White Lie | Danny Amendola

Chapter 16

** Kristene's POV **

I sighed as I got out of the elevator and made my way to Danny's apartment. As I did so, I looked around, trying to figure out where the hell photo of us in the hall was taken from. It had to be one of his neighbors... And that really freaked me out.

When I got to his door, I knocked softly—not having much energy from the grueling, worrying, day that I had. A few seconds later, the door was pulled open, and a very tired looking Danny was standing there— soft brown eyes looking at me. "Hi Kris," he mumbled, sounding just as deflated as he looked.

He moved to the side to let me in. "Hi Danny... I'm sorry any of this happened," I practically whispered as I moved past him and sat down at the island.

Danny let out a loud huff as he shut the door and turned to face me. "It isn't your fault," he mumbled as he moved closer. He sat down next to me, his brown eyes sad.

I shook my head. "I-I don't know where we went wrong, Danny," I said as tears began to surface. I leaned forward and shook my head. "I... We've been so careful." I choked on a sob.

Danny's large hand was placed on my back and he rubbed it up and down. "I-I... It was inevitable, Kristene. It was going to happen eventually," he replied in a flat voice. How could he be so emotionless about it?

I pulled my face from my hands and shook my head. "Someone has been following us around, Danny! And someone took pictures in that hall right out there," I grumbled as I pointed to the door. "Jesus! I mean! What the hell!"

"I know! And I will be talking to the landlord to find out who lives in this hall... But we can't stop anything from happening now," he replied, raising his voice a bit. "We can't do anything about it anymore, Kristene. We can't. Now we have to suffer the consequences."

I looked back to him, letting my shoulders slump. "I know," I mumbled. "I-I'll work on my cover letter tonight when I get home. I need to start working on my resume again, too."

Danny sighed, but nodded. "Can... Can we please talk about something else? I feel horrible for doing this to you. I really don't want to think about it right now," he said as he slipped off his stool.

I moved forward and held his face in my hands, trying to make him look at me, but his eyes looked everywhere but my eyes. "Don't feel like this is your fault Danny. It took two of us to let this happen. We are both at fault, so please don't be hard on yourself."

Without saying anything, he slowly nodded.

I dropped my hand on his shoulder and leaned in to place a kiss at the corner of his mouth. "I love you."

He swallowed and nodded. "Y-you too... We... We should watch a movie... B-Before you have to go home."

I nodded. "Okay... What should we watch," I asked as we moved into the living room.

"I don't know... Something mindless," he whispered as he sat down on the couch with the remote.

"Are you okay," I asked. "You sound... Really quiet... Really distant," I said as I looked back at him from the DVD rack. "I know it's a tough time, but we'll make it through."

He nodded slowly. "I-I... Yeah... I just feel bad making you quit your job. It is your dream job after all, Kristene," he pointed out as he shook his head. "I hate being the reason you leave your job... I'm only going to be sat half a game. That's nothing compared to how they're Penalize you."

I sighed and moved over to him. I brought a hand up and cupped his cheek while looking into those beautiful brown eyes. "Danny... It's worth it... I love my job... But I love you more."

He only nodded and smiled back— even if it was a fake one.

***

I let out a sigh and I slammed the door to my apartment and locked it. The day was way too long for my liking. As I shuffled into the kitchen, my stomach began to rumble. That was when I realized I hadn't eaten since breakfast.

The entire day put too much stress on me, tested my mind, and kept me distracted from my true surroundings.

I rolled my eyes, as if it was inconvenient that my body needed food for the first time in nearly 14 hours. As I looked through my fridge, I realized just how much I was never home. The milk was bad, the yogurt was expired, and the oranges were looking old and shriveled up.

With a sigh, I turned toward the cabinet and pulled out ramen noodles. This was probably the least healthiest thing I could've eaten at that moment, but I honestly did not care. I just wanted to get the day over with and go to bed.

Once I threw it in the microwave, my phone began vibrating on the counter. I leaned over to see an incoming call from Vicki. "Hello," I asked into the phone.

"Thank god you picked up. Are you okay? Is Danny okay? Julian and I have been trying to get ahold of you guys for an hour," Vicki's frantic voice said from the other end.

I nodded even though she couldn't see. "Yeah... I'm fine... I'm back home now... Just Danny was acting so weird... So distant," I mumbled as I shook my head.

"He probably just needs time to let things sink in," Vicki said. "You two agreed to stay together, right?"

"Yep. How could I give Danny up? He's my everything. He's so much more important than a job," I replied.

"I know he is," she said with a sigh. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay... Do you need anything?"

I shook my head. "No... I'll pack my stuff up in my office before I head down for the meeting with coach B and Kraft. It's crazy to think tomorrow will be my last time walking around Gillette," I pointed out with a sigh. "But you know what?"

"What is that?" Vicki asked, curiosity soaking in her voice.

"I would do it over again and again. These past three and a half months have been the best of my entire life. I don't know how it all happened so quickly," I told her. "God, I love him so much."

Vicki giggled. "I know you do. I-I... I really think I'm falling for Jules, too," Vicki said, a smile clear in her voice. "I-I... There's something I need to tell you..."

"What? You're not pregnant already, are you," I asked with wide eyes. I knew the two didn't wait, but Jesus.

"What!? God no!"

"Thank goodness," I said with a small giggle. "I couldn't handle a little Jules running around yet!"

"Me neither, girl. It'll be awhile for that one," she replied with a giggle. "Anyway... So the other ni- Julian!"

The sound of fumbling in the other end came through the receiver, then was Julian's voice. "Sorry, Kris... Vicki and I have some business to take care of... See ya."

And the line went dead.

What the actual hell?