Damned - By Brittany Booker Page 0,3

would be doing. The tree-house had been built on the lowest limb of a large shady oak.

The man’s beauty was unfolding in front of me as he walked around examining everything. “What is this?” he almost snarled.

I flinched. The black aura around him was frightening. It billowed out around his body and clung to his every move. And I was too afraid to ask what it was. I pulled out a blanket from a wooden chest in the corner. “What’s your name?”

“Darrton.”

“I’m Lizzie. Well, my real name is Elizabeth.”

His pale eyes darted to mine. For a moment he looked like he was in pain, then he blinked and it was gone. “Where can I find water?”

“I’ll have to go inside—”

“Why? Isn’t there a well?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Well, there is a water tower but no we don’t have well water. We have city water.”

His blank stare told me he had no idea what I was talking about. “I’ll be right back.” I hurried down the ladder and rushed toward the back door. I couldn’t let my mom see me, or she would wonder first, why I wasn’t off seeing the guy I had been crushing on forever, and second, why in the hell I was taking a pitcher of water out to our tree-house at this time a night. Since Mom was still drooling over Damon, and the rest of my family was locked in their rooms doing whatever they did in there, I made it back out without anyone noticing.

When I made it back up to the tree-house, Darrton was looking in a chest and didn’t even bother to stop when I walked in. “What is this?” He pointed into the chest.

I walked over to where I could peer inside, standing as far away from him as possible. “It’s an old TV.”

He furrowed his brow. “Yes, but what is a TV?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Does it look like I am teasing with you, girl?”

“Stop talking to me like I’m an idiot. Why don’t you know what a TV is?”

“Well, stop acting like one. We didn’t have that when I was here on earth.”

I stomped my foot and his eyes darted down to my feet. “Do you want my help or not?” He stood still. I knew I wouldn’t get an apology. “A TV is a machine which brings us pictures from places where people go and act out shows so that we can watch them.” He didn’t reply. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Ugh. I sighed. “Like plays only we can see them in our homes,” I said.

He nodded. “I see.”

Finally. I pointed toward the twin size bed in the corner. “That is where you can sleep. Here is your water.” I handed it to him and he gulped it down in one swallow. “And there are some more old blankets under the bed there.”

He didn’t even look.

“Why are you here?” I whispered.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

I shifted my weight. “I live here!”

He was really pissing me off. I opened my mouth to say something else but just then my cell phone rang. I reached for it and Darrton snatched me up and held me against him.

“What is that? Get down!”

I ended up on the floor again. “What the hell!” I screamed. “It’s just my cell phone.”

“Your what?” He watched me wiggle on the floor as I dug around in my pocket.

“Hello?”

“What the fudge! Where the hades are you, comrade?” Millie screamed on the other end of the line, over the music from the party.

I sighed. “I’m kind of held up right now. You are never going to believe this!” I laughed. I heard Millie yelling as Darrton snatched my cell away from me. I had barely registered that he had taken it and in the same instant my phone was crumbled up in his hands.

“Dare you tell a soul and I will kill you myself!” My mouth hung open and I could feel the tears burning to break free. He glared at me. “Don’t you dare weep over such a device.”

I gritted my teeth and my tongue clicked nervously. Stumbling to my feet, I felt a tirade coming on. “You listen here. I am helping your ass out and you do this!” I pointed to the crumbled up phone on the floor! “I had a date tonight! With a boy! A boy I really like and you’re ruining it for me!”

Darrton stared at me without an ounce of sympathy in his glare. His face was a mask, not one