growing in love - jj maybank

Ch 4. The Death and Life of Jessica Danielle Burton.

About a month ago...

"Dani! Shut up!" Rafe yelled, shaking the gun at the girl, "Just, shut up!"

Dani screamed as she closed her eyes, afraid of what was to come.

But... nothing ever did. Yes, there was a gunshot. Yes, Dani's ears were ringing from the noise. Yet, Dani didn't feel any pain, in fact, other than the injuries she had already incurred... Dani felt fine?

"What the..." Dani opened her eyes in her daze, catching Rafe's brooding scowl above her. The teen had the gun pointed straight in front of him as if he simply lifted the aim from Dani's small body to the air above her head.

"Fuck!" Rafe yelled, louder and more determined than any yell she had ever possibly heard.

Dani barely had time to react, her body instantly lifted up as she was dragged away to a locked room within the large vessel.

Dani flailed, trying to escape, but it was useless. She was too small, weak, and in pain to put up much of a fight.

Dani was left in her prison for hours. It was completely dark inside with no windows to provide sunlight and no lights to illuminate her.

Dani plopped down on the floor, closing her eyes and feeling the gentle sway of the boat beneath her. She was too afraid to sleep, her surroundings unknown. So, all Dani was left with was her brain, her ability to think and contemplate all life's choices. It was clear to Dani that no matter what happened with the gold or the cross, she had made the right decision. Sure the Camerons won, they got the priceless artifacts that belonged to the Pogues, well really a museum, but the Pogues still escaped. Dani helped them all, at least, that's what she hoped.

The longer Dani sat alone in her dark, secluded room, the clearer it seemed the pogues had successfully gotten the fuck away. Of course, that is not to say the pogues all made it to the lifeboat once in the water, but Dani didn't dare let the thought cross her mind. To her, they were safe. Cleo, Pope, John B, Sarah, Kie, and JJ. Alive. Well.

It wasn't clear when Rose Cameron came to retrieve Dani, but it was certainly dark out.

The blonde woman opened the door slowly, expecting Dani to either act like a wounded puppy or a rabid dog, but Dani was neither. She stood, her muscles tight from sitting cramped in a ball for an extended period of time. It took Dani a few moments to gain her balance and composure, not only had she stuck herself in one position for several hours, her shoulder throbbed from where Rafe got her with the firepoker, and her side hurt like a motherfucker. Where she held doubt before, Dani now held certainty, her rib was most definitely cracked, if not completely snapped.

Even with Dani standing firmly on her feet, the room swayed a bit.

Rose Cameron tilted her chin, taking in the mess of a girl before her. "Danielle Burton, what in God's name have you gotten yourself into?"

Dani didn't respond, a large sob sitting in her throat. She tried to breathe through the pain and the tears threatening to fall, but it was too much, Dani was completely, utterly, defeated.

The girl rushed toward the blonde woman, collapsing on her. Tears flowed soundly from Dani's eyes and sobs wracked the small girl's broken frame, only aggravating the extreme pain in her side. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, I just wanna go home."

Rose hugged the girl back, rubbing soft circles on Dani's back. It was true, for Dani, Rose was really the only real, consistent mother figure in her life. "Shh. Shh. It's okay, I've got you sweet girl."