Tough Love

Chapter Sixty-Two

Dani lets out a shaky breath and then she does something that shocks all of us. She stands up, walks over to my mom and gives her a hug. At first, my mom is so shocked, she doesn't do anything. But when she wraps her arms around Dani, Dani bursts into tears. Not the heart wrenching sobs that I've heard coming from her, but a different kind of tears. She just keeps whispering, “Thank you.” over and over. My mom whispers, “I know I can never take her place, but I think of you as my daughter now and if you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask. Ok?”

Dani sniffs and replies, “Yes ma'am. Thank you so much.”

My face is hurting from the smile that's plastered on it. Even my dad looks like he wants to shed a tear. He knows how difficult the struggle has been; he knows that Dani giving my mom a hug is an extremely big step forward.

After Dani steps away from my mom, she whispers an apology. Probably for crying, so my dad quickly says, “You've got nothing to be sorry for. I'm just glad you like it. Would you like to watch one now?”

Her eyes sparkle, “Really?”

“Yes. We'd like to see it as well if that's ok with you.”

“Oh yes sir.”

My mom makes coffee as we settle in front of the TV to watch Dani's momma dancing on stage. She really was a truly amazing dancer. Now, I'm not a fan of ballet, but she has a grace and talent that even I can appreciate. I can see where Dani gets her beauty from.

Dani

We're on our way back to my house, and it's almost 11pm. I can't believe Connie and Don got me these DVDs. That has to be one of the best gifts ever. I feel guilty because I didn't get them anything, but Eli assures me they weren't expecting anything in return. He also tells me that he bought something for them from the both of us. I have to admit, I'm starting to feel like part of the family. Those drugs seem to be working better now and I'm not so on edge all the time. I don't think I'll ever get rid of the dirty feeling I have inside, but I'm starting to see that if Eli can accept me then maybe his parents can as well. Maybe not everyone is like the people who took me and tortured me.

Eli holds my hand as we go to sleep. We've figured out that it seems to be a link to reality for me, and it makes the nightmares more manageable. I feel a little like a child, as I sleep with the DVDs on my bedside table. Before I know it, it's morning time.

As we get ready to leave for work, Eli reaches for my hand and he whispers, “Happy Christmas, sweetheart.”

“Happy Christmas, Eli. Thank you for everything.”

“You're more than welcome. I did get you something.”

“You did? You shouldn't get me anything. You've already done too much for me.”

“I wanted to get you something. Do you want to open it now?”

I shrug, feeling embarrassed. Eli hands me an envelope and says, “It's nothing big, but I thought it was something you'd use.”

As I open the envelope, a smile appears on my face. He knows me well. Getting me a book voucher is the perfect gift. I've read everything I own already and I'm in desperate need of new books.

“Thank you, Eli. It's perfect.”

“You're welcome. Shall we get this day over with?”

“Yes sir.”

Work is relatively quiet, surprisingly. Maybe people aren't awake yet or something, but the teams end up training for most of the day. They get called out to a bomb scare around 4pm, which I run comms for, but they clock out at 8pm, just like they're supposed to. Eli drops me home before heading to his parents' house.