Page 29 of When Darkness Calls

“What did she want?” Dani’s disdain can’t be hidden. From my seat, I watch Cade crack a slight smile, eyes lifting to her. He looks over her, the smile falling to a confused frown.

“What in God’s name are you wearing, Dee?”

“Clothes.”

“Well, no shit, Sherlock, but you look like you went five rounds with a rabid raccoon.” He stifles a laugh and she feigns offense.

“Excuse me?” Her hand comes up to her chest. “I’ll have you know, ripped fishnets are very stylish right now, jackass. But seriously, what did the she-devil want.”

She goes to the fridge grabbing a Dr. Pepper and key lime pie yogurt. It’s an odd feeling to confront the knowledge that even when things change, they stay the same. The combo has been her staple after school snack for as long as I can remember. The thought makes me smile.

“She wanted to know when you’d want to go shopping for new school clothes—” She rolls her eyes. “And was asking what I had planned for your birthday…” he says, taking a sip from his coffee mug.

“Fuuuccckkkkkk.” She falls into a chair opposite him, and he nods.

“Yup.”

“What did you say?”

“That I hadn’t thought about it. It’s in a couple weeks, so there’s no hurry.”

And just like that, she physically deflates. Dani pokes at the yogurt cup in her hand with her spoon. “Alright, I guess. Thanks for stalling, Cay. Damn it…I wanted to go to the theater in Pinehaven. They’re doing midnight showings on Saturdays starting in September.”

“Hey, it’s okay. I know it sucks, and I’m sorry, but I don’t know. Maybe…maybe we can swindle her into doing an early lunch out somewhere and then we can immediately ditch right after, yeah?” He tries to sound hopeful, but I can tell it doesn’t help.

I’ve seen and heard everything I need to know how I feel about their step-mom. I don’t like her. Not only because the whole situation with their dad never really made any sense to me, but also because she treats Dani like absolute shit and in the same breath it’s like she’s trying to suck Cade’s dick. It’s weird and gross and it’s been like this since we were in high school.

He closes his laptop, starting to stack his papers and set them all in a pile off to the side. Dani watches quietly, eyeing floor plans, records, and contacts. It probably all looks like gibberish to her though.

“You have any plans tonight?” My question cuts the tension.

“Maybe…why? You gonna ask me out on a date, Grays?” She asks, grinning cheekily.

There she is.

I fake splutter and scoff, but the weird feeling in my stomach returns tenfold. Cade snorts and the tips of my ears burn.

“What?! No. No, I wasn’t actually. I-uh...I was just seeing if you were gonna be around this evening and-and—Help me out here, dude.” I punch Cade’s arm giving him a knowing look.

Fucking asshole wanted me to keep an eye on her and try to fix our friendship and here I am trying to do it and the prick is LAUGHING.

He rubs the spot I hit, and between choked laughs he says, “Nah, you’re on your own, man.” He stands, grabbing his mug and begins to make another pot of coffee.

“Well…The rest of the guys are working. And we both agree we need a night off soo…We were thinking of ordering pizza and playing games, or something, if you wanna join us.”

She nods, pushing the yogurt cup across the table, taking a sip of her drink. “I do have plans, but I’ll be here tonight. Liz is coming over.”

“Liz and Issac, or just Liz?” Cade probes, casually scooping yet another spoonful of grounds into the filter.

She scoffs. “Actually, I hope it’s just Liz. Fucking Issac.” Dani mumbles under her breath.

I lean forward onto my elbows, propping my chin on my folded hands. I quirk one brow smirking wide, the motion shifting my lip ring. “Oh, Dani Doll, am I sensing some unspoken gossip and drama…”

“Oooh, I sense it too!” Cade rushes over mirroring my pose as the coffee pot begins to sputter. “Spill it, missy.”

This is what I’ve missed about us. Talking, joking, picking on each other, knowing that without a doubt they are always here for me, just like I’m here for them. The guilt feels…lighter, no longer drowning me each time she comes into the room. She doesn’t seem to hate me or blame me for what happened. At least, I think so.

The same with Cade. The first few weeks of November last year were probably the hardest of my life…well, hardest outside of a handful of things. The difference with Cade was his lack of presence in my life, but knowing he hadn’t disappeared, or worse. Just experiencing what I thought was anger over what had happened. But after we had talked, I realized the anger I had assumed he harbored for me was for the people who had hurt her. Cade was worried about me, concerned about how I was handling it all, and was giving me space. The complete opposite of what I really needed.