21.
1610 Words
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Confronting your demons does not make you weak. You become stronger and you become free.
I faced my demons and when I was done, I could breath again.
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"Why?" I asked for the third time in the last ten minutes.
I was really losing my patience with him.
"I know I don't have any good enough excuse kiddo. I chose the reckless way of life all by myself and I guess my current state is the punishment for all my wrongs." His voice was barely over a whisper, he looked so frail. He definitely didn't have much time left.
"The only request I have for you, is that you find a place in your heart to forgive me. I'm really sorry, in the last few months my past hasn't stopped haunting me in my dreams. I'm really sorry kid." He said wiping a stray tear from his eyes.
I wanted to be angry, to hit him so hard it'll cause damage, to let him know what I went through all these years but seeing him almost lifeless on the hospital bed felt like enough punishment for him.
So just incase you're lost, after the little episode at Damon's place, I opened up to my mum about the r**e incident although I wasn't completely honest with her since I told her it happened during a late night walk.
I made a complaint at the police station and the case was taken up, turns out 'plumber guy' wasn't the one.
Plot twist, it was his twin, which explains why he was so confused.
'Plumber guy' explained to us that he was aware of his brother's obnoxious actions and hadn't been in contact with him for awhile until about a year ago when he called him and told him he was dying from cancer.
That was when he moved to L. A. to receive treatment, it's unfortunate that he found out too late though. So here I was two weeks after the matter was taken up properly talking to the person who both ruined me and made me tougher.
"You done?" The officer who followed Damon and I asked bringing me out of my thoughts.
Yes you heard that right, Damon came along.
He's still the same jerk, don't give him too much credit. He said he came so I don't end up sending this man to the grave a little earlier.
"Just give me one more minute." I said to him with a forced smile. He excused himself and waited outside the hospital room.
"I'm not sure if I should hate you or not, but I forgive you. You did ruin some parts of me, but that's an experience that made me tougher. It was like my wake up call. But, I sincerely hope that during the last minutes of your life, the gravity of your mistakes hit you squarely and make you feel sincere remorse while you take your last breath, not just for me but for all the others you hurt." I wiped the single tear that managed to escape from my eyes and walked out of his hospital room.
This was a door I had finally shut, and I am never looking back.
Damon, 'plumber guy' and the police officer all looked up when they heard the door shut.
"I'm so sorry for everything my brother did ma'am. If there is anything I can do to make it up on his behalf-" 'Plumber guy' whose name is too weird for my brain to remember said with regret in his eyes.
"It's fine. I think he's already getting punished for it. Thank you for cooperating with us. Bye." I said and without a second thought started my way towards the hospital exit.
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We were on our way home and so far, it had been a silent ride, but I guess it didn't sit well with Damon because he just had to speak.
"Are you okay?" Damon asked without pulling his eyes off the road.
"Yeah. Never felt better in a long while." I said looking out the window.
"Are you sure? I know this can be a little hard for you." Damon said facing me for long enough not to get us killed.
"Yeah. Sometimes facing your demons is the best option." I said with a smile and went back to looking out my window.
Damon still looked worried but I didn't know how to reassure him that I was fine, because truly I was.
The moment I stepped out of the hospital today, I felt liberated. I'd never felt this free in a long while.
Facing your demons is fighting that battle you've been hiding from, but once you settle it, there's an inexplicable sense of liberation. And that's what was overwhelming me at the moment.
I felt happy...my sense of hope was restored.
I'd been dealing with two demons in the last few years and the silent voice in my head spoke just as we got to my house.
"One demon trashed...one to go."
I was definitely going to trash the second one, that was my reason for moving after all.
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"What if he has them backed up?" Maya asked curiously.
"I should be able to track down the other devices if he has them backed up elsewhere." Cole's sister Heather replied.
When Cole said he had a sister who was good with computers, I expected the cliché.
A girl with weird glasses, an odd sense of dressing and maybe even braces, but she was nothing near any of it. She had the looks of a glam queen, her dressing screamed fashion sensation and she used contacts instead of the conventional glasses.
"How did you even pull this off?" Jeffrey asked me looking at a completely wasted Miller, who was snoring not so subtly.
"For every drink he got a kiss. The greedy jerk went for fifteen shots." I said with a shrug.
"Why would you even let him kiss you?" Damon said with disgust.
Is he always angry or he's just on his period today?
"Because he'd have been suspicious if I had picked another option." I said defensively.
Damon was about to open his mouth but I already knew what he was about to say so I cut him off immediately.
"Beating him up until he blacks out would not be a smart move." I guess from my facial expression he knew I was not going further with this argument, so he went silent and we all watched Heather do her magic.
"Is his laptop here too?" Heather finally asked after about ten minutes of silence.
I brought it out immediately and handed it to her. I was about to ask her how she planned on getting past the password when she typed in some weird stuff and we were on board. She really is skilled.
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"I guess we're done here." Heather smiled victoriously.
"Nothing on his cloud and deleted from other connected devices. Try locking your window from on." Heather said laughing.
It was not exactly my fault but I wasn't even going to bother arguing.
"Thanks a lot Heather. You don't know what you just saved me from." I said pulling her into a hug.
"I guess we can leave then." Maya said like she could not wait to leave Miller's place.
"Kim are you waiting for him to wake up?" She asked looking at Miller thoughtfully.
"Nope. I'm done with him and done for good. And he is probably going to wake up grumpy and with a hangover, I'm not waiting to watch the show." I said putting all his things back in order.
"Yo Cole I'm crashing at your place for a bit. Left my keys at home this morning and my mum said she isn't back yet." Jeffrey said as we all piled out of the house.
"I'll take Kim home since we live on the same street and there isn't exactly enough space in Heather's car." Damon said with finality.
"Sure, bye guys." Maya said winking at me.
Why always me?
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"Thanks for the ride." I said as we stood awkwardly at my doorstep.
"Uh, do you want to come in maybe?" I asked a little unsure.
I had no idea why he was still standing there, so might as well be welcoming.
"No it is fine. Just be more careful Kim and call me if you ever need anything." He said scratching the back of his neck.
Damon nervous? Well that's new.
"Well if you are both done with this s****l tension which I must say is quite disturbing, I'll like to have a word with Kim." A deep voice which I knew too well said from behind me.
"Dimitri?!" I said a little surprised.
"How the hell did you get in and what are you even doing here?" I asked totally confused.
"Was not exactly the reception I was expecting but I'll take it." He said with a shrug.
"We need to talk kiddo and we need to do that now." He said with all seriousness.
"I gotta go. I'll see you at school. Bye." I said shutting the door right in Damon's face before he could even protest.
The tattoos on Dimitri's body scream danger and I'm sure Damon noticed them.
Way to go Dimitri now I have yet another explanation to give Damon.
"Are you going to keep staring into space or sit down so we can talk? We have a lead." Dimitri said.
As soon as the last sentence came out of his mouth, I came back to my senses and I was all in.
Let the war begin.
- Writer
