Chapter Seven
...
Immediately after calling for the bartender, Danny backed out and decided not to order anything too crazy because he wanted to stay somewhat sober while with Sam. He only had one drink before she arrived, which was a non-alcoholic drink, so he just went with a pint of beer because he had more than enough tolerance for it.
That persuaded her to pass up alcohol completely and order another virgin strawberry daiquiri because she knew her tolerance was low. She told him that no matter how stressed she was, she didn't truly feel like being drunk or even tipsy. They both mutually decided to try and have a good night to compensate for their own personal situations with their partners, or in that case, her partner and his ex.
They ended up having a great night; they watched some people make a horrible attempt at singing karaoke before getting up to make a fool of themselves as well. They played a few games, danced a bit, and then sat down to chat until they decided to leave shortly after midnight.
She drove them to Maddie and Jack's place, but instead of getting out of the car, she shut off the engine and leaned back in her seat. Danny seemed like he wanted to stay in the vehicle rather than go inside so soon, so he, too, leaned back in his seat and listened as she started speaking softly to him.
"I feel like I should've left with him. I should probably just go home." When he glanced over at her, she was blankly peering straight ahead. "I'd probably only be making things ten times worse for myself if I go home tomorrow. Well, today, technically."
He was silent for a minute, trying to figure out how to word what he truly wanted to say to her. "You know, he grabbed you a little too comfortably back at the bar. It was almost like he was used to it. Either that, or he's an aggressive drunk, but the way you're talking now tells me that it's the first option."
She unbuckled her seatbelt and drew her knees to her chest, folding her hands in her lap. "He wasn't always like this. You know, hostile and controlling. He used to be so... different. So kind and compassionate. I don't recognize him now. He's both my biggest supporter and my greatest enemy."
His fury sprang to life upon hearing her say that, but fortunately, he was somewhat able to maintain his composure. His eyelids fell halfway and he lowered his voice. "Who are you without him?" He heard her laugh with a scoff, so he cut her off harshly before she could even crack a quip. "Don't start, Sam. I'm being serious."
She looked over at him, her demeanor becoming much more solemn. She then pouted her lower lip and slowly shook her head. "Without him, I'd still be me, Danny. I'd just... I guess I'd be a better version of myself."
"Then why are you still with him?"
"Because we love each other, I guess." She didn't sound confident in her response whatsoever, which was enough to convince Danny that she, in fact, wasn't in love with the man. That, and she turned her eyes away from him before she said that. "Besides, I can't just leave. I brought it up once and he just... got so angry. He always gets so angry."
At first, it didn't click in his head what she was talking about, but once it did, his head snapped towards her and he became much more alert. "Is he hitting you?" he demanded. Once again, he was met with silence, so he fully turned towards her. "Sam."
She slid her fingers through her hair and rolled her eyes. "No, he isn't hitting me. It hasn't escalated to that point yet. All it's been so far is him shoving me around and throwing beer on me when I don't do what he wants me to do." As she turned to the left to glance out the window, Danny closed his hands together and pressed the bridge of his nose against his fingers.
"It shouldn't have to escalate to that point at all," he replied. "I'm sorry to say this, but that's not love. That's control, and deep down, you know it is, too." He lowered his hands and faced her once again. "You deserve better than that, so why are you settling for less?"
Her hands slid to her knees and she briefly pushed up her shoulders. "I don't know, but you're right. You're absolutely right. I'm only hurting myself by staying with him." She momentarily downcast her gaze and breathed in slow. "I'll leave him, but I... I just, I don't want to talk about this anymore. Not right now."
"Okay, but just take this piece of advice." Danny smiled faintly at her and she turned to him, now expectant. "Five years ago, we both gave up a wonderful relationship with someone who made us incredibly happy. If we could do that, I believe you have the power and the strength to leave someone who makes you unhappy."
His heart swelled and a strange feeling of warmth bloomed inside of him when she smiled. They held wistful eye contact with each other for awhile, no doubt feeling the same amount of romantic tension in the air. Then, simultaneously, they shut their eyes and moved closer together, but just as their lips were about to connect, a loud pounding sound was heard from Danny's side of the car.
Startled, the occupants of the vehicle both hastily jumped apart as though a lightning bolt had struck the area. When they looked over to discover the source of the noise, they saw Jazz peering into the car through the window. "Open the door!" she ordered.
Danny turned his head towards Sam and asked her, "If you want to stick the key in the ignition and drive away, feel free to." In response, she smirked and rolled her eyes at him before unlocking the door as told.
Jazz pulled open his side of the door before moving her hands to her hips. "Why did you text me just to not respond after I texted back?" Her eyes then narrowed as she looked to Sam. "And what were you guys doing in here?"
Danny was certain that his face was now red, but he didn't know if Jazz picked up on that because of the dimness of the car's interior light. "We weren't doing anything. Why are you out here?" he asked in a calm tone of voice, though there was a hint of irritation concealed within it.
"Because you told me to pick you guys up. When I asked where you guys were, you went ghost." She then paused before adding, "No pun intended."
"That doesn't really explain why you started banging on the car window like we're in a horror movie."
"Well, I peeked out of the living room window and saw a strange car parked out here. I just wanted to see who was in it. I thought you guys weren't sleeping over."
"I guess we are now," Sam sighed, pulling the key from the ignition and pushing her car door open. Danny did the same, waving Jazz out of his way before stepping outside. She spun over her shoulder and started towards the house, leaving the pair behind as she walked inside.
"You can take my old room," he offered, smiling feebly. "It's pretty much the guest bedroom now. I'll just crash on the couch. If you're uncomfortable with staying here, you don't have to—"
"Actually, I think it's best that I sleep over here so everything can blow over by the morning," Sam cut in as they made their way up to the house. Once inside, he shut the door and locked it before joining her on her way over to the staircase.
"Want me to get you a change of clothes from Jazz?" He didn't mean to come off as overbearing, but he wanted to make sure she was good before he went off to bed. He knew that night was still rough for both of them, even if they had a great time out at the bar together.
She gave a dismissive wave of her hand and started to ascend the steps. "I'll get it myself. Seriously, go get some rest. I'm fine." After she reached the top of the stairs, she shifted towards him with a reassuring smile. "Thank you for tonight. I had a blast. Goodnight."
He returned a smile, though half-heartily, and nodded at her. "Goodnight." As soon as she entered Jazz's room, however, his smile melted. He felt both defeated and helpless because he knew there was nothing he could do about the David situation.
He and Jazz could've sat her down in the living room and interrogated her, stating facts left and right, but that wouldn't change anything because she was the only one who could determine when she had enough. He knew that she was always a tough and wise individual, so he trusted her to properly remove herself from the situation.
He just hoped she would do something about it before he did.
He lounged on the living room couch for about an hour before he wound up falling asleep. When he woke up, it was a bit brighter outside, but not too bright; it was most likely somewhere near seven A.M. He got up from the couch with the intention of going to the bathroom, but then he decided to check on everyone.
His first stop was his parents room. He twisted the door knob and quietly pushed the door open before poking his head into the room. He was immediately greeted by the sound of heavy snoring, which was definitely coming from Jack. With a brief shake of his head along with a smirk, he retracted his head through the doorway and closed the door.
Next up was Jazz. When he entered her room, he saw that she was curled up on her side with one of her books still clasped under her forearm. The lamp on her nightstand was still on, so after he walked over to her and carefully removed the book, he set it on top of her bookshelf and clicked off the lamp.
Finally, Sam was next. Once he exited his sister's room, he shuffled towards his bedroom. He twisted his door knob to the right and gently pushed open the door, but when he peeked inside, he didn't see her lying on the bed.
He didn't see her in the room at all.
Sam tentatively stepped into her house after sliding the front door forward. She was hoping David decided to crash at his friends place instead of coming home. She wasn't really in the mood for an altercation, but she knew one was bound to happen after what happened between them last night.
Unfortunately for her, he was in the kitchen washing out a cup. She could've just crept by him and made a beeline for the bedroom, but she had already announced her presence to him when she shut the front door. She tossed her keys and her purse onto the couch before heading towards the kitchen.
"Hey." Her greeting was meek and laconic, as she didn't know what else to say to him. He either didn't hear her over the sound of the running water or he was ignoring her because he didn't seem to acknowledge her at first. A few seconds later, though, he shut off the faucet and turned around to face her.
"Where were you all night?" His harsh demand made her blood run cold, especially once his dark eyes pierced into hers. She swallowed hard as her muscles became tense, but the silence definitely did not alleviate his ire. "Did you hear me? I said where were you all night?"
She knew there was no sense in lying to him. Chances are he already knew she was out with Danny all night because of the incident at the bar. "I was with Danny. We weren't doing anything, though. We were just talking, and his sister was there with—"
"Talking?" he cut in sharply. "What were you guys talking about?" When she averted her gaze, he inched his face closer to hers and glared at her so intensely that she was glad looks couldn't kill. "You were talking about me, weren't you?" She shook her head, but he wasn't buying it, so he gripped her shoulders and shook her roughly. "Yes, you were! What did you say?"
She angrily grasped his wrists and tried to pry his hands from her shoulders. "I didn't say anything! Get the hell off of me." He did let her go, but then he drew his hand back and struck her across the face with his palm. Stunned, she fell to the floor from the blow and moved a trembling hand to her cheek.
She didn't even have time to fully process the fact that he just slapped her because he quickly moved towards her with a malevolent glint in his eyes, and it was then that she realized she was actually terrified of him. "Do you enjoy making me look like a fool?" He crouched down beside her and got into her face once again. "Do you? Answer me!"
At that moment, she knew for sure that the man she thought she loved was nothing more than a character. This was who he truly was now and there was nothing she could do to change him. All she could do was tighten her jaw and leer at him while trying not to visibly wilt at the stony glare carved onto his face.
He curled his fingers in her hair and forced her up onto her feet before slamming her against the wall. She felt a dull pain in her upper back and a sharp pain from her scalp, but neither of those compared to the stinging sensation she felt in her cheek. She didn't even feel like a human anymore; she felt more like an object to him.
"I wouldn't have to keep getting on you like this if you didn't constantly overstep your boundaries as a woman," he told her. He roughly shook his hand, which was still firmly tangled in her hair, so of course she hissed in pain. "You've been acting up a lot recently, but that stunt you pulled last night was the final straw."
"What are you going to do, kill me?" He clenched his fist as she sharpened her glare and curled her lips in not anger, but disgust. "Does hitting me really give you power and dominance? If it does, then you're a punk."
That last sentence did it for David. He flew into a violent rage, punching her and then kicking her repeatedly once she fell to the ground. She curled up into a ball and held her arms over her head to shield herself, but he only struck her more.
"Who are you without him?"
"Without him, I'd still be me, Danny. I'd just... I guess I'd be a better version of myself."
"Then why are you still with him?"
"Because we love each other, I guess."
David towered over her as she lay on the floor of the kitchen. He was screaming something at her, but nothing he said registered in her mind. She didn't hear him; it was like he was a show that she had muted on television.
"I'm sorry to say this, but that's not love. That's control, and deep down, you know it is, too. You deserve better than that, so why are you settling for less?"
As her entire conversation with Danny last night replayed in her head, she started to ask herself that same question.
