Chapter One

Danny's P.o.V

I'm all alone again, tears streaming down my face. This is the fifth time in the past month that I just broke into tears at the slightest mention of my mother or father. Sam and Tucker keep telling me that I should talk to Jazz about my problems and my out of control emotions. I'm actually considering taking up Jazz's offer to be my therapist. Funny, I used to think all her mumbo-jumbo about the teenage mind was a bunch of rubbish, but now I actually wanted to talk to her about what happened a few months ago. Not that I really want to remember what happened, I just want to finally start feeling like myself again.

It had been raining that night and I was soaked to the bone. I had just finished fighting Skulker and my mother had driven out to pick me up so I wouldn't have to risk fainting while I flew. You see, I had accidently transformed from Phantom to Fenton in front of her three months ago and I completely blew nearly two years of secrets. I had been absolutely sure she was going to blast me with her ecto-gun and dissect me as soon as she tied me down and got my father.

But I was wrong. Her first reaction was to hug me close and apologize over and over again. I had never felt more relieved in my life. She wanted to tell Dad as soon as she got her emotions under control, but I convinced her not too. Dad was at a ghost hunting convention without my mom for the first time. He had been so excited and I didn't want to ruin it for him by forcing him to come home early. Mom had agreed after a moment, but only if I told her what caused my ghost half to come into existence and my promise to her that we would tell Dad as soon as he got home. I didn't have a problem with that deal, but we never did tell Dad, as he was very… enthusiastic about hunting Phantom down as soon as he got home. We decided we would tell him when he calmed down some. He never really did, at least, not enough for us to break it to him that I was a halfa and that Phantom wasn't evil. Especially after his new technique managed to capture Ember, she still refuses to come out of the Ghost Zone because of it.

Well, I had been waiting for Mom in front of the Nasty Burger, as that was where the fight took place, when she finally showed up in the RV. It was obvious she was having trouble getting her breaks to work. I remember thinking that I should just fly Mom and I back home and we could get the RV when the roads dried up, but I didn't want to take the chance of Dad seeing Phantom carrying his wife back home. There was no doubt in my mind he would think I was trying to harm her and would start shooting at me, so I just got into the RV and prayed that we would get home safely.

The first half of the drive hadn't been so bad. Mom had fish-tailed a bit but she managed to get back in control of the RV in a few seconds. I had actually thought we would make it home without wrecking the car. Mom was telling me that the next time I ran into a ghost I should call her immediately so she could help me and I wouldn't be so badly injured. I just nodded my head and held onto my left wrist. I must have broken it when I hit Skulker's new armor the first time and didn't even feel the pain when it happened. Mom was starting to say something about taking me to the hospital first when the RV lurched and she started to struggle to keep the RV on the road. I tried to turn into Phantom, hoping to grab Mom and go intangible so we wouldn't be stuck in the RV, but I didn't have the energy to do so. The rings had shown up for a moment and I remember feeling relieved at that, but they disappeared before they had done their job. Mom noticed me struggling and worked harder to get the RV under control, but she was getting nowhere fast. Fear had clouded her eyes by then and fear was starting to settle in my heart. We were going to be in a bad accident if she couldn't get in control.

The RV suddenly swerved and then the world around us was rolling. I remember thinking that this was just some terrible nightmare and I would wake up any second. When I finally realized that this was real I started screaming. We were going to die and, while my mother moved onto the other side, I would become a full ghost. We rolled three more times before coming to a stop. I was shaking in my seat, my blood rushing to my head because we were upside down. My mom groaned and I got to work. I unbuckled my seatbelt, carefully trying not to fall on my head. Once I was back on my feet I almost collapsed. My ankle had been either dislocated or broken while the RV had been in motion and I could barely support myself.

Mom was silent now. Terror gripped my very soul. She couldn't be dead; she was too strong to die! Reaching into my pants pocket I realized that I had my cellphone and it somehow survived the wreck. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the phone, much less dial the numbers. But I managed to get the phone to make the call and I prayed that it wasn't too late for my mom.

"Hello, this is 9-1-1, please state your emergency."

"Hello?" I said, suddenly feeling very cold and lonely, "My name is Danny and I've just been in a car accident. My mom was driving and we flipped and now she isn't breathing and I don't know what to do!" I barely noticed that my voice was shaking and raising an octave.

"Danny, please stay calm," the operator said, her voice suddenly calm instead of the robotic manner most operators had, "do you know where you and your mother are?"

The world outside my window was nearly obscured by the rain, but I could make out an old farm we always passed when Mom decided to take the back roads. "We're by the old McGregor farm," I said, "I think the road's called Field Road."

"I've just sent an ambulance to your location Danny," she said, "Now; can you reach your mother?"

"Yes."

"Do you know how to check for a pulse?"

"Yes."

"Does your mother have a pulse?"

My hands trembled as my whole world came tumbling down. "She doesn't have one ma'am."

"Do you know how to perform CPR?"

"Yes." I said, "But Mom's still buckled in her seatbelt, upside down."

"Can you get her down?"

"I can try."

The buckle came undone easily, but get Mom on her back and still giving me enough room for CPR without dragging her outside into the rain was difficult. It took me a minute, but soon I was giving my mom CPR. The operator, whose name I later learned was Sarah, was coaching me through the whole process, trying to keep me calm and collected. I felt Mom jump a little and soon she was breathing on her own, though it sounded very ragged and forced. "She's breathing again ma'am." I said, relief flooding my voice and my heart.

"That's great Danny." Sarah said, "Can you hear or see the ambulance sweetheart?"

I couldn't hear the sirens over the pouring rain, but I could see the lights coming closer. "Yes ma'am." I said, hope taking over the fear and terror that had filled my heart. Help was actually coming! Mom was going to make it!

"I'm going to hang up now Danny." Sarah said, "Is that alright?"

"Yes ma'am."

The next hour was a blur of lights, sirens, and frantic yelling. Mom and I were taken to the ER where they took Mom for some CT scans and took me to take a look at my ankle and wrist. The hope that had taken control was disappearing, being replaced with worry and anxiousness. I couldn't help but feel as if something was wrong with Mom. Something that the doctors were missing and that it was very dangerous. I kept on wondering where my dad was, did he even know that Mom and I had been in an accident? Was he waiting up for us, hoping that we would walk through the door at any moment?

A doctor came in an hour after my cast on my ankle was plastered on. I had thought he had come to tell me that my dad was here and my mother was in the recovery room. But his facial expression gave away the grave news long before the words left his lips. The moment he did tell me I felt my heart shatter and my brain go blank.

I don't remember anything else from that night after I let out an ear-splitting scream.

Mom's funeral was a week after the accident. It was raining that day too, but not nearly as hard as it had been. My dad had held me close, along with Jazz, who had come home from college for the funeral. Mom had been so glad when Jazz had graduated early and proud when she managed to get a spot in Princeton almost immediately. But I was glad she knew family came before education. I don't think I would've made it through the funeral without her and Dad there to support me. I remember seeing Tucker there with his family and Sam with both her parents and her grandmother. I had been surprised when her parents showed up, but they were fairly nice to me, Mrs. Manson going as far as hugging me. Sam had blushed at that.

After the funeral I had sat on my front porch steps, in the rain, wondering what would have happened if it had been me who died in the accident and not my mom. Dad had come out to sit next to me and held me close. It was the last time he's hugged me since then.

When Jazz went back to Princeton and I had gone back to school, Dad had started to drink. It had started with just a beer or two after I had gone to bed. Then it moved to a six pack over the course of a day. Now it seemed like he was always drinking and he had actually started to get physical with me. He was just pushing me against the wall and throwing around threats, but I was afraid that he was going to start punching me and actually really hurt me. I started to feel afraid whenever I got home, not knowing what kind of mood he would be in. He was normally just depressed, but sometimes he would be in some kind of rage, not realizing where he was and not remembering the past few months. When he was in his rage mood I would sneak off to Tucker's or Sam's hoping that he would be asleep when I came home later in the night.

I just hope that my dad will stop soon. Living without Mom is hard enough. Living with a former shell of my dad would kill me.

Author's Note:

Hi again! After re-reading Misused (and feeling fairly embarrassed about the writing style) I have decided to rewrite the entire story. I'll leave the original Misused up until I'm finished with this, as a reference of course. This will still keep true to the original plot, but it will, hopefully, be better written, making it easier for people to read. I hope you enjoy the new version of Misused!