When Cassie had told Justin that her niece, Danielle, was visiting for the summer, he had been surprised to say the least. Danielle Mayweather-Black. Mayweather-Black. It's Dani. She's that really shy girl who had a crush on me in high school…he thought to himself in amazement. Never before had he made the connection between Cassie and Dani: Dani had moved away just before everything had happened. But while Justin had never really become friends with her, he of course remembered her. She was sweet, he thought. She was scared of me. She always was scared of me. Justin's heart sank as he realized she may still be scared of him, but for entirely different reasons. He wondered how much she had changed, and was not surprised to realize that he was the one who was now scared of her. He hadn't talked to a girl in about 8 years, not since he had gone to prison.
Now, as Justin sat beside Cassie on the drive to Cassie's home, he looked out the window, feeling lost. Nothing felt real. He couldn't believe he was truly free. His perception of freedom had certainly changed since high school. He realized now what true freedom was. It was walking at night, eating whenever you wanted to, touching someone for real, and not through glass. Cassie had reached out to him, to his amazement. He glanced over at her and she smiled at him encouragingly. She had been great to him: helping fight for his early parole, using her influence as the detective on the case, even finding him a job and a good therapist.
But Justin felt afraid. He knew what people thought of him. He had always been sort of a loner, but right now he was glad to have Cassie by his side, glad to be welcomed into anyone's home, even, ironically, that of the woman who had put him behind bars. He knew from the years he had spent in therapy while in prison that what Cassie had done for him had been a blessing. She had made it possible for him to get help, to reform. The terror that reformation was ultimately impossible scared him so badly though, that he could taste the fear. He had got out early because of a few reasons, all of which seemed not good enough to Justin: good behavior, several therapists that Cassie had asked to speak at his appeal regarding Richard's manipulation and his mother's abusive behavior, among other reasons. He felt as if he had cheated death, but he couldn't deny that he was happy to be out. As the car pulled into the driveway, his heart started to beat faster for some reason. Cassie must have sensed his nervousness.
"It's ok, Justin. This is the beginning of a new chapter. I know it must be strange, but you have to start somewhere. Right?" Justin nodded.
"I know. What about…Dani? Is she…scared to have me in the house?" Justin asked, sounding miserable. Cassie smiled at him curiously.
"To tell you the truth, she does have some reservations. But from what she told me, she used to…" here Cassie seemed to realize something and stopped. Justin stared at her, waiting. "Never mind," she finished and smiled. "She's fine with it. It's only for a week. Maybe you two will become friends." Justin managed a small smile.
"Maybe," he said, as they got out of the car and walked towards the house.
As Cassie opened the door, Justin looked past her to see a neat little kitchen area. Cassie turned to him as they walked through the house. "Well, make yourself at home. I stocked the fridge, and you'll be staying in the small guest room, right across the hall from Dani." She pointed at the door. Just then the door to Dani's bedroom opened and Dani stepped out, stopping short and gasping when she saw Justin. The two stared at each other, and Cassie couldn't help but feel the almost palpable energy pass between the two.
Justin stared at Dani, her dark hair up in a messy ponytail, strands and wisps falling in her face. Still that little turned-up nose, Justin thought, unable to stop himself from smiling at her. Still that same expression, like she's about to pass out from anxiety. Same big brown eyes. As soon as he smiled at her, Dani felt her face heat up. She felt she had gone back in time, to another decade, as she tried to form a sentence, a phrase, a word.
"I'm going to start dinner," Cassie said, smiling and walking back towards the kitchen, leaving the two standing and staring at each other.
"Hi, Justin," she whispered, her voice shaking. They continued to stare at each other.
"Hi Dani," he said softly. Suddenly her bottom lip started to tremble and her eyes filled up with tears.
"Do you…do you remember me?" she said, a tear sliding down her face, which she swiped at, embarrassed. Justin's face fell and he stepped closer to her.
"Of course I remember you," he said, wanting to touch her but knowing it wouldn't be right. She sniffled and looked down.
"Listen…I just wanted to say…only wanted to…" she struggled and Justin waited patiently for her to finish, again unable to keep the smile off of his face, so happy she was just talking to him, he didn't really care if what she had to say was bad. "…I only wanted to say…I'm glad you're ok. Glad you're safe and…stuff," she finished lamely, blushing fiercely. Justin sighed, feeling as if he had been holding the breath in for a long, long time. He looked at her, standing there helplessly, and he suddenly felt warm all over.
"Thank you, Dani. That's so nice of you to say," he said, feeling his hand reach out, as if it had a mind of it's own, to touch her cheek. As his fingers brushed her skin, she jerked her head away as if she'd been burned, blushing even more deeply.
"Oh…you know, it's nothing…" she mumbled, trailing off. She looked at him once more, her eyes speaking volumes, although she couldn't seem to say anything more. They stared at each other a while longer before Justin spoke.
"So what do you do now?" he asked. She cleared her throat nervously, leaning back against the wall, looking down as she spoke.
"Well, I'm just here for the summer. I'm working at the day care at the Y down the street. After that, I'm not sure. I was doing the same thing at home, but I think I'd like a change, so I don't know." She paused and looked up at him shyly. He smiled at her.
"So you're going to be working at Drake's?" she asked hesitantly, and he nodded. "Well…that's…good, right?" she finished lamely. He nodded, still staring at her.
"Do you know what I remember about you?" he suddenly asked softly. Dani's face fell and Justin laughed at her expression of dismay.
"Oh, God, what you remember about me? No, I don't know and I don't want to know," she mumbled, hiding her face in her hand. "I'm sure it's embarrassing," she added, sneaking a look at him.
"No," he said, chuckling. "No, I don't think so. I was remembering the time you helped me pick up my books outside of the art room. I'm sure you've forgotten about it."
Dani stared at him speechless, her expression softening. Yes, she remembered…
As Justin stood looking at the bulletin on the art room door, his books, which were loosely held in the crook of his arm, were suddenly pushed to the floor. The papers in his loose leaf notebook and in his art folder flew everywhere. Richard and two of his friends were walking away laughing, Richard turning to smirk at him. Justin had rolled his eyes in irritation. As he bent to pick up his books and papers, he saw another, smaller pair of hands reaching for them too. As he stood up, Dani handed him the books and papers she had neatly piled. She refused to look at him as he said "Thanks, Danielle." "You're welcome," she had mumbled, ducking her head and walking away down the hall quickly.
Dani nodded at him and sighed, and he knew she remembered. He smiled. "It was sweet of you to help me," he said. She shrugged, embarrassed.
"No, it wasn't anything, really." Suddenly Cassie appeared around the corner.
"Anyone hungry?" she said brightly. Justin and Dani were still staring at each other. Cassie narrowed her eyes suspiciously, suddenly thinking that maybe a week was longer than she had thought. She smirked and cleared her throat, and the two looked up startled as if they had just noticed she was standing there. Justin was the one to blush this time as Cassie walked over and threw her arm around his shoulders.
"Come on, Justin, I'll bet you'd like a beer," she said, grinning at Dani who for some reason was scowling at her. Justin laughed.
"A beer sounds great," he said, as Dani followed them into the kitchen.