One Step Behind

Chapter 24~ Aiden

I knew Monday would be weird, but I didn't expect it to be a series of crazy events.

When I woke up, I threw on a pink shirt and some jeans. Then, I went to check on Dani. She wasn't awake so I sat on the side of the bed and gently nudged her till she was.

"Nooo five more minutes!" She groans, and flips to the other side. I turn on the lights and she shields her eyes with a pillow.

"Come on," I say, moving then pillow, and then taking her hand.

"You're wearing the shirt I bought you," she states as we walk down stairs.

"I always liked it," I reply.

"Morning dears, I made some banana and chocolate chip pancakes if you want that," my mom states. She always gets up an hour before me for who knows why since we get up so earlier.

"Yes thank you," Dani responds, and then I get her some. Once I have gotten myself some, we sit in silence and eat at the dining table. Once she's done, which is surprisingly before me, she heads upstairs to get ready after putting her plate in the sink. I quickly finish up and do the same.

All I do in the morning is throw on some clothes and cologne, eat, brush my teeth, and sometimes do my hair. So, I was done after about five minutes.
I sat on my bed and waited for Dani to finish up. We had to leave around 7:30 and it was about two minutes away from then when I realized I should go check on her.

First, I knocked on her door but she didn't say anything so I walked in. She was curled up, on the floor, sobbing.

"Dani, what's wrong?" I ask, kneeling down beside her.

"I can't do it, Aiden. I can't," she mutters, shaking.

"Can't do what?" I question.

"Go to school. I can't see Jonah. I can't go to class without thinking of Shay. I don't want to see Kristin. I can't see Kyle without thinking of Shay again. I can barely look at you without thinking of her," she explains.

"Dani, look at me. I am not going to let them hurt you, and you can't let them get into your head. During lunch, we can go out and maybe even ditch 6th period," I suggest.

"Okay," she mumbles. I help her up, wipe her eyes, and kiss her forehead. Then, we head to school.

~~~~~~~~~

The first thing that we see when we walk in the door is Lillian.

"Come here, Danielle," Lillian growls, and marches toward us.

"What do you want?" I snap at her.

"Why did your friends come to my house? Tell them to leave me alone!" She says.

"What?" Danielle asks.

"Your friends, Jonah and the evil sister, came over and were looking for you," she says.

"Why?" She questions.

"I don't know! Just tell them to leave me alone!" She screams and then storms off.

"You still have my phone, right?" Dani questions. She gave me her phone after mom left her stay. She said she hadn't checked it but was afraid she would. I surprisingly hadn't looked at it either.

"Yeah," I answer.

"Can I see if Jonah called or texted?" She asks.

"Dani, you're going to see him soon, okay?" I reply.

"Are you um jealous that I'm with him and not you?" She teases.

"We kissed, so not really. I can face a little competition," I reply. She giggles and her smile lights up the world.

"Alright now I'll take you out for lunch but till then you're on your own, okay? I believe in you," I add, and then kiss her cheek. She blushes, nods, and then hurries to her locker once the "three minute till class begins" bell.

~~~~~~~~

When I am on my way to pick up Dani, I overhear her talking to Jonah. So, I hide behind a wall and of course, eavesdrop.

"Dani, I never meant to hurt you. I shouldn't have ever told Jacy. I had to come looking for you once you were gone. If you had been dead or even hurt I would have never forgiven myself," Jonah explains.

"I shouldn't have left you worried like that. I'm just happy the police didn't let you file a report for whatever," she replies.

"So are we good?" He asks.

"Yeah, and if you want me to I could come back, I'm sure Jacy would love it," she answers.

"She trashed my room after we couldn't find you, and it's still not clean," Jonah states, and I hear Dani laugh. I look over the corner and see that they are now hugging. So, I walk around the corner to break this up.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late. Ready to go?" I ask, swinging my arm around her shoulder.

"Get your hands off her, man," Jonah growls.

"Hey, hey, Jonah, it's okay, and yes, could Jonah come too?" She asks.

"Go where?" Jonah questions.

"Aiden was going to take me out to lunch," Dani answers.

"I'd love to come," Jonah states, and smirks at me.

"Is that okay, Aiden?" Dani says.

"Sure," I reply, and she gives me a quick hug.

"Alright, can we go to KFC? I've been wanting fried chicken," Dani responds.

"Okay," I state. Then, we all head to my car. Jonah sits in the passengers seat and Dani sits in the back. KFC is only five minutes away but I still hurry to get there, our lunch is only forty five minutes long.

Once we get to the first light, I slow down because it's a yellow light. However, once I am about half way through the intersection, the light turns red. I speed up to get past it, but then a truck jams into my car. We begin to spin out of control, and Dani is screaming in the back. We slide down a hill, and then the windshield completely shatters. The next thing I know, everything is black.

~~~~~~