Like No One Could | Danny Amendola

Chapter 17

** Danny's POV **

I'm terrible. Absolutely fucking terrible.

I sucked in a shaky breath and fell back into the couch as I stuffed my face in my hands. Tears pulled from my eyes as I let out an obnoxious sob.

"You're such a dumbass," I told myself and clenched my teeth. I rubbed my eyes. "I'm sorry Jess... I'm so sorry."

A pounding at my door shook me out of my thoughts. I shook my head and stood up. When I pulled the door open, Julian brushed past me and began to yell. "Are you fucking kidding me, Danny? Are you?"

I slowly closed the door and stood there, in shock of his yelling. His yelling has rarely ever been directed at me.

"What the fuck did you do to set her off like that? I've seen Jess upset... but what the fuck!? You fucking tell her that she should quit her dream job just because you're jealous of... Of some hockey player who already has a girlfriend!? And more importantly, you tell her that she isn't supportive of you!? What the fuck, Danny? You're really seeming like a sad excuse of a boyfriend right now," Julian yelled as he whipped around and stomped toward me.

Next thing I knew, was his forearm was against my neck, and he was pushing me back against the door. "You know, for a person who acts like they can't live without their girlfriend, you seem like a complete dumbass who would rather just live without her. Your actions are unbelievable. My best friend," Julian paused and scoffed as he looked into my eyes with his icey blue ones. "And your girlfriend, who is one hell of a woman, is back at my house bawling her eyes out because you are a dumbass. Do you know how hard she's worked all these years, to just make it where she is now?!"

I wanted to speak, but I could no longer breath. Tears continued to fall down my cheeks as I brought a hand up to his arm and tried to push him away-- but I couldn't.

He eventually took the pressure off my throat, and I began to cough. "I-I'm sorry," I choked out as I leaned back against the door for support. "I-I just... Don't want to lose her. I can't, Jules."

Julian just squinted as me, his face hard. "You're fucking kidding me right? You've had that girl wrapped around your finger for over a year now! And she's had you! She would never, and I mean never, even think about cheating on you. You should fucking know that!"

"I-I..." I couldn't speak, I was ashamed.

"I'm not dealing with you right now. You're such a dumbass. Don't be surprised if she doesn't come back today. If I were her, I'd stay away until you were truly sorry," he spit out as he shoved me to the side and made his way out of the house.

The door slammed shut, and I slid down the wall into a heap of self pity.

** Jess' POV **

After Julian left, and Victoria began to tell me about her and Jules, I began to drift off. When Jules came back, I could faintly hear them talking.

"He looked like a mess, but he needed someone to knock some sense into that pretty little head of his," Jules mumbled. "I hate to see her like this. They love each other so much... But... I just... I think they both need to sit down and have a civilized conversation. They need to talk about what their futures are."

"I've never met him before," Victoria spoke, "but I know she loves him with all her heart." The next thing I heard was the sound of them kissing. "I don't ever want to be like that, whether it's with you or another man."

Julian let out a loud breath. "Good news is, is that I'm not the jealous type... and I'll never have to worry about you working with a bunch of male athletes 24/7." He let out a small chuckle. "I'm so glad I have you, Vick."

"I'm glad I have you, Jules. And I'm glad that I listened to my gut and went to Jess' to ask about a place for dinner," Victoria's voice said. I could picture the two looking lovingly into each others eyes.

I felt bad for listening to their conversation, so I began to shift. When I opened my eyes, Victoria was sitting in Julian's lap, looking at me as she rested her head on his shoulder. "How you feeling, Bubs," Julian asked softly. His blue eyes were full of concern.

With a shrug, I sat up. "I-I... I really don't know," I admitted with a sigh. I rubbed my eyes and shook my head.

Julian sighed. "You can stay here for as long as you need," he offered as he shifted Victoria off his lap and stood up. "Do you need anything to drink?"

I let out a huff and nodded. "Yeah, a whole fucking bottle of whiskey," I mumbled and rolled my eyes. "He drives me to drink. I swear."

"I'll get you a water. Do you want lunch? You slept through lunch," he said as he looked down at me.

I shook my head. "No, I'm not hungry. I just kinda wanna... Not do a thing," I mumbled and rested my head back against the couch.

Julian let out a sigh and shuffled across the room. I directed my attention over to Victoria. "He's a good man, you're lucky to have him," I told her as a few tears slipped from my eyes. "You two are perfect."

Victoria sighed. "So are you and Danny. This is... Is just a misunderstanding... You'll be fine, I know you will," she said. Then a smile found its way onto her face. "And then we can go on double dates and it'll be absolutely great."

I stifled a laugh. "I don't know man, we'll see, I guess."

Right now, I didn't know if I could forgive Danny— there was no way I could give up my career.

** Hope y'all enjoyed! :)