Chapter 2

Don't tell me truth hurts, little girl
'Cause it hurts like hell

~*/*\*~

Beep. Beep. Ba-babeep. Ba-babeep. Beep! Beep! BEEP! BEEP! Dani jerked awake and looked around in confusion. Her eyes landed on a pink alarm clock that was flashing and making the obnoxious noise. Jessica groaned and cursed beneath her breath. Dani scowled as Jessica's perfectly tanned arm rose from beneath her comforter to instantly slam a hand down on the snooze button. Jessica sighed and for all appearances had no intention of getting up. Dani grumbled and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She needed a shower and breakfast.

Gathering her travel-size soup, shampoo, conditioner, and a pair of clothes to change into, Dani stumbled out of the monstrous pink room she shared with her cousin. Relief washed over her when she found the bathroom unoccupied. She was even more relieved to see that there was a way to lock the door. The last thing she wanted was Peter coming in on accident - or on purpose - or for Jessica to barge in demanding for her turn in the shower. Dani turned the knobs in the shower and while she waited for the water to heat up she pulled her jumbo large T-shirt over her head. The teenager didn't waste any time before jumping under the warm water and let a smile tug at her lips. She loved her shower time.

All too soon she heard someone outside the bathroom door. "Hurry up, Danica! You've been in there all morning!" Jessica's grating voice shouted through the door.

"Danica, get out of the shower so your cousins can have a turn!" Veronica ordered, jiggling the locked door handle for emphasis.

Rolling her eyes, Dani called out, "I'm almost done!" She quickly rinsed the suds from her hair and with a flick of her wrist shut off the water. Shaking water from her cropped hair and wringing droplets from her long bangs, Dani stepped out of the shower. Her hurried motions allowed her to dry herself off with a ready towel and to dress quickly in a pair of baggy khaki pants and the gray shirt she wore yesterday. Dani opened the door and stood staring into the irritated face of the two older cousins.

Jessica eyed Dani disdainfully. "Took you long enough." The blonde pushed her way around Dani and slammed the door.

Peter shouldered around Dani to bang a fist on the door and to kick it with his socked foot. "Jessica! I was here first! I need to go!"

"You're too slow!" Jessica shouted back before drowning out any more disturbances with the flow of shower water.

Dani quickly hurried downstairs to get away from Peter's grumbling and glaring eyes. The teenager walked into the kitchen and smiled to see Eddie already seated at the table with his own infectious grin on his face. "Dani! Mom's making pancakes!"

"Really? Sounds like a plan." The teen girl sat down next to him. Her face became serious but her mismatched eyes held an amused glint to them. "So did you have any problems with goblins last night?"

"Danica, don't go filling his head with such foolish stories! I don't want him having nightmares again." Veronica complained as she walked briskly into the kitchen dressed up for something.

Eddie leaned over to Dani so he could whisper in her ear, "They left me alone the whole night! Thanks for kicking goblin butt." Here he giggled and Dani had to bite her lip to keep in her own laughter.

Veronica interrupted yet again as she dug through her purse. "I'm off to work. Jessica's in charge until I get back -"

"But you said you'd make pancakes today!" Eddie protested standing up in his chair.

"Edward sit down!" Veronica scolded. "And I did not say I would make them today. I said I'd make them sometime." The little boy sat down dejectedly as Veronica lifted a set of keys off a hook. "As I was saying, Jessica's in charge until I get back." She turned to glare at Dani. "If she gives me a phone call about any misbehavior, then there will be some serious consequences when I get home. Is that clear?"

Dani kept her face at a blank, bored expression. "Don't you think Peter should be down here for this little speech?"

"Shut up, Danica!" Veronica snapped. "I don't have time for you sass. I've got to get to work and if you make me late so help me -" Her eyes glanced down at what the teen girl was wearing and her nose wrinkled in disgust. "You wore that shirt yesterday, young lady! And those pants! They're absolutely wrinkled! And they can't be your size - are you wearing boy pants?"

Dani was tempted to scoot her chair back and prop her feet on the table - but she didn't. "I'm wearing this shirt because all my other shirts are far too big for me or their dirty. I don't have any other shirts that are suitable because these are whatever people were able to give away after the fire. As for the pants, they are not boy pants. They're simply too big and having been stuffed in my backpack hasn't helped unwrinkle them."

"Then why didn't you put them in the dresser drawer Jessica cleaned out for you?" Veronica asked in a tone that strained to keep her temper in check.

Dani quirked an eyebrow. "Jessica hasn't cleared a drawer out for me. Or space in her closet."

Veronica sighed but it sounded more like a growl. Lifting her hands in the air she turned back to her purse that rested on the counter. "I don't have time for this!" She marched out of the kitchen and could be heard shouting up the stairs. "Jessica! I'm leaving for work now! The list of chores for everybody is on the fridge and clear some space for Danica like I told you!" Dani counted the steps her aunt took to get to the door then cringed when the front door slammed shut.

A sad sigh brought her attention down to Eddie. His lip stuck out in a pout. "I wanted pancakes. She said she would make pancakes today."

"I'll make you pancakes, 'kay?" Dani assured kindly - a bit guilty that he had witnessed the entire exchange. Eddie's face instantly brightened and Dani couldn't help but feel her heart warm for the kid. With some help from the youngest cousin, Dani was able to find the pancake mix, bowls, pans, and spatula. While she began doling out batter onto the pan, Jessica and Peter entered the kitchen.

"Don't burn the breakfast like you burned down your house." Jessica taunted as she pranced over to the refrigerator. Dani's grip on the pan's handle tightened but she made no reply or other sign that she had heard. Jessica pulled out a saran wrapped grapefruit then shut the refrigerator. "Oh look! The list of chores." With a jerk she tore the piece of paper off the door and sent the magnet holding it in place crashing to the floor. "Hmm... dishes, laundry, vacuuming, dusting, window washing, cleaning the bathroom... you'll be busy all day, Danica!"

This time Dani did turn around to glare at Jessica. "Your mom said there were chores for everyone. That includes you too."

"Are you acting up, Danica? 'Cause I have Mom's cell phone number on speed dial." Jessica grinned wickedly. Dani's jaw tightened but she remained silent. The blonde lifted her head triumphantly. "That's what I thought. I'll be up in my room! No one - no one - disturb me or else." She sent a glare around the room but lingered on Dani for a moment longer than the rest. As the girl flounced out of the room, Dani wished the boys weren't here so she could lift her hand up and - never mind.

"How many pancakes do you want, Eddie?" The teen girl mumbled.

Eddie shuffled beside her, watching her - it seemed - very carefully. "Um - four?"

"I'll have six!" Peter announced from where he sat at the table. "And don't burn them! Or I'll tell Jessica you did it on purpose!"

Dani noticed from out of the corner of her eye that Eddie stuck his tongue out at his older brother. She smiled but didn't say anything. Eddie looked back up at her. "I'll help you with the chores, Dani."

"Thanks, Eddie." Dani snatched the chore list from the counter top and glanced over it. Sure enough, the chores had been divided up - but certainly not in an even manner. A majority of the chores were already Dani's anyway. "We'll start once breakfast is done." Settling her eyes on Peter, she gave him one of her chilling glares. "You are going to help too. And if you don't, I'll call your mom."

"Only Jessica can call Mom 'cause she's in charge!" Peter retorted as he cringed from Dani's intense glare.

"Does it look like I care?" Dani inquired as she fisted her hands and placing them on her hips. Peter shook his head and mumbled something about helping. A smirk crossed her features and Dani nodded. "All right then. Who wants pancakes?"

~*/*\*~

Back and forth. Back and forth. Dani went through the simple motions of vacuuming without really paying much attention. She couldn't wait to be finished with this simple task! She couldn't wait to be done with these chores period. Thankfully they hadn't taken quite as long. Some had when Eddie's attempts at helping didn't exactly - help. Peter had tried to weasel his way out of the chores by messing up but when Dani made him fix his mistakes in addition to doing the chore correctly, he reluctantly came into compliance.

From upstairs, Jessica shouted, "Can you turn off that thing? I'm trying to talk on the phone." Dani smirked and continued vacuuming. She figured she could ignore Jessica and blame the noise. "Danica! DANICA!" Jessica's voice could have broken glass.

Satisfied that her job was done, Dani turned off the machine and turned with a blank look on her face. "Did you say something, Jessica?"

"Yes." She hissed through her teeth. "I said, turn that thing off so I can talk on the phone."

Dani smirked. "Well, luckily for you - I'm done. No need to turn it back on!" Ignoring her seething cousin, Dani called, "Eddie! Peter! Chores are done!"

"Finally." Peter mumbled as he came to collapse on the couch in the den. "I'm going to play some Nintendo."

"Dani! Can we go to the park?" Eddie came running down the stairs, pushing past his sister.

Dani tilted her head in curiosity while she coiled the vacuum's cord up. "There's a park nearby?" Eddie nodded his head vigorously.

"Yeah." Jessica's all too sweet tone purred. "But Mom's not here and I'm in charge so looks like you can't go."

Dani scowled up at Jessica. "I'll be with him. I'm old enough to look out for him."

Jessica scoffed. "I don't care how old you are. You're not going to the park 'cause I said so. Don't even think about sneaking out or else I'll call Mom."

"It's just down the road, Jess." Eddie stated in a timid voice.

Jessica glared at her youngest brother. "I. Said. No. What I say goes." She looked over at Dani and narrowed her eyes. "Besides, you don't want to be seen with an arsonist? Do you?"

Eddie looked very confused. "What's an arsonist?"

Jessica smirked. "Why don't you ask Danica?"

Dani was glaring up at Jessica but kept her voice in a level tone. "I did not torch my own home, Jessica."

"But you don't deny torching something?" Jessica accused.

"I did not say that!" Dani retorted. "I have never committed an act of arson ever!"

Jessica shook her head, sending her blonde hair waving about her head. "That's not what I heard."

"Yeah well - your mom has a tendency to exaggerate the bloody truth." Dani shifted her weight to her heels and folded her arms across her chest. "The stuff I did do on the other hand was nothing of great significance. Your mom just couldn't stand to see me 'tarnish'" and here she used quote marks with her fingers before saying, "the family name. Of course it wasn't even her name I was tarnishing now was it? And my mom and dad had just as much fun as I did."

Jessica's face was turning red as she gripped the stair railing. "How dare you!" She made a strangled growling sound which made Eddie step behind Dani to cower. "You're nothing but a - a -"

"A what, Jessica?" Dani challenged. "Go ahead. Say it! Say all the stuff Veronica has said about me and my mom since my mom married my dad! Say all the stuff Veronica said 'cause she was jealous!"

"You're trash!" Jessica shouted. "Trash and a vandalizing rebel that will account to nothing and end up in jail or in an alley high on drugs! You and your dad made Aunt Chelsea miserable and she was probably dying of heartbreak anyway! You just sped along the process by torching your own house so you could get a hold of the money!"

Dani stood, arms folded over her chest and glaring up at Jessica. The uncomfortable silence lengthened from the moment Jessica spoke. A cruel smirk lifted the corner of Dani's mouth. "Is that all? Is that the best you could come up with?"

"Dani?" Eddie tugged on her shirt's hem. "Can we - just go outside? Please?" Dani glanced down at her cousin standing frightened behind her. Her anger melted away instantly and she put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah. We'll just go out back since we can't go to the park." She smiled reassuringly. "You can show me the park some other day, 'kay?" Eddie nodded. Dani pushed him toward the kitchen and ultimately toward the back door. "I'll meet you out there." She waited till she heard the back door shut before turning to look up at Jessica with a neutral expression on her face. "You think my mom's marriage was miserable?" Dani watched as Jessica averted her eyes and a blush of embarrassment replaced the one of anger. Dani took a step back toward the kitchen. "I'll be outside with Eddie."

~*/*\*~

Dinner that night was unusually silent. No harsh words or condescending remarks were passed around - directed toward Dani. Veronica kept her eyes on her plate but her fork and knife attacked the meat on her plate in an almost vicious manner. Dani glanced every once in a while at the empty spot that should have been her uncle. He was working late again tonight.

Jessica was the first to rise from the table. "May I be excused?"

"Yes." Veronica nodded her head once in a jerking motion.

"Me too?" Peter asked shoveling one last bite of food into his mouth. Once again, his mother gave her jerking head nod. Peter ran from the room and as Jessica left she lingered to give Dani a look that said, 'You're gonna get it'.

Eddie set his fork down with a clatter. "I'm done too! I'll help you with the dishes, Dani."

"Not tonight, Eddie." Veronica injected.

He looked up at his mother with a bewildered expression. "But -"

"Go to your room, Edward!" Veronica glared at him. Eddie cringed beneath his mother's gaze but hurried to obey.

Dani set her utensils down and reached for her cup of water. Taking a drink, she ignored the burning gaze her aunt was directing at her. The teen set her glass down before finally turning her head and her full attention on Veronica. "I take it you want to talk to me about something."

"Right off the bat and you've got a flippant tone!" Veronica accused in a shrill voice.

"I wasn't being flippant. Just stating the obvious." Dani replied calmly.

"Quiet, Danica! I'm going to talk and you're going to listen." Veronica waited to see if the teen would speak. When she didn't, the woman continued. "I thought I made it clear that you were not going to talk about your parents or your escapades while in my house." Dani didn't respond. Veronica's brown eyes narrowed. "So why is it that when I get home, Jessica tells me you were actually bragging about things?"

Dani tried to keep her voice and face emotionless. "Well, at least I now know where she gets her ability to exaggerate."

Veronica slammed her hand on the table top, rattling the silverware and utensils. "Danica! You are this close to getting tossed out of this house!"

"So what?" Dani demanded. "I never wanted to be here anyway. Why did you even bother taking me in the first place? You hated Mom. You hated Dad. You hate me. So why even bother?" Dani's bangs fell in front of her right eye so only her green eye was glaring at Veronica. "To keep your precious family name?"

Veronica stood abruptly and slapped Dani across the face. The teen let her head travel with the blow but she refused to turn back to meet her aunt's gaze. The woman shook with suppressed anger. "You've done enough to hurt this family."

"Me? Or my mom?" Dani questioned. "You keep transferring the blame to someone who wasn't even born or around when certain things happened."

"You. All - you." Veronica hissed. "Truth hurts doesn't it?"

Dani stood and began collecting the dishes. "So what now?" The teen asked as she turned her back on her aunt. "Throw me out? Tarnish your name further?"

Veronica was silent while the girl let the sink tap run water. Once the sink was filled with dish soap, water, and dishes, Dani shut the water off and waited. Veronica said, "One more word - just one more word about your parents and your life with them - and I will throw you out. I will make sure that you never get your hands on any of the contents from your mother's will. You will be destitute and without a friend or family member in the world." Dani stood staring out the window above the sink, her jaw tight with tension. Her aunt asked, "Is. That. Clear?"

In a tight voice, Dani replied. "As crystal."

~*/*\*~

Dani went to bed at the childishly early time that Veronica had enforced upon her. She was relieved to see that Eddie had fallen asleep sometime after his banishment to his room and Dani hoped that he would not wake up looking for her. Dani lay on her mattress and stared up at the ceiling. She didn't sleep. She didn't want to sleep. When Jessica finally came into the room, flicking on the light, Dani sat up. She sat cross-legged and watched Jessica's every move. The teenage girl felt some satisfaction at being able to unnerve her cousin.

Finally, Jessica whirled to face Dani. "What?"

Dani stared up at the blonde. "Just looking at a liar and a coward."

Jessica snorted. "I didn't lie. Mom was right. You can't handle the truth 'cause it hurts too much." She turned off the light and jumped into bed. Dani sat in the dark, glaring at her cousin. Once Jessica's breathing evened out - signaling that she was asleep, Dani stood and walked over to the window seat. Hot tears fell onto her hands that were fisted and resting on her knees.

"It wasn't true. Nothing they said was true." Dani insisted to herself. Her eyes darted to something flying toward the house. It was that owl from last night. "What do you want?" She demanded angrily once the owl had settled itself on the tree branch. The brown eyes of the bird blinked lazily before tilting its head. Dani sighed and chose to ignore the bird. "Lies hurt." She sagged against the wall behind her back. "But truth does hurt too. The truth that I'm stuck here with people who hate me. The truth that my parents are gone. The truth that no one in this whole world loves me." Dani shut her eyes against the tears. "Truth sucks."

"And it hurts like hell." Her eyes shot open. There was that voice again. Looking around she shivered. Just her imagination. "Do you really have no one to love you?" The voice asked. Dani decided to focus on the owl - let her stress filled mind believe that the bird was talking to her. The accented voice questioned, "What about that young boy? He seems to care about you."

"Eddie." Dani whispered sadly. "He has no idea why -" She sighed and shook her head. "I hope he never has to find out." Glancing at the barn owl she tilted her head. Dani could have sworn the owl mimicked her. Rubbing the tears away with a fist full of her huge shirt, she nodded. "Thanks, talking owl." The white bird shook itself to ruffle its feathers then launched up into the air.

"Sleep well, lonely girl." The voice bade farewell. Dani returned to the mattress on the floor and curled up around a wooden box that she had left there. As her eyes drooped shut, she thought she heard a whispered sigh. "Such a pity."