Rebel

Chapter 36: 3005

Graduation got closer and closer and I was freaking out on a daily basis. Where had the last four years gone? I was almost to the point of regretting the drinking and blacking out throughout the years. I knew for a fact that I spent the majority of the time surrounded by my friends. I remembered all of the laughs and smiles we shared together and I was grateful for that at least.I was kind of beating myself up for wasting so much time with Dean. I could have been happy with Danny a lot sooner, but that was time that I was never going to get back. I couldn't dwell on it. The past was in the past and I had so much changing and happening right in front of me that sometimes it made my head spin.

I hadn't exactly addressed the fact that Danny pretty much proposed to me and I had given him an answer and sealed the deal when I was tearing into Tess. That wasn't how I pictured it happening, but it was out there, so now I had to survive the grilling from my mom. She was excited and she and Dad were both completely taken by surprise. Dad was a little salty that Danny hadn't asked for his permission. But then Mom tore into him, ranting about how that was so old school and I wasn't a piece of property that someone could just hand over.

"So where's the ring?" Mom asked, locking her eyes on me. I turned my head and locked eyes with Danny. "Yeah, babe. Where's the ring?" He looked at the two of us like a deer caught in the headlights. "Hey, I'm good with surprises! I never said I was good at planning!" he said with a smirk. "The ring is coming," he added. I had to explain how he proposed, leaving out all of the dirty little details. Saying vulgar things to Tess to put her in her place was one thing, but I'd never go into detail about my sex life around my parents if I didn't have to.

Today was really the first time ever that I actually felt like an adult around them. Danny and I had spent a good three hours with them. I took it as the perfect opportunity to tell them and Danny about Dean stopping by the house the other night. Thankfully Mom was able to calm him and Dad down. I was almost certain that they wanted to go after him with torches and pitch forks. Mom was pretty pissed off about it, but she praised me for how well I handled it. Dad and Danny both went on about how he could have hurt me, but Mom made sure to tell them not to underestimate me. I was a lot stronger than I looked. It showed me even more that Mom had always been in my corner and our relationship was exactly where it needed to be.

Fauna yawned and squirmed in my arms. I looked down and she was struggling to keep her little eyes open. She was usually pretty alert, but you'd definitely know it if she was getting tired. We were lucky because she wasn't much of a fighter. She'd gladly curl up in your arms and be fast asleep. I was terrified of her getting used to being held while she slept, so I usually tried to get her into her crib before she went to sleep for the night. Seeing her making herself comfortable was a red flag and we needed to get home as soon as we could....."I'm glad you're in a better place with your parents. You look so happy," Danny said as he pulled my shirt over my head. "Yeah, I never thought I would see the day," I said as I stood on the tips of my toes to kiss him. It often felt like he was a completely different person now. He had matured over night since we bought Fauna home. "I'm glad. You know I live to make you happy," he said as he wrapped his arms around my waist and connected his lips with mine. It felt like it had been forever and a day since the two of us got completely lost in each other. We had plenty of babysitters that were willing to take Fauna off of our hands so we could have a break, but I enjoyed every moment I spent with my baby. I didn't feel like I needed a break from her.

He placed one hand on my hip and tangled the other in my hair. Our bare chests were pressed against one another as we deepened our kiss. Here we were, making out in the laundry room like the good old days even though we had a whole bedroom to ourselves. Somehow, that made it even more exciting. My hands eased up his back, taking in the shape of every muscle before my fingers locked in his hair.