Paxton pulled up to a dilapidated warehouse which was several stories tall. The facade had bits of stone crumbling off, barely hanging from a string, and ready to possibly smash down on an unsuspecting person who might be perched against the building having a smoke. The paint was wearing around the windows and in all honesty, it looked like something out of a really cheesy horror movie. These were the kinds of buildings that people came to, asking to be skinned alive and turned into lampshades.

I could see it now, my skin suit lampshade on a bedside table in IKEA.

There was a large burly man standing by the front doors and another lanky boy who eagerly rushed over to the Rover, taking the keys from Paxton. The large man, dressed in all black at the entrance, clasped Paxton on the shoulder as he passed. "Nice to see you again, Corvo. Boss is upstairs if your going in tonight." The man said as Paxton patted his shoulder in acknowledgement.

"Thanks, Alec. Nah, just observing tonight." When the guy stepped in front of me to prevent me from entering, Paxton gave his shoulder a squeeze and simply said, "The girl's with me." The man, whose name was apparently Alec, stepped aside and let me pass through the large doorways and into the warehouse.

As we entered the main area of the warehouse, you could hear the sounds of hollering coming from a large adjacent room to our right. I reached up and grasped Paxton by the arm, forcing him to stop and turn to look at me.

"Why are we here, Pax? Also, what did the guy mean when he called you Corvo or asked if you were going in tonight?" I could sense the hesitation for a second so I added, "Spill it pretty boy!"

Paxton chuckled. "Actually Corvo is a nickname that the guy who runs the place gave me. It means raven in Italian. As for the other question, I come here on weekends to fight for money and you asked to know who I really was, so I brought you here. Also, no one knows I come here, not even Damian."

"You fight for money? Why?" I looked at him, a shocked expression on my face. I mean I had seen hints of his anger, but to the point that I would have pegged him as a fighter, nope no way.

"Its a way to keep my anger in check, the money is just an added bonus. Not that I need it." He inched closer and placed his hand on my face; moving closer to my face, his lips barely brushing mine. I could feel his warm breath in my mouth. "But the fighting isn't why I brought you here tonight. It isn't the only thing I do down here."

Shit, just kiss me already. Who cares why you come here... My finger traced the ring Seth had given me and I thought, Nope! Talia does not want Paxton... Paxton is an asshole!

I composed myself when Paxton pulled away, a feeling of relief flooding over me after he didn't fulfill the kiss. "Come on, Talia. Welcome to my world. Well the one that doesn't involve school, lacrosse, or chasing you constantly." He dragged me in the direction of a small room where he handed the girl behind the desk his black jacket and hoodie, leaving him in only his black V-neck t-shirt and dark jeans.

I handed the girl my jean jacket and hoodie, then Paxton pulled me towards an old elevator. The elevator smelled of staleness and other unfamiliar scents. I looked down at the floor of the elevator and could have sworn that I was standing in a puddle of pee... Good thing I wasn't wearing my good shoes..

The elevator pinged and when it opened we were engulfed with the sounds of heavy metal shooting into the elevator and it almost knocked us on our asses. We stepped out into a dark room that that purple and red lights overhead. It was crowded and a massive throng of people were dancing and jumping in the air. I just looked over at Paxton, who had a bright smile on his face.

I leaned in closer to him and put my mouth near his ear in order to talk to him, otherwise he would never have hear me, "What is this place?"

He looked over at me and smiled, "This is my sanctuary. You wanted to know me." He winked and for a second I asked myself what I had gotten myself into?

I just looked out across the crowd in shock, because my idea of getting to know someone was having them confess about their childhood over a cup of coffee, not get thrown into a mosh pit while Arch Enemy played overhead, in a dark room that smelled like homeless people lived in it.

Paxton started to jump up and down, and in that moment, he had a sort of boyish innocence about him. It warmed my heart slightly that maybe this was the first real glimpse of who Paxton was underneath the quiet demeanor and the personality that ran hot and cold, without any warning, much like the shower in my dorm room.

I stood there looking at Paxton in his element and everything suddenly made sense. All his triggers, his different moods and then the feelings of guilt afterwards. His anger issues ran a whole lot deeper than just jealousy. I stood there replaying everything that had happened between us and I realized that everything that Damian alluded to and everything Lizbeth came out and said, was in fact true.

Paxton was an exact copy of the monster that he called a father.

He was just better at concealing it in its entirety. Somewhere deep inside was a good man, but in the end, he was a product of his nurturing.

I also knew that there was nothing in him that I needed or wanted in terms of romance and a future. He wasn't the good man that Seth was and he certainly wasn't the misunderstood boy that his brother hid from everyone. There was nothing inside of me that loved Paxton, because Paxton was incapable of real love. I also knew that there was no way that I could cut my ties with Paxton; I just needed to find a way to curb my exposure to him.

For the first moment in my life, I was closer to knowing exactly what I wanted, now I just needed to figure out how to get there.

I needed to tell Damian everything. Especially, the part about Paxton scaring me to my core.

...............................

The ride back to Anthabask was long and silent. Paxton kept his hand gripped to mine, but the feel of his skin on mine did nothing for me any longer. It was all empty and yet there was sadness; sadness that he couldn't have been a different person. In the beginning I really felt that there was something that connected me to him, but as time went on I realized that connection was simply me searching for ways to fill the void left behind by my mother's death.

When she died, she took a piece of my identity with her. The missing piece had been slowly emerging since being at Anthabask, being exposed to Lizbeth, Killian and Miles. Slowly, the hole left behind was filling with new feelings and memories. Damian had been the pivotal piece that began the mending; he showed me that no mater how much I hated someone, I needed to look past their exterior to the person on the inside. If it hadn't been for Damian, I would have never let my guard down and allowed myself to love the new people in my life; my new family.

I didn't know what the future held for Damian and I, but I did know that in some fashion, someday, there would be an us. We were fated to be engrossed in each other's life in some capacity in the future. Seth's words kept flashing in my head as we drove back to the Academy, get whatever it is out of your system... I knew what he meant by that; he meant getting Damian and Paxton out of my system before I could make a life with Seth; if a life with him was what I ultimately wanted.

When we reached the campus, it was super late, so I gave Paxton a brief kiss on his cheek and hurried up to my dorm room, swiftly closing and locking the door behind me. I took a quick shower, washing away the smells of that warehouse flight/dance club and snuggled into bed. I checked my phone one last time before I closed my eyes, to see a text from Seth.

Seth: I miss you.

I hurried and replied, my face had a huge smile etched on it at the thought of how much Seth meant to me.

Talia: I miss you. I just spent my evening in a piss soaked warehouse listening to metal music.

Not expecting a reply this late, I began to set my phone down, but it pinged and my heart instantly lit up.

Seth: LOL and here I thought I took you to the classiest joints.

Talia: I'd go to a piss soaked venue with you any old day.

Seth: I'll remember that when I'm booking our wedding venue someday. LOL I'll be sure to rent the best piss soaked venue I can find, just for my girl.

Talia: LOL. Yeah, I'm sure that would totally warm your parent's heart. And, hold on.... Who ever said I would say yes, even with the best piss soaked venue dangled in front of me like a carrot.

Seth: Somehow I doubt you'll resist my future proposal. *wink wink*

There was something about talking to Seth that always seemed to calm that turbulent storm in my core; the one which threatened to well up and spew violent waves upon my sandy shores. I knew Seth was joking about marriage and a proposal, but something about the thought of it made me smile briefly. The thought about being the future Mrs. Seth Brenden Carter, really put a smile on my face. I fell asleep to the thoughts of a life with Seth. A life either in Minnesota, in a small family home, with a big backyard teaming with a giant play area for both our dogs and kids; or a life in London, in a small flat, with a single child running around with dinosaur toys in hand, while Seth cooked in the kitchen and I held onto him distracting him. Both scenarios filled the void in my soul and created a calm.

.........................

The next morning, I made my way to Damian's room and softly knocked on the door. He opened it, wearing just a pair of fitted black sweatpants. His beautiful eyes were ladened with sleep and his dirty blonde hair was extremely ruffled and parts were plastered to his head. My eyes couldn't help the fact that they gravitated from his chiseled jawline, which was lined with a slight peppering of morning blonde hairs, to his firm body. His body wasn't sharply chiseled like Paxton's, yet it had a smooth sculpt to it that made you wonder if your fingers could elegantly trace every smooth, defined line. His muscles flexed when he stretched, before looking up into my eyes with those heart stopping beautiful blue eyes of his, with the flecks of green intermingled in their calm waters. I felt my breath hitch when I laid eyes on his face.

"Hi, beautiful." His voice was raspy when he spoke and I felt guilty for waking him.

"Hi. I was wondering if you were up to talking. I can come back later if it's not a good time."

He didn't let me turn to leave, before wrapping his strong hand over my wrist and pulling me into his bare chest. My face pressed against his warm skin, just feeling the measure of calm that followed when he held me. I knew I was in love with Seth above all that mattered, but I couldn't deny that I also loved Damian.

Damian understood what it felt like to be broken; not broken in the sense of beyond repair, but in the sense of having small pieces that had been stolen away from you over time. Seth never knew how it felt to have pieces ripped from your core and that's why, in order to fully love Seth, I needed to allow myself to fall into Damian. He was the key to fixing me.

"I missed you so much, Grey. I was worried you weren't going to come back to me." He placed his fingers underneath my chin and pulled my face up to meet his; pressing his strong lips against mine in a soft kiss.

I felt him tug me into his room and slam the door behind him with his bare foot. His arms enveloped me as he held me close and kissed me like my lips were the only things that could bring him peace. The feel of his warm tongue grazing mine, was like melting cotton candy on a warm day and its sweetness made my heart race. My fingers ran up the sides of his firm chest, only to find their way into his silky soft hair.

I felt him moan against my lips as he pulled away and placed his strong face into the crook of my neck, savoring the moment. I heard him sigh as his skin hitched under the feel of my fingertips. "Ok, well that's one way to wake up in the morning." He looked at me and flashed his sexy, adorable smile, before pushing me to sit on his messy bed.

He sat down in his desk chair and swiveled to face me, "Alright, well I guess we should talk."

I ran my fingers over the silky top of his navy colored duvet, the feel of it like a million soft clouds under my fingertips. I felt myself lay back against it and sigh, before speaking, "Yeah, theres a lot to say. I'm not sure where to start, to be honest."

"How about we discuss what brought you here this early, not that I don't mind you in my bed; but 8AM is cutting it a little early on a non lacrosse practice day." He chuckled before setting his hands on his legs and leaning in my direction.

"Ok. Um... I really don't know where to start, except I think we should have that talk that we planned on having when I came back?" I sat up and looked at Damian, who had a void look on his face.

"Did something happen in NYC?" I could sense that the irritation and disappointment were welling up inside of him as those simple words came out.

"Listen Damian, I'm not going to sit here and lie to you, but before I tell you everything, I do need to know how you feel about me?" I looked up into his eyes, as he ran his hand through his hair, settling it to the back of his neck and rubbing.

"I meant what I said to you that day. I am in love with you and I am willing to face my family and yours in order for us to be together. However, I'm not stupid and I know that I am not the only player in your heart right now; that's why I haven't pushed for exclusivity. I don't date Grey, not because I'm emotionally damaged or women can't stand me, but for the simple fact that I've never met a living soul that I'd want to tether my life to in any way. Until you came along."

His bitter honesty was always something that I found refreshing and because of that, I knew that I also needed to be as honest as I could with him. "Damian, you are correct. You aren't the only person that I have feelings for and I'd be lying if I told you that I didn't love Seth. We have history together, but I also love you." I looked down at the navy blue carpet under my feet, secretly wishing it would form a mouth and swallow me whole. What kind of girl had I become? All of my life, I was independent and survived just fine without the companionship of a man, but since my mom died, it was like I couldn't breathe without one.

"Where does my brother fall into that whole equation. I understand the feelings for Seth, but I can't compete with my brother on that type of level. It was one thing when it was casual pursuit and getting to know you stuff, but the minute we include feelings of love, that's where I need to draw the line. I love my brother and I won't destroy him."

"Your brother isn't in that equation." I felt his hand reach under my chin and pull my face up to look at him.

"What did he do to you?" I could sense the anger beginning to form in his eyes and knew that I needed to choose my words carefully from here on out.

"I saw the other side that you warned me about. It's fine now though, I know what I need to do where Paxton is concerned."

He stood up and paced the floor for a few moments, before sitting down on the bed next to me and wrapping his arms around me, clenching me close to him and resting his chin on the top of my head.

"I'm sorry, Talia. You can't stop contact with him, but I need you to be very cautious around him."

"I know. I promise." I felt his warm cheek graze the side of my face as he ran his fingers over the side of my arm.

"So you love me, huh?" I heard him chuckle as he directed my face towards his and wrapped his lips around mine, his tongue seeking entry into my mouth. His firm hands gripped the sides of my face as he leaned back onto his bed, before placing me on his chest. I laid there just listening to his heartbeat in my ear, drawing small circles on his bare chest with my index finger.

"You're not mad about the whole Seth thing?" I looked up at him as he just pondered the question with his eyes closed, his brow furrowing, as his hand moving slowly up and down my arm.

"Not really. I know that I should be, but I also know that we are meant to be together. Even if it's not immediately, it will happen eventually."

"How can you be so sure, Damian?"

Before he leaned over and kissed me again, he replied, "Because..." his voice trailed off. What he said next took me by surprise.

He said it was foretold.

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A/N: Hey Guys!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please click the star and leave your comments.

So we get a slight glimpse into who Paxton is outside of school, but something tells me that there is more hidden.

Talia comes clean with Damian and he took it especially well. Predictions on what that prophesy could foretell about their bond? We know the Reevers love that kind of stuff.

Anyways, until next time.

<3 Amina