Hey guys^^

I was alone at the apartment when I woke up.

C

lary, Mrs Black and Charlie were at the playground which I found out through a text that Clary had sent me.

Mrs Black had mentioned an important meeting yesterday evening, that both Mr Black and Damien would be attending so I didn’t have to worry about my forthcoming encounter with Damien yet, even though I knew that it would only be delayed by a couple of hours because this afternoon would be Charlie’s appointment at the hospital, which I knew he wouldn’t miss.

Clary’s message also contained a short apology on why they hadn’t woken me up. It had been Mrs Black who had insisted on me getting some more rest and when I looked in the mirror I silently thanked her for it because sleep really did work wonders in my case.

The swelling was completely gone, and my jaw hardly hurt anymore, even though it was still green and purple a little. And breathing as well, was so easy that I almost forgot that my ribs were still broken. I looked nothing like the wreck I had arrived as two nights ago.

With some of makeup I would easily be able to hide the bruising that was still left.

When I realized that it was already half past ten -and Clary had informed me they would be back by 11-, I quickly changed into some clothes that were more appropriate than my nightgown, that didn’t even reach my midthighs.

I had just washed my face and finished covering up my bruises as best as I possibly could when I heard the pling of the elevator down the two corridors.

Quickly I checked my mirror image again. The bruise was still partially visible, and I regretted only buying the cheap makeup from Walmart, but this would have to do it for now.

Excited to meet the others, I made my way down the corridors but when I reached the large hallway leading towards the elevator, it wasn’t Charlie, Mrs Black and Clary standing in the hallway.

It was a tall, beautiful girl that I had never seen before in my entire life. She had smooth, olive toned skin and light brown, wavy hair and her green, piercing eyes were fixed on me. She pursed her pink, full lips and squinted her eyes at me.

“Who are you? Are you a cleaner? I would never let my staff walk around in those rags you are wearing, but oh well. Why don’t you go back to doing your job? But first, tell me where Damien is.”, she sounded disinterested and condescending, but I was so surprised that I couldn’t help but just stare at her without answering.

This had to be Talia, Damien’s girlfriend.

And I hated to admit it, but she was so much prettier than me.

Her body was perfectly shaped, and her short skirt was showing off her curves, but she didn’t look slutty or like she was trying too hard, like all the girls at my old high school or at college.

Her makeup was subtle, and her rosy cheeks made her look rather lovely. No wonder that Damien wanted to keep me away from everybody. He was probably embarrassed that he had slept with someone like me, even if it was just a one night stand.

Next to this girl, I looked plain and dull, and it wasn’t just because I was wearing these rags.

When I didn’t answer, she rolled her eyes at me and started gesturing with her hands and even while doing that, she looked like an angel. But all it took for her to completely destroy that image, was for her to open her mouth again.

“Hello? Do you speak English? I don’t have all day. He wasn’t at his apartment and he doesn’t answer his phone either, even though he promised we would meet up today. But that is none of your business anyway. Don’t just stand there looking like a mentally-underdeveloped dwarf. Tell me where he is.”

Finally, I was able to catch myself and shook my head slightly to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. But my vision remained clear and all that changed was the girls face expression. It went from condescending to annoyed to furious.

I could understand why Clary couldn’t stand her. I had barely spent a minute with her, and I wanted to punch her already, and I usually wasn’t a very violent person.

I cleared my throat and started talking before she could use her sharp, long fingernails to dig them into my skin and tear it open.

“Well, first of all, I do speak English and I do not work for the Blacks. I am a… friend of Clary’s and none of the Blacks are currently here. And Damien hasn’t been home since yesterday already. So, you are looking at the wrong place. And I doubt he will come here anytime soon either.”, I said and now my astonishment was turning into vexation.

Who did she think she was?

She ignored most of what I said and just rolled her eyes again before carefully observing her perfectly manicured fingernails for at least half a minute like she had all the time in the world, then she suddenly seemed to remember me and looked up again, sighing.

“Clary’s taste in friends is even worse than I thought. I mean, where did you get those clothes? From a dumping ground? But anyway, go look for Damien and tell him he is to call me immediately. And if you are already at it, why don’t you get me a cappuccino while I am waiting for him?”

She almost sounded disgusted in the end. She obviously wasn’t used to being left waiting. I was sure she was one of those girls that thought the whole world revolved around her.

I clenched my fists, trying not to jump at her at tear her hair out. How could anyone be so rude? The sweater I was wearing had been a gift from my mom and her tone made me so furious that I wanted to scream.

I forced myself to take a deep breath through my gritted teeth.

“Where I got my clothes is none of your business. And like I said before, I do not work for the Blacks, and I don’t work for you either. If you need to talk to Damien you should go look for him yourself. And if he doesn’t answer his phone, maybe he just doesn’t want to talk to you. And the coffee machine is in the kitchen. Help yourself.”, I hissed and turned away but faster than I could even realize it, she had stepped forward, and grabbed my wrist so hard that I almost yelped out in pain.

“I wouldn’t talk to me like that if I were you. You have absolutely no idea what I am capable of.”

Her voice was low and threatening and suddenly her angelic face seemed fierce and unflinching, almost dangerous, but I just forced myself to remain calm and not pull back, even though my heart anxiously started beating faster.

When I didn’t answer her grip tightened and I bit my lip to not cry out in pain. Suddenly I also remembered the rumors about her.

The daughter of a mafia boss, I thought to myself.

Only a minute ago I would have laughed at myself for even considering something as stupid as this. At first sight she had just seemed like a rich little princess that was just too full of herself to care about anybody or anything else than herself.

Now, I wasn’t so sure of that anymore and I wished I wouldn’t have been alone in this apartment with her. Still, I forced myself to smile. I had been through worse and I wouldn’t let Damien’s crazy girlfriend mess with my head too.

Damien was doing a terrific job on his own, so Talia was probably the least of my problems.

“You can’t scare me that easily.”, I said, therefore.

I pulled my arm back with all strength that I had and turned around, returning to my room and the last thing I heard before shutting the door behind me, was how the elevators opened, then closed, again, and then, Talia was gone.

I had decided that not telling anyone about my encounter with Talia would be the best for now. It would just infuriate Clary and there was no point in upsetting anyone.

Damien would be meeting us at the hospital, as he informed his parents only half an hour before the appointment.

I didn’t want to talk to him, or even be in the same room with him, but I knew that I would have to because I still wasn’t sure what exactly his plan with me was. He had offered me an apartment earlier in Pittsburg, but that had been before he had told me to stay away from him.

I clenched my teeth even thinking about asking Damien for help, but I didn’t have a choice. I would have to swallow my ego for now.

Right now, it was Charlie who I needed to worry about, not me.

And also, I needed a life of my own, I couldn’t stay with the Black’s forever, even though both Mrs and Mr Black had offered me and Charlie to stay here for as long as we wanted to.

It was, I had assured them, a very generous offer, but one that I would have to decline. I needed to be independent, even though that didn’t mean I would do what Damien had wanted me to do.

I would not let Damien decide how I would live my life, or who would be in it.

I liked Clary and her parents, and Damien would not stop me from continuing to see them. We had even planned on going out next weekend when Charlie would be staying with Damien.

I had told her about Celia, and I was sure, that they would get along great, so we were going to have a girl’s night as soon as Celia had settled in here in New York.

But again, first I had to find a job.

I knew Damien had offered me a job at his dad’s company, but again, that had been before he had decided that he didn’t want to have anything to do with me anymore.

But this was New York and I was almost certain that I would find a job, even without Damien’s help and even if I would have to work as a waitress again.

I had pulled the sleeves of my sweater as far down as possible to cover the bruising on my wrist when the others came back. I would have been impressed with Talia’s strength had if I hadn’t been so shocked and angry about her sudden appearance and her behavior. And I also couldn’t stop myself from thinking about the rumors. But these rumors were ridiculous, they just couldn’t be true.

When Mrs Black saw me, she smiled brightly.

“You look great dear. Are you feeling better?”, she asked, and I nodded and smiled back at her thankfully.

“A lot better, thank you.”, I replied, forcing myself to ban Talia and Damien from my mind.

Charlie hugged my legs, even though I was fairly short, he barely reached by belly button. Charlie was small for his age, but Doctor Thomas said it was because of the cancer.

His body needed the energy more for the combatting of the tumor rather than for growth, but he was convinced Charlie would make up for the lost height as soon as he would be healthy again. Because he would be. He had to.

Charlie was my whole life. If something happened to him I knew I wouldn’t be able to move on. I kept telling myself that he would be fine even though most of the time it didn’t help.

But I had to be strong for the both of us.

I hugged Charlie despite my aching chest and kissed his rosy cheeks. He laughed but then wiped the kisses away.

“Eww! Mommy, I am too old for this now!”, he yelled in indignation and flushed when we all laughed.

“Really? You are so right, I forgot you were four already. But I guess that means that you are too old for Disney too. And for bedtime stories, teddy bears, piggyback-rides, -”, I started listing but Charlie interrupted me, frowning. He gave me a quick kiss on my cheek as well, as I was still kneeling next to him.

“Okay, fine, but just one kiss from now on.” he said very seriously and pulled Oscar from his backpack, pressing him against his chest.

I smiled and caressed his cheek.

“How very generous of you.”

He seemed to think likewise and grinned in satisfaction.