Later at night, as Mikey was fast asleep beside her, Dani carefully wiggled herself out of his arms and put on one of his shirts before walking over to the door that led to the backyard. Turning her head over her shoulder, a breath of relief left her mouth to see him still asleep as she unlocked the door to walk outside. Sitting on one of the lounge chairs once she'd walked over to them, Dani sighed again and leaned back to look up at the night sky.
"Um...Hi Mr.B. Hi, Grandma Neenie. I um...I haven't really done this in a while so, you'll have to forgive me if I'm a bit rusty," she said with a small laugh and looked down at her fingers. "I miss you guys...like a lot, and I thought it'd be enough when I said goodbye, but...it's not...and it never will be."
A lone tear fell down her cheek before she wiped it away and exhaled deeply.
"I feel...lost...and scared. Two things I haven't felt since I was ten years old. Everyone wants me to tell them what's happening, but I feel like I can't because I can't even explain it to myself," she shook her head, "I thought that with Henry finally out of our lives, everything would get better again...but it just feels like everything is getting worse. I have this stupid claw mark on my side. I can't sleep anymore. I can't eat...I can feel my body slowly giving out because of it, and to top it all off...I can hear him. I feel him all around me, but I can't see him, and that's what scares me the most.
To know that he's always there. That he's always watching...I keep trying to tell myself that it's all in my head, you know? But how can it be in my head if Frankie is saying he's seen him in his closet, and my dad is having the same exact nightmares that I'm having? It doesn't make any sense..."
Dani shook her head again as tears began to form in her eyes.
"And I don't want to cry about it because crying does nothing but spur him on. It makes him feel feared, and I don't want to give him the satisfaction of that."
A sudden bout of coldness then caused Dani to shiver and look around with a frown to see that no tree leaves were moving, and her eyes narrowed as she shivered again before she brought her knees up to her chest and closed her eyes to calm herself down.
"You can't leave me alone for one second, can you?" she asked and opened her eyes, only to gasp in shock as Henry Wolff sat right in front of her.
"No. I'm afraid not, my Little Red," the man said with a smirk.
Dani's eyes widened at the sight of him as her heartbeat began to increase before she frantically turned her head around to the bedroom door, and the feeling of a hand on her leg immediately caused her to tense up.
"I'm afraid your precious lover boy is still asleep...and besides, this is our time now, Little Red."
Slowly, Dani turned her head around to face him as her chest moved at a rapid pace.
A pout formed on Henry's lips as he noticed the movement and said, "Oh no, no, no, my little beauty. I'm not here to hurt you."
"Then why...are you here?" Dani asked as she tried to get her breathing under control. "What did you do to my body in the hospital?! You had my family terrified!!"
"Well, considering what I saw tonight, I'd say one person was less worried than most," Henry said with a smirk.
Dani's eyebrows furrowed at his words before her features fell as she mumbled, "You didn't..."
"Oh, I did," Henry said in amusement. "You are quite the lover, Little Red. I can see why he's so addicted to you. Though I will admit, I am a bit jealous..."
Dani's stomach churned as his smirk then deepened, and he said, "We would've made quite the duo in the bedroom."
"You're sick," she spat in disgust while trying desperately to rid herself of the embarrassment she'd felt.
Henry shrugged. "And you have an amazing vocal skill."
"Oh my God," Dani mumbled with her hands up to her face.
"There's no need to feel embarrassed, my beautiful Little Red," she removed her hands to give him a look, "Why I've had my fair share of fantastic lovers in the past."
Dani hummed and nodded. "Back when people rode horses for cars, I'm assuming."
A look of genuine offense flashed across Henry's features as he scoffed and said, "I beg your pardon? I am not that old."
"Could've fooled me," Dani said with a snort.
Henry rolled his eyes. "How old do you think I am?!"
Pursing her lips, Dani tilted her head and said, "Physically? I'd say a good thirty-two...Actually?" her lips curved into a smirk, "A solid 350."
"I beg your pardon?!"
"I beg your pardon?" she mocked before laughing.
Henry narrowed his eyes. "Are you mocking me, Little Red?"
"I don't know, am I?" Dani asked with a playful tilt of her head.
"You're being awfully civil," Henry said in a curious tone before curving his lips up into a smirk. "I have to say, I'm really loving the change."
"Maybe it's because you're an actual person now," Dani said with a shrug. "It's easier to talk to a person with adorable dimples than it is a big, scary wolf with large teeth."
Amusement immediately lit up Henry's features as he said, "Oh? My dimples are adorable now?"
Instantly, Dani's cheeks burned with embarrassment as it registered what she had said.
"I...I didn't really mean-"
"It's okay to admit you're attracted to me, Little Red," Henry said with a small smirk.
A frown formed on Dani's lips as she said, "But I'm not though."
She then raised an eyebrow as Henry burst into laughter. "What's so funny?" she asked.
"Oh nothing really," he said as he calmed himself down. "Just the fact that you're so blatantly denying our connection."
Dani tilted her head. "Excuse me?"
A small smirk grew on Henry's features as he said, "You can try to deny it all you want, Little Red...but the truth remains...we would've been excellent."
"What happened to not wanting me anymore?" Dani asked with an eyebrow raised.
Henry hummed in thought. "I've had some time to reconsider."
A beat went by before Dani scoffed and said, "Meaning you watched me in bed with my boyfriend like the perv you are, and now you want to try me out too. Right?"
Instead of getting angry like she expected him to, Henry just smirked and said, "You've always been a very smart girl."
"You're disgusting," she said with a shake of her head.
"So you're saying you've never thought of it before...you and me?" Henry asked as he unnoticeably inched closer to her.
"Hm. I'm not into bestiality, so no, I haven't," Dani said with a tight smile.
Henry scoffed. "If you haven't noticed Little Beauty, I am, in fact, not in my wolf form anymore."
"And if you haven't noticed, I'm in a relationship with the love of my life and he does make me incredibly happy," Dani spat back.
"Please," Henry said with another scoff. "The dumb bloke can barely figure out whether he actually wants a love in his life or not. You need a lover with experience, Little Red. And I can most certainly give that to you."
He then narrowed his eyes and tilted his head as he asked, "Can't I?"
Suddenly, an odd feeling weighed over Dani as her eyes glossed over and her features softened as she gazed at Henry. "I suppose so," she mumbled.
Henry hummed, smirking to himself as he inched closer and gently grabbed her hand while saying, "Is that a change of heart I'm hearing, my little beauty?"
With the same distanced gaze, Dani nodded and flickered her eyes down to Henry's lips as she said, "Only a little."
Time seemed to slow down entirely as her body involuntarily leaned closer to Henry's, and his hand reached up to tenderly touch her jaw as their lips grew closer before he suddenly paused and tilted his head to the side as his features fell at something his ears had picked up on.
"Oh bloody Hell," he muttered. "You've got to be kidding me."
Dani's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his sudden mood change. "What is it?" she asked before jumping in surprise as a voice suddenly called out from behind them.
"Dans..?"
A light gasp left Dani's mouth as she blinked herself out of her thoughts and turned her head to see Mikey as he walked towards her with a small frown.
"What are you doing out here, babe?" he asked while looking her over in concern.
Dani's eyebrows furrowed as her mind suddenly came up blank. "I...I was..." she looked ahead of her to find no one there, "I don't know.."
Confusion laced her features as her eyes continued to scan the area. It was as if she could feel another presence there with her, but there was still no one else in sight.
"You don't know?" Mikey asked as he finally reached her, and Dani moved over slightly so that he could sit down behind her. "Dans...look at me, baby."
Blinking herself out of her thoughts again, Dani turned her head to meet Mikey's worried stare.
"What's wrong, babe?" he asked. "Are you feeling okay?"
Like a switch, Dani suddenly remembered herself coming outside to talk as she said, "Uh...yeah...I'm fine..." she shrugged, "Just thinking."
Mikey examined her for a moment before he leaned his cheek on her head to look out into the backyard as his arms wrapped themselves around her waist to pull him into his hold.
"What were you thinking about?" he asked, and Dani immediately felt tears spring to her eyes as a sudden sadness took over her.
"Grandma Neenie...and Mr.B," she said with a sniff and laid her head on his chest.
Mikey tensed up at the answer before tightening his hold on her. "Oh, babe," he murmured and kissed her head. "You know they're always with you, right?"
Dani nodded as a lone tear ran down her cheek. "Yeah...I just wish they were here physically, you know?" she asked as she finally looked up at him and frowned sadly when she saw the tears in his eyes.
"Yeah," Mikey said with a nod. "I know."
Dani's eyes saddened as she reached up to wipe the stray tears that had fallen down his cheek, and Mikey frowned as he held onto her hand and kissed her palm.
"Baby, your fingers are ice cold," he mumbled while looking down at her in worry. "Let's get you inside, yeah?"
Even though she felt anything but tired, Dani nodded her head anyway as she sat up on the chair before a soft sigh left her mouth as they both stood up to their feet and her arms wrapped around Mikey's waist as they walked back to the door.
Feeling as if they were being watched, Dani turned her head back around and frowned as she still saw no one in sight...though she was completely unaware of the way her eyes had flashed blue before returning to their normal color.
✧
"Ellie, Ellie, Ellie!!"
A wide grin spread across Dani's features as she bent down to capture her brother in her arms as he ran over to her.
"Ellie, you're home!! I missed you!!" Frankie said while hugging the girl tightly.
With a laugh, Dani kissed the boy's head and said, "Of course I am bud!! I told you you'd see me today, didn't I?"
Frankie giggled as he leaned back to face her. "Yeah!! But I still feel happy to see you!!" he said, making her heart flutter.
"Aww, I'm happy to see you too, bud," she said before bringing him back into another hug and peppering multiple kisses to the side of his face, smiling as he giggled happily.
"Dani?"
Dani's body stiffened at the sound of their mother's voice, which caused Frankie to frown as he leaned back and asked, "Sissy, are you still mad at Momma?"
Dani's features saddened as she shook her head and said, "No, bubba. I'm not mad at her anymore."
"Does that mean you'll stay home now?!" Frankie asked with a wide smile.
"Yes, it means I'll stay home," Dani said with a laugh and nodded.
"Yay!!" Frankie exclaimed and ran off to his drawing table.
Dani snorted at the boy's actions before bracing herself as she slowly stood up and turned around to face their mother. "Momma-"
"Oh Dani baby, I'm so sorry!!" Michelle cut the girl off as she threw her arms around her.
Dani's eyes closed with a tearful breath as she dug her head into her mother's shoulder and said, "I'm sorry, Momma. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I know you were scared about what happened or else you would've told me right when I woke up. I'm so sorry."
"I'm sorry I kept it from you. You were right...it wasn't fair that we told you to tell us everything when we couldn't even tell you one thing that went wrong," Michelle said. "I just know that I never want my baby to be as mad at me as you were ever again."
"I love you, Momma," Dani said as they leaned back to face each other.
"I love you too, sweetie," Michelle said while rubbing the girl's arms.
She then frowned and exclaimed, "But oh my goodness are you freezing!"
Dani frowned as her mother examined her body in worry.
"Oh honey, you look as if you haven't eaten in ages!! What exactly have you been doing at Mikey's?" Michelle asked before shaking her head. "Oh, you know what? Nevermind. I don't want to know anymore."
Dani's eyebrows furrowed at her mother's words before her eyes widened as she realized what the woman was hinting at.
"Oh my God, Mom, no!!" she said with a laugh before sighing. "He's actually been trying to get me to eat...and warm me up, but everything I try to eat or drink just comes right back up."
Michelle frowned at the information. "Well, maybe you just missed Momma's cooking," she said with a nod.
Amusement lit up Dani's features before she shook her head and said, "I don't really feel like eating-"
"Nonsense!!" Michelle cut her off, and a giggle from behind them caused Dani to roll her eyes. "Come on. Let's go get some food in your stomach."
Dani groaned as she was forced to walk to the kitchen by her mother before she looked down and poked her tongue out at her brother, who laughed at her and repeated the action as he followed behind them.
Just as suspected, her mother's attempt at getting her to eat had failed miserably, just as Mikey and Greta's had. The woman had thought it'd be best to take Dani back to the hospital, but the girl quickly rejected the idea as the thought of going back there gave her nothing but uneasiness. So instead she had been forced to lie on the couch in a pile of blankets in an attempt to get her body temperature back to normal, which wasn't working because she still felt like she was freezing.
"I miss you..."
A soft smile formed on Dani's lips as she watched her brother color at his art table.
"Mikey Darling," she said with a laugh. "We just saw each other this morning...and the day before that. And the day before that."
Her lips then fell into a frown as she squirmed on the couch in discomfort. The claw mark had started hurting her again, but it wasn't to the point where it had worried her yet.
"But that was this morning. It's like two now, and I'm dying to see your gorgeous face again."
Dani snorted and rolled her eyes. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr.Darling."
Though if she was being honest with herself, she actually had started missing having the boy around...though she would never admit it to him.
"Don't try to act like you don't miss me too, Ms. Richards."
A scoff left Dani's mouth as she pulled back the phone before placing it back to her ear.
"What are you, a mind reader?!" she asked before gasping. "Are you secretly Edward Cullen?! Now it makes sense as to why I love you so much!"
Mikey snorted while Dani's smile returned as her brother suddenly came running over to sit beside her on the couch.
"Hi, Mikey!!" Frankie happily greeted, and Dani scoffed at his knowledge of who was on the phone before she put it on speaker.
"Hey, buddy!! How are you?"
Clicking her tongue, Dani looked between her brother and the phone in disbelief. "Okay, seriously, when did you two make up?" she asked.
She then settled her gaze on the five-year-old beside her and said, "I thought Mikey was a poopy head? What happened to that?"
Frankie shrugged with a smile as he said, "I don't know, I don't think he's a poopy head anymore!!"
"Well, can you start?... Because he kinda is," Dani said before smirking as a certain someone shouted through the phone.
"Hey!!"
Frankie burst into laughter at Mikey's reaction, which caused Dani to smile before the sound of the front door opening caused both siblings to turn their heads towards the entrance of the living room.
"Oh no, is Hulk home?"
Dani snorted at Mikey's words as Frankie went into another fit of laughter.
"Hey, what's with all the laughing?"
"Oh. Yep. I officially have to go now. See you later, babe. Frankie. Love you both!!"
"Love you too babe, see you later," Dani replied and hung up the phone, just in time for David to walk into the living room with Frankie in his arms, who had run off to greet him.
"Well, would you look at who it is," David said with a playful smile, causing Dani to roll her eyes in the same manner.
"Hi, Dad," she then said with a smile of her own as she tried to get herself out of her mother's fort of blankets, and frowned as she found it extremely hard to do.
David sat down beside her with a smirk as Frankie ran off to, what Dani had assumed to do was, find their mother.
"Christ. Was your Mom's goal to burn you alive?" David muttered as he tried to help Dani out of the blankets.
She laughed at his words before bringing him into a hug after her other arm was finally set free. "I'm sorry, Daddy," she mumbled into his shoulder.
David sighed and kissed her head. "And I'm sorry for keeping what happened to you away from you. We've been in this together from the start. I should've known you'd be able to handle hearing what happened to you...but baby girl, we were just so scared," he said while leaning back to face her.
Dani frowned at the saddened look in his eyes.
"We had never seen anything like that before in our lives and it...your scream it...it reminded me of-"
A tug was immediate on Dani's heartstrings as she quickly caught on to what he was trying to say. "Annie," she mumbled, causing him to nod with tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Dad."
"It's not your fault, sweetheart...I'm just happy you're sitting on this couch right now," David said with a smile before it fell.
"But holy shit are you cold. No wonder Mitch has got you wrapped up in blankets," he then said as he began to rewrap them around Dani, which caused the girl to huff in annoyance.
"But I don't even feel cold. My skin just feels cold...which is weird, but then again, what in our life isn't right now," she mumbled with a small frown.
David rolled his eyes at her words as he continued to wrap the blankets around her while mumbling, "Yeah? Well, I'd rather all of you not feel like I'm touching ice."
Dani huffed. "Well can I at least tell you what Mikey, Greta, and I discovered last night before I inevitably burn up from the heat from this unnecessary fort of blankets?" she asked.
David snorted before pausing as he took in her words. "Wait...you guys did what?" he asked with furrowed brows. "What'd you discover?"
"I may or may not have used the extra time I had while waiting for Mikey to get some information about a certain fake redhead in town," Dani said with a small smirk. "And we also may or may not have found out a little bit more about who attacked you at the Lumberyard."
David's eyebrows raised in shock before he sighed and said, "I think it's time we brought your mother into this."
✧
"Wait, wait, wait...That girl you were fighting at the hospital threatened you?!" Michelle asked as she looked at her daughter with narrowed eyes.
Dani blew out a raspberry as she sat back in her chair and looked at her father. "You see why I didn't want her in this? She focuses on the wrong things!" she told him and threw her hands up in exasperation.
David snorted and shook his head.
After deciding it'd be best for Michelle to finally be informed of the other things that were going wrong, the man went to get her from her office after helping Dani sit down at the table. To say the woman was upset that she hadn't been informed that other things were happening besides Henry haunting them from the dead would be an understatement, but the fact that Dani had at least told David about it had melted the ice a little...but could you really blame the girl for keeping her mother out of the dark about Ava/Alice? They had been explaining things to her for the past hour, and all she could focus on was the fact that Dani had been threatened three times by the same person under two different identities.
"Don't you try to change the subject, miss missy!" Michelle said, which made Dani raise her eyebrows in amusement.
"Miss missy?" she asked with a snort.
"Daniella Janine!!" Michelle exclaimed.
Finally taking that as his initiative to calm her down, David wrapped his arm around his wife to pull her close as he said, "Hey. It's alright, Mitch. Don't get yourself too worked up over this. I understand you're upset, I am too, but if we focus too much on the wrong thing, something else could happen right under our noses and we wouldn't know it because we were too busy stuck on something else."
Michelle sighed, nodding her head as she allowed herself to calm down under the comforting touch of her husband. "You're right," she said with a nod. "I hate it, but you're right."
David chuckled lightly and kissed her head, causing Dani to smile as she watched them.
"You two are honestly adorable," she said with a tilt of her head before frowning. "How come I never noticed that before?"
Michelle sighed as David rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, now you really are getting off-topic, Dani."
Dani pressed her lips together and nodded. "Touché."
"We should be getting her arrested!!" Michelle suddenly exclaimed, which caused Dani to give her a look.
"With what proof, Mom? That she has the same facial similarities as Alice Swan? If you haven't noticed, Greta also has blonde hair, and I'm sure if you gave her blue eye contacts, she'd look like Alice too."
Michelle huffed and sunk into her husband's side as she then said, "Well, we should be doing something! I can't just have this girl walking around town knowing she threatened my child!! What does she even want?!"
A frown formed on Dani's lips as she thought about her mother's question.
What did the girl want?
Her eyebrows furrowed as a million possibilities raced through her head. If Ava really was Alice Swan, which Dani was positive she was at that point, what exactly would her goal be?
Alice knew about David's attack at the Lumberyard, though her papers had said she'd been monitoring Henry since he'd been released...The night Henry attacked Frankie and Dani...Alice was the one who had taken in his alibi and reported it to Jack.
Dani's eyes widened as it finally dawned on her and she mumbled, "Holy shit."
"Daniella Janine!!" Michelle scolded.
Dani shook her head with a frown as she looked up at her parents and instantly caught her father's gaze, who gave her a curious look.
"What is it? What'd you come up with?" he asked with furrowed brows.
"I-... Alice was Henry's parole officer...I found that out at the park," Dani started, which caused Michelle to furrow her brows as David nodded slowly. "So that means she was the one to take in Henry's alibi and report it to Jack.."
"What are you getting at, sweetheart?" Michelle asked as both parents looked confused by their daughter's words.
"Well...if Alice was Henry's parole officer, that means she'd have to be with him at all times, right?" Dani asked, and David nodded his head before shrugging.
"Or at least know where he is since she would've had to monitor him," he added.
Dani nodded. "So that means she knew where he was the night he attacked Frankie and me...and the only reason she threatened me was because I assumed she had some kind of secret relationship with him," she said and looked up at the sound of her mother's voice.
"Oh my God," the woman mumbled as she looked at her daughter. "The only reason she'd be so defensive is ...is if.."
"Is if it were true," David finished for her as he finally caught on.
They all shared a look of shock before Dani mumbled, "Alice was in a relationship with Henry."