We Are the Day

Prologue

She was my opposite in every way imaginable; her hair was silken cornflower, her eyes the shade of a cloudy, winter day, her figure was slender, yet curvy. And she was human.

I tried not to follow her, but I had to know her. There was no other choice. Her scent called to me like a siren to a sailor's ship. I knew this path led to destruction, but I sure as hell would enjoy the ride.

-Damian Andros

Chapter One

"No, I'm not covering Amanda's shift again, Tony. She's only calling off so she can go clubbing, I have to study tonight," I told my manager after logging into the register to ring up my last table.

"Taylor, what could a few extra tables hurt? I'm sure you need the tips. Plus, I'll give you an hour lunch."

I sighed, my shoulders slumping. I could use the money. Paying for college on a part-time waitressing gig sucked big time. "It could hurt my grades. I need to study."

"Okay, I'll give you an hour and a half for lunch. You can use that time to study," he said in a sing song manner, no doubt hoping to entice me.

"Add a free meal and we have a deal."

"Oh, I knew you'd come through, Taylor. You always do!"

Yep, that was me-sweet, dependable Taylor. Always there when someone else needed her, but never there for herself. "Story of my life," I sighed before heading back to the table I was waiting. "Alright, guys," I put on my cheesy, friendly, waitress face, "thank you for stopping by Bar Louie today. I hope you come back and see us sometime soon!"

As much as I wanted to mean that, I didn't. The couple that sat before me was so cute it made my eyes hurt. I was tired of seeing happy couples snuggling in their booths, or walking hand in hand on campus...It seemed everywhere I went, there were pairs and I was stuck at either work or school-alone. I had no time for a personal life, let alone sharing one with someone; but I was still envious. In a way, I had no right to be. My best friend, Kenna, invited me out on numerous occasions where there were bound to be "tons of smoking hot, single, guys", as she put it, but on those rare days when I had absolutely nothing to do, I wanted to do just that. Nothing.

Maybe I'll have a life after I graduate, I mused as I stepped out of the restaurant and into the midday sun. The leaves were just starting to change from emerald green to bold shades of red, orange, and yellow, their transformation hinting at the onset of fall. I had always enjoyed the season as a child with the cider, pumpkin carving, and the promise of free candy on the last day of October. I took in another deep breath of the pre-autumn air before returning to the restaurant, my backpack in hand.

I stowed away into a corner of the building where no one would bother me and took out my notes from my professor's previous lecture as well as my iPad where the lecture was recorded. I placed my ear buds in and pressed the "play" button on the audio. Pride sat in as I listened to my professor's voice and skimmed my notes; they matched perfectly.

My best friend, Kenna, constantly made fun of my study habits. "Tay, you're an art major. How much work goes into that? I mean, do you really need to study?"

"Well," I would begin, "art is important for a number of reasons, but let's use one that's applicable to you. You color your hair every two weeks or so, right?"

"Yeah," she would say with a slight hesitation.

"Does your stylist ever say, 'hey, we're going to go blonde today'?"

"God, no! I'd look awful as a blonde!"

"Exactly. Color theory-which plays a major role in art-keeps you from looking like the new Amanda Bynes...get the picture?" She would nod with fervor and mutter her apologies.

"Something funny in that notebook of yours?"

My head snapped up to find a man staring at me, a smirk on his inhumanly gorgeous face. I removed my ear buds before speaking to him. "No. I was just remembering something funny," I don't know why I bothered explaining my laughter to this beautiful stranger, but I blabbed on anyway. "My friend thought that I studied too much for an art major, but I helped her in realizing that artists are needed in this world as much as anyone else, and that causes us to have to study, just like everyone else."

The man scooted into my booth and sat down in one fluid motion. I've seen people move like that before. The dancers at my school. "Art major, you say? What do you plan on doing with that degree?"

"Becoming an artist, owning my own gallery. Stuff like that. What's it to you anyways?"

"I really have no idea," he whispered. I didn't think I was meant to hear it.

"Well, if you don't mind, I kinda have to get back to studying."

"No you don't. You still have to eat, and your lunch isn't over yet."

My entire body chilled and heated simultaneously. How was that even anatomically possible? "How did you know that? Have you been watching me or something?"

"I was in the restaurant when your manager asked you to stay. I wanted to come say hi," he shrugged as if this was totally normal.

"I've gotta tell you, Mr...?"

"Andros. Damian Andros."

"Well then, Damian Andros, you're kinda creepy." In a hot guy watching me type of way.

"Does my presence frighten you?" His lips pulled into a frown and his eyes lost some of their light.

"I'm not really afraid of you. Just wondering why you're creepin' on me."

"My intention is not to creep, but to strike up conversation."

"Well, my intention is to study. Not to sit here and talk to strangers."

He sat looking at me for an immeasurable amount of time. It made me squirm in my seat and my flesh heat in a delicious way.

"Taylor, here's that food you demanded," Tony said dropping some boneless wings and fries off at my table and getting an eyeful of Mr. Sexy and Dangerous. "You have about thirty-five more minutes before you get back on the clock. Don't be late."

"Okay," I said hesitantly, thrown off by his change of mood.

"Your boss wants to fuck you."

I dropped the French fry that I was holding. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, come on, look at the sap! As soon as he saw me, he got all formal and angry." Damian drew his shoulders up tight and puckered his lips before saying, "'You have about thirty-five minutes. Don't be late'."

I laughed freely at Damian's impression of Tony. It was spot on. "That doesn't really explain him wanting to have sex with me," I shook my head.

"There's an air about him. He even smells like he wants you." I was about to ask what he meant, but he kept talking. "Your car is mysteriously going to start having trouble tonight, and guess who's going to be there to save the day? He'll offer to give you a ride home-which you should refuse-but you won't. He'll say how grateful he is that you covered Amanda's shift and then he'll sweet talk you some more until he feels that he has you right where he wants you and then he'll make his move. You won't be receptive because you don't find him attractive in any type of way, and he won't take kindly to that because throughout his entire shift tonight, he's been tipping liquor into his soft drinks. I guess you can see where it goes from there."

My mind sat at a standstill for what seemed like minutes. Was this man out of his mind, or did he really predict that I was getting raped tonight?

"I would start looking for another job if I were you. Unless you want me to kill him," Damian shrugged.

"Are you kidding me?" I whispered harshly. "You tell me that I'm gonna get raped tonight and then you just offer to kill a man so I don't have to look for another job? Are you mentally ill?"

He laughed, "I've been around long enough to be aware of things that go unnoticed by the...unpracticed layperson," he smirked at this. "And killing people that deserve it is in my line of work, honey."

"What are you, some type of Italian hit man? You part of the mob?"

"Italian? Good God! I'm Greek. From Athens originally. Andros? Remember? And to answer your silly question, I'm neither part of the mob, nor a hit man. But I could take both parties out in the blink of an eye." His blue eyes flashed wickedly. I thought I saw a spark of yellow, but it was too fast to be certain. "And I never said that you would end up getting raped. I did, however, say that he would try."

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" I asked, my temper flaring.

"As a matter of fact, I do. But I thought that meeting you was more important."

Despite his grisly prediction for the next few hours of my life, my heart began to warm at his words. I tried to play it off, but something told me it was useless. His blue eyes assessed me as I assessed him. It was heady, looking at someone of such beauty; Damian looked like he popped out of an H&M magazine with his square jaw, pouty lips, and bright eyes. And his hair! I wanted to run my hands through the black tresses that almost reached the collar of his leather jacket.

"My sunglasses would get in the way," he grinned, not looking away from my eyes.

"What?!" I looked up to the crown of his head and sure enough, there sat a pair of aviators.

"I've been around a long time," he told me by way of explanation.

"Do you do this on a regular basis?"

"Do what?"

"Stalk innocent women at their jobs, predict their rape, and somehow read their minds?"

"So you do want to ravage my lips?" He grinned.

"How old are you?"

"Old enough to be your grandfather's great, great, great grandfather," he laughed as if this were the funniest thing in the world.

"I don't believe you."

"Yeah, I know. And it's quite amusing."

I scowled at my uneaten food. "I haven't even known you for an hour and you've irritated me more than any other person on the planet."

"How could that possibly be true? You don't know every other person on the planet."

"Gah! You're so cocky!"

"You have no idea," he grinned and I stuck my tongue out in disgust.

"And a pervert. Great."

"Not as perverted as your boss. Who is on his way to check on you now. Four, three, two,-"

"Taylor. You're still sitting here? You have like five minutes. Hurry it up!" Tony said, not taking his eyes off of Damian.

"Alright, I get it," I said, my mind reeling. It was just a lucky guess. Damian probably saw him coming and made a show of it. The jerk.

Tony huffed and walked back to wherever it was he came from.

"Man, he wants you so bad."

"Ugh, whatever, Damian." The way his name rolled off of my tongue made my insides quiver.

"You don't believe me but it's so obvious. Of all nine or so waiters and waitresses here, he asks you to stay late. Don't you find that to be a little odd?"

"No," I lied.

His hand made its way to his mouth, his long fingers splayed across his lips as he nodded. "Well, your boss wants you back, and I have business to attend to. I'm sure we'll see each other again. Very soon," he said, scooting out of the booth and walking out of the building without a backwards glance.

I took a moment to catch my breath before packing up my belongings and running out to my car. I hoped to catch a glimpse of Damian outside, but he was already gone. When I returned to work, I was met head on by Tony.

"Who was that guy?"

"Just some customer that wanted to say hi or something. I didn't really know him." Tony relaxed some at this news.

The rest of my shift was spent thinking of Damian and trying not to think of Damian. His blue eyes kept parading in my brain, making it foggy, keeping me from focusing. Once I caught myself writing "blue eyes" on a ticket instead of "extra ice." The color red crept up my cheeks as I scribbled out the offending words.

I've never been so bothered by a man in my life. It was unsettling. I mean, I'd had a couple of boyfriends in the past, but they weren't like Damian. They were the kind, moral-based jock type. Kind of like Tim Tebow in a way; Damian was on a whole different level. Even the way he held himself without speaking made shivers run up and down my spine. The man was sexuality and danger in the flesh.

I'm sure we'll see each other again. Very soon. What the heck did that even mean? Did I want to see him again? My heart answered before my mind-YES! I needed to figure this man out, no matter how creepy he appeared. It was only fair; he seemed to have me all figured out. The thought made me scowl.

"Taylor? You okay?" I heard Tony ask somewhere in the distance.

"What? Oh, yeah," I said, placing my bills on the table. "Here's what I did in tips tonight," I handed him my tally sheet, happy to be leaving the restaurant for the time being.

He whistled loudly. "Not bad for a Friday night. A little over two hundred and fifty."

"Yeah, at least I'll have a place to lay my head," I joked. I didn't have to pay rent since Kenna's parents already paid four years' worth in advance. They didn't want her to work while attending college; they called the apartment Kenna's "congratulations for getting into a university and out of our house" gift. I paid my way by helping cover the utilities-which was next to nothing.

"See ya tomorrow," I said, making my way out of the restaurant. The autumn air engulfed me as I made a beeline for my car. I kept peeking over my shoulder with every step, not able to shake the feeling that I was being watched. From my earlier conversation with a certain blue-eyed hottie, I couldn't rule out the possibility.

I unlocked the car and put my key in the ignition. I turned the key...nothing happened. I tried again to get the same result. My heart raced like a Kentucky Derby champion. "Damn Damian Andros," I cursed as my head hit my headrest. A thought occurred to me. He did this to my car! He wanted to prove a point, so he did something to my car! The little turd!

"Everything alright, Taylor?" Tony asked, making me jump.

"Yeah, well...no," I said. "My car won't start."

"Oh no," he said, his eyebrows going theatrically high. "Do you need a ride?"

"I don't know. I'm going to call my roommate and see if she's up." I dug through my purse, producing my iPhone and scrolling through my recent calls. I found her name and clicked on it.

"Hey, Tay-Tay!"

I groaned. I knew that voice. It was the "I'm at a party and most likely drunk" voice. "Hey, Kenna," I said deadpan. "Where are you?"

"At a party," she hiccupped then laughed.

"Great. Do you need a ride?" Even if she didn't I was going to rope Tony into taking us home.

"Uh, I dunno. Maybe."

"Tell me where you are, and I'll be there in a few." She gave me the address and I hung up. I hated being her babysitter. I gathered all of my important things and locked up my car. "It looks like I'm going to need a ride to Willis Street. My roommate got trashed at some party and needs a ride."

"Willis Street by the Notre Dame campus? Okay," Tony said, his voice not as enthused as it was earlier. I tried to put it out of my mind, especially knowing that Damian was the reason behind my malfunctioning vehicle and not some lame rape prediction.

Just wait until I see him again.

The ride was mostly silent besides Tony asking me questions about school every so often. I was glad that it stayed to not so personal topics. When we pulled into the newly built student apartments on the corner of Willis Street, I started to relax. "I'll go grab her and be right back."

"Hold on just a minute," he said to me. "I wanted to thank you for covering Amanda's ass today. She's on her last leg at the restaurant, you know?"

"It was no problem. Like you said, I needed the tips." I reached for the door handle but he stopped me.

"No, I mean, I really appreciate it," he rubbed his hand up and down my arm. I tensed while my heart took off at warp speed and my skin began to crawl. "You always cover when I need you to," he began to creep closer to me, and there it was. The smell of alcohol.

Reality hit me in the chest like a ton of bricks. Damian had nothing to do with my car not starting...it was Tony. He was behind all of this. Damian was right.

"You're always so reliable. Dependable. I'm glad you came to work for me."

"Yep," I said, trying to reach for the car door handle again. This time he locked it. "Tony, Kenna is inside waiting for me. She's drunk, and I have no idea what's going on in there. I need to go." The calm in my voice was surprising and welcome. I had always heard that fear made rapists get even more turned on; I would not give Tony the satisfaction.

"Not just yet. You know I've been watching you for a while," his eyes raked over me and I had to resist the urge to vomit. "I think we should hook up," he said, grabbing my face and sticking his tongue down my throat.

"Ugh, get off of me!" I yelled, hoping it would clear the alcohol that clouded his brain.

"Don't be like that, Taylor. I know you want me too," he wrapped his arm around my neck, holding his mouth to mine as his other hand snaked its way down my shirt and into my bra. I had no idea drunk men could be so strong.

"Tony, get the fuck off of me!" I bit his arm and fumbled to unlock the door. I just about had it when his arm made its way around my neck again, putting me in a choke hold. His other hand shot down my pants, trying to reach my warmth. "Get off of me!"

"You know you want this, Taylor. I see the way you look at me. Stop playing hard to get and give me that pussy," he said into my ear.

I kicked and screamed, hoping that someone would hear and find me. He almost was able to get his finger into me before something heavy dropped onto the hood of the car. We both looked up, him shaken, and me grateful. I made quick work of the lock and exited the car. I should have ran to the closest apartment, but I couldn't get my legs to move much further than the lawn next to where Tony's car was parked.

I looked up, seeing the outline of a man standing on the car's hood. There were yellow dots where eyes should've been. "What the fuck?" I heard Tony holler as the figure put his fist through the windshield, dragging him out of the car.

"I could ask you the same question."

That voice. I knew it was too soon to recognize it, but I did. It was him.

"Please man, just let me go. I'll do anything."

"Let you go," Damian said before hopping off of the car. He moved with unnatural grace as he hauled around Tony's weight as if he were a mere rag doll. "You want me to let you go?" he said, as he walked, impossibly fast to where I was sitting on the ground. "Look at this girl! You were going to rape her, and you want me to let you go?!" he roared into the cool night air.

"Please, man! Please," Tony croaked as Damian lifted him into the air with ease, Tony's feet dangled below him.

"I'm not letting you go. I'm actually going to kill you."

"Kill him?" I found my voice. "Why?"

Damian turned to me, his voice full of incredulity, his eyes fiercely yellow. "This man almost stole your virginity, Taylor. Stole it. You didn't offer it."

"How'd you know that I'm a virgin?"

"That's what you're worried about?" Damian began to laugh, "You were just about to be raped in that piece of shit car, and all you can think about is how I knew you were a virgin?" he continued to laugh as he held Tony in the air by his throat. "God, you're a different breed of woman."

"A virgin? Oh God! I'm so sorry, please let me go! I'll never do it again!" Tony struggled as he tried to remove Damian's hands from around his neck.

Damian's eyes flashed yellow again as he looked at Tony. "Shut the fuck up."

"Just let him go," I told Damian.

"You don't want me to kill him?" Damian seemed disappointed by this news.

"No. Let him live with the guilt and shame. Death would be a little too easy."

Damian nodded. "You're more reasonable than I would ever be." He dropped Tony who fell to the ground gasping and wheezing. "Get the fuck out of here. And if I ever catch you within a two hundred foot radius of Taylor, I will kill you. With or without her consent."