Simply Meant To Be ||Dan x Reader||

Chapter 12 -

"You know what?" It's whatever. I don't care if I get caught. If they really want to harass me then that's fine." I pouted. This was getting a little ridiculous.

"(y/n), if you really don't want to deal with them that's fine. Phil and I understand." Dan reassured me.

I crossed my arms. "No, I've made up my mind."

And I really had, if they were so eager to see me maybe it was something important. It's not like they were moving here. They'll leave eventually. How bad could it be?

~

Boy, what a fool I was. It was absolutely awful. They eventually did come back and we all talked in the den. The entire time my family passive aggressively insulted me and told me they flew down here to take me back home. That night ended in a fight and we almost needed to call the flat security to remove them. I got several calls from my mom and dad later, I ignored every single one of them. My siblings felt bad for me knowing that our parents were being irrational, knowing full well that I was a legal adult now and I could do what I want. I got a text from one of them that night apologizing for them. I talked to Dan and Phil about it.

"They can't make you move back, there is literally nothing they can legally do about it. They just need to accept that their daughter has grown up." Dan stated.

"Legally, no, but there are some things that really do push my decision on moving back." I said. Dan looked at me with wide eyes.

"You aren't seriously considering moving back with them are you? That's ridiculous!" He spat.

"No, I know, I don't want to, but... I've got family there, ya know? Some people I really do care about back home. Like my siblings, who my parents treat like crap. Mom and Dad could always threaten me with them knowing I care about them. They've threatened some pretty crazy things before." I sighed. I leaned back in the love seat I was sitting in next to Dan and he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me close. My head fell on his shoulder and I kept it there and closed my tired eyes.

"What kind of things?" Phil coughed over on the couch.

"I had this one boyfriend," I started, "He was a pretty great guy, very kind and faithful. Funny too. We were both seniors in high school. The year we were graduating he told me he was moving for college and offered to take me with him so we could live together. But my parents didn't like that idea, not at all. And since legally they couldn't do anything about it they framed him for a crime he didn't commit and he was put in jail. He broke up with me and I never saw him again. I was afraid he hated me, so I didn't want to see him again anyway. He was originally supposed to be put away for 7 years. 7 years. That's a lot of his life being thrown away because two parents couldn't handle something so common and inevitable to happen. He was released early when they found he wasn't guilty, but he still spent a years time." Dan and Phil listened carefully and took in every word of my story. Phil piped up with a question.

"What did they frame him with?"

"Rape charges. Mom and Dad got their younger nieces and nephews in on it and got them to tell the police he raped them. One of the nieces broke down with guilt eventually and told the truth to get him released, but still. It was an awful thing. He was a gentle giant, but as soon as the word "rape" was pinned under his name, his life was over. He was easy to put that kind of label on him with how large he was." I frowned and Dan put his hand over my own and squeezed it.

"Hey, well that's in the past. It's not your fault. Don't worry about your parents anymore." I looked down in shame as Dan looked down on me. His arm around my waist trailed up to my shoulder and he squeezed that as well.