You, Me, And The Divide

Chapter 4

"Thank you, Julia," Daniel said to the nice woman as she closed the door. She gave a smile and nodded before disappearing under the arch. "Follow me. We'll talk on the back deck."

Daniel turned and followed under the stairs, through the arch, after Julia. There was a gigantic kitchen on the other side of the archway. It had black counters, and a long island with these fancy bar stools along it. A chandelier was over the middle of it. Julia picked up a knife and started chopping a tomato that was previously left abandoned. Daniel opened a sliding door for me, and I smiled a thank you as he let me step through. I stepped out onto a porch that stretched the length of the house. There was an inground pool in the back yard. A set of three steps just to my right led down to it. Daniel guided me to a section of the deck with a canopy over it. Some chairs sat under it that looked like they showed the first sign of living creatures residing on the property. Daniel sat in a chair next to mine.

"This may seem like a bad starter question, but what's your name?" he asked me giving me his full attention.

"Isabella, and you're Daniel. And, I had this conversation with your friends last night. Nice to meet a person I've known for twelve years," I told him with a smile. Last night, I was almost insulted that I helped hear people and they didn't even know my name, but now it just seemed like a funny concept.

"Danny. People call me Danny. Only my dad calls me Daniel," he told me with a smirk. "So you know about my mom?"

He seemed so vulnerable. Danny was always seen around school as this tough popular guy that just wanted to have fun. Nobody ever saw him look vulnerable before yesterday.

"Yeah. I told you last night, but I'll say it again. I'm really sorry for your loss. Clara was always so nice to everyone," I told him feeling bad.

"You knew her?" He asked me surprised.

"She was my neighbor all my life... And she's Allen's mom too," I added cautiously.

"How do you know Allen? I really don't take you as the type to hang around his crowd," he told me confused.

"Like I said he and I have been neighbors forever. He and I grew up together. Allen has been my best friend since I was in diapers. I've never really met any of his friends though. He always said they weren't my kind of people," I told him feeling the same ping of rejection I used to feel when Allen was first saying those things to me.

"How did he react when I told him?" He asked veering away from the topic.

I explained the whole thing from start to finish. From seeing him at the funeral, to the blanket curtain when he threw up. All the way up to when I told him I was sorry about his loss. He didn't say much. He only stopped me to ask the occasional question. I felt bad for him, but it was also his choice to get that drunk. We sat in silence for several moments while he processed everything.

Finally he broke the silence. "Are you sure we didn't sleep together? Beautiful girl like you, I must've hit on you at some point," he said with a smirk. I could tell he was trying to ease the tension.

"You couldn't even stand by yourself let alone sleep with anyone," I told him honestly.

"Then where did that rumor come from?"

"People probably saw us together and assumed it," I explained as Julia walked out. She carried a tray with two cups of water and a plate of sandwich triangles.

"Can I offer you a snack before dinner?" She offered politely. She set down the tray on a nearby table.

"Thank you Julia," Danny responded, and she left with the nod as she had last time.