Broken Bottles

Broken Bottles: chapter 17

I pulled away from Danny with tears in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

"One year ago he would never even think about showing up in a public place like this to cause a scene." I told Danny.

"What changed?" Danny asked me. He then guided me to sit down at the table I was previously scrubbing and I complied.

"I'm not sure. There's loads of things that could be ticking him off."

"Why does he think you or your siblings have his money?" Danny then asked.

I looked down at the table. I felt slightly ashamed to admit to Danny that I have stolen from my dad in the past.

"Hey, it's okay. You can tell me." Danny reached out and took hold of my hand.

I played with his fingers for a few seconds before taking a deep breath, "I have taken money from him before, but only when I needed it for food or when he already had stolen my money."

"It's okay, you don't need to justify why you do it. This time it wasn't you though?"

"No!" I quickly said, "Taking a hundred dollars at one time is careless. I would never take that much at once."

"Do you think one of your siblings did it?" He asked.

I sighed, "I would like to think they're smarter than that, but I honestly don't know."

"Well, let's finish cleaning up and then you can go home and sort it all out tomorrow." Danny stood up and pulled me along with him.

I put all the balls back on their racks and took out the trash as Danny mopped the floor. I kept telling him he didn't have to help me since he didn't work at the alley, but he would just wave me off each time. We eventually got done and I followed Danny to his car after locking the doors. We drove to my house in silence and I was grateful for Danny not trying to make conversation. He knew I had to have a few minutes to just think everything through and I appreciated his awareness.

Danny put the car into park in the driveway and looked at me, "You going to be alright?"

I looked at dads truck next to us in the driveway and then up at the house. It was completely dark which told me everyone was most likely asleep.

"I'll be fine. I just hope he didn't do anything when he got home." I said.

"Penny would've texted you if anything bad happened." Danny reasoned.

I checked my phone lock screen and it was still blank, "You're probably right. I just hate that I have to go in there like nothing happened. I hate that I have to go to sleep in the same house as him just a few rooms apart."

"Hey," Danny put his hand on my leg, "in the morning you can figure everything out, but for now you have to try to get some sleep. The situation will just be worse if you deal with it while tired."

"I know." I mumbled.

Danny gave me a knowing look before crossing his upper body over the middle console and cupping my cheek. He pulled me in for a short, but meaningful kiss. The tension I was feeling since the scene at the bowling alley suddenly melted away and I felt lighter when he abandoned my lips. I kept my eyes closed for a few seconds after he pulled away, because I knew opening them meant I had to leave Danny and face reality.

When I eventually did open my eyes, Danny was giving me a small smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. I could tell he didn't want to leave me either, but he also knew he didn't have a choice.

"Text me the minute anything happens, okay?"

"I will." I promised. I then pushed open the car door and got out. I said 'goodbye' to Danny and walked up to the front door. Once I was inside, Danny reversed out of the driveway and disappeared down the street.