Sudden Hope (18 page)

“How do you think I got it, bitch?” That is
when I see her, through my tears, she is just a blur, but I know I see her smiling. My mother just witnessed her daughter being attacked by the man that killed her daughter’s father and did nothing but smile.

“How could you?” I could
n’t help but say something. “You’re my mother.” Ryan spins around and grins at her before licking his lips and locking eyes with her. His grin turns to an all-out smile. She holds out her hand to him. As he reaches for her, I scramble to the door and run as fast as I can for my car. This is not happening to me. Not after everything I have been through.

I pull up to Danny's house way earlier than expected. He c
omes running outside before I can even shut my car off. “CC, oh my God.” The look in his eyes is as if a train is coming straight at him. If he looks like that I must look worse than I feel. I doubt that though, I feel like a train actually hit me.

I cannot even say anything
. I just start crying. He opens my door and leans down on the rocky driveway. He reaches his hand out but stops an inch from my face. “Can I?” he whispered. I could only nod. Even that felt like a brick was being thrown at my head. He brushes his fingertips just barely down the side of my cheek. So gentle so soft. “I'm going to kill him you know,” he says barely above a whisper. “Come with me. I've got you.” He lifts me up and out of my car. I cradle my head in his shoulder and he wraps his arms around me and carries me into his house. I always feel so comfortable with him. “Let me get you some ice and a sweat shirt. Sit here, I'll be right back.”

He si
ts me down on the huge plush reclining chair. It is brown and ugly but I love it as did anyone else that comes over to his house. I cover myself with the afghan blanket that hung over the arm. I hear voices coming from the kitchen. “Okay Mom,” is said a little too loud. “I know, I'll talk to her.” Danny comes back with such concern on his face. His eyes are glistening like he is about to cry. With one arm, he scoops me up and in the next breath I am sitting on his lap. He holds the ice pack to my cheek with such tenderness, barely brushing it to the tender skin. I wince as he lets a single tear fall.

He closes his eyes tightly. “Oh, CC I can’t believe this is happening to you. I am so sorry. I should have been there. I should have known.”

“How could you have known, Danny?” I say as I brush away the remnants of the tear. “We all knew, CC, we all knew.” He says while shaking his head.

At that moment Grace, Danny's mom, walks through the door. “CC, Honey?”

“Yes, Grace.” I answer quietly knowing what is coming next.

“I called the police dear, and Jenny. They are both on their way.” I nodded once, knowing the tears in my throat were not going to allow me to talk again. “Do you need anything?”

I grip Danny’s arm tighter. “Mom I’ve got this can you give us a moment?”

“Yes Daniel, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

“Alright, Mom” He says never looking away from me.

“I need a shower.” I whisper to Danny.

“I know you do, but I can’t let you take one yet, doll.” He is right.

“I’m so sorry
,” I answer. I know there is no real reason for me to be sorry, but I am. I am sorry I did not stay with him. I was sorry I went with Chris. I was sorry my dad died and I am in this mess, but most of all I am sorry Danny is crying.

“There is no reason for you to apologize to me CC.” He is being
strong for me I know, but I know he will not be able to hold it together much longer. Danny is a strong guy when he needs to be but I know he is about to break.

Jenny
comes flying through the door with tears streaming down her face. Right behind her, I can hear the sirens of the police cars. She drops to the floor right in front of us and wraps her arms around me. “CC. Please tell me he didn't-” I stop her before she can finish.

“No. He didn't Jenny.” I look at Danny as I sa
y it. I know that is a question he wants to ask but not a question he was sure he wants the answer too.

I try to compose myself as the police come through the door. They
are followed by EMS and Lea. Is everyone going to show up, I ask myself? I don’t even look at Lea but I know Jenny called her because they are talking in the corner while Lea is staring at me. I feel like a freak show at this point.

Det. Abernathy comes
walking through the door. I know it is only a matter of time. He always shows up when I am involved. It is our way of staying in touch it seems. Danny is still holding me on his lap, never once letting me go until I mention my dad’s ring. His eyes get big, I feel his muscles tighten and his jaw clench. I have not even talked about the attack yet and he is already breaking.

“CC, Hun
, I need to make a phone call,” Danny says it like it was a question but I know better.

“Jenny
, come sit with her. Lea, come with me.” Now he is barking orders.

I glance
at him as Det. Abernathy asks question after question about the attack. I had just gone through it and I am reliving it already. Jenny has tears streaming down her cheeks. She is holding my hand so tight that I am losing all feeling. I don't know if I am being strong for her or if she is being strong for me.

Danny c
omes back into the room and scoops me right back up onto his lap. “Are you okay?” he whispers into my ear.

“Yes baby, I'm okay now
,” I answer back as I wrap his arms around me a little tighter. I feel safe. He really is the answer to my prayers.

The police, EMS, and Det. Abernathy le
ave just as Anthony and Chris show up. I shoot a look at Danny and sigh. I just want to take a shower, curl up with Danny and sleep. It has been a long day and I am mentally and emotionally exhausted.

I watch in awe as the three guys are
standing next to each other. Anthony is flipping out and pacing back and forth. I can’t really make out what he is saying but I know I heard him tell Danny to have Lea stay with me and to not to let me go anywhere. Danny is arguing back but I can tell Anthony and Chris are winning the fight. Danny is calming down and Anthony is getting more hyper by the moment. The only time I have ever seen Anthony like this was right before a Hockey match.

Chris and Anthony
walk over to me and Anthony bends down on one knee. He has sadness in his eyes I have never seen and a look of revenge is there too. “CC. I'm sorry. We are all sorry. Don’t get mad at us but we’re taking care of everything and I do mean everything.” He wraps his large arms around me and squeezes me as tight as I can handle. He puts his forehead to mine and whispers. “We will never let anyone hurt you again. You have been through too much.” I am confused by what he is really talking about but at the same time I know exactly what he meant. I also know he is right and a sudden feeling of security washes over me.

Chris stands behind him and nods towards me. They are
planning something but what it was, I do not know. With that, the boys stood and walk away. Jenny comes up and kisses my cheek. Then Danny comes back to me.

“Baby girl, I’m going to ask you to do something okay?” He is beyond calm
, it is almost scary.

“Umm,
okay” I reply meekly.

“I need you to stay here
, right here, do not leave and do not answer your phone to anyone but us okay?” I have no idea what they are planning but I know it is not good just by the way they are acting.

“I guess
, Danny but what-” He cuts me off by kissing me. Hard. It is a kiss that is telling me he loves me. Telling me he needs me. It is a kiss that people write about.

“We’ll be back, okay
, love?” I only blink at him a few times then he turns to Lea. “You stay with her. Do not let her leave, do you hear me?” Lea looks at Anthony. I can tell she is as confused as I am.

“Alright
,” she answers.

“Good. We will be back in a little bit.” With that the four of them walk out the door.

Chapter Twenty

I feel like an empty shell of the person I once was. I sit in the chair and curl up in the oversized sweatshirt Danny has given me. It smells so much like him and it comforts me so much to have his scent wrapped around me. I can’t stop thinking about all that happened, and what everyone is doing. I am worried and I can tell Lea is too. She has not stopped pacing around the room chewing on her necklace
. She always does that when she is really scared. I'm surprised it has not broken yet.

My cell phone starts ringing and it makes me jump. I do not recognize the number so I hand the phone to Lea. I cannot deal with any more bad news at this moment.

“Hello? Umm, okay I will tell her. Thank you.” Lea turns to me and sets my phone back down. “CC, that was the police, they wanted you to know that no one was at your house when they got there and they do not want you to go home for any reason.” I just nod again. I feel like if I talk everything will become more real than it already has.

Grace comes into the room and hands me a stack of clothes. “Celeste Hun, why don't you go
take a shower? I'm sure something in this pile will fit you.” She is a nice woman. I am so happy for Danny that he has her.

I smile and say
, "Thank you" as I stand up. She is right, I really do need a shower. “Lea can I go for a minute?”

“Yes CC, take your time I'll watch your phone, okay?”

I thank her as I head up the stairs.

Going
into the bathroom I look at my face for the first time. My cheek is already turning black and blue and my lip is split and swollen. I look like I feel, beat up and worn down.

I turn on the
water, the shower feels like someone is beating me up all over again. I guess washing your hair after so much has been ripped out is not the best idea. I finish as quickly as I can. As much as it hurts for the water to touch me, it does make me feel a little better.

As
I am getting dressed in a pair of Grace's sweat pants and pulling Danny's sweatshirt back over my head, Lea comes banging on the door. “CC! Hurry we have to go. Now!” She is frantic and flipping out.

I open the door, as I step into the hallway, I can see a look of pure horror all over her face.

“What's going on? Is everything all right?” I can’t get the words out fast enough.

“No it’s not. We need to go now! Grace is in the car already.” She is running to the door and I am right on her heels.

We pull up to a small local bar that I immediately recognize. This is my mom's favorite hangout. That is when I see them
. Jenny is a mess. Her hair is disheveled and she has blood on her right hand. She is breathing heavy and sweat is dripping from her forehead. I can tell she has been fighting. She is performing her breathing exercises to calm herself down.

Danny and Chris are sitting up on the half wall that surrounds the outside eating area.
Anthony is standing but I can tell he is trying to calm down too. Danny looks normal but shaken. Anthony and Chris are not as lucky. Chris has a red mark surrounding his eye that you know is going to turn into a bruise. His shirt is ripped and he is breathing heavy.

Anthony I think is the worst. He has blood all over him. His hands are stained with blood but I can tell it is not his. We come to a stop, before the car is even in park I am already flying out the door.

The police are pulling in and right behind them is an ambulance. I stop dead in my tracks as I get closer. That’s when I see what is going on. Ryan is unconscious, lying in a pool of blood. Next to him is my mother. She is hurt. Bad. She is still awake but barely moving.

I look at Jenny and she shrugs her shoulders. Anthony walks over to me and looks at me straight into my eyes.

“Danny did not touch anyone. We would not let him.” He kisses my cheek and walks to Lea.

Chris is walking towards me but I need to get to Danny.

“Chris, are you all right? Are you hurt?” I ask as I keep walking.

“Yea I'm fine
,” he answers and walks to Grace. I think he knows I need Danny and that Grace would need someone to talk to her.

I run the last few steps and just fall into Danny's arms. He is shaken and upset. I wrap my arms around him and rest my head under his chin. I do
n’t notice what is in his hand until he asks me to hold mine out.

“I think this belongs to you.” He slides my dad’s ring into my hand and the tears once again beg
in to fall. I pull away from him and run over to my mother. Just as I go to kick her, I feel the warmth of Danny against my back.

“No baby, we are protecting you now. She is not worth it.” He holds me close as I cry. Once again, Danny is my savior. Jenny, Chris, and Anthony are the true meaning of true friends.

The police cars swarm around us and Danny lets go of me. He speaks calmly and quickly. “Baby listen, we are going to be okay. No matter what happens next, we will be fine. All right?” Danny is always right so I know that it is fine. I nod and hold his hand. He is my life and we will be okay.

Det. Abernathy walks over to me as the paramedics work on my mother.
“Hi, Celeste. Can you tell me what happened here?” His tone is not a happy one.