Inside the elevator, Damian let go of Clara's hand and allowed his body to rest against the wall behind him for support. The few minutes he had spent outside had been far more exhausting than the entire Twenty Shot case. He had come dangerously close to cursing everyone at the top of his lungs when they swarmed him with congratulatory messages. Damian knew he had to leave quickly or something truly unpleasant might have followed.
"You were amazing today. I watched the entire thing. It was like you were a super lawyer in a movie." Clara's low, hesitant voice was like cool water poured over a man dying of thirst in the middle of a desert.
'That's right… All I need is genuine compliments from people who actually care about me.' Damian inhaled deeply through his nose and exhaled slowly through his mouth.
The breath carried away the weight pressing on his chest, easing the tension that had built inside him and allowing a smile to rise freely on his face.
