grabbed my shoulders to keep me from stumbling while I took a deep breath.

“No, you are fine. It was just sort of a rough flight.”, I admitted with a lump in my throat and I wondered if my eyes were still red and swollen from all the crying. Or if I still smelled like vomit.

I hoped not.

“You poor thing. Damien told us what happened but-”, she stopped talking again but I knew what she had wanted to say. She hadn’t thought that it would be this bad.

“It’s okay. It is really no big deal.”, I played it down and tried to smile but I couldn’t. Nothing was okay. But it would be as soon as Charlie got better, I kept telling myself.

“It is a bid deal. But we can discuss all of this tomorrow though. Ally and Charlie should both get a good night of sleep.”, Damien said and for the once I actually agreed with him.

“I can take her to the guest bedroom.”, the girl offered, and Damien’s father nodded.

“That would be good. And maybe take Charlie to her room as well, I am sure he loves his new room, but he probably wants to spend the night with his mother. This must all be confusing and new to him.”, he said and casted me a little smile.

When I stepped forward, I stumbled a little, but Clary linked our arms as if that were what she had planned all along and guided me towards the end of the hallway. I looked up the staircase, but Clary shook her head.

“Your room is down here, don’t worry.”, she smiled and I casted her a thankful look.

We turned into another corridor and she opened one of the doors and pulled me in carefully.

“This is your room. I will go get Charlie.”, she said, and I didn’t even have a chance to thank her because as soon as I had set down on the bed she had already disappeared through the door.

The room was beautiful but as soon as I felt the soft linen under my fingers the tiredness overwhelmed me, and I barely had the strength to take my shoes off before I laid down. I didn’t even have time to wonder how in the word our duffle bag and my purse were already neatly put on a table in the back of the room, because as soon as my head hit the pillow I was already asleep.

When I woke up the next morning the sun was already shining brightly through the windows. Somebody had taken off my jacket and pulled the blanket over me. I looked to my right, but Charlie wasn’t there, but I saw his clothes laying on the floor. I grunted and then I slowly got up, and I was almost surprised how well rested I felt.

The headache was almost gone and for the what felt like the first time in days, breathing didn’t hurt as bad anymore.

The dizziness was gone as well, and I yawned while I slowly sat up. My fingers brushed over the heavy beige blanket and the fabric felt soft and expensive.

The queen sized bed I had been sleeping in stood next to the door and I noticed the beautiful view the room had over the Central Park. Then I looked up to the tall white ceilings and then to the long, heavy white curtains that reached all the way down to the light parquet flooring.

The old wooden desk with our stuff on there and the chair in front of it, were made out of the same dark wood and style as the large closet.

There was also another large, white door with curved metal door handle. The whole place seemed to be more classic and vintage than Damien’s apartment, and it was oddly cozy, despite the huge size of it.

I walked across the room and opened the other door before turned on the light. In front of me was a beautiful marble bathroom with a big clawfoot bathtub, a nice shower, and a large vanity with two washbasins, a little chair, and a huge mirror.

There was no window, but it was still gorgeous, and the lighting was perfect, not too bright but light enough to do your makeup or to read a book while enjoying a hot bubble bath.

That reminded me of the fact that I probably still smelled like vomit.

I really wanted to go check on Charlie, but he was probably just playing somewhere and the Black’s, except for Damien of course, seemed to be a really nice family, a family that probably was trying to make up for some of the lost time with Charlie right now, I reminded myself and instantly felt my guilty conscience returning.

Now, that I was awake and not as exhausted anymore, I had time to think about what Damien had said yesterday, he had told me to stay away from him and his family.

It hurt, but more than that it made me furious.

He had almost kissed me!

And now he was telling me about his oh-so-dark-secret even though the only reason was probably because he needed a reason to continue ignoring me.

But I could play that game too… after I had taken a long, hot shower.

My gaze glided towards the pile of super-soft looking white terry towels on the vintage vanity, together with a few bottles of really expensive looking shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion.

They had thought of everything and that made me feel even worse for what I did to them but for once I forgot about my bad conscience and locked the door behind me.

I got rid of my dirty, smelling clothes and opened my bun and let my hair fall down.

It almost reached past my mid-back because I had been too busy to get it cut in the past moths and I didn’t even really want to cut it, despite the fact that it took forever to dry.

Lainey had always liked my hair long because that way she could practice her braiding on me. In the beginning it had always looked terrible, but I had been so proud on it that I had worn her hairstyles everywhere.

I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. My ribs were still bruised and in all kinds of shades of blue, green, and yellow, but they looked a lot better than they had in the beginning and the bruising in my face had faded to an olive green.

I stepped inside the shower and enjoyed the hot water running down my skin. I used a ton of the shampoo and conditioner, and of the body wash as well.

They all smelled like a mixture between strawberry and vanilla and I couldn’t get enough of them.

I had to be careful with the wound on the back of my head and it burned like hell when I washed my hair but it was bearable and when I started massaging my the sore skin of my scalp the pain and pressure on the stitched wound eased off.

Eventually my fingers started to get wrinkly because of all the hot water.

I stepped outside the shower onto the shower mat that was matching the towels that I wrapped around my body and my head.

When I looked into the mirror again my skin was glowing, and my cheeks were rosy from the hot water which made me look healthier and more alive.

I dried my hair with the towel the best I could and then I walked back into my room to get dressed. I picked out a comfy white sweater and blue stretchy jeans, together with some underwear and socks and put all of it on before grabbing my phone, but without looking at it.

I put it in my pocket and took a deep breath before opening the door towards the hallway.