The Way In Which Things Work

Chapter Six: The Cycle

 Upon hearing the birds chirp outside, combined with the deadly ring of my alarm, I roll out of bed. I had a brief nightmare last night, Danny woke me up before the bad people were able to kill Graham. I always can rely on him to ease my mind after they happen, my nightmares. They usually leave me feeling unrested but this morning is different. I feel wide awake and alert and looking forward to today. The rarity of my feelings are due to our talk last night, he really wants me to move in with him. I smile and bite my lip while thinking about it.

After getting out of the shower, I walk back into the bedroom to see Danny on his phone, eyes still looking tired. I forgot, he's suspended, he doesn't need to go to school. Lucky him. The towel that is secured around me in a knot covers my body while I search through the drawers in attempt to find something suitable to wear. I cross the room and grab Danny's jacket off the hook where I hung it last week. Which reminds me, I needed to ask him about his newfound cleanliness. "Hey, Daniel?"

He looks at me from where he lays in bed, "How come your room is so clean all of a sudden? It looks exactly like I left it when I was here last week," He nervously glances around the room, looking anywhere but at me. He tries to play it off, but I know him better.

"I don't know, I just like the way it looks when it's clean. It makes me feel better." I scoff because I can tell he's lying right to my face. One of his hands fidget with the comforter on top of him and he shifts his legs under the blankets.

"Oh come on, you and I both know there isn't a single clean bone in your body.I know you haven't been here, you're room hasn't been touched. At all." I try to make my voice sound as gentle as possible as to not start a fight. Everything about the way his room looks seems suspicious, there's not a single shirt on the floor or shoe out of line and his covers were drawn in exactly the way that I meticulously make beds. "Where were you, I'm just concerned. I'm sure Lily is too."

I can see him roll his eyes and look over his phone screen in indignation at me. "I've been here, I don't know where you get these ideas from. And don't try to drag my mom into this to make me feel guilty." His voice rises a little bit, the humor he attempts to inject into his words fail.

This time it's my turn to roll my eyes. I slip a shirt over my head after pulling on leggings, quickly getting dressed. I don't understand why it's so hard for him to admit simple things to me. I worry about him when he doesn't go home. I don't know if he's been drinking or high or if he's getting into trouble with his other types of friends. "You should know better than to try to lie to me, especially when I'm standing right here," I say to him, the tone of my voice is strong and I'm determined to get an answer.

"I ain't lying, you just make yourself paranoid over nothing." His bored tone alerts me that he thinks this conversation is over. I grab my hat and pull it down on my head before standing in front of him by his bed. My frustration is beyond a point of return right now, he's supposed to be honest with me. How does he expect me to live with him if he can't even tell me where he's been staying? I snatch his phone out of his hands when he refuses to look at me. "What the hell, Jacki?" He stands out of bed to his full height next to me and angrily grabs his phone back.

Now that I have his attention, "Where were you staying this whole week? I know you ain't been here at all, that much is clear," I challenge him.

"I've been around." His answer only makes me more suspicious. Was he staying with another girl? His drug dealer?

"Around? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Whenever he becomes vague I know he's hiding something, he's done this before. Why doesn't he understand that I know him so well that I can tell when he's trying to lie. He's been caught too many times for him to still be this bad at lying.