The War of Roses Read Online Free

lungs.  It was amazement that Damon could be so casual, so—so brazen!  And how dare he tell her what she thought? All she wanted was to run to Elena and bury her head in Elena’s lap and cry and beg Elena’s forgiveness.  How could he imagine that she would . . . that she would want to . . . pretend to forget . . .
    Bonnie blinked as Damon seemed to fade in and out of focus.  Ohhh . . .  She felt dizzy.  Really dizzy. 
    “Damon?”
    He just watched her.  She had to admit . . . he didn’t look brazen.   More as if he were in pain.  His face looked very pale suddenly.
    Was he taking on the whole burden of what had just happened?  That must be it.  He was going to tell Elena, because he wanted to help Bonnie, to make it easy for her.  That was why he was saying “Forget.”  He really meant . . . don’t mention it.
    Suddenly everything that had just happened seemed oddly blurred in Bonnie’s mind, as if it were made out of ice cream that was rapidly melting.  It was . . . becoming formless. 
    This must be just another kind of insanity.  But, honestly, whether Bonnie wanted to forget or not, the memories seemed to be going.  That was . . . a little sad, although she knew that thinking so was wicked.  Bonnie watched her heavenly little moment shrink away into . . . oh, God, she was tired . . . into nothingness . . .
    With a start, Bonnie lifted her head.  She was wearing Damon’s jacket, which smelled strangely like sadness.  Damon was holding her in a very gentle and fraternal embrace.
    “. . . feeling better now?” he was saying.
    Bonnie sniffed.  Her nose was running.  She sniffed harder, not wanting it to run on Damon’s clothes.  She’d been crying, for some reason.  There were tears on her cheeks, drying chilly in the night air.
    “I’m sorry,” she said automatically.  “What—what just happened?”
    “Well, you either grayed out or you started to go to sleep again,” Damon said.  “I just chased those bad dogs away.”
    To sleep . . . again!  That’s right!  Oh, my God, Bonnie thought.  I’ve been sleepwalking.  And those bad dogs came after me and the big white dog!
    Just as she thought this, she became aware of a low sound—so deep it was almost beyond her range of hearing.  It was a growl, and it was coming from her friend, the big white dog who was standing beside her.
    The big white dog was growling at Damon.
    “Oh, good grief,” Bonnie said, suddenly feeling her spirits lift.  It was clear that after seeing that the bad dogs were gone, the white dog had suddenly gained the courage to threaten someone .
    For a good boy, he had a fairly vicious growl.
    “Stop it!” Bonnie said sharply.  “Damon isn’t trying to hurt me!  Honestly!”
    The white dog subsided, but his golden eyes seemed to watch Damon with disapproval.  It made Bonnie want to laugh.   But she also felt drowsy.  Sleepy . . .
    Damon gave her a little shake.  “Look, Bonnie, what on earth is going on?  You’re running around in the wee hours in your nightie!”
    “I know,” Bonnie blurted.  “And this here is the most cowardly dog in the world!  He hid behind me—oh, but Damon, thank you for making those bad dogs go away!  They were going to attack me and this dog here!  And, and, and—”
    “Easy.  Easy, redbird.  Don’t try to talk now.  Your feet must be freezing.”  Damon picked her up and turned to walk back down the concrete path toward Soto Hall. Bonnie clung to his neck with one arm and tried to cover her feet with her nightgown with the other.  The white dog followed them watchfully.
    Bonnie was vaguely surprised that she wasn’t crying hysterically.  Maybe she had been hysterical before she had—grayed out—and Damon was just too nice to mention it.  That would be like him.  He was always kind to her.
    Weird how far away the attack of the feral dogs seemed now.  Weirder, because she couldn’t remember anything after it except seeing them run