Night Fall | Sweet Pea (completed)

Chapter Sixteen.

The eerily familiar sound of beeping ran through my ears as I tried to open my eyes. My lungs hurt when I inhaled the stale air. I couldn't remember much after running inside the trailer and I had only prayed that I managed to grab the bag otherwise my heart would be broken. 

"Danica?" An unfamiliar but kind voice made me open my eyes as I looked around and found myself in the hospital bed. Sighing deeply at the realisation that I was back here after a day or two I turned to see the doctor who had treated me previously. 

"What's the situation doc?" She laughed at me before handing me some painkillers and a paper cup filled with water. Taking the painkillers I waited for her response, anxiously looking around the room trying to find Sweet Pea.

"You inhaled quite a bit of smoke into your lungs but the baby is still safe, you've been out cold for a day and a half, you have second degree burns on your arm which may leave a little bit of a scar but that's it. Now that you've woken up and are completely responsive we'll discharge you in a couple of hours. Drink plenty of water in the meantime and I'll get the nurse to bring you in some soup." I half smiled at the doctor before looking down at my arm that was covered in a protective gauze. 

I immediately looked from side to side in search of both Sweet Pea and the bag, seeing the bag on the drawers next to me I sighed in relief, reaching over to grab ahold of it and check it's contents.

"Your boyfriend should be back in a minute, I sent him to get food for when you woke up, he said he was going to Pop's and left about half an hour ago." I smiled once more at the nurse before she exited the room and I tipped the bag upside down. I knew I had some explaining to do to Sweet Pea once he got back as to why I risked the life of our unborn baby for some bag but hopefully once he saw the contents he would realise why. 

I picked up my grandparents wedding rings as a small tear trickled down my cheek, I couldn't imagine living without their rings, especially not when it was the last piece I had left of them. Before I could pick up the rest of the contents I heard heavy footsteps running down the hallway and I knew immediately that it was Sweet Pea.

"Dani?!" His voice was rushed and puffed out as he ran into the room, grabbing me instantly and kissing me on the lips only making me smile. He wrapped his arms around me gently before pulling away. I was scared to see his face as I knew how disappointed he was going to be in me.

"Why did you do it Dani? Why did you risk your own life AND our babies for some bag?" His voice was broken as he rested his hand on my stomach waiting for my answer. I had never really told him exactly about my past before, he knew bits and pieces but everyone knew it was a 'do not ask' situation. Taking a deep breath I rested my hand on top of his own before looking over at him.

"When I was younger my parents were never around, they had joined some gang when I was born and never thought to be there for their own child, my grandparents were who raised me. As I got older I begun to understand that my parents weren't coming home and honestly I wouldn't have changed it any other way. My grandparents took me to school and award ceremonies, they came to my end of year assemblies and always made sure I had the best life possible. When I was 14 years old I had come home from school early, usually my grandparents would pick me up but for some reason they didn't answer their phones so I had walked." Tears slowly started trickling down my cheeks as Sweet Pea's grip on my hand had tightened. 

"Hey hey Dani it's okay, deep breaths" I listened to Sweet Pea's voice as it calmed me down before I could continue. 

"When I had reached our house I saw the front door was ajar, usually it was always closed and locked. I slowly walked into the living room to see my grandparents bodies on the floor. Standing over them was none other than my own father... he held the gun in his hands and a smile on his face, a tattoo I didn't recall seeing was branded on his left bicep, it was the mark of the Ghoulies." By this stage the trickle of tears had turned into a full stream. The only other time I had spoken about this was to the police the day it happened. 

"Danica oh my gosh I had no idea. Everyone just assumed your parents took off like majority of ours had, I had no clue they had joined the Ghoulies." Sweet Pea kissed my hand softly as I continued speaking once more.

"My father's eyes met mine and instead of killing me there and then he said six words to me that are forever etched into my brain: 'you should have come with us.' He blamed my grandparents death on me, he told me that if I had went with my parents instead of my grandparents as a child that the people who raised me would still be alive. My father walked straight past me and out the front door with a smirk on his face, brushing his shoulder against my own as he walked into the car that sat across the road. I haven't seen him or my mother since... In that bag held my grandparents wedding rings and a photo album from when I was little. I know it may not seem like much and I know it may not seem like enough for me to risk our baby's life but that's the last I have of my grandparents. It's the last little piece of them that I had, the rest is all memories. The house I grew up in burnt to the ground that night I was at the police station and it destroyed every bit of evidence the police had along with it. I'm so sorry about what I did I really am." I took a deep breath and looked at Sweet Pea trying to read his expression. 

"Dani I was terrified I was going to lose the both of you... again. However I completely understand why you would need that bag, I mean in grabbing that bag and my stuff you saved us a whole lot of time trying to get new passports and drivers licenses so that's a plus right?" Sweet Pea stated making me laugh slightly. "Seriously though Dani I am so sorry about your grandparents and your parents. Has there been any record of them in the Ghoulies since this all happened?" 

Shaking my head no for an answer I heard him sigh slightly. 

"They fell off the radar. No sign of them anywhere, no record of their credit card being used, no record of them skipping countries. They're Ghoulies now it really doesn't surprise me that they've managed to go completely M.I.A since murdering my grandparents." As much as it hurt to talk about what happened it felt like a giant load had just been taken off of my shoulders. The only other people who knew about that night were Sheriff Keller and FP Jones, FP being one as he was made my legal guardian right after the event.

"I promise you I will protect you and our baby with my life princess. You are my life and I will never let the Ghoulies near you again. One way or another we will bring your grandparents to justice." Sweet Pea kissed me softly on the lips before sitting on the edge of the bed so he could cuddle up next to me.

"There's one more thing..." I said quickly taking Sweet Pea off guard as I reached over to the contents of my bag pulling out a piece of paper. "I think I have an older brother. This address is his last known address..." 

Sweet Pea's eyes met mine, shock clear in them as he looked back down at the paper and back up at me. "Dani... that's not just any address... that's Fangs' mum's house..."