Tough Love

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Two days. Dani's been like this for two days. I am literally at the end of my rope. She's been sitting on the edge of the couch for 2 days, just crying and shaking. I don't know what's going on in her head; I don't know what actually happened, not from her point of view anyway. She's as stiff as a board and she must be sore. She won't lay down, she won't talk to me, she won't even eat or drink. I do the only thing I can think to do. I snatch up my cell and head into the spare room. I make sure to tell Dani where I'm going, even if I know she's not going to respond.

I dial the number that's so familiar to me, and say, “Hey dad.”

“Hey Eli. What's wrong?”

“It's Dani, dad. Something is really wrong. I don't know what to do anymore. I need your help...”

“Ok, ok. Slow down, son. Just talk me through it, slowly.”

I take a deep breath and explain, “Something happened at work and she's not doing very well. She's been sitting on the edge of the couch for 2 days. She won't eat or drink. She won't sleep. She just keeps crying. I don't know what to do. She won't even acknowledge me. I don't know how to get through to her. I've tried everything I know. Everything that usually works, but nothing is working. I need your help, dad.”

“Alright, I'm on my way. Just text me her address and I'll leave now.”

I do as he says and just wait until he gets here. I don't know if Dani's going to freak out or not, but anything will be a change from her recent behavior.

It's 20 minutes before the doorbell rings. I see Dani stiffen, but she doesn't do anything else. I take a deep breath before opening the door and facing my father. He shoots me a tight smile before quickly scanning the room for Dani. When his eyes fall on her trembling form, his face drops and I can see the worry on his features.

He whispers, “Do you want to fill me in, Eli?”

“Not right now. I just need you to help her. She can't carry on like this.”

“Right. We will talk later.”

My dad carries his bag into the living room and he takes the chair opposite Dani. I sit on the arm of the chair at the opposite end of her couch. Her breathing hitches and turns slightly more erratic, so I know she knows we're here. It hurts me that us just sitting here upsets her so much, but I can't focus on that right now.

“Dani? Sweetheart? I'm worried about you. I asked my dad to come here because I don't know what to do any more. I'm scared, baby...”

Still nothing.

My dad shoots me a look, that tells me to stop, so I just sit and listen to him talk. “Dani, it's Don. I need you to let me know you can hear me...”

Her eyes briefly flicker to my dad's feet and then back to the floor. That's something different.

“That's it. Good girl. Now, I'm not going to ask you what happened. I know you don't want to talk about it. I know you don't want to remember any more. However, Eli is extremely worried about you. He says you haven't slept in 2 days. He says you haven't eaten or drunk anything either. That can't carry on, unless you want to go into hospital. Do you want it to get to that?”

She takes a shaky breath and a few more tears fall.

“I know you don't want to go to hospital, Dani. I need to help you. I need to give you something to help you relax. You need to get some rest before you can do anything else. Will you let me do that? Will you let me give you something to help you sleep?”