We spent the rest of the day together, fluctuating between making out and quietly chatting. Dani told me more details of her heists and I told her some more of what people had said about her. She got pretty nervous so I made it light and left Uncle Alex out altogether. I couldn’t figure out why at the time. I guess it was instinct keeping me quiet…an instinct that was right.
I tried to ease her fears of the past catching up with her, saying over and over how the high school kids didn’t seem that interested. She made it sound as if she was always working alone, but I knew that was a lie. Not the outright kind, but the left out kind. She just avoided certain details. I didn’t have the courage to question her about her “brother.” It was so good listening to the truth, I didn’t want to push for more and end up silencing her. I soaked in her words, my sympathies for her increasing with each story. It was easy to forgive her crimes when I knew she was ripping off such greedy people. She cried when she told me about Tori and I wiped away her tears.
“It’s over now,” I whispered. “You don’t have to live that way anymore.”
She didn’t respond to my confident statement, just went really quiet, maybe trying to believe me. Well, she could. I wouldn’t let her do this to herself. I’d look after her. It was an easy promise to make.
I forced Dani out for a decent meal before leaving her. She insisted on drive-through and we found a secluded patch of forest to eat in. Sitting on the hood of my car, we munched on our burgers and fries, not saying much. My mind was consumed with ending this for her.
I needed one more nugget of truth though and I was worried she wouldn’t give it to me.
After we’d loudly slurped our chocolate shakes and laughed at each other, I drove her home, nervous as hell.
“See you at the pool tomorrow?”
“You bet.” I tugged on her shirt, pulling her in for a kiss.
Her cheeks were flaming as she reached for the door handle.
“Dani, wait.”
She spun back to face me, her expression open. I hated that I was about to close it. Somehow I knew the answer to this question already. It was going to piss me off, but I had to try.
“What’s your name? Your real name.”
Her expression closed down and she shook her head. “I can’t tell you that.”
“You know you can trust me with anything.”
The way she looked away told me she couldn’t. I wanted to grab her face and convince her she was wrong.
“I don’t trust anyone with my name, Zach. Not even you.”
It hurt. I knew it would.
I didn’t say anything as she leaned across and gave me a brief kiss before sliding from the car and walking down the street. She eventually crossed the road, heading towards her little alleyway and that dung hole of an apartment she called home. Driving away from her was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I couldn’t shake the fear that she’d freak out in the night and that kiss was the last one I’d ever get.
At least I knew where she lived now. If she didn’t show at the pool tomorrow, I could drive straight here and make sure she hadn’t split…even though I promised her I wouldn’t do that.
I was such an idiot to agree to that.
I drove home slowly, soaking in the ups and downs of my day. I felt spent. I knew who Dani was now, but I didn’t. I knew her reasoning, but there was so much more to it. So many secrets. Could I handle them all? I felt emotionally beat up having listened to what she’d already told me. I needed her to have a better life. I wanted her to be able to walk a living truth, every day…no more secrets.
Mom and Dad were engrossed in a movie when I got home. I said a quick hi then headed up to my room. Flicking on the light, I spotted my phone straight away and out of habit, reached to check the screen. There were two missed calls from Elliot and one WTF message that made me swear.
Damn it! I’d totally forgotten about Halo 2! I never should have agreed to it. He was gonna kill me for bailing on him.
I winced, knowing I should call him at that moment and apologize, but I really didn’t want to. I was spent and having to deal with his anger while spinning some bullshit about what I’d really been doing was going to be a bigger effort than I could deal with. I placed my phone down, trying to ignore the guilt rounding over me.
“Just deal with it tomorrow,” I muttered, glaring at the phone.
Closing my eyes, I let out a disgusted sigh and reached for the phone.
It buzzed in my hand, making me jerk.
Looking at the screen, I breathed a quick sigh of relief before answering.
“Hey, Uncle Al.”
“What’s up, little bro. Just checking in. You doin’ okay after yesterday?”
“Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “Yeah I am.”
Uncle Alex scoffed. “You know if you hadn’t cleared your throat, I probably would have believed you.”
“What? I had a tickle!”
“Liar.”
I had to yield to my grin. It slowly spread across my face. “I spoke to her.”