The Midnight Within

chapter 17

Mia set a steaming cup of coffee laced with run down in front of Daniel without a smile. It was very late, she was tired and still feeling watched. The last thing she wanted was to try and make someone else feel better. " Are you on crack? " Mia stared at him from over the rim of her own wine glass,

" I know I know, I should go back and try to make things right with Nick but you didn't see the look in his eyes. If I go back now, he's going to have me arrested for assault or some shit. "

" You did assault him. Not that he doesn't deserve to be assaulted. And how did this happen? I thought you were with Zakk. "

" He's sort of pissed at me too. "

" Sort of? "

" Yeah, it's messed up. We got into a fight and he told me not to talk to him again."

Mia rolled her eyes at him as she drained the glass. Leave it to Daniel to burn all his bridges in one night. Skipping the refill she drank straight from the bottle instead. It had been one hell of a week.

She understood all too well what an angry shitty parent was capable of. Nick was a well liked and respected man; anything Daniel might say to the contrary would go unheard, and Zakk could be as much as a shit as Daniel at times; still, her heart broke for him.

" So what's the plan? " She was not yet ready to let him move in, even if she had made the offer before. She knew from experience that she was not a good roommate or landlord. She valued her space too much, it was also part of why she was still single.

" I don't know, sleep in the dugout at the ball park for now. " His face was a mask of pain, what little she could see of it under his thick dyed hair.

" Too close to home and it's going to get below freezing tonight. " She poured more rum into his untouched coffee. " Sweet face, you know you can't run away from your problems, I know it sounds glamorous, but you can't hide for long, especially if you didn't do anything wrong, Trust me, I know. "

Wracked with guilt about leaving Jessie and fighting with Zakk he let the tears slide silently down his face. " What the hell am I going to do? I can't go to juvie or military school, I would die first. " Rocking back and forth Daniel swayed on the barstool with his head in his hands. Mia was one of the few people he had openly cried in front of. She had seen him cry when Britt had broken up with him and on the night Zakk had to kill his best friend to save both Daniel and Trez's lives. Mia had soothed him then as she did now, and he loved her for that.

Mia set the bottle of wine down, moving around the counter she silently wrapped her arms around his too thin shoulders. Closing her eyes she laid her cheek against the top of

his tangled mop of hair. " Shhh. It's going to be ok sweetie, I will help you, I bet it's just a huge misunderstanding and you will be home tomorrow night in your own bed. " She knew it was a lie, knew she couldn't get him out of whatever punishment Nick would hand out, but it was what he needed to hear the most right now. He also needed to calm down, think about what he was doing and maybe she could get him to at least call his mother to let her know he was ok.

Daniel felt comforted in the shelter of Mia's hair and began to relax. He leaned his head back to stare up into her startling green eyes, eyes that seemed to get darker when she was feeling any kind of strong emotion. " Thanks, You know how much I love you right? " He brought his arms up, linking his hands behind the back of her neck. He pulled her head down, surprising her with a wet kiss.

" You are so drunk. " Mia stated flatly, breaking the kiss. Hurt that he could be so stupid she fingered a strand of his long dark hair. They were playing a dangerous game, one she might lose if she didn't do something to distract him. " Come on hot shot. I know just what you need. " Daniel mistook her words, grinning triumphantly up at her. One of his hands slid up her inner thigh, his dark eyes lingering on her full lips. " Oh yeah, what do you have in mind? "