Coming Home (35 page)

Danny stared down at her, hesitating as his eyes searched hers. She knew he must have seen the panic there—that he attributed it to her being uncomfortable about talking to Scott, when in reality she was afraid of what would happen if she
didn’t
talk to him.

Leah forced a smile. “I’m fine. I’ll be okay. Let me handle it.”

Danny dropped his eyes, his jaw still flexing as he inhaled. “I’ll be right over there, okay?”

She nodded as she leaned in and kissed him quickly, and as Danny straightened, his eyes turned to Scott. He held his gaze for just a moment before he turned and walked the few feet to the end of the bar.

“So, I guess that’s your man?” Scott said, his brow quirked in amusement. “He’s a little overprotective, don’t you think?”

“Scott, listen to me,” Leah said gently, trying to appeal to the kindness she remembered in him, because even though she knew those three years were based on lies, she needed to believe there was something good in him somewhere, some part of him that might still care enough about her to do the right thing. “This is over, okay? Whatever your reasoning was for doing what you did, it’s never gonna be okay with me.”

He shook his head slightly. “You’re not looking past your anger. You’re not remembering what this was like,” he said, trailing the back of his finger down her arm.

She moved it out of his reach. “You don’t get it. It’s not about me being angry. It’s about me knowing that I don’t want to be with you.”

A flash of hurt registered behind his eyes at her words, but it was gone before she could react to it. “Is it because of this asshole?” he asked, nodding over her shoulder.

Leah glanced over to see Danny leaned up against the bar, his arms folded over his chest as he watched them.

“We were over long before this,” she said, “but if you really want to know, then yes. I don’t want anyone but him.”

Scott stared at her for a moment, his eyes searching hers. “Kiss me,” he said suddenly.

“
What
?”

“Kiss me,” he repeated. “If you can honestly tell me you feel nothing after kissing me, then I’ll let this go.”

“I don’t need to kiss you to know that I feel nothing.”

His mouth lifted in a faint smile. “See? You’re scared,” he said. “You’re scared because you remember what it was like. How I made you feel. What I could do to your body. You remember. And you know that if you kiss me, you won’t be able to deny it,” he said, bringing his hand back to her face.

Leah took a step back, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Danny unfold his arms as he straightened.

Her heart leapt into her throat, and she knew she needed to end this immediately.

She reached up and removed his hand from her face. “Okay, that’s enough. Stop calling me, stop texting me, and stop sending me things. If you really care about me the way you say you do, then you’ll respect what I want. And it’s not you.”

And then everything seemed to happen at once.

She turned away from Scott and started walking toward Danny, but his eyes were focused behind her. He moved toward them suddenly, fury washing over his face just as Leah felt a hand grip the top of her arm and spin her around. Before she could get her bearings, Scott grabbed the back of her head and pulled her toward him, crashing his mouth to hers.

Her hands flew to his chest, pushing against him, but he had one arm wrapped tightly around her waist and his other hand clutching the back of her head, holding her mouth securely against his. Leah whimpered, and he took it as a sign of encouragement, forcing his tongue into her mouth.

And then his mouth was gone as she was yanked backward.

Her eyes focused just in time to see Scott with his arm cocked back, ready to swing at Danny.

“No!” she yelled. “
Don’t
!”

Scott swung, connecting with Danny’s chin. His head jerked back slightly with the force of the hit, and then he lunged forward, grabbing Scott by the throat.

“Danny!” she screamed. “Stop it!”

She hurtled forward, attempting to grab his arm, but he pulled it easily from her grasp as he swung at Scott, hitting him square in the mouth. She went to grab him again, but she was jerked back suddenly.

Instantly, a group of men converged on them, blocking them from her sight. Someone’s arm was wrapped firmly around her waist, but she didn’t fight against whoever it was. Instead she stood there, looking on with panic as the group of men undulated with the struggle before they finally broke apart.

Two of the men, who she could now see were bouncers, dragged a still-shouting Scott toward the back exit, his mouth covered in blood.

She turned just in time to see Danny’s back as he stormed through the front door of the bar and out onto the street, someone following closely behind him.

Leah attempted to follow him, but the arm around her waist pulled her back. “Are you out of your mind trying to get between those two?”

She turned around, finally acknowledging the person holding her, and she tried to remove the arm from around her waist as she made a move for the door again.

Sarah tightened her grip. “Hey,” she said calmly. “Let him cool off. He’s with Kyle. He’ll be fine. Just give him a minute.”

Leah turned to look at her sister, her shoulders sagging in acquiescence as she fell back on the barstool behind her.

Her eyes instantly welled with tears.

“What are you crying about?” Sarah said. “He’s not hurt.”

Leah turned her head and stared at the door as her chin began to quiver.

“It was just a few punches, Leah,” she said with a tiny laugh. “It’s not the end of the world.”

“I can’t believe this,” Leah mumbled, shaking her head.

“Oh, please don’t tell me you’re mad at him. You know Scott deserved that. In fact, he’s had that coming for a long time.”

She glanced at Sarah. Of course she didn’t understand. How could she?

“I’m just a little shaken up,” Leah said, and Sarah reached over and rubbed her shoulder.

“Alright, well, you can relax now. Kyle will come back and get us when he calms down. Here,” she said, handing her a beer. “Drink.”

Leah took a careful sip, struggling to swallow it.

“If you want the truth,” Sarah said, “I kind of wish they had let that go a few minutes longer. Scott could have used the lesson in humility.”

Leah sat there, staring at her beer as her stomach churned. Of course Sarah thought her reaction seemed excessive. She didn’t know that this was more than just some bar fight. She didn’t know what this could have meant for him.

Leah replayed the scene in her mind, recognizing all the places she should have handled the situation differently. She could have asked Sammy for help as soon as Scott wouldn’t let her leave. He would have tossed Scott out in a second if he was making her uncomfortable. She should have done everything in her power to diffuse the situation before Danny felt like he had to get involved.

Leah looked down and shook her head, because if she were being honest with herself, she should have handled the situation long before that. She should have dealt with him as soon as he started contacting her after their breakup, instead of taking the easy way out and ignoring him all this time. So in truth, she had brought this all on herself.

And consequently, she had brought this down on Danny.

The image of Danny swinging at Scott flashed in her mind, and her eyes welled with tears again. How could she have been so careless? She had put him in a situation where he felt like he needed to take action.

She had left him no choice.

And what would have happened if he’d gotten arrested tonight protecting her? How would that have looked to the judge trying to determine if he was a violent criminal?

Leah swiped under her eyes as she willed her heartbeat to return to normal, but it was in vain. Every second that passed caused the knot in her stomach to grow tighter. Where was he? What if Kyle wasn’t able to calm him down? What if Scott went after him again outside?

She took another sip of beer, and the taste made her feel like she was going to be sick. Leah pressed her fingers to her mouth and closed her eyes.

She felt Sarah nudge her with her elbow, and when Leah opened her eyes, Sarah nodded toward the front of the bar. Kyle stood in the doorway, gesturing for Leah to come outside, and she pushed off the stool so quickly that it crashed back against the bar as she made her way through the crowd.

As soon as she stepped outside, she looked around frantically. “Where is he?”

“He’s in the car. He’s okay now, but I’m thinking you guys should probably call it a night.”

She nodded quickly. “Okay. Thank you,” she said. “I’m sorry about your night—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kyle said, cutting her off as he put his hand on her back. “You okay?”

Leah forced a tiny smile and nodded, and then she turned and kissed Sarah on the cheek, telling her she’d call her tomorrow.

As Sarah and Kyle went back into the bar, Leah turned and walked briskly through the parking lot toward Danny’s car. As she got closer, she slowed, nearly stopping; she could see the outline of him sitting in the driver’s seat, his hands gripping the wheel and his head down.

She pulled the door open and slid into the seat, closing it softly behind her, waiting for him to say something. To do something.

Nearly a minute passed, but he remained in the same position, unmoving and silent.

If he was angry with her, he had every right to be. She had been irresponsible, and because of it, he had to risk everything to defend her.

Leah kept her eyes trained on the dashboard as she chewed the inside of her lip. She wanted so desperately to talk to him, but she also knew that timing was everything. If he hadn’t fully cooled off yet, she didn’t want to say or do anything that would aggravate the situation.

After a minute she saw Danny close his eyes and shake his head ever so slightly. He dropped his hand from the wheel—the first real movement he’d made since Leah sat beside him—and he brought it to the ignition, starting the car.

The entire drive home was spent in silence. Danny kept his eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel, and although she stole several fleeting glances at him, he did not look at her once.

As they pulled into the empty space in front of Leah’s apartment, her eyes began to sting with the threat of tears. She wanted him to say something—anything—and when he didn’t, she dropped her eyes, nodding softly before she turned and exited the car.

As soon as she was outside, the tears she’d been fighting all night finally spilled over, and she picked up the pace, desperate to get inside the refuge of her apartment.

Leah pushed through the door and walked straight to the kitchen table, dropping her purse before she splayed her hands over the wood and bowed her head. And then she heard the front door close softly behind her, and her breath caught in her throat as she lifted her head.

She hadn’t expected him to follow.

Leah kept her back to him as she tried to pull herself together. There were a million things she wanted to say, but she didn’t know where to start, or where to draw the line for that matter. All she knew was that she wanted to make this better. The last thing she wanted to do was fight with him.

“I’m so sorry, Leah,” he said suddenly, his hoarse whisper cutting through the stillness.

She turned around to see him standing in front of the door, his head down as he played with the keys in his hand.

“What are you sorry for?” she asked, her voice barely audible. “This is all my fault.”

His hand instantly stilled as he lifted his eyes to hers. “Your fault?” he asked. “You think this is
your
fault?”

She nodded her head imperceptibly, her eyes trained on him.

Danny dropped his eyes, his jaw muscle flexing rapidly.

“How is it your fault that he’s a disrespectful prick?” he asked, lifting his eyes to hers. “How is it your fault that he tried to intimidate you?”

Leah opened her mouth to answer, but Danny cut her off. “And how is it your fault that I was fucking stupid enough to let him get a second chance at it?” he said, his voice rising in anger. “How is it your fault that I left you alone with him, even after I saw him corner you, after I saw him
grab
you? I left you alone with him, for what? So he could put his hands on you
again
? His fucking
mouth
on you?”

He turned quickly, whipping his car keys across the room; they crashed up against the front door with a clatter, and Leah jumped, pressing her lips together.

“How is it your fault that I fucked up? I fucked up, Leah! I keep fucking up! And you paid for it! Just like Bryan paid for it! Just like Gram’s paying for it, and Jake, and Tommy and everyone I give a shit about in this world is paying for it!”

He was yelling now, and Leah stood there, her eyes pooling with tears. Because they weren’t talking about Scott anymore.

And all at once, she realized what had happened tonight was so much bigger than him.

On some level Danny had been a powder keg for the last year of his life. That phone call today was the strike of a match.

And Scott had tossed it in.

Danny cursed under his breath, dropping his head back and covering his face. “It’s not your fault,” he said from behind his hands. “You didn’t deserve what happened tonight. I shouldn’t have left you with him. I fucked up.”

“You were just doing what I asked,” she said, her voice trembling, and Danny’s hands fell from his face at the sound of it. “I put you in a position where you felt like you had to protect me. And that was so stupid of me, because I don’t want you to leave me for any longer than you have to—”

Her words cut off suddenly as she burst into tears, and she cupped her hand over her mouth.

Saying those words out loud had completely demolished her, because it wasn’t hypothetical anymore. It wasn’t something that might happen someday. That phone call made it real. The date was set. It was so close.

He was in front of her immediately, pulling her into his arms, and she covered her face with her hands as she sobbed into his chest.