Exception // JJ Maybank

12 ; daddy warbucks

"Why do I have to?" Danny asked, almost appalled. To be difficult, he sank lower in the chair and crossed his arms.

John B wanted a snack from the vending machine. Danny would be inclined to do so if it wasn't two floors away and he hadn't already made three trips in the past two hours.

"You're Daddy Warbucks," John B said. A grin pulled at his lips, and Danny narrowed his eyes at it.

"Well, she's Mommy Warbucks," Danny countered and pointed across the bed to Sarah sitting in the other visitor's chair.

She scoffed. "Hardly."

"Oh, hardly?" Danny repeated. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "If I recall, you spent three grand on your birthday party last year."

John B blanched, and Danny nodded to further his point.

Sarah sat silently for a moment. When she made up her mind, she straightened and replied, "Well, you bought a brand new Maserati and paid cash. In full."

That was true. Damn it. Danny clicked his tongue at her smug face. "Well, you. . ." he trailed off.

"Well, I. . ." Sarah prodded, smug.

"I got a good deal on it," Danny mumbled in defeat. He stood and walked to the door. "The same?" he asked.

"Two?"

"Two?" Danny asked. "Daddy Warbucks is gonna go broke." He walked out the door, ignoring John B's praise of gratitude.

He took the stairs up two floors and ambled over to the vending machine. He fed the machine his dollars and requested the two KitKats. He smacked his palm on the glass when it caught on the coil.

"Fucker," he grumbled and shook the sides.

It fell.

He retrieved the snacks and made his way back.

Danny's been at the hospital since Sarah called him in the early morning. John B's set to leave sometime tomorrow. It was a miracle that he only sustained a broken wrist and a concussion. Danny's trying not to blame himself for not being at the Hawk's Nest.

John B didn't want to press charges against Topper. Danny thought that was bullshit. He could've died.

He walked back into the room and immediately brought his hands up to cover his eyes. "Good God," he said and peeked through his fingers.

Sarah sat back in her seat, and Danny pretended to forget the sight of the two of them making out.

"Here, you little gremlin," Danny said and tossed the snacks on John B's lap.

The three settled into a comfortable silence. Danny flipped through the random magazine from the waiting room while the other two watched the tv mounted on the wall. It looked like a crime show, but Danny wasn't familiar with which one.

From the corner of his eye, Danny saw John B trying to move. He leaned and stretched his arm out to the side table with a slight grimace on his face.

Danny slapped his hand away and gave him the remote.

He leaned back in his chair and flipped a page. His mom's face stared back at him.

He smiled brightly and read the article about her fashion line from last year. It was a piece of the Top Five Women in Fashion. The pictures featured her elegant dresses and the models wearing her clothes on the runway.

Danny searched for himself in the background of any of them. He thought he saw the back of his head. Maybe not, though. He could've been walking at a different show during this time.