Mine for the Year

Chapter 24

I laid down next to him, stroking his hair softly. Time flew by and Damon woke up again in the afternoon. I fed him some more and made him drink a lot of water before letting him sleep again. Since we were headed back anyway, I packed up most of our stuff.

Before I knew it, it was 9 and I was exhausted. Changing into my shorts and tank, I went to sleep next to Damon when I noticed how much he was sweating.

"Damon," I called him gently, trying to wake him up. When he didn't, I just grabbed another bowl of cold water and a cloth. In between changing the cloth, I fell asleep.

Whimpers woke me up in the middle of the night. I turned to Damon, pushing his hair away from his face, trying to soothe him. He wriggled uncomfortably for a bit before throwing his arm around me and falling back into a deep slumber. I didn't mind because one, it was Damon, and two, it was pretty cold in here.

That's how the next two days went, with me just taking care of him. By the end of the trip, I was exhausted. Damon kept apologizing for ruining my vacation, but I pushed his concerns away. It was the gesture that mattered. Plus, we could do just as many fun things back home.

Lugging our things off the boat, I handed it to Gabe before turning to Damon. Still a little weak, but he was feeling much better now.

This time, we decided that it would probably be safer for Damon to just call the limo. It would save time and we didn't want to bother his parents.

"Oh my god, it's an actual limo!" Ash squealed under her breath. I laughed as I helped Damon in. I couldn't believe how used to this I had gotten over the past 8 months.

Damon grinned weakly at me as he slid into the seat next to me. "How about I make it up to you for this whole mess? Dinner next week, just you and me." I nodded my head slowly. I liked the sound of that.

Gabe shook his head. "Guys, that might not be the best idea." Laney and him had been encouraging Damon and I this entire trip, but I think he was regretting it now.

Damon whipped around to glare at him, while I sighed. I knew he was right, that we should stop before this got any messier, but I couldn't help myself.

"Why not?" Damon demanded to know.

Delaney piped up awkwardly. "Damon, according to you, this is just supposed to be a year long thing. Don't you think you two are getting a bit attached."

"There are no feelings Laney, calm down. Liv and I both know that we're going our separate ways after the year is up. This is just me trying to make up for the shitty vacation she just had to go through." Damon spoke without a hint of hesitation in his voice.

I couldn't look at him. I felt my stomach drop at his words and I was too humiliated to look at anyone else. He couldn't care less about me, he was out at the end of the year. Somehow, I had let myself hope that maybe, just maybe, he would feel the same way. But this was real life, not some stupid book. A girl like me would never get a guy like him.

I gave everyone a soft smile, trying not to look at the pitiful glances they were giving me. "I'm a little tired, I think I'm just going to sleep for the rest of the ride back."

Damon nodded. "Here's a blanket, come lie down here." He pulled me closer to him, and I didn't resist. I probably should have, after what he had just said, but how could I blame him. He was just keeping his end of the deal.

I relaxed into him as I reminded myself that this wasn't going to be forever. In 4 months, I would be gone. As he put it, we're both going our separate ways after this is all over.

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Guys I've been writing a lot recently but I haven't published most of it because it was PERFECT. Then I realized I wanted to share my story with you guys and I could always use your feedback to go back and make edits. So PLEASE use this as a marker and write a few comments about your thoughts on the story, likes, and dislikes. This really motivated me to keep writing, even though it might seem stupid. Feel free to leave constructive criticism!