Other People || A Daniel Howell Fanfiction

Chapter 4- Syrup & More Cake

After of few minutes of just holding each other in a hug, I finally decided to part from him, stepping back and taking a glance at the mirror. Oh god, I look like a mess. 
"Val. Are you going to tell me why you were crying before I got here?" Dan then asked. I sniffed and wiped my nose with my hand. I'm so disgusting... I sighed before looking up at him again. I wonder what I look like to him. Red nose, blotchy red cheeks, a mop of hair, and puffy strained boring brown eyes. Nothing he's never seen before, but I think he'd be better off to not have witnessed such a monstrosity. 

"Val..." He softly whispers my name, almost as if his normal voice would startle me in such a way. Honestly, I think it just might have. When I'm deep in thought, I forget what reality really is and somethings might startle me out of my daze, which is never pleasant.

"Right. Well. My mother fails to realize that she isn't a reckless teenager anymore and has gotten herself into another ill decided relationship with her neighbor." I bluntly state, picking at the skin around my thumbnail. 
"I don't understand. Why is a relationship such a bad thing for her?" Dan asks as he grabs my hand, stopping me from any more skin picking. He hates it when I do that. He always tells me, but it's a nervous habit and a coping mechanism I've developed since I was child. He continues to hold my hand, but I feel his thumb rub my palm in the gentlest way.
"She's obsessed with the same type of relationship. When she met my dad, my mom had only just passed away. Now that she's divorced and wants a new relationship, she has managed to find another guy with children who have also lost a mother. But she needs to understand that her responsibility as a mother to us must continue. But she hadn't even thought about that." I spill out. I'm not even too sure if I was making any sense, but with anger boiling inside of me, it feels really good to get it out. Dan held my hand the whole time and nodded as I continued to tell him how I felt about the whole situation. He was listening so attentively, especially when I told him about my fear of losing a mother again. I told him that I was afraid that she would forget us because I would never be her real child. If she really wanted to, she could open a case to get custody of Alice. That's how she got my brothers; she makes the most money and is able to take care of them more than my dad. She can get Alice without a problem. But she wouldn't get me because I'm not her child. She could take my family away and leave me and my dad just as she found us. It's a terrifying thought.

After I finished explaining, I took one shakey breath before I could fully calm my emotions down. 
"I think your mom can figure this out on her own. Believe in her; She'll do the right thing. If she wants to start a new relationship, that she can, but everything will work out." Dan finally said, wiping away any tears that found a way out through my angry and emotional speech. He then sat on the edge of the bathtub, waiting for me to clean up. Again, not the first time he's witnessed the monstrosity of a mess that is me. 

I faced the mirror and sighed as I turned on the faucet. I got some napkins and soaked them under the running faucet. I gently dabbed my cheeks and forehead with it to cool my skin. Blotchy red is not a good look on me. Then I took that same wet napkin and cleaned up around my eyes, wiping away any running mascara and ruined eyeliner. Once I thought I looked presentable enough, I turned off the faucet and threw the used napkin in the bin. I didn't bother to reapply my makeup, I'm sure this won't be the first time I'm going to be crying this evening. I straightened out my top and nodded at Dan. He gave me a thumbs up as I returned a smile. 

We went back downstairs to find Barbra setting up the table with fancy plates and cups. I didn't want to talk to her just yet, but I will speak with her eventually. We went to sit on the sofa couch next to my dad. He had Steven in his left arm while he fed him a bottle with the right. A comfortable quiet atmosphere surrounded us with the occasional music of Frank Sinatra singing in the background. I watched my loving biological father caring for Steven as I lean into Dan. 
"You know..." My father starts after a few minutes of silence between us. 
"I have been seeing someone too." I nearly blow my eyes out. "What? Who?" I asked.
"Calm down. Her name is Sarah." He answers. I nearly choke on air realizing that he knows about mom.
"Syrup Sarah? That Sarah?" I ask him, not believing my ears. He laughs at the mention of the nickname we've given her. Syrup Sarah was our neighbor back in our hometown. I guess she's still his neighbor but wow. We gave her that name because that's really the only reason we know her. Whenever we didn't have syrup for our pancakes, we'd borrow hers and Vice Versa.