"Are you kidding me?!" Michelle's voice groaned out in frustration from the kitchen.
Dani frowned as she got up from her spot on the couch to make her way over to her mother while asking, "What's wrong, Mom?"
"Frankie suggested we have breakfast for dinner tonight, but I completely forgot to pick up eggs on my way home," Michelle said with a sigh.
"No eggies?!" Frankie asked with a gasp.
"Don't worry, bud. You'll get your eggies. I'll go get them for you, okay?" Dani reassured her brother while kneeling to his level.
Frankie smiled while nodding his head, which made her smile back.
Michelle shook her head as she started to say, "Oh no, Dani, I couldn't possibly-"
"Mom, it's okay...they're just eggs. I'll be back in a few minutes," Dani reassured her mother while standing back up.
Michelle gave her daughter an appreciative smile. "Thank you, babydoll," she said as she began to dig in her pocket to get the money, but Dani stopped her again.
"Seriously, Mom. They're just eggs. I'll pay for them and everything," she said with a shrug.
Michelle shook her head again with another smile as she asked, "What did I do to deserve such an angel of a daughter?"
Dani snorted as she turned around to leave while saying, "You're so dramatic. I'll be back."
"Wait! Ellie!!"
Dani's eyebrows raised as she turned back around to face her running brother. "Yes, Monkey?"
"Can you please get me some em-a-mems?" Frankie asked as she knelt down.
Dani snorted and asked, "Can I get you some what?"
"Em-a-mems!" Frankie said with a grin. "I promise I won't eat them till after dinner! Pretty please?"
Dani raised an eyebrow. "Did you ask Mom?"
"Mm," Frankie mumbled while looking away. "I was gonna..."
"Frankie..."
"Pretty please," he begged with puppy dog eyes. "I promise you'll be my favorite big sister in the whole entire world!"
"I'm your only big sister," Dani said with a snort. "But I'll tell you what, I'll get you those em-a-mems if you promise to share some with me. That way, if Mom catches us with them, we'll both be in trouble. How about that?"
"Okay, Ellie!" Frankie said and gave her a hug. "Thank you! I love you bigger than I love dinosaurs!"
"Woah!" Dani exclaimed. "Bigger than you love dinosaurs?! You must love me a whole lot, then!"
"Mhm!" Frankie said as he pulled away. "You're the bestest big sister ever!"
Dani laughed and said, "And you're the bestest little brother ever! I'm going to go now, okay? I'll be back in a little bit."
"Okay!" Frankie said and hurried off to the living room.
Dani snorted as she watched him go. Little sneak knew exactly what to do to get what he wanted out of her.
They really were related, weren't they?
With a shake of her head, Dani turned back around to head out the door and off to the grocery store.
✧
Making her way out of the store and back to her car with the bag of eggs and Frankie's em-a-mems in her hands, a sudden wave of uneasiness rolled over Dani, which caused her to frown.
It felt as if she was being watched.
Slowing down, Dani looked around and shrugged as she saw no one in sight before continuing to her car. Just as she shut the door to the passenger's side after placing the bag on the floor, Dani jumped and gasped in shock at the reflection shown behind her through the window.
"Well, hello there, old friend.."
Her features were quick to twist in disgust as she turned around to face him. "What the hell do you want, Henry?" she questioned and narrowed her eyes when he gave her a playful shrug as if they were friends.
"Oh, nothing really. Just thought I'd say hello given the fact that we're coincidentally at the same place at the same time," Henry said with a small smirk.
Dani scoffed. "Oh, what a surprise. You're back to stalking me again. Don't you have anything better to do with your life?"
Henry's features fell into a faux look of hurt as he held his hand to his chest and said, "You wound me, Little Red...and just when I thought we were finally getting along!"
Dani narrowed her eyes again at his words. "We will never get along. I meant everything I said when I saw you last. Now leave me the hell alone and stay out of my life!!" she said and turned around to walk over to the driver's side of her car.
Another gasp of shock made its way out of Dani's mouth as she felt a hand grab her shoulder, forcing her to stop in her tracks. Her hand instantly fell to her keys inside her pocket as she held onto the object attached to its chain.
"I thought you'd learned by now never to anger a wolf," Henry said in a darkened tone as he leaned in next to her ear.
"And I thought you'd learned by now to leave me the hell ALONE!!" Dani shouted and whirled around to pepper spray him directly in the eyes, which immediately caused him to cry out in pain.
Dani rushed over to her car door as Henry was still lying on the ground and quickly started it up before she drove away as fast she could, not even bothered to care about the speed limit.
✧
She had managed to make it through dinner without worrying either of her parents, but Dani's heart was still racing from her encounter with Henry.
She saw him.
She saw him outside of prison.
Obviously, she knew that he'd been released, but her mind hadn't entirely accepted it until it was forced to. Dani also knew that she'd said she'd get her revenge on him, but the moment she saw him again, she just...froze. For that little time she interacted with him, it felt as if she were ten years old again...and she hated it. She absolutely despised the fear that he made her feel. He made her feel weak, and in order to fight back, she had to learn to feel the opposite of that whenever he was in her presence.
A knock on her door snapped Dani out of her thoughts as she turned her head from the window to see David poke his head through the door.
"Hey, kid...you got a moment to talk?" he questioned.
Dani hesitated for a moment before reluctantly nodding her head as she folded her legs into a criss-cross to make room for him on her bed. He gave her a small smile as he sat down.
"So...What is it you want to talk about?" she asked in genuine curiosity.
David sighed and said, "Dani, I know something was bothering you at dinner tonight."
"How in the world do you always know when something's on my mind?!" she asked him while shaking her head in disbelief.
"Eh, I guess it's father's intuition," he said with a shrug.
Dani raised an eyebrow at his answer, which caused David to give her a look of defeat as he then said, "And you just admitted it when you asked me that question."
Dani nodded and said, "Mhm, I thought so!!... But how come Mom's never the one to catch on, and she's the one who gave birth to me?"
"Actually...she does," David said, and Dani's eyebrows raised in shock. "Yeah...hard to believe, I know...it's just that, she feels as if you would feel better with me talking to you instead since I was uh...there that day."
Dani frowned at his words as they registered in her mind. Was her mother afraid to talk to her?
The sound of David's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she blinked as she looked up at him.
"I'm sorry...what were you saying?" she asked with furrowed brows.
David frowned. "I was asking you if you were alright...but now I'm definitely sure that something's bothering you, so spill it."
Dani sighed as what happened at the grocery store replayed in her mind.
"I saw Henry tonight," she told David quietly, but he appeared to have heard her loud and clear as his eyes clouded over with anger.
"You what?! I knew it had something to do with him! Are you okay?! Did that psycho hurt you?!" he questioned while looking her over.
Dani shook her head. "No! No, I'm okay...really! I'm okay. He didn't touch me," she reassured him, which only made him calm down slightly as there was still a slight glint of anger in his eyes.
"Well, what did he say to you?" he asked in concern.
Dani's eyebrows furrowed again as she thought back to what happened at the grocery store. "Nothing...important," she said before a smirk made its way onto her features. "I actually used the pepper spray that you got me on him."
David's angered look quickly turned into one of pride as a broad smile took over his features. "You did?! Alright, that's my girl!!" he exclaimed with a fist pump.
Dani laughed at his reaction before it quickly faded as he suddenly groaned out in pain while rubbing his arm. "Are you okay?!" she questioned.
"Yeah...yeah, I'm good. I guess getting thrown onto a coffee table has more cons than it does pros," David tried to joke it off, but it only made her feel worse as the events of the other night resurfaced in her head.
"I'm so sorry," she told him, which caused David to frown as he used his good arm to pull her into a side hug.
"Hey, it's alright, Dani. I'm alright," he reassured her. "Really, sweetheart. I'm not mad at you about it."
"But you're hurting because of me," Dani said with a sniff. "Plus, it was Mom's favorite coffee table. She got it at a yard sale!"
David chuckled as Dani laughed softly.
"See, there you go! Find the humor in this instead of focusing on the bad parts," he said. "There's light in everything."
"You're such a preacher," Dani said with a snort. "You sure you don't want to switch jobs? You could really give Mr.W a run for his money."
"You know what," David said with a laugh as she joined in. "Your mother likes to tease me about that too. You two think you're some real comedians around here, don't you?"
Dani shrugged and said, "Eh, guess it's in the genes."
David snorted and said, "Right. Just like clumsiness is in there too?"
Dani gasped before laughing as she said, "That is not funny!... And I'm telling Mom you said that!!"
David widened his eyes as she got up from the bed. "Wait, Dani, don't you dare!"
"Too late!" Dani said with a laugh while running out of the room. "Mom!! David just called you clumsy!!"
"Daniella Janine!!"
✧
A little while later, Dani stared at her reflection through the bathroom mirror with a frown slowly etching its way onto her features as she found herself thinking of Henry again.
"I told you that I'd come for her," Henry growled out as he took a step towards Dani, who instantly took a step back.
"M-My...my grandma," she choked out while looking down at the red liquid covering the floor. "You...You hurt my...my grandma!"
"Oh, I did more than hurt her, my precious little Red," Henry quickly replied with a smirk as his eyes darkened. "But don't you worry, sweetheart...You'll see her again very soon."
"No!" Dani screamed as she tried to run away from the large wolf in front of her, but she had failed to notice how her foot had managed to come into contact with the red liquid, which caused her to slip and fall.
She screamed again and scrambled in her spot on the floor as her hand came into contact with her grandmother's cold one.
A loud thump caused Dani to jump with a gasp as she was immediately snapped out of her thoughts, and she blinked at her reflection before turning her head to the bathroom door as she slowly walked over to it. With another frown, Dani stepped into her bedroom and looked around in confusion to see nothing out of place.
"You're imagining things, Dani," she mumbled while walking over to her bed.
Another loud thump caused her to pause in her step with her breathing slightly increased as that time...the sound came from her closet.
She turned her head around to look at her completely closed closet door and sighed.
"Don't be a scaredy-cat, Dani," she muttered while slowly walking over to it.
Just as her hand touched the doorknob, Dani jumped again as yet another thump came from inside of it. Her heart hammered against her ribcage as she quickly looked around for any type of weapon but cursed as she found none. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath as her hand slowly twisted to open the door. With furrowed brows, Dani searched the wall for the light switch and gasped in shock as she suddenly felt a hand grab onto her wrist. Another hand muffled her screams as she was brought into someone's chest before she slightly relaxed as a familiar voice flew through her ears.
"Babe, calm down! It's me!!" Mikey exclaimed with a laugh as he turned the lights on.
Dani closed her eyes again as she tried to calm herself down before opening them to elbow her boyfriend hard in his stomach, which caused him to groan.
"You're such an ass!!" she spat while walking back into her room. "That wasn't funny, Mikey!!"
"Yeah...Got it," Mikey groaned as he followed behind her while rubbing his stomach. "Damn, where'd you learn to hit like that?"
"Oh, I don't know," Dani said with a shrug and turned around to glare at him. "Maybe it just came to me in time of defense from my psychotic boyfriend who thinks it's okay to hide in my closet like a maniac!!"
"Geez, Dans, I'm sorry!!" Mikey said as he slowly walked over to her. "I didn't think I'd scare you like that. I'm sorry."
"I...I saw Henry when I went to the grocery store earlier," Dani blurted out. "But I'm okay! I guess it just kind of-"
"Did he touch you?! Come here, let me see. Shit, I'm so sorry, babe-"
"Mikey! Calm down, sweetie, I'm okay! He didn't touch me, I promise," Dani reassured him as he pulled her into his arms.
Mikey frowned as he looked her over anyway, which caused Dani to roll her eyes half-heartedly.
"Feeling satisfied?" she questioned after it seemed like he was finished.
"Not until I'm able to punch that bastard's face in for getting near you," Mikey muttered.
"Oh, I'm sure he's learned his lesson on that already," Dani said with a smirk. "I used the pepper spray that David got me on him."
Mikey's eyebrows raised at her words. "Really?" he asked before furrowing his brows. "Why is the thought of you doing that actually kind of hot?"
Dani snorted and said, "Because you're best friends with Greta, who has a weird thing for me engaging in violence."
Mikey pursed his lips. "Good point," he said with a nod.
Dani laughed as he then smirked and said, "Or maybe it's just because I have a very beautiful girlfriend."
"Do you?" she asked with a tilt of my head.
"Mhm," Mikey said with a nod and leaned in to kiss her.
Dani's eyes closed as she snaked her arms up to wrap around his neck, and he tightened his grip on her waist.
"I've missed this so much," Mikey mumbled as he began to press kisses against Dani's cheek.
"Mikey," she said with her eyebrows furrowed in thought.
He hummed against her neck.
"How are you in here right now? My window is locked..."
"Oh," Mikey said as he pulled away with a smile. "Momma M let me in..."
"Uh-huh," Dani dragged out with a nod. "And what's with the creepy smile? What are you up to, Darling?"
Mikey scoffed and said, "My smile is not creepy!...and I've got a surprise for you!"
Dani rolled her eyes as he walked over to her door. "Oh gee, another surprise," she said. "I wonder how you'll be able to top off nearly sending me into a heart attack from hiding in my closet like an attacker!"
"Geez, I said I was sorry for that!" Mikey said as he walked back into the room. "I won't do that again, okay? I promise. And this surprise is much better anyway!"
Dani's eyebrows furrowed again as her gaze automatically moved over to the basket in his hands with a tilt of her head. "Your surprise is bringing ants into my room?"
Mikey rolled his eyes with another scoff. "Will you get excited for one second?!" he asked as she laughed at him. "No, that's not the surprise!... We're going on a date!"
Dani frowned and said, "Mikey, I'm in my pajamas."
"And you look beautiful," he said with a smile. "You don't have to change, babe. I know how much you like to stay inside, so I've planned a movie night for us! What do you say to a Twilight marathon? I've bought your favorite candy..."
Dani's features softened with a smile as Mikey pulled out a pack of Twizzlers and mini Milky Ways and waved them in his hands.
"Aww, babe," she said. "You're so sweet."
Mikey smiled as he walked over to her. "I want to make it up to you," he said. "For all the lost time we've had...I want to make it better."
"Oh, Mikey," Dani said. "You don't have to do that. The past is the past. We should put it behind us-"
"I don't think I can just do that, Dans," Mikey said and shook his head. "The way I made you feel...I can't get it out of my mind. I feel horrible about it. You deserve way better than that...You deserve the world. And I swear, this time, I'm going to give it to you."
Dani's heart swelled at his words as she leaned up to wrap her arms around his neck, which caused Mikey to drop the items in his hands as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She didn't know how they'd ended up on the bed--she didn't even remember moving-- but it wasn't long before Dani's breathing turned into soft sighs as Mikey kissed on her neck while moving his hips against hers until he suddenly pulled away.
"Mikey?"
"I...I can't," he said and shook his head. "I mean I...I want to, but I-... It's too soon. I don't want to do that to you."
Dani frowned and asked, "Do what to me? What are you talking about, sweetie? What's wrong?"
"We should take it slow," Mikey said. "I'm sorry. I know I made it seem like I was ready, but I don't think I am."
"Mikey..."
He looked up as Dani walked over to him and placed her hand on his cheek.
"It's okay," she said. "You're right. We should take things slow. We don't have to do anything we're not ready to do yet."
"I'm sorry," he said again. "I just don't want you to think that this is what I wanted you back for because it's not...I don't want you to think I'm using you again."
"Mikey," Dani murmured again. "Look at me, I know that's not why you wanted me back, and I don't think you're here to use me...and I know that's not what you were doing before. It's okay, Mikey. Things are different now...they're better, and we've grown past those old versions of us, right?"
Mikey nodded. "Far past."
Dani smiled and said, "So let's start anew. With a clean slate, okay?"
Mikey smiled back. "Okay," he said with another nod. "I-...I've really missed you."
Dani furrowed her brows and asked, "What do you mean? I've been here the whole time."
Mikey narrowed his eyes as she laughed at him. "Are you mocking me, Richards?"
"Maybe," she said with a shrug. "Maybe not. Why? What are you going to do if I am mocking you, Darling?"
"I...am going to eat all the sugar cookies my mom made for us!"
Dani's eyes widened with a gasp as she said, "You are not! She made them for us?!"
"Yep," Mikey said with a smirk. "And you can't have any because you've decided to be a big fat meanie."
Dani scoffed and said, "You started it! I wouldn't have said that if you hadn't said it first!"
Mikey snorted. "You know, I'm really starting to see the resemblance between you and Frankie right now...Like it's uncanny."
"You know what."
Mikey laughed as Dani grabbed a pillow and whacked him with it.
"Hey, wait, ow! That's not fair!" he said in between his laughter. "Let me defend myself!"
"No!" she said with a laugh of her own. "Payback's a Goldi, isn't it?!"
The sound of their laughter filled Dani's bedroom as Mikey grabbed a pillow and began to hit her back.
It was times like those that Dani missed the most between them. Just pure playfulness instead of the uncomfortable, suffocating air of awkwardness that had surrounded them before.
But she knew it wasn't going to last forever.
Despite her earlier words of them starting on a clean slate and her talk with Greta at the bakery a few nights ago, there was still that underlying feeling of guilt in Dani's chest that just wouldn't go away.
Because she knew that once Mikey would find out about what happened between her and Dylan, he would never see her the same way again.
And she was dreading the moment it would all come crashing down.