Beauty And Her Beast

29 - Girl's Day

"Don't bullshit me, bitch."

Dropping her head, Danny sighed softly and prayed someone would come save her. Already it was beginning to snow softly and so Danny tried to use the cold weather as her excuse to shy away and hide and her jacket. Her best friend wasn't having it though and only began speaking louder.

"Daniela Simone Grant I know you are lying! You were not at your house sick because a. I went to try and check on you. And b. Your mom called and asked me where you were. So come on chica, spill it."

Aubree crossed her arms over her chest and stopped in the middle of the campus, refusing to move any further until Danny started telling the truth.

For the past two, almost three days Aubree had been trying to get in touch with Danny and she hadn't answered one single text or call. It would have been one thing if she had lost her phone or was out and just wasn't answering, but she wasn't even at school and Danny never missed a class.

She may not be the smartest or know everything, but she wasn't dumb. She knew whatever her reasoning for being m.i.a, it had to deal with Ray.

"Aubree I'm telling the truth! I wasn't feeling well which is why I missed classes and I lost my phone which is why I didn't answer."

"And why did your mom call asking me where you were?"

"Because I snuck out and went to Ray's now can we please go get some lunch like you promised? It's freezing out here and I'm hungry."

Aubree narrowed her eyes and Danny did her best not to crack under pressure. She was convinced she wasn't lying, not really at least. She wasn't feeling well with everything going on and she really did loose her phone....after Freddy kidnapped her and most likely trashed it.

It sucked lying to Aubree, especially because she'd never done it before and she knew Aubree hadn't either, but on top of not wanting her best friend to worry too much, she also didn't want to break omerta or whatever Mafia code there was Freddy told her about. Danny herself still barely understood what was going on and she refused to bring Aubree into any of it.

"Fine!" Aubree screamed, throwing her hands into the air and finally cracking. Danny smiled and flew forward, wrapping Aubree in a tight hug. It hadn't been this hard explaining her absence to her parents but she knew Aubree was gonna be a tough nut to crack. She was just glad her friend wasn't interrogating her anymore.

"Dammit, Danny I'm just worried about you. It's not everyday you of all people like a guy and it's....weird. I'm happy for you, I really am, but sometimes it feels like you forget I even exist. I don't treat you like that when I want to spend time with Brandon do I?"

"What? God Aubree no! You know I love you and I never meant to make you feel that way! Ray is......well Ray is great. He's really the best thing to ever happen to me and the way he treats me has me over the moon but.....," Danny paused for a moment, trying her hardest to put her feelings into words.

She hadn't meant to ostracize Aubree or maker her feel forgotten but it's not like she'd had much time to focus on anything else with everything going on.

"I really don't know how to explain it," she finally grumbled, rubbing her palms into her eyes and groaning in frustration. She'd just gotten out of the slump she'd been in about finding out Ray killed people for a living and now, as she sat there and tried to figure out more lies to tell her best friend, she felt herself sinking right back into.

God the man was like candy. He was sweet and tasty and Danny could never deny what he offered, but in the long run she knew he was bad for her. She knew too much of him would be trouble in the end but she couldn't just get rid of him. He'd been feeding her sweet tooth too long.