Broken Bottles

Broken Bottles: chapter 26

"Four hundred eighty, four hundred ninety, five hundred." I counted.

"We did it!" Penny exclaimed.

"And with a few days to spare." Sid added.

"Yes, but I am paying them now, so there is no way dad can get his hands on it." I said and sealed the money in an envelope.

It was the end of the month and bills were due. Penny, Sidney, and I worked extra hard to earn back all the money dad took from us. Penny picked up extra shifts at the restaurant and I offered to take all of Hannah's remaining shifts for the month which she gladly accepted. Sidney ended up helping with the expense by mowing neighbors lawns and walking dogs.

"He never came home last night which isn't like him." Penny said.

"Good, maybe he's finally gone forever." Sid shared his optimism.

"I doubt it. He most likely just passed out somewhere. He'll be back." I dismissed it.

Ever since dad took our money he's avoided us. He comes in late at night after we are all in bed and leaves before any of us are up. And as much as I wanted to yell and scream at him for what he did to us and to me, him just ignoring us wasn't the worst thing.

A knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts.

"Hey." Danny greeted.

"Hey."

Danny walked into the house and took of his shoes, "How are you feeling?"

"Still a little sore in places, but I'm fine." I answered.

"Yeah, because instead of resting you went right back to work." Penny scolded.

"I rested for a few days, plus I needed to get back to work if we were ever going to make the five hundred back." I sat down on the couch with Danny.

"Did you?" Danny asked, putting his arm around me.

I leaned forward and grabbed the envelope off the coffee table, "All here."

"I'm proud of you. Even though your dad made your life hell this month, you still kept positive and got through it on top." Danny smiled at me.

"It wasn't easy, but we did it." I said, including Penny and Sidney on the achievement.

"Are you still up for hanging out with everyone tonight?" He asked.

I nodded, "Yeah as long as we aren't running any marathons or anything."

Danny chuckled, "Just a nice little party at Kathrine's house."

"Good. I'll be back sometime tonight and if there's any problems just call me." I told my siblings.

"There won't be any problems unless dad comes home." Sid said.

"Well, still, just call me if you need anything." I said as I got my shoes on.

"We will. Have fun!" Penny waved us off.

I pulled on a hoodie and left the house with Danny. As soon as we were out the door Danny attacked me with a kiss.

"What was that for?" I chuckled.

"No reason." He smiled.

I tilted my head at him, knowingly.

"I'm just happy you're alright." He sighed.

"I'm fine." I grabbed his arm, "it's going to take a lot more than a few punches and bottles smashed over the head to keep me down."