hard | daniel seavey

chapter six

   I followed the directions to the address he gave me. About 20 minutes later, I pulled into the driveway of one of the nicest houses I've ever seen. It was nearing 9 oclock now, and almost half the lights in the house were off. I turned my car off and walked to the front door, hesitating before knocking. It was only a couple of seconds before the door flee open.

   "Hi, Daniel." I smiled at him. He held a finger up to his lips and opened the door wider. When I stepped in, Jack, Jonah, Zach, and a little baby all laid fast asleep in the living room. I was confused about the baby for a moment, but looking at the precious thing reminded me that Jack was a father. It warmed my heart knowing that that little girl was going to grow up with such amazing people.

   "Lets go up to my room," Daniel whispered and walked ahead of me. I followed him up a flight of stairs and to the first door on the right. His room was full of instruments of all kinds. Drums, a cello, guitars, a piano, the list went on. Daniel had mentioned to me before that he never really learnt how to play any of them, all he had to do was listen and within seconds he would know the exact rhythm. Daniel sat on his bed and looked at me. "Is everything okay?"

   "Well, I got the internship." I sighed, placing my purse on the floor and sitting opposite of him. Daniel's face grew into a smile.

   "That's great! I'm happy for you, Madi." Daniel's voice was full of genuine excitement. I usually hated when people called me that, but when it came to him, it felt as if he's been calling me that my whole life. I looked at him and smiled weakly.

   "I'm glad you are. Aaron told me he doesn't want me to take it." I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes.

    "You're not going to listen to him, are you? This is your career we're talking about! You can't give this up."

    "I'm not. I could never do that to myself. I just wish Aaron could see that it can't always be about what he wants." I laid flat on my stomach, now laying next to Daniel. He was silent for a minute, which worried me.

    "Can I be honest with you? And you can be upset with me all you want, but I feel like you need to know this," He finally said. I looked up at him and nodded. "Like I said before, I know I have no right to be telling you what to do with your relationship, but I really don't think you and him should be together. I've only known you for about two weeks, and he's made more upset than I can even count. It's obvious you're not happy anymore. And I hate seeing you not happy."

   His words made tears form in my eyes. Daniel really cared, which meant alot. And he was right. I wasn't happy. There were moments that reminded me why I loved Aaron, but those little moments couldn't compare to the amount of times he hurt me. I closed my eyes as a tear slipped.

    "Oh no, no, no. Please don't cry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Daniel pleaded and wipped away the tear on my cheek, which only made more fall.

     "No, it's fine. You were right. And everyone else was, too. I don't know why it took me until now to realize that." I let out a shaky breath and sat up. Daniel looked at me sympathetically. "I'm sorry for coming here and complaining about my problems. I must seem like a cry baby at this point."
  
   "Never," Daniel smiled at me. "I'll always be here for you, you know that."

     "Thank you," I looked down and wipped away the remaining tears. "I should get going."

     "No, stay. Please," He said too quickly. He covered it with a smile and scratched the back of his neck. "I mean you can if you want to. You can stay here and I can take the other couch."

    "I don't have anything to sleep in," I laughed softly. He stood up and stepped into a closet. He came back out with a pair of grey sweatpants and a t shirt.

     "You can keep the shirt. If you're gonna be friends with us, you need to have some sort of merch item." He laughed as I looked at the shirt. It was tye dye shirt that said 'Don't Change', which I learnt was a song they wrote for a movie. I laughed as Daniel stepped out. I changed quickly and opened the door for Daniel. "Wow, how do you look better in my clothes than I do?"

   "Shut up," I could feel my cheeks rise with heat as I playfully pushed him.

    "If you need anything I'll just be down the hall," Daniel said and pointed in the direction. We said goodnight and I closed the door.

    It seemed like hours past, when it was only minutes. I couldn't sleep. It was 2 before I sat up. My feet guided my body down the hall. Daniel slept peacefully on the couch. I felt bad for waking him, but my mind was somewhere else.

    "Hmm." Daniel mumbled in his sleep. I couldn't help my smile to myself. His eyes opened slowly. He sat up slightly and looked at me. "Hey, are you okay?"

      "I can't sleep." I sighed. Through the darkness I could see his piercing blue eyes. The way he looked at me made melt.

     Daniel nodded and stood. Without hesitation, he took my hand and led me back to his room. He laid down on one side and held his arms open. He wrapped his arms around me as I rested my head on his chest. Daniel rubbed my back slowly.

     "Daniel?" I said in almost a whisper.

     "Yes, Madi?" Daniel's raspy voice responded.

    "Thank you." Being here with Daniel felt so much better than I had with Aaron in a long time. It was weird, because I wasn't familiar with the feeling I got when I was with Daniel. All I knew was that I couldn't allow myself to keep feeling this way as long as I was with Aaron.

    "You're welcome. Always." Daniel said, followed by soft snores. And before I knew it, his words were followed by mine as well.