Something in the Way You Move [O'J]

Valentine's Day Part 1

Callie's POV

One month later, Valentine's Day

"It was February 14th, Valentine's Day..."

I sit up in my bed and listen to Danny. I look over at the clock and jump slightly when I realize that it's only 7:00; Danny's never up before 8:00 or 9:00. I crawl out of bed and downstairs towards the music room.

"...I hope you're up there with God saying 'that's my kid'..."

Closer now, I can hear better. I listen to the song and immediately realize something's off. It's not a song Danny's ever practiced before, at least not that I remember. Not only that, but it's easy to hear the pain in his voice. Quite frankly, it unnerves me. He usually sounds happy, or at the very least not sad, when he's singing. But not now. I decide to make some tea, as tea is almost always the first step to solving any problem. I kid you not.

I head into the kitchen to find the kettle already on and boiling. I get out two mugs and pour two cups of tea. I let them steep for a few minutes and listen to the music in the mean time. Danny's stopped singing, and now only plays the same soft, sad melody. I feel a shiver run up my spine and turn to make the tea to take my mind off of the melody. I fix the tea and bring it into the music room. By the time I reach the music room, Danny's stopped playing. He has his head laying on the piano and his hands folded on top of the back of his head. I set the tea on the coffee table and pad over to him. I gently touch his back, causing him to flinch with surprise. After a minute, he unfurls himself and turns to look at me. "Callie," he says tiredly, "did I wake you up?"

"Kind of," I mumble, not wanting to make him feel bad. Or worse than he is. "Um, is everything...you know, okay?" I ask, handing him his cup of tea.

"Fine, yeah. Just peachy," he murmurs. He forces a smile to reinforce his statement, but it quickly falters and he looks down at the ground and sighs.

"Da...?"

"Everything's fine. Honest."

"Something's bothering you..." I sit down next to him on the piano bench and take a sip of my tea. "If you're trying to fool me, it's not working, Da. You're an awful bad liar."

The corner of his mouth twitches disobediently, hinting at a smile. "I could try, couldn't I?" he questions. "Although I knew you'd not be fooled for long."

"Or at all."

Again, his mouth twitches. "Or at all," he repeats sagely. He pauses for a long time. When he finally speaks, he does so very softly, saying, "My dad...he...he passed away...a few years ago. On this day. It...well, it still hurts sometimes. Like today."

"Oh, Da," I whisper. "I'm so sorry." I can only imagine what he's feeling, having felt it all myself. He nods and wipes his eyes once with his sleeve, trying to prevent any tears from falling. I wrap my arms around him in a tight hug. He rests his head on my shoulder, wrapping his arms around me in the process, and lets a few tears escape from his eyes. I lift a hand to wipe them away and whisper, "When life gives you a reason to cry, show it you have a hundred reasons to smile." It's something my first parents would tell me any time I cried, and it just kind of stuck with me.

"Oh yeah?" he asks hoarsely. "I'm having a little trouble thinking of any."

"Well, I can help you with that. Let's see," I tell him. "I love you." I feel his body go rigid with shock. Even though I've lived here for a few months, I've never actually said that I loved him until now. Why, I don't know. It never seemed right. He knew that I loved him from my actions and whatnot, it's just that I never said it out loud. "And Jessie loves you. That's two reasons right there. Want me to keep going?"