Текст книги "Coming Home"

Автор книги: Priscilla Glenn

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 25 страниц)

He heard a tiny muffled sob, and Danny closed his eyes as he pressed his lips against her shoulder. He wished the story ended there. He wished he deserved the sympathy she was showing him right now. Danny tightened his arms and held her closer, wanting to soak up every last second of what he was surely about to lose.

“I don’t understand,” she mumbled into the crook of his neck. “So now this guy is pressing charges against you? How can he do that? Why isn’t he in trouble for what he did to Bryan?”

Leah, please don’t hate me.

“He’s not the one pressing charges,” he whispered against her shoulder.

She sat up and looked at him, her brow pulled together and her face streaked with tears. She looked so troubled and so saddened and so beautiful that he would have rather torn his arm off than say his next words.

He reached up and brushed at the tear stains on her face. “When we went through the window, an artery in his neck was severed. They took him to the hospital that night, but they couldn’t stop the bleeding in time.”

Her brow smoothed out, but she shook her head. “What…what do you mean?”

Danny looked up at her, wiping the other cheek with the pad of this thumb.

“Did he…?” She trailed off, and Danny nodded.

Something like panic overtook her expression as she said, “So you’re…?”

“I’m being charged with manslaughter.”

Leah stared down at him, and he watched the rapid rise and fall of her chest as her breathing grew ragged, that same panicked look on her face.

He looked at her dark hair falling over her shoulders, those beautiful, expressive eyes, her delicate nose, the lips that could steal his breath and make him feel alive at the same time. He wanted to memorize everything about her while he still could.

And then, without warning, she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around him so tightly, he could feel her muscles trembling with the effort.

His heart stopped in his chest before it picked up double time.

Every time he had envisioned this moment, it always ended with some variation of her leaving, some version of her being horrified, afraid, disgusted.

But never once had he imagined this.

“Leah.” He sighed as he cradled her in his arms, and another sob broke from her lips, stifled by the front of his shirt.

“But you didn’t mean to do it,” she said through her tears. “It was an accident. Just tell them it was an accident.”

Danny closed his eyes as he rubbed his hand up and down her back. She was defending him. And in a way, it was almost more painful than it would have been if she told him to go to hell.

“It doesn’t work that way, sweet girl,” he whispered.

She nodded against his chest before she sniffled. “So there’s no way? There’s no way this will be okay?”

Danny slid his hand up under her hair, massaging her neck gently. “The best I can hope for is that the judge will take into consideration what happened with Bryan, that I have no priors…and maybe he’ll be understanding of the situation.”

“The judge? What about the jury?”

“It’s not going to trial,” he said. “I’m copping a plea. It’s better that way.”

“How?” she asked, wiping her nose with her sleeve as she sat up to look at him.

“It should lessen the sentence,” he said softly.

It was quiet for several seconds before she whispered, “How long?”

He ran his fingers through the back of her hair. “A couple of years, probably.”

She closed her eyes as her chin trembled violently, and he used his hand behind her neck to pull her back down to him.

“I’m so sorry, Leah,” he whispered as she buried her face in his shirt.

“Don’t apologize,” she said, her voice breaking before she sniffled and hiccupped against his chest, and he held her, running his hands over her back, her arms, her hair, anywhere he could reach.

After several minutes she spoke again, her voice softly breaking the silence. “How much more time do you have?”

“I don’t know. A lot of stuff got held up in the beginning because of everything with Bryan and his involvement in all this. It’s all paper pushing at this point. The court date for my sentencing hasn’t been set, but my lawyer says it will be sometime this year.”

She nodded against him.

“And I’ll understand, Leah. I swear to you, I’ll understand.”

“Understand what?” she whispered.

“If this changes how you feel about me.”

She sat up, looking down at him, and he stared back up at her. “I’ll understand,” he promised.

And he would. He wouldn’t hate her for walking away. He wouldn’t even hate her if she thought he was a monster, because the truth was, he’d never felt like more of a monster than he did in this moment, watching her hurt for him.

She stared at him until her eyes welled with tears again.

“This is a lot to take in,” she said as they spilled over her lower lashes.

“I know,” he whispered, wiping them away with his thumbs.

“I just…I need to think. There’s so much…” She trailed off and shook her head, and he nodded.

“I know. It’s okay.”

She looked down at him, and he smiled at her, hoping she couldn’t see the sadness behind it.

Leah brought her hand to his cheek, and he leaned into her touch.

“I just…I want you to know that no matter what happens, I know you, Danny,” she said. “I know who you really are.”

He stared up at her, and the vice-like pain in his chest began to soften for the first time since he had entered her apartment. There was nothing she could have said in that moment more perfect than the words she’d just spoken.

Because no matter what she decided after this, even if she chose to walk away and never look back, in a way, she had just absolved him.

She had looked straight through all the horror and the ugliness, and she still saw him.

And when she laid her head back down on his chest, he rested his cheek against her hair and closed his eyes, wondering if there would ever be a man on this planet who was worthy of her.

Leah sat at her desk, spinning a paper clip between her fingers.

She just wanted this day to be over.

Every Tuesday she ran the After-School Help program, or ASH, as the students called it. From two to four thirty, students could come to receive extra help in whatever classes they were struggling with, although most often it was overrun with athletes just looking for a quiet place to do their homework before practice began.

By the time the bell rang after Leah’s last class, it had already felt like the longest day she’d ever experienced, so the two and a half hours she still had to endure before she could go home seemed insurmountable.

She thought work would provide her with a much needed distraction, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t focus on anything except what had happened the day before. She could see everything so vividly—the scene he described, his face as he told her—and she’d spent most of the day on the verge of tears because of it.

The images of Bryan trying to defend himself against three guys—the vicious kick to the head—were burnt into her consciousness, and she hadn’t even been there. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like for Danny.

She knew if it were her, she would never get over it—watching something that disturbing happen to her best friend.

But Bryan had been more like Danny’s brother.

For a split second, she imagined what it would feel like to watch Christopher suffer that way, and the thought alone was enough to incapacitate her.

And when it wasn’t those images torturing her, it was the memory of that look on his face as he explained everything to her; even worse than the guilt and sadness in his eyes was the defeat, as if he were waiting for her to condemn him, or dismiss him, or recoil from him.

It was absolutely heartbreaking.

He had told her he’d understand if her feelings for him changed, but the truth was, it only reinforced them. Because when he spoke, all she could hear was how he had tried to defend his brother—how he had attempted to protect someone he loved, and he had failed.

He was a good person who made an impulse decision with disastrous results, and Leah just couldn’t get past the unfairness of it all—that Bryan was gone over something so senseless, that Danny would be paying such a heavy price for something that was clearly an accident.

That she was about to lose another person she cared about.

He was the first person she had allowed past her defenses in years, and he was going away. How many times could that happen to one person? How many times would she be forced to endure it?

She didn’t know if she could survive it again.

It made her want to grab two handfuls of her hair and scream, because all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and protect him from what was coming his way. But if she did that, who would protect her?

She already cared about him so much, and it frightened her to think of how much she might feel for him if she continued down this path. Could she withstand that? Letting herself fall for him completely and then losing him? For years?

She couldn’t imagine cutting him out of her life, but at the same time, it would be incredibly foolish and careless to keep going like this. There was no right answer, and thinking of it made her feel disoriented and irritable and completely exhausted.

By the time ASH ended, Leah felt weak, like she might be coming down with the sickness she’d been lying about all day whenever people asked her what was wrong with her. She got in her car, desperate to get home and crawl into bed, but as soon as she started it up, she heard Holly’s ring tone playing from somewhere inside her purse.

Leah threw the car into reverse before she pulled the phone from her bag.

“What’s up?” she said, holding the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she craned her neck to back out of the space.

“Ughhh! I’m about to lose it. Are you done with that extra-help thing?”

“Yeah, I’m on my way home right now. What’s wrong?”

“I need your help. Can you come to Evan’s apartment?”

“Right now?” Leah asked.

“Right now.”

“Why? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I’m just under a time crunch and I really need your help. Please? I’ll explain when you get here.”

Leah’s shoulders dropped in defeat as she exhaled softly. This day was never going to end.

“Alright. I’ll be there in like fifteen minutes.”

“Oh thank God,” Holly said as she exhaled. “Okay, see you then.”

Leah ended the call and tossed her phone into her bag. She pulled off the road and made a U-turn, hoping Holly would be a better distraction than work had been.

About twenty minutes later, Leah walked up to Evan’s front door, stopping as she heard a muted thud followed by Holly’s chorus of “goddamn stupid-ass motherfucking piece of shit!”

Leah smiled her first genuine smile of the day before she knocked softly.

“Holly?”

“Come in!” she called, and Leah opened the door and froze.

Holly was sitting in the middle of Evan’s living room, surrounded by pieces of black lacquered wood, a bunch of crumpled papers, several panes of glass, a sea of screws and bolts, and multiple screwdrivers. She looked up, her expression pathetic as she blew her bangs out of her eyes with a huff.

“Hey,” she said weakly.

“What the hell is all this?” Leah asked, and Holly dropped her face into her hands and whimpered.

“Evan’s anniversary present.”

“You got him debris?” she asked, dropping her purse on the dining room table before she tiptoed through the living room, trying not to step on anything.

“Our three-year anniversary is tomorrow, and he’s been wanting this entertainment center forever, but since we’re trying to save up to buy a place, he won’t spend the money on himself, so I wanted to surprise him, and I bought it, but I didn’t realize I’d have to put it together, and he’s gonna be home in like two hours, and I’m so totally fucked,” she ranted, swatting at one of the crumpled pieces of paper and sending it flying across the room.

“Okay, relax,” Leah said with a laugh as she sat down next to her. “We’re two college-educated women; we should be able to put this thing together in a couple of hours. I mean, there are instructions, right? We’ll just follow them. How hard can it be?”

Holly looked at her incredulously as she gestured to the disaster on the floor in front of them, and Leah smiled. “Alright, go in the kitchen. Take a break. Get us something to snack on and let me reorganize everything in here.”

“Okay,” Holly said as she stood, stretching her arms over her head before she hopped over the mess in front of her and made her way to the kitchen.

Leah started by flattening out all the crumpled pieces of paper and figuring out which ones were the instructions, and then she organized all the planks, screws, bolts, and panes of glass in the order in which they’d be needing them. By the time Holly came back with chips and salsa and a beer for each of them, she had worked out a fairly straightforward system. She explained it to Holly, and for the first ten minutes or so, the only words spoken between them were either asking for parts or reading instructions.

Holly was working on securing one of the shelves to the backboard while Leah attached the hinges to the glass doors, when suddenly—without even fully deciding to do it—Leah spoke.

“Danny told me his secret.”

“Really?” Holly said, sifting through the pile of screws. “When?”

“Yesterday,” she said, this time with a bit of trepidation as she realized she’d just opened the door to a conversation she wasn’t exactly sure she wanted to have.

“Well, that didn’t take long,” Holly said, awkwardly twisting the screwdriver with both hands. “So…what is it?”

Leah chewed on the inside of her lip as she finished securing the hinge. She had never been as conflicted over something as she was about this—in fact, as the day wore on, the warnings were getting louder while the pull she felt toward him intensified. And as uneasy as she was to discuss this with Holly—or with anyone for that matter—maybe doing so would help her start to make sense of what she was feeling.

“Okay, well, remember how I told you his friend died a year ago?”

“Yeah,” she said, shaking out her hand before she continued twisting the screwdriver.

“Well, turns out he’s been on life support this whole time. Danny says he’s gone. No brain activity or anything. But his family is still hoping for him to turn around.”

Holly grimaced. “Ugh, that’s so sad. Did he finally tell you how it happened?”

“Yeah,” she said, her stomach turning. “He, um…it was a bar fight.”

Holly’s hand stopped twisting as she glanced up. “A bar fight?”

Leah nodded.

“So like, he was killed?”

“Technically, yeah.”

“Oh my God. That’s horrible.”

“I know,” Leah replied softly, looking back down as she started working on the next hinge.

Holly sat there unmoving for a second before she shook her head, turning her attention back to the screwdriver. “As awful as that is, I don’t understand why he was so afraid to tell you that.”

Here we go.

“Well, that’s not the secret. I mean, that’s part of it, but…that wasn’t the part he was nervous to tell me.”

“Okay…” Holly trailed off, leaving the floor open for her to continue.

Leah cleared her throat softly before she said, “Danny was there the night it happened. He got involved. Went after the guy who did it.”

“That’s not surprising,” Holly said.

“Well, he’s probably looking at jail time now,” she said, her hands working furiously on the task before her. She could see Holly out of the corner of her eye, her brow pulled together as she shook her head.

“Why the hell would he go to jail? Why wouldn’t they put away the animal who assaulted his friend?”

Leah smiled sadly; Holly was mirroring her exact line of thinking from yesterday.

She took a small breath to steady herself. “Because he’s dead.”

Holly finally looked up. “Wait…who’s dead? The guy who beat up his friend?”

Leah nodded.

Holly stared at her for what seemed like forever before understanding finally swept over her face, followed immediately by horror.

“It wasn’t intentional,” Leah said quickly, suddenly feeling extremely protective over him. “He was just trying to get him away from Bryan, but they went through a window, and the glass ended up cutting the guy’s neck. Danny doesn’t even fully remember what happened. It was an accident.”

Holly wet her lips before she looked down.

“He’s a good person, Holly. Probably one of the best people I know.”

Holly kept her eyes on her lap, rolling the screwdriver between her fingers. After a minute of silence, she said, “So, what did you tell him?”

“I told him I needed to think.”

She nodded slowly. “Do you know how long he’d be going away for?”

“He’s not sure. It’s manslaughter, not murder, but still...probably a couple of years.”

Holly winced before she picked up another screw and began working it into the shelf. “Shit, Leah. I mean, how can you…is there even anything to think about?”

“Of course there’s something to think about!” Leah snapped. “I care about him, Holly. He was only protecting his friend. You even said yourself it was understandable. It was a freak accident. It doesn’t change who he is, and it doesn’t change how I feel about him!”

Holly kept her head down as she said, “I’m not questioning his character, Leah. I get that he’s a good guy. That’s not what my issue is here.”

Leah exhaled, running the back of her hand over her eyes. “I know. I don’t mean to snap at you. I’m just so confused. I don’t know if I can walk away from him. He doesn’t deserve that.”

“Okay, but you have to stop putting other people’s needs before your own.”

“But he is what I need,” she said, freezing as soon as the words left her mouth. She hadn’t realized how true that was until she had said it out loud.

“Leah,” Holly said softly.

“I don’t know what to do. I’m not sure I can do it again.”

“Do what again?”

“Lose someone,” she said, and Holly’s shoulders dropped as her expression softened. “I mean, I lost my mom. I lost Scott…or at least, I lost the person I thought Scott was.” She shook her head. “But both of those situations were out of my control, you know? I didn’t see them coming, so I had no choice but to deal with the aftermath. And I just keep thinking that here, I have a choice. I know what the future holds, and I can walk away this time. I can save myself the heartache.”

Holly sighed softly before she dropped her eyes and picked up the screwdriver, and Leah went back to securing the hinge. For a few minutes, they worked on the entertainment center in silence, the air heavy with unspoken words.

“This thing with you and Danny,” Holly finally said, “I think your paths crossed for a reason. Maybe it was meant to be fleeting. Maybe you were just supposed to help each other move on from certain things in your past. Or maybe you’re supposed to be together forever.”

She looked up at Leah as she said, “I wish I could help you, but I don’t know what the right choice is, Leah. The only person who can figure that out is you. And you’re capable of doing it. I know you don’t think you are, but you need to stop doubting yourself. What happened with Scott wasn’t your fault. He was an opportunist. That doesn’t make you incompetent; it makes him an asshole.”

The corner of Leah’s mouth lifted in a smile as Holly said, “So you take some time to think about it, and you figure out what’s going to make you happiest, and then you do it.”

Leah kept her eyes on the floor as she nodded.

“And you know that whatever you choose, I’ll support you. No matter what happens.”

Leah smiled as she lifted her eyes. “I know. And thank you.”

“Of course,” Holly said. “You’re my girl, and I love you.”

“I know that too.”

Holly smiled before she looked down and tightened the last screw, and then she held up the board with the shelf she had just attached. She grinned triumphantly just as one side of the shelf disconnected, the plank of wood slipping until it was hanging awkwardly by one screw.

Leah pressed her lips together, fighting the laugh she felt bubbling up in her throat, and Holly closed her eyes before she took a deep breath, putting the board back on the floor.

“The things we put ourselves through for love,” she sighed as she picked up the screwdriver, and Leah nodded, wondering if it was really the entertainment center she was referring to.

Leah turned the corner and popped her head into the main office, saying good night to the secretaries before she made her way out to the parking lot. As soon as she was sheltered in the refuge of her car, she dropped her head back on the seat and exhaled heavily.

It had been over a week since Danny came to her apartment and told her everything, and with the exception of two “good night” texts, she hadn’t spoken to him at all. She missed him more than she was prepared to deal with, but she knew it would be unfair to continue calling him if she hadn’t yet figured out what she wanted.

But she thought of him all the time.

Work was the only thing that provided her with a reprieve; she’d gotten much better at putting on a happy face during the day, but as soon as she left school, her mind and her body began functioning as separate entities. Her body would be occupied with driving, or cooking, or cleaning, or getting ready for bed, operating entirely on autopilot as her mind surrendered to the thoughts of Danny she’d avoided all day.

She would imagine what it would feel like to be with him, reveling in the way he made her feel, the way he made her laugh, the way he touched her, the way they seemed to connect on every level, and she’d find herself swaying toward that decision. And then she’d imagine standing in a courtroom, watching Danny being led away through a set of doors she wasn’t allowed beyond, and her throat would instantly close up as she found herself retreating.

Leah opened her eyes and stared at her reflection in the rearview mirror. She didn’t want to go home, because she knew what was waiting there for her—another night of restless sleep after an endless battle of logic and emotion.

She sat up and started the car, pulling out onto the road and going in the opposite direction of her apartment.

She had no idea how much she would tell him, or if she would tell him anything at all, but at that moment, she just wanted to be with her father.

Leah stopped at a grocery store first, picking up a few things so she could make dinner. As soon as she pulled into his driveway, she saw the curtains in the living room pull back before they fell closed again, and seconds later he was outside in his bare feet, helping her carry in the bags.

“Daddy! There’s snow on the ground!” she scolded. “Go back inside, I got it.”

He ignored her, meeting her halfway down the driveway and kissing the top of her head as he took the bags out of her hands.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I just felt like coming for a visit.”

He stared at her for a second, and Leah could tell by his expression that he didn’t buy it, but he smiled before turning to walk back up the driveway toward the house.

“So,” he said as he put the bags on the counter in the kitchen, “do you need my help in here?”

Leah smirked. “You look like a racer on the block right now.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” he laughed.

“Go,” she said through a chuckle as she began unpacking the bags. “I know the game is on. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure. I don’t know how I’ll ever manage to put a meal together without your culinary expertise, but I’ll try.”

He laughed to himself as he turned to walk out of the kitchen. “Just like your mother with that smart mouth,” he said, and Leah smiled.

She focused all her attention on preparing dinner; she breaded the chicken, she washed and steamed the vegetables, she mixed the lemon herb sauce she used to season them, and because it was her father’s favorite, she made a package of Stove Top stuffing.

“Dad?” she called, removing two plates from the cabinet.

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to eat in there?”

“No, the Lakers are playing like shit. I can’t watch this while I’m eating.”

Leah laughed as she loaded two plates with food and brought them to the table before she grabbed two bottles of beer from the fridge.

“Alright, it’s ready,” she called as she popped the caps off the bottles and brought them to the table.

“This smells great, princess. Thank you.” He walked past her and took his seat at the table, and she smiled before picking up her silverware.

“So what’s going on with you, Leah?”

She stilled with the knife and fork in her hand before she forced a smile and resumed cutting her chicken.

“What do you mean?”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine, but something’s up,” he said, pointing at her with his fork. “You think I don’t know my own daughter?”

She kept her eyes on her plate as she continued to cut, but she sighed softly. On some subconscious level, she realized this was why she had come. If anyone would give it to her straight, it would be her father. But she couldn’t bring herself to disclose everything. He hadn’t even met Danny, and she didn’t want the first thing he learned about him to be the fact that he was facing jail time. Her father was a fair and honest man, but he was still a father, and he’d never want that for her.

“I met somebody,” she said, her eyes on her plate.

“I had a feeling,” he said, and she looked up to see his eyes on her as he took a sip of his beer.

“Why do you say that?”

He shrugged. “You’ve been different.”

“Different how?”

He placed his beer back on the table. “It’s subtle. But lately, when you smile, it reaches your eyes again. I haven’t seen that in a long time.”

She looked away from him, trying to swallow the lump in her throat brought on by his words.

“You’ve been guarded for a long time now, so if someone finally got through to you, he must be pretty special.”

She nodded, still looking down. “He is.”

When her father didn’t respond, she glanced up at him. He was watching her intently as he said, “So what’s the problem?”

“It’s just…it’s not gonna be easy,” she said, taking a small bite of her chicken and chewing slowly.

Her dad chuckled. “Anyone who says a relationship should be easy has never been in one.” The corner of Leah’s mouth lifted as he added, “So what makes you think this one will be so hard?”

Leah twisted the fork between her fingers. “He’s probably going to be leaving soon.”

“For good?”

“No, not for good. But for a while probably.”

“Ah,” her father said, taking another sip of beer. “And you’re worried about having a long-distance relationship?”

She smiled softly. “Something like that.”

“People do it all the time, Leah.”

“I know people do it. I just don’t know if I can do it. You know that I’ve had a really hard time opening up since Scott.” Her father scowled at the mention of his name as Leah said, “And when I think about allowing myself to get attached to this guy, and then having him leave…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough for that. It’ll be too hard.”

He didn’t respond, and for the next few minutes, they ate in silence. Leah kept stealing quick glances at her father, but his expression was even as he continued eating.

“Your mother had a terrible pregnancy with Christopher,” he said suddenly, and Leah pulled her brow together as she looked up at him.

“I mean really awful,” he said. “For the first five months, she was sick all day. And I mean all day. I thought it was called morning sickness because it happened in the morning. What the hell did I know,” he added with a chuckle. “I made the mistake of mentioning that to her one time. I never said it again.”

Leah smiled, and he said, “About halfway through the pregnancy, she started keeping food down, but that’s when the heartburn started. Everything she ate would give her heartburn. A glass of water would cause the woman to belch fire.”

Leah laughed, picking at the label on her beer.

“And then about six weeks before Chris was due, she started having contractions, so her doctor put her on bed rest. She was only allowed to be on her feet for ten minutes a day. I brought her every magazine, every book, every movie I could think of to try and keep her occupied, but the poor thing was just crawling out of her skin.” He smiled softly and looked down. “And then came the labor. Thirty-seven hours. And these were the days before they were so ready to stick that thing in your back. That…that…epicenter.”

“Epidural,” Leah corrected with a laugh.

He waved his hand in the air. “Whatever that thing is called. They weren’t so willing to give those things out. So your mom did it natural.” He shook his head. “Thirty-seven hours. I’ll never forget it. To this day I don’t know how she did it.”

Her father smiled before he dropped his eyes, and Leah reached across the table, giving his hand a squeeze.

“And then when Christopher was around nine months old, she said she wanted to have another one. I couldn’t believe it. I figured after everything she’d gone through, we wouldn’t be having any more children. I mean, I was thrilled she wanted more. I just couldn’t believe she did.”

He looked up at Leah. “So I asked her, ‘Dee, are you sure you wanna go through all that again?’ And you know what she said to me?”

“What?”

He looked her in the eyes. “She said the reward more than made up for the suffering.”

Leah swallowed hard as she felt the sting of tears pricking her eyes, and he placed his hand on hers. “So if something seems too hard, princess, before you throw in the towel, you should always ask yourself, ‘Will the reward be worth the suffering?’”

He gave her hand a quick squeeze before he picked up his fork and resumed eating.

Leah sat there, unmoving, allowing the weight of her father’s words to sink in. After what seemed like forever, she glanced up to see him watching her, and a slow smile curved her lips.

“Whenever I get to meet this guy, you have to remind me to thank him.”

“For what?” she asked.

He gestured toward her with his beer bottle. “For giving me back that smile.”

Leah lay in her bed, holding her cell phone against her stomach as she stared up at the ceiling. The more defined her plans became, the faster her heart pounded in her chest. She had thought about it the whole way home from her father’s house; after spending the week isolated from Danny, she knew she still wanted him in her life; she just wasn’t sure in what capacity. Could she begin a relationship with him, knowing what was at stake? Or would it make more sense to remain his friend?