had to talk to me. Too much time had passed, and a lot had changed for both of us. The one thing that hadn’t changed is where we came from, and that bond couldn’t be broken. Danny and I were two pieces of one whole. We might come apart, but we fit right back together. She was still the person who knew more about me than anyone else ever would. She was there. She saw. She heard.
I saw. I heard.
We’re each other’s secret keepers. Safe keepers. It’s my job to save her.
I turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist. Talking didn’t have to happen right away. We didn’t need to have some big word race getting out every detail of the time we weren’t together. I wouldn’t push her. Tonight it was probably best if I let her settle in and get used to me again. I needed to get used to being around her again, too. The thought of her so close—just behind the bathroom door—was jolting. To go from not having her in my life for four years to suddenly being here…it was too much to take in. I could only imagine how she felt. I hunted her down and found her. She had no idea I was coming. I’d give her the night to adjust and tomorrow we’d talk.
“It’s all yours,” I said, stepping out of the bathroom with a gust of steam to find her gone.
My chest constricted. Where the fuck was she?
I raced to the door and threw it open, looked left and right searching the sidewalk in front of the motel room doors. A man putting quarters in the vending machine stared at me. “Lose something?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, holding my towel tighter around my waist. “A girl and a puppy. Seen them?”
He jerked his head to his right indicating a small patch of grass to the side of the parking lot. “Over there.”
Outside the ring of light thrown by a light pole on the edge of the lot, I could barely make her out in the pitch black night, chasing the dog around in the grass. God, she looked young. Carefree. Like the girl I remembered from when we were young.
She was young. Nineteen wasn’t exactly old. She was a woman now, but she was fragile. Hell, she was broken. It was my job to put her back together. I took that role a long time ago, and I wasn’t going to abandon it now that I had her back. I just hoped I had all the pieces to fix her.
The puppy let out a high-pitched yelp and Danny laughed.
She laughed.
Jesus, the sound almost made me weep. It meant I did the right thing. It meant she could be happy again. It meant she was still my Danny somewhere down deep inside.
I watched for a few more minutes, then backed inside the room and shut the door. A sense of relief settled over me. Maybe I wasn’t such a fuck-up after all. I did the right thing. For once, that was a certainty.
After pulling on basketball shorts, I laid a pair of boxers and a t-shirt on the vanity for Danny to wear, grabbed the T.V. remote and sprawled out on the bed.
I was surfing the guide to find something to watch when Danny opened the door and came in with the puppy squirming in her arms. She froze in the doorway, staring at me.
“What?” I asked. “Why do you look so shy or afraid of me? You’re not, are you? You’re not afraid of me?”
She shook her head and closed the door. “No,” she said, but kept her eyes down as she crossed the room and let the puppy go to roam around on the floor.
“I put some clothes by the sink for you if you want to get a shower.”
She nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. The lock on the door clicked and the puppy whined trying to get inside. I whistled for him and wiggled my fingers over the side of the bed. He came loping up to me, awkward on his big puppy paws. “Come here, buddy.” I picked him up and set him on the bed beside me.
The shower started and the dog licked my hand. “You make her happy,” I told the pup. “You have to teach me how to do that. I used to know, but now she won’t even look at me.”
He bounded up my chest and nipped my chin. I tucked him in
I saw. I heard.
We’re each other’s secret keepers. Safe keepers. It’s my job to save her.
I turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist. Talking didn’t have to happen right away. We didn’t need to have some big word race getting out every detail of the time we weren’t together. I wouldn’t push her. Tonight it was probably best if I let her settle in and get used to me again. I needed to get used to being around her again, too. The thought of her so close—just behind the bathroom door—was jolting. To go from not having her in my life for four years to suddenly being here…it was too much to take in. I could only imagine how she felt. I hunted her down and found her. She had no idea I was coming. I’d give her the night to adjust and tomorrow we’d talk.
“It’s all yours,” I said, stepping out of the bathroom with a gust of steam to find her gone.
My chest constricted. Where the fuck was she?
I raced to the door and threw it open, looked left and right searching the sidewalk in front of the motel room doors. A man putting quarters in the vending machine stared at me. “Lose something?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, holding my towel tighter around my waist. “A girl and a puppy. Seen them?”
He jerked his head to his right indicating a small patch of grass to the side of the parking lot. “Over there.”
Outside the ring of light thrown by a light pole on the edge of the lot, I could barely make her out in the pitch black night, chasing the dog around in the grass. God, she looked young. Carefree. Like the girl I remembered from when we were young.
She was young. Nineteen wasn’t exactly old. She was a woman now, but she was fragile. Hell, she was broken. It was my job to put her back together. I took that role a long time ago, and I wasn’t going to abandon it now that I had her back. I just hoped I had all the pieces to fix her.
The puppy let out a high-pitched yelp and Danny laughed.
She laughed.
Jesus, the sound almost made me weep. It meant I did the right thing. It meant she could be happy again. It meant she was still my Danny somewhere down deep inside.
I watched for a few more minutes, then backed inside the room and shut the door. A sense of relief settled over me. Maybe I wasn’t such a fuck-up after all. I did the right thing. For once, that was a certainty.
After pulling on basketball shorts, I laid a pair of boxers and a t-shirt on the vanity for Danny to wear, grabbed the T.V. remote and sprawled out on the bed.
I was surfing the guide to find something to watch when Danny opened the door and came in with the puppy squirming in her arms. She froze in the doorway, staring at me.
“What?” I asked. “Why do you look so shy or afraid of me? You’re not, are you? You’re not afraid of me?”
She shook her head and closed the door. “No,” she said, but kept her eyes down as she crossed the room and let the puppy go to roam around on the floor.
“I put some clothes by the sink for you if you want to get a shower.”
She nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. The lock on the door clicked and the puppy whined trying to get inside. I whistled for him and wiggled my fingers over the side of the bed. He came loping up to me, awkward on his big puppy paws. “Come here, buddy.” I picked him up and set him on the bed beside me.
The shower started and the dog licked my hand. “You make her happy,” I told the pup. “You have to teach me how to do that. I used to know, but now she won’t even look at me.”
He bounded up my chest and nipped my chin. I tucked him in
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