An Untiled Tragedy [Part 2] Suspicions

II

The school bell rang at the end of the day; a sound that practically lifted the tangible tense atmosphere among the students who now rushed for their lockers, eager to leave. They walked past Damien, hardly noticing he was there. Taking his bag out of his locker, he slung it other his shoulder. From behind him, he heard “oof!” and then received an unpleasant shove.
“Watch it, Reeves,” came the threatening voice of Davey Harlett, the school jock, infamous for his skill of fitting two or more freshmen into a single locker. Davey was the same height and build as Damien, but his blonde hair was cropped short and his cold eyes were a light shade of gray. Damien dropped his bag and turned to face the other boy. He glared at the jock; cool loathing emanating from his body. Suddenly wary, Davey took a step back, running into someone who was walking past. He didn’t bother to shout a threat, looking back on Damien. “Rich prick,” he muttered, walking away with his gang. Damien had learned from experience that it was best to look dangerous than to actually fight. Sure, he would win the fight at school, but upon arriving home, he would receive a sound beating from his father. He turned around with an exasperated sigh and started when he saw Helena behind him, looking at him with vigilant curiosity.
“Hi,” he said, not bothering to force a smile. She frowned and shoved her hands into her pocket, nodding a greeting.
“I was just wondering if we had any history homework,” she said, returning his cold attitude. “I… wasn’t really listening.”
“Um… yeah, we have to read chapters 1 to 3,” he said, running a hand through his hair.
“Alright, thanks,” she said, sighing and turning to walk away, but she stopped when he grabbed her arm and turned her back around to face him.
“Wait…” he said, “I was thinking about what we were talking about in the cafeteria, about you showing me around town. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but want to just… I don’t know, go for a casual walk?” She looked at him, mulling it over in her head. “As friends,” he added. After a few moments, she nodded and pulled a pen out of her coat pocket.
“Here is my number,” she said, scribbling it onto his hand. “Give me a call when you want to hang out.”

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The Reeves residence was unquestionably one of the most expensive and elaborate in town; one of the benefits of having millionaires for parents. Sadly there were some things that Damien’s endless allowance couldn’t buy, and that was his parent’s acceptance and time. Sometimes he thought that they treated him like one of their clients. They were criminal lawyers – not usually something you could become a millionaire by doing, but they had the wills of their loving and endowed dead parents’ to thank for that. Growing up had been difficult for Damien: always alone. But the years that he had spent trying to become noticed had forced him to desensitize himself to failure and disappointment, so that he could look in the mirror and only see his cold longing gaze looking back at him, not what lurked deep inside his heart.
Damien sat swaying gently on his bed, which was suspended with wires that reached from the ceiling to the floor. His room was roughly the size of half a tennis court: rectangular in shape with an entire wall of glass that looked out onto his backyard, which was adorned with an archaic patio and pool. The long black and gold curtains that reached from the ceiling to the floor were pulled shut over the wall of glass, encompassing the room with a sense of malice and depression. He stared longingly at the number that was messily scrawled on his hand with purple ink when all of a sudden he was ripped from his daze when the sound of the doorbell reverberated up the marble staircase to his room. His parents weren’t home and the maid had the day off, so he heaved himself lazily from the bed and trudged down the stairs. Damien opened the door and leaned on it, staring at the girl who had rung. She had long straight black hair that reached to her elbows and tanned skin. Her model-like figure stood there with one hand resting on her hip that jutted out, as if she was posing as the other held a basket with an array of fruits and wines. Pointblank, she was gorgeous.
“Hey, I’m Victoria Woods,” she introduced, smiling and showing off her perfect white teeth. “I live next-door,” she pointed to a house almost as luxurious as his own, “I just wanted to come over and welcome you to the neighborhood.” It took a moment for Damien to come back to the stratosphere.
“I’m Damien Reeves, nice to meet you,” he said politely, taking the basket that she was offering. “Thanks,” he added.
“You guys have a nice house here… this isn't what it was originally like, right?” she asked, looking around the large entrance.
“No, my parents had a lot of renovations done while we still lived in the old house,” he explained. She nodded, still smiling.
“Are you doing anything later tonight?” she asked, turning to him. He glanced down at the number on his hand. “Wow, haven’t even been here a week and you’ve already got dates lined up,” she said slyly. He smirked.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but it’s not a date.”
“So then you’re not busy?” He didn’t respond. “Well… if you find yourself without any plans, you know where to look,” she said, leaving with a wink and a seductive smirk. Damien watched her reach the sidewalk then closed the heavy door, embellished with stained glass sent in from churches in France.

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“I want to hear all about you day,” Patrick whispered into Helena’s ear as they danced to a tune playing on the radio on the outdoor roof patio of his house. She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck as they exchanged stories about the events of the first day back to school. The part about Damien seemed to peak his interest. “He wasn’t bothering you, was he?” he asked protectively.
“No, no, no, no,” she said quickly, “I was just commenting on how odd it was… him sitting with us at lunch and stuff, I mean.” Patrick nodded and nothing more was said on the subject. After a few moments the song ended, but they continued to dance in each other’s arms underneath the twilight in silence.