It's Complicated

Chapter 54: Why Do You Care?

*Dan's POV*

I know I told Mary & Kim I wanted to relax & give them space, but the truth is, I needed to prepare myself. I know that the moment I see my girl, I'm gonna cry. I love that kid like she was my own. It kills me inside knowing that she was hurt so bad & no one knew for the longest time. I always had this gut feeling that things weren't right back at home. There were many times that I wanted to tell Kim, but she was just so happy in Utah. I couldn't take that away from her.. not again.

I hop into my car & turn on the radio. I firmly grasp the steering wheel as I know what's about to happen isn't gonna be easy. I take a deep breath & say a quick prayer. I'm not as religious as I used to be, but I needed to know that Annie would be okay. That she'll ALWAYS be okay. I reverse out of my driveway & begin the 20 minute drive to Annie's.

The whole way there my stomach turns & my throat feels like it's on fire. I try to keep myself calm but my anxiety begins to overwhelm me. I quickly stop at a gas station for a drink & to calm myself down. I stand outside my car, leaning against it when I run into Brennan, Jill's son. "Hey Mr. Dan, you heading over to Annie's?" I swallow the lump in my throat, "Yeah. What about you, son?" He wipes his forehead clean of his sweat, "I just left there. I figured I would buy Annie some of her favorite snacks.. you know, to help her feel better." He says as he tries to hide his face as he blushes at the thought of her. "That's nice Brennan. I'm sure she'll love you for it.
You be safe now!" I say as I walk back to the drivers side door. He nods his head & waves at me as he walks into the store.

10 minutes pass & I find myself on their road. I creep the neighborhood slowly. I don't know if it's just me, but there's this whole eerie feeling going on. As I pull into their driveway a dark cloud spreads across the sky; a thunderstorm has come. I sit in my car for a moment trying to talk myself down. I know she isn't okay now, but she's gonna be okay! She has to be!

I walk up to the front door & knock, I'm instantly greeted by Katie who's clearly torn up over the situation. I hug her & I swear, it's like she broke down in my arms. I knew it was bad, but I didn't think it was like this. She begins to hysterically crying & shouting out "why her Dan, why her?" I shake my head as I don't have an answer, there's no reason this should've happened. "I— I don't mean to interrupt, I know you're upset, but do you know where Kim is? Can I go see Annie?"

Katie pulls away from me, wipes her face & then clears her throat. "No, no, you're fine. It just hits me every once in a while & I just don't know how I didn't see this happening? What was going on that I neglected my child & didn't even realize she was in trouble." She begins to cry again & stares at the ground, clearing her throat once more. "Sorry, I'm sorry. They're upstairs in Annie's room, I believe. Or they're trying to get her to open the door. If you need, there's a key on top of the door frame. She's gonna be okay, right Dan?" I get choked up & hug her again, "She's gonna be just fine Katie. Don't worry. You're a great mom!" She nods her head & goes back to the couch, plopping herself next to Jill.

I slowly make my way to the stairs & begin to prepare myself for all that is about to happen. I have this gut feeling that things are far worse than what Katie thinks she knows. It kills me knowing all this happened while we were gone & I can't help wonder if our absence played a toll into it. As I reach the top of the stairs, I see Kim sitting on the ground, shouting at Annie's door. I look to my left & I see Mary sitting on the couch, crying her eyes out. I think we've all realize how much we've ignored this whole situation.

"Annabelle, please! Let me in! I need to see you! I need to know you're okay! Please!"

"Go away! I don't want you here Kim! You & Mary can leave! Just go!"

"Stop this! We aren't leaving! We aren't going to leave you, I promise! Just please, let us see you!"

"Whatever Kim, that's what you said last time & didn't you end up in Utah? Right, because you left me even though you said you wouldn't. Why should I believe you now?"

"It's different.. it's different. I'm sorry, babe. I just, I just don't know what to do."

I walk up to Kim & kiss the top of her head, she looks up at me with tears streaming down. Her eyes are red & swollen, there's tear stains on her face. Her knuckles are bruising from the constant knocking on the door. She's broken, my wife is physically & emotionally distraught because of this. I don't wanna say leaving Maryland was a bad idea, but it was. We just ran from our problems & still, we came home to a shit show.

"It's not different Kim. I don't know why everyone is pretending that they finally care. What because now you all can see how hurt I am? You didn't care then, why do you care now? Huh? Why? You didn't care. My mom didn't care. Katie didn't care. Mary didn't care. He didn't care. So I didn't care. But why is it now that I'm at my lowest, you're able to care?"

You can begin to hear Annie weep as the door masks the sounds. I can't help but cry with Kim. I give her my hand, pulling her up from the ground. We walk over to the couch next to Mary & sit. She lays her head on my shoulder & tucks her face away as she continues to cry. I rub her back & continuing consoling her, trying to calm her down.

"Not even Dan cared enough!" I know I should just not say anything, but I needed her to know I cared. "I do care Annie, I always have!" I say interrupting her. You can hear her go silent for a moment.

But it had no effect, she kept on. "None of you ever gave a damn until it was too late! There's nothing to care about anymore! It's done it's over. You can go home now!"

I then hear the front door open,  initially I thought it was Billy but it wasn't. "I brought her snacks. Can I take them?" It was Brennan. Katie faintly tells him yes as she's exhausted from the crying. He runs up the stairs, fixing his his hair right before knocking on Annie's door. "Hey Annie, its Brennan. I brought you a few things. Can I, can I come in?" He says nervously. Silence fills the air moments before we can hear Annie unlocking her door. She slowly opens it, allowing enough space for Brennan to push through. She shouts from the door before locking it again, "Please leave me alone! I don't want to deal with this or you all anymore! Just leave me the hell alone!"

My heart breaks instantly. I swear it's as if I could feel it breaking. The pain & agony I'm feeling is so overwhelming. I just can't believe this happened. I keep kicking myself for not going with my gut instinct but at the same time I keep wondering if Kim knew.. if anyone knew. In the back of my mind I can't help but wonder how many times she tried to tell us, tell me, what was going on? All those calls & texts I ignored, were the pleads for help? Was she telling me that something was wrong all along?

I snap back into reality. I'm sitting on a couch next to Mary as my wife cries into my shoulder. I gently push her off & onto Mary. "Sorry, I just need a moment." I excuse myself from the house & walk down to the dock to gather my thoughts.

As I sit alone in the silence, I feel a presence near me. I look around but no one is there. I shake my head, believing it's just exhaustion playing with my mind. "Daddy!" I hear faintly. My heart begins to race & my hands get clammy. "It's okay. She loves you!" I hear the voice again. I close my eyes & pray it was just my mind. I sigh before speaking out to the sky.

"Bella, if you can hear me, please watch over Annie. I know you haven't gotten to know her, but she reminds me & your mom of you. I need you to protect her, always. I can't lose her, too. You were my first born & my only baby, but Bella, she feels like she's my own. I love her with all my heart, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to her again. Protect us all, babe. I love you so much, I miss you every single day too. I know you miss us too, we'll see you soon. Just please, please, please, take care of Annie." I then feel a breeze & a hand touch my shoulder. I look back, no one was there. It took a few moments, but I think it was Arabella. You know, coming to say that things are gonna be okay.