𝐔𝐍𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐄 // 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐘 𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄

꧁𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐎𝐍𝐄꧂

Danny's pov

One of the cops pulled me away from the door, pushing me back under the tape to the other side.
"Stay out, kid," he said.
I didn't object. The second I saw Mr. Jackson I wanted to run, but I was in pure shock.

How did this happen?
When did this happen?

I sat in the corner of the hallway watching everybody's panicked facial expressions.
I started convincing myself that it was because of...yesterday.
But how? Nobody knew. Nobody knew except for-

My father.

No.

He wouldn't do that...
But he would.
The Jack Torrance I grew up on would.
Something...something has to trigger him in order for him to go back to...that version of himself.
He seemed so calm when he told me he knew, but in his mind...
He was already plotting his death.

From what I saw, it looks like he beat him to death. Slowly and painfully, I'm assuming.
Just an assumption, but I'm sure it's accurate considering it's Jack.
I saw that he had two black eyes, blood spilling out of his mouth, ears, and nose.
He was a bruise monster.
I don't think I've ever seen so many bruises on somebody in my life!

I just couldn't get myself to stop thinking about it. About the possibility of it being my...own father.
And if it WAS him, am I grateful? Scared? Mad?
None of this makes sen-

"Hey, Dan."

I heard a familiar, comforting voice speak.
I zoned back into the world, face to face with Lloyd, who was bent down in front of me.
"H-hey," I stuttered, like an idiot.
He smiled, obviously making fun of my awkwardness.
"Sorry," I said. "I'm just really off about this...Mr. Jackson thing."

"Right? It's so weird," he said, looking behind him at the caution tape.
"And suspicious," he said in a deeper voice, looking back at me again.
I laughed, my face cheeks feeling like they were burning in hell.
"Yeah," I said. "S-so much for a calm and comforting freshman year, huh?"
He laughed, staring into my eyes like they were the only pair that mattered.
Lloyd sat on the ground beside me, and after a bit of silence, he finally spoke up.
"So," he began. "Did you want to meet me at the back of the school later?"
I started to panic, my mind thinking the worst immediately.
"Oh, I-I don't think we are going to have school today. Aren't they gonna cancel? They just found the body this morning and forgot to email the parents and cancel school. So they'll probably send us home."

"Right, well how about the woods behind that dumpy gas station on Willow St?"

Why so private?

"Oh, okay. Yeah, sure," I said, a bright smile appearing.

"Sweet, see you then."
He kissed my cheek, stood up, and walked off.

I was excited, but nervous.

Why does it need to be so private?