Note: Again – Thanks for the reviews. They are what motivate me to continue this.
Mariel – I know Danny is acting quite cold. After the fiasco with Payton and the Taylor's letting him down, he is afraid totrust on anyone…even someone as sweet as Katie. Don't worry…that will change soon.
Susan – I wrote that Danny got a scholarship to NYU. I know it is very expensive. I was thinking since he does well at Brentland and he is a minority, that he would qualify for some kind of full-ride scholarship. If this isn't realistic, then I guess I will just take dramatic license with this. Thank you clarifying. It keeps me on my toes.
Danny did his best to avoid Katie for the rest of the day. After work that night, he made it back to the abandon building. As he walked down the halls, he recognized that several people were doing business in the building. Danny was hoping to have enough money saved in another two weeks to move into one of those weekly rental motels. He entered the small room and was about to lock the door, when he realized someone was coming in the door. The room was very dark so he couldn't see who was coming in. He pulled out his knife, grabbed the intruder's arm and put the knife against their throat.
"Danny…Danny…it's me. It's Katie," she cried out.
He quickly let her go and spun her around. "What the hell are you doing here? Did you follow me?"
"What happened to your foster parents, Danny? Why are you here?" she asked frantically.
"You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous," he replied in a concerned tone.
"You shouldn't be here either," she responded shaking her head.
Danny sighed knowing he'd have to explain. "My foster parents left town. My caseworker could only place me in shelter. I couldn't stay there."
"There has to be somewhere else you can go…"
"There isn't…not until I can make some money."
"That's why you have the job…"
"Right. Now will you please let me get you a cab and get you out of here."
Katie stood there for a moment and took it all in. "You can't stay here, Danny. This is no place for you to sleep or anything."
"I don't have a choice. Now…please…you need to leave."
"Come home with me. My parents are in Paris for two weeks. Our housekeeper is staying with me, but it will be easy to get you past her. She barely knows I'm there."
"No…Katie…that won't work."
"Yes, it will. What other choice do you have, Danny? You can't stay here."
Just then, a man pushed through the door. Danny took hold of Katie's arm and pulled her behind him to shield her from the stranger.
"Stella…Stella…is Stella in here?" the man asked.
"No, man. No Stella here," Danny responded.
"Shit. I paid that whore 50 bucks. She told me to meet her up here."
"She's not in here, man. Just keep looking down the hall."
The man leered at Danny and Katie. "How about instead…your friend and I party. I'll pay double for a sweet, young thing like her."
Danny pulled out his knife as he felt Katie shake with fear behind him. "Get the hell out of here before I get very angry."
The man put his hands up. "Relax…relax brother. I understand. She's your territory. I have a better idea. I'll pay double just to watch you two go at it. I bet you're pretty hot together."
Danny lunged forward and grabbed the man's neck. "If you don't leave now, I will slit your throat."
The man finally realized that Danny was serious, so he backed away and left the room. Danny turned to Katie. "Don't you see? This is no place for you."
Katie had a scared, shocked look in her eyes. She had never experienced anything even close to that in her life, but she held her ground. "I'm not leaving here without you, Danny," she responded in a scared, weak voice.
Danny shook his head. He decided the most important thing was to get her home. So he figured he would tell her what she wanted to hear. "Okay. Let's go. I'll go home with you."
They gathered Danny's things and then found a cab. When they arrived at Katie's building, she directed him to the parking garage entrance on the side of the building. They entered through a side door and got on a private elevator. "I'll have to let you in every night. There are cameras everywhere. If they see that you aren't escorted, security will get suspicious."
They got off the elevator and turned the corner to a back hallway. "This will take us into the kitchen. Camilla, our housekeeper, is in her bedroom by 8 p.m. every night, but the room is off the kitchen. So…be quiet."
She unlocked the door to the kitchen and they quietly walked in. She directed Danny to a staircase in the kitchen. They quickly walked up the stairs and down the hall. He breathed a sigh of relief when they reached her room and locked the door.
"That wasn't so hard," Katie said with a shy smile.
Danny gave her a "yeah, right" look and then put down his sleeping bag and duffle. "I don't know if this is going to work, Katie. If I get caught…"
"You won't get caught. I'll let you in every night after you get in from work. In the morning, I'll let you out before Camilla wakes up. It will be okay. Trust me."
Danny looked at her skeptically. He figured at the very least, he'd stay one night and figure something else out the next day.
"Are you hungry? I'm starving. I'll go see what Camilla left for us. If you want to take a shower or get cleaned up, the bathroom is right there," she said pointing to the door in the corner.
After she left the room, Danny grabbed his duffle and went into the bathroom, which was bigger than the basement room he lived in at the Taylor's. He undressed and stepped into the marble shower. It felt so good that he could have stayed in there for hours. He couldn't believe that people lived in this kind of luxury everyday. He finally stepped out and wrapped a towel low around his hips. When he looked in his duffle, he realized his clothes and school uniform hadn't been washed in a few days. He walked out of the bathroom as Katie was setting up a makeshift picnic on the floor.
When Katie caught sight of Danny in the towel and wet hair, her heart jumped and she bit her lip. Danny, realizing she was bit uncomfortable by the blush in her cheeks, smiled apologetically. "Sorry…I…uh…I just realized that my clothes are kind of rank. I took them to the laundry mat a few days ago, but I was wondering if…"
"Of course," Katie responded as she stood up nervously. "Um…I'll put them in the wash right now. It won't take long. In the meantime, I can get you something of my dad's. He probably has sweats or something."
"That'd be great," Danny replied still smiling.
Katie took the clothes to the laundry, and then brought back a pair of sweat pants and t-shirt. As Danny changed, Katie couldn't help but think about seeing Danny like that. She always knew he was good-looking…but at that moment, she thought he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. She also became very aware that Danny was a man, not like the boys at Brentland. His body and face had the chisel and scars of a man twice his age.
He walked out of the bathroom in the sweat pants that were about three sizes two short for him. Katie laughed. "My father is a few inches shorter than you."
"No kidding?" Danny said jokingly. "That's OK. They are clean and warm. That's all I care about."
"Well…sit down. I have a little carpet picnic going on here," Katie said as she sat on the floor and Danny joined her.
The meal was hot soup with fresh vegetables and chicken with hot, homemade bread and butter. Danny had eaten very little since he left the Taylor's. And most of what he had came out of machines in the cafeteria and supermarket break room. He ate almost ravenously. When he finished, Katie said, "There's more…if you want."
"No…this was perfect. Thank you. You're housekeeper is a wicked good cook."
"Well…I'll be sure to tell her that some day when you aren't hiding in my bedroom."
"That's probably smart," Danny replied with a smile and then he asked her what he wanted to ask her since she found him in that building. "Why are you doing this? Am I like a charity case to you or something."
Katie shook her head. "We're friends…even though you tried very hard to convince me that we aren't. And this is what friends do for each other. They help each other. Even though things have been strained between us, I know if I needed you, you would help me."
"Something tells me you wouldn't ever be in this kind of situation. There's probably not a lot I could help you with. I could never repay you for what you are doing, Katie."
"You'd be surprised," Katie replied as she got up. "I'm going to put your clothes in the dryer. I'll be right back."
Danny cleaned up the dishes and set them by the door. Then he rolled out his sleeping bag on the floor next to her bed. When Katie returned to the room, she went into the bathroom. She came out in an oversized t-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms. Danny thought she looked adorable with a clean-scrubbed face. She also looked very young. She was only sixteen. Danny knew it was dangerous staying with her. If anyone caught them, he'd be in a world of trouble.
Before falling asleep, they talked for a few minutes even though they were both exhausted. Danny thanked her again for helping him. Then she told him that she set the alarm for 5 am, so he could get out before 6.
Finally, right before they fell asleep, Danny called out. "Katie."
"Uh-huh," she replied sleepily.
"I lied when I told you I didn't read that book."
Katie opened her eyes. It had really hurt her when he told her he didn't read it. "Really?"
"Yeah. I think it's kind of amazing that you thought of me. You have no idea how much I relate to it. It's all about second chances and fresh starts. God knows I've needed those in my life…more than once," he said quietly.
"I'm glad you read it. And I'm glad that you are starting over…" she whispered not wanting to mention Payton's name.
"I really messed up with Payton. I let myself get caught up in her because I was lonely and drinking way too much. I made mistake. And I am sorry that I said things to hurt you."
"It's okay. I'm just glad you are out of her clutches. She's dangerous, Danny."
"Tell me about it," Danny smirked. "Good night, sweet Katie."
Katie smiled. "Good night, Danny."
Even though Danny vowed to find another place to stay, he ended up staying with Katie. They were able to secretly get him in and out of the building without any trouble. There were a few near misses with Camilla, but all in all, the arrangement was working very well. Danny and Katie became inseparable in and out of school. They ate lunch every day together. The only time they were apart was when he went to work. One afternoon, they were eating outside on an unseasonably mild February afternoon when Payton approached them.
"Well isn't this cozy?" she exclaimed as she sat down with them at the picnic table.
"What do you want?" asked Danny as he looked at Katie uneasily.
"You know what I want, Danny. But apparently, you're giving it to Katie now. So I was just wondering how our little Shakespeare sweetheart rates. Are you showing her the ropes?"
"Shut up, Payton," Danny responded as he could see Katie get embarrassed.
"What's the matter, Katie? Are you not quite living up to his expectations? He's got quite an appetite, doesn't he?"
"You're really evil. You know that, Payton?" Katie replied not really able to think of a better comeback.
"Enjoy him now while you can. Eventually, he will tire of you."
"That's enough, Payton," Danny said angrily as he stood up. "Let's go, Katie."
Katie stood up with Danny. Before they could leave, Payton said, "Danny…if you're ever in the mood for mind-blowing sex like we used to have, I'll meet you in the basement anytime."
Danny looked at her and smirked. "You have a severely inflated view of what we used to have. It wasn't that good, especially when you had to blackmail me to be with you. But compared to Trevor…I'm sure it was mind-blowing for you." And then he guided Katie down the path back to the school. Danny knew his comment would ignite Payton, but he had no idea how much.