Author's Note: I need to get back to writing more often.
(after being) Condemned
The night passed quickly and dreamlessly for Danny, the narcotic dose keeping him down and out until his mother once again roused him in the morning for breakfast.
In the kitchen, Jack continued to mostly ignore him as he had the day before. Danny was not sure if this was preferable to being yelled at or not. What did it mean for his father to not acknowledge him at all?
After breakfast, his parents went down into their lab while Jazz went off somewhere to study, either in her room or outside or maybe she had driven out to some coffee shop. He couldn't remember what she had said to him last he saw her.
He himself sat on the sofa in the living room because this was where he was supposed to be, still grounded and unable to go out with his friends or even up to his room. His homework was completely finished, a first for him in a long time. Sunday was usually a day of scrambling to half-ass assignments and begging Sam or Tucker to help him with an essay.
He stared at the TV set across the room, wondering if he was allowed to turn it on, too tired to get up and ask his parents for permission, too tired to get up and turn it on even if they said okay.
Too tired…
There was nothing to do and nothing he even wanted to do. Study astronomy or read one of his comic books, none of that sounded enjoyable. It all sounded like far too much effort.
He looked toward the staircase in the direction of his room, itching to take another opioid. Something to knock him out again so he could pass the time sleeping.
But what would his dad say if he caught him sleeping?
What would his dad say if he woke with the narcotics still in his system and he could only mumble and barely keep his head up?
Danny slumped into the sofa, defeated and bored and just way too tired to do anything about it.
Footsteps coming up the basement stairs. Far too light to be Jack's and yet Danny tensed anyway. Maddie appeared at the basement door and swept her hood and goggles off her head, wiping away a thin layer of sweat from her brow. Danny relaxed and sank into the couch again.
"Danny?" Maddie stared at him curiously. "Shouldn't you be doing your homework?"
Danny glanced at the table in the living room that was temporarily serving as his desk. He had already organized all of his books and papers neatly. "I finished."
"You finished? All of it?"
Danny nodded.
Maddie moved to stand in front of him. "Are you feeling okay?"
Danny looked past her. Why did she keep asking that? "Yeah. I'm just a little bored. Nothing to do. You know, being grounded and all."
Maddie stared down at him for a long time, each passing moment weighing on him. How could he have possibly thought sitting on the couch doing nothing was acceptable?
"But, um... I guess I could do some chores or something." Danny sat up straighter. "If you want me to, I mean."
He'd do chores to make her happy, sure. And maybe it would show Jack he wasn't as lazy and useless as he seemed to think his son was.
And it would provide a way to make this day go a little faster, prevent his thoughts from wandering somewhere he really didn't want them to go right now. Or ever.
Maddie tapped her fingers against her crossed upper arms, her lips pursed.
Danny hesitantly stood. "I could clean out the fridge, maybe? Wipe off the shelves?" He started backing in the direction of the kitchen. "I'll, uh, I'll just do that."
"Let's go to the mall," said Maddie authoritatively.
Danny blinked. "The mall?"
"Mmm hmm. Yeah, you and me. Let's go to the mall." She looked him up and down. "Anything you need to grab first, or are you ready to go now?"
"Wait, why the mall?"
Maddie approached him and placed her hands on his shoulders, running them down his arms. "You've grown so much this past year. I need to buy you new clothes, go through your old clothes and get rid of anything that doesn't fit you anymore."
Danny blushed. "Well I—I can do that on my own—"
"But you won't. I've been telling you to buy new clothes, even gave you money for it, and you still haven't."
Danny looked at the floor. "I, uh—that's because—"
"It's okay." Maddie smiled. "We'll just go together now. Sunday's always a nice day for shopping."
Shopping. With his mother. For clothes. One of his absolute least favorite things to do. She always insisted he try on everything even when he knew for sure something wouldn't fit him. And she always picked out so many things for him to try on, throwing them to him while he was in the fitting room so that he ended up with a sizable boutique of his own. And then she always forced him to model everything for her so that she could make sure the clothes she was buying him actually fit.
He would absolutely rather do chores than that.
He frantically scanned the room. "Um, wait, maybe there is some homework I still need to do—or actually, there's a history test coming up I should probably study for—"
"You really need new clothes, sweetie." Maddie wrapped an arm around him and kissed the side of his head. "Come on. It'll be fun. We never hang out anymore."
Danny physically resisted for only a moment before giving in with a sigh. Fine. He really didn't have anything else to do, and it would probably be nice to get out of the house.
Especially if it was away from his father.
Maddie called a quick goodbye down to Jack in the lab. Danny stayed several steps away from the basement door, hoping his dad wouldn't care enough to come up the stairs.
"You're taking Danny to the mall?" yelled Jack from below. "Isn't he supposed to be grounded?"
"This is an errand," insisted Maddie. "I've been meaning to buy him new clothes, and this is a convenient time for me to do it.
Jack yelled back a huffy "okay" and said nothing more, didn't even ask to come along. Danny said no goodbye of his own, simply followed his mother out of the house in submissive silence. He was sure Jack didn't want to hear his voice right now anyway.
"Do you want to drive?" Maddie held up her car keys as they walked to the curb where her car was parked.
Danny didn't even have to think about his answer. "No. That's okay. I'd rather not."
"You know you're gonna be sixteen in just a couple weeks, right? You need to practice if you want to pass the test."
Danny lowered his head. His mother always found something to criticize or yell at him about when he drove with her, and he just didn't have the mindset to deal with that right now.
"The mall is real close," assured Maddie. "It'd be easy."
"I know. But... Is it okay if I don't? Please?"
He couldn't look at her, felt too pathetic and guilty for begging like this. But he knew that if she ordered him to, he'd obey. He couldn't turn down a demand from his mother, after all.
To his immense relief, Maddie lowered the keys.
"Okay," she said with a kind smile. "You don't have to drive."
Danny gratefully returned the smile. He opened the passenger side door and lowered himself inside while his mother moved to the other side of the car. Maddie started the engine and began driving out of the neighborhood.
"So." Maddie paused for a long moment. "You finished all your homework early, huh? No late night cramming?"
"I know, I know, shocker," said Danny. "But it was pretty easy considering I had nothing else to do."
"But now you can just relax tonight. That must feel good, huh?"
"Yeah. I guess so."
Except not really because there were ghosts out there that needed to be dealt with and it was agonizing to force himself to stay in his room and not go out on his usual patrol. How could he really relax when he wasn't fulfilling his obligation to protect the town?
"You guess so?" echoed Maddie.
"Uh, I mean…" Danny mustered up enthusiasm. "Yeah, it does feel good. Really good."
His mother didn't respond right away. Danny inwardly chided himself on not doing a better job at hiding his emotions. He really should've been a master at disguising himself by now.
"You can talk to me, Danny," said his mother in a gentle voice, staring straight ahead as she continued to drive. "If something's bothering you."
Danny studied her face in profile for a quiet moment as he tried to formulate the best response.
"Yeah," he said. "I know, Mom."
"I'd really like it if you did talk to me. If you could tell me what has been making you so sad these past few days. Sadder than I've ever seen you before. And I want so much to help you, Danny."
Danny lowered his head in an attempt to hide his face from her. He hated making his mother feel this way, making her feel as if she wasn't doing enough to help him, as if she needed to do more for him. How terrible, how awful a son he was. She didn't deserve that from him.
"I'm okay," said Danny with forced confidence. "I guess maybe I just still feel bad about upsetting you and Dad so much Wednesday night when I snuck out. But really, I'm fine."
Maddie drove in silence for a couple minutes. Danny stole glances at her solemn expression.
The car at last pulled into the mall parking lot. Maddie parked the car and looked at him.
"You've never acted this way in the past when you got in trouble," she said in a murmur almost accusatory in tone. "Are you really going to keep insisting to me that you're fine?"
Danny stared back at her, all utterances and words caught and suppressed in his throat.
She gave him a small heartbroken smile before switching of the engine and climbing out of the car. Danny slowly walked to meet her, guilt flooding him for rousing her suspicions, for making her look at him that way.
He was perfectly fine with being sad himself. Used to it, even. But he couldn't bear the thought of her being sad as well.
Especially if it was because of him.
Inside the mall, Maddie led the way through a number of clothing and department stores. Danny resignedly followed her and did not complain even once that this was taking too long or that he was sure something would fit and that he didn't need to try it on. He had nothing else to do anyway. Might as well try to make her happy. Maybe she'd forget all about their uncomfortable conversation in the car. Maybe she wouldn't try to ask him again if he was really okay or not.
So he conjured a bright smile and acted as pleased and excited as he could about the dozens of shirts and pants and belts and shoes that she handed to him to take into the fitting room. Anything to lift her mood. His own mood didn't matter. He'd be just fine.
Eventually.
A couple hours, hundreds of dollars spent, and five shopping bags in Danny's arms later, Maddie finally called his new wardrobe good and led the way to the mall's food court.
"We're going to have to go through all your old clothes," she said as they walked. "When we get home today. Get rid of anything that doesn't fit you anymore or is just old or worn. Probably most of your clothes, honestly."
"Oh, yeah. Sounds good," said Danny. Having his mom go through anything in his room was always a huge embarrassing pain, but she was right. Most of his clothes were either faded, riddled with tiny holes or pills, or were simply too small for him altogether. He'd of course rather just go through his clothes himself, but she typically never trusted him to do things like that. And he couldn't blame her. He knew full well he had a tendency to be lazy or put things off or think that something was "good enough" or "still okay" and opt to keep it when he probably should toss it.
"What do you feel like eating?" asked Maddie, looking around the food court.
Danny shrugged. "Whatever you want. Doesn't matter to me. I'm not hungry."
Maddie frowned at him, making Danny internally wince.
"Oh, I mean, um…" Danny checked out all of the options, trying to find something that didn't twist his gut. "Sub sandwiches sound pretty good."
Maddie placed a gloved hand on the back of his neck and gently massaged him. "You're right. They do."
She rubbed his back with lingering strokes. Danny's shoulders relaxed.
"Why don't you sit somewhere so you don't have to carry those bags anymore?" suggested Maddie. "Just tell me what you want. I'll order it for you."
He could see the return of all her concern and worry from earlier in her expression, hear it in her tone.
"Okay," he said with a small defeated smile.
As he waited for her to bring back lunch for the two of them, he contemplated the story he was going to tell her. She wouldn't let him get away with "I'm fine" anymore, that was for sure.
Could he tell her the truth?
Absolutely not. He knew she'd accept him. Of course he knew that. She loved him. But that wouldn't necessarily stop her from trying to run experiments on him.
And besides, if he told her, she'd tell Jack, and…
There was no way he could ever let his father know that his son was the ghost that spurred him to such hateful violence.
So he'd have to lie to her. Again.
Sure. Why not? He had gotten so used to lying to her this past year and a half. What was one more, right?
Maybe he could blame it on struggling in school. Or bullying from Dash. She had already called the school about Dash and thought she had solved the problem, but Dash hadn't actually let up on him. Physically, sure. Dash no longer physically assaulted him, but the insults and taunts were still as prevalent as ever, even more so than they ever were before.
Maybe he could just throw the blond jock under the bus again. Not like he didn't deserve it.
Of course, Dash would surely have his revenge, but Danny wasn't actually afraid of his classmate. Definitely not now when he was larger and had gained a decent mastery of most of his powers.
Now if only he could learn to duplicate properly...
Maddie returned with foot-long sandwiches, sodas, chips, and even cookies. Danny graciously accepted everything but secretly grimaced at the sight of it all. This was all going to feel so heavy in his stomach, was going to weigh him down and make it harder for him to act like he was okay.
He took a sizable bite of his sandwich and chewed it quietly, aware that his mother was looking at him as he pretended he was far more interested in the couple sitting a few tables over.
"You know…" Maddie began slowly. "I talked to Dad about it, but I didn't get a chance to ask you yet."
Danny turned his attention to her.
"How was your trip to Gardner Peak? Was it fun?"
"Uh, yeah," said Danny. "It's pretty much the same as I remembered from the last time we were there. But it was really cool looking at all the stars and planets."
"Yeah? Did it make you want to be an astronaut even more?"
Danny blushed. He really hated when his parents brought up his longtime aspiration to be an astronaut. It just sounded so childish and far-fetched to him now, especially with his terrible grades. "I mean, yeah, it'd be great, but I don't think I could actually be an astronaut."
"No? Why not?"
"Well... I'm not really smart enough." He smiled with good humor. "I mean, if I was smart like Jazz, maybe I'd have a chance. Or smart like you. But... Well, you know. Academics don't come as naturally to me."
"Danny, you're so smart. Don't go thinking you aren't."
Danny shrugged. "Even if that were true, it's so competitive. I mean, you know the most active astronauts there has ever been was a hundred and forty-nine? And right now there's only like a hundred. And none of them have ever even left Earth's orbit." He paused. "I really just don't have a chance, honestly."
"Well, your father and I have some pretty good connections now that our research has taken off and garnered more respect. We could probably help you at least get some sort of position at NASA. I mean, if that's still something you want to do."
"Yeah. That'd be awesome. Now I just need to raise my grades."
"You'll get a clean slate in college. I bet you could get all As if you really tried hard enough."
Danny took a bite of his sandwich so he'd have an excuse to keep quiet. He didn't want to tell her that he was already trying pretty damn hard. Best to let her just think his poor grades were due to lack of time management and discipline and not just simple stupidity and ineptitude.
"You do believe that you could," said Maddie carefully, "right, Danny?"
Danny hummed and pointed to his mouth to indicate he couldn't talk and proceeded to take his time chewing while he tried to come up with an answer.
"Do I believe that I can get better grades in college?" he finally echoed after swallowing his bite. "I don't really know, honestly."
Maddie said nothing. Danny grew warm as he tried to find something to fill the silence again.
"I mean, I don't want to make any promises." He looked down at the sandwich in his hands. "I'll certainly... I'll try, but... I don't want you and Dad to be disappointed if my college grades end up just...being a repeat of my high school grades."
"You're always so concerned about disappointing me and your dad," said Maddie, her eyes turning down. "Are you really that afraid of disappointing us?"
Danny kept his head down and shrugged.
"I'm worried about this self-destructive thinking of yours, Danny." Maddie leaned over the table toward him. "It really seems to be hurting you."
He had known since the car ride over that this moment was coming but he still wasn't prepared for it. "No, it's—I mean, yes, I really hate disappointing you guys, but I don't think it's hurting me. It just makes me want to be better. Isn't that a good thing?"
"It can be if it's not preventing you from being happy or from doing things. But you definitely don't seem very happy these days, and it seems like you're afraid to even try things sometimes."
"Try things...like what?"
"Well, for one, giving up on your dream to be an astronaut. Because you're afraid that you'll fail and disappoint us or maybe disappoint yourself and so you don't even want to risk it. So you'd prefer to just not even try."
Danny's mouth hung open briefly before he could even try to speak. "That's not—I didn't mean—I'm just trying to be realistic, it's not that I'm afraid to try—"
"And you don't want to make any promises about doing better in college because you're afraid you won't succeed. You don't want to commit to something you're afraid you won't be able to do. So you'd rather just accept failure now than dedicate any effort to actually trying."
This onslaught, this attack, his defenses were not prepared at all, and he had no excuses or reasoning to fight it, not right now. Maybe if she gave him some time to think first—
"And you never want to practice driving," Maddie went on. "You always have some sort of excuse or reason, and it's a real fight for me to get you to do it. In fact, I usually have to make you do it. Because I want you to pass your driving test the first time."
Danny flinched, wondering if this was a jab at how it took him three times to pass the writing test just to get his permit. "I know, I know. I just didn't want to today because—"
"Today might've been because something is really troubling you," said Maddie gently but firmly. "I understand that. But what about other days? Why are you always so reluctant to practice driving?"
"Ah, well, because...I don't know. It just makes me so nervous, and I always seem to do everything wrong and make you…" He squeezed his sandwich.
"Make me what, Danny?" asked Maddie. "Tell me."
"Just...kind of mad, I guess," he said as softly and casually as he could. "I don't like making you mad."
"Oh, sweetie." Maddie sighed. "So you don't want to practice driving because you're just so convinced that you'll do something wrong? You don't want to work at trying to get better because you don't think you can? And you're afraid of making me mad so you'd rather just never learn to drive at all?"
Danny reddened and shrugged.
"I don't mean to get mad at you when you drive, sweetheart," said Maddie more kindly. "I'm sorry for yelling at you sometimes or being too harsh when I correct you. It's just sometimes you do things that scare me, and I react strongly. Which is normal, by the way! It's normal for new drivers to do things that are kind of scary. I certainly scared my own mother when she was teaching me to drive, so you shouldn't feel like you're somehow a worse driver than other teens." She smiled at him. "You're doing just fine."
You shouldn't feel this way.
He hated when anyone tried to tell him how he should or shouldn't feel.
But he bit back the feeling. "Yeah. I know. I'll try to not resist so much when you ask me to drive, okay?"
Maddie exhaled loudly. "Danny, this isn't about the driving. This is about how you feel. How you're feeling right now." She paused. "Why have you been acting...well, the way you've been acting lately?"
Danny held his half-eaten sandwich in front of his face. "The way I've been acting?"
"Something is troubling you. Something is bothering you. Something has taken all the life and energy out of you. You just seem...empty. You don't seem like...like Danny right now."
He raised his shoulders, ducked his head. He wasn't even sure if he remembered how he usually felt. What did it even mean to feel or act "like Danny"?
"Danny."
He looked up at her.
"Please talk to me, Danny." Her eyes misted. "Please don't keep me out like this. I really want to help you, and I can't if you won't tell me what's wrong."
Danny's own eyes stung in response. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right for her to feel sad. She had done nothing to deserve this.
How could he make this stop? How could he make her feel better? What excuse could he give her? What story could he give?
Not the truth, no. Never.
But maybe, perhaps…
Just a part of the truth?
"Okay, um…" Danny struggled with his thoughts, attempted to untangle them and weave them into coherent narrative. "I just kind of feel like... Well, Dad seems really mad at me." He talked down to the table. "And, I just feel like I keep making him madder."
"You mean lately? Since you snuck out?" Maddie sighed. "I do agree with you that he has been a little impatient with you the past few days. I tried talking to him about it, but maybe I need to say something to him again—"
"No!"
Maddie blinked, mouth still open but all words stopped.
"No, please," said Danny more calmly. "Don't say anything to him, please?"
Maddie eyed him warily. "Danny, you're not afraid of Dad, are you?"
Danny's muscles tensed, but he did his best to conceal their shuddering by shaking his head and moving his arms. "No, of course not. But... I just keep screwing up with him, and I don't want to make things any worse between us."
"You keep screwing up with him? How? What do you mean?"
"Well... Like at Gardner Peak."
"What happened at Gardner Peak? I thought you said you two had a good time."
"Yeah, we did! Until the very end."
Danny shakily drew in a breath. He had already committed; no backing out of this now.
"I just, um... Well, I kind of disagreed with him about something, and he... He really didn't like it. I mean, you know how he gets when someone disagrees with him."
"Oh, yeah," said Maddie with a roll of her eyes. "He and I actually fight about things all the time. He's very stubborn."
"Yeah, well... I'm just not sure how long it'll take before he lets this one go."
"What exactly did you disagree with him about?"
He tensed again. Dare he say it? After all, his mother had some pretty strong opinions about ghosts herself.
"I, um... All I said was…" He stalled with a sizable breath. "I told him that I don't think all ghosts are bad."
Maddie furrowed her brow.
"And Dad just didn't really like that I disagreed with him on that point."
Maddie slowly nodded. "Oh. I see." She leaned back in her chair and nodded again. "Yes, your father definitely feels ghosts are all set to do us harm. That's always been his stance. That ghosts want to use us for their own terrible purposes."
Danny shifted in his chair. "But do you think they're all bad, too?"
Maddie's bottom lip protruded as she shook her head. "No. I actually agree with you. I don't think all ghosts are bad. In fact, I don't really think any of them are bad."
Danny's head moved forward. "Really?"
"Not in the way humans can be bad, anyway. They're more like wild, vicious animals."
Danny's head moved back.
"Animals don't have a sense that anything they do is ever wrong. And that's how it is with ghosts. They don't have the intelligence and ethics and morality we do. They're animals that need to be detained and kept away from the general public. For safety reasons." Maddie sipped her soda. "Their obsessions make them insane, and they simply can't stop themselves from doing whatever they can to satisfy their obsessions."
Danny's eyes lowered.
His dad thought he was malicious, his mom thought he was deranged.
Both thought he was dangerous.
Both wanted to remove him.
"Danny?"
He lifted his head again with a jolt. "Sorry, kind of spaced out there. Um, anyway, Dad just seemed really offended. When I told him my thoughts about ghosts."
The look of warning Jack had given him for even daring to continue to oppose him, the way he towered above and looked down at him so coldly.
"Honestly, I'm just... I'm not sure..." Danny paused, his sandwich still uneaten in his shaking hands. "I don't think Dad really likes me."
"Oh, Danny," chided Maddie. "Danny, how could you think that?"
Oh, great. Nice. Just what he wanted. Now he had successfully disappointed his mom, too.
"Danny, your father loves you very much. I promise you that."
"Yeah, I'm not—I'm not saying he doesn't, it's just…" Danny glanced off to the side. "We don't really have anything in common, you know?"
"Oh, that's not true! You and your dad have a lot in common." Maddie clasped a hand under her chin as she looked at him fondly. "I see so much of him in you. Your mannerisms, your expressions." She laughed. "Your clumsiness."
Danny groaned. "Okay, maybe, but I mean we don't have any interests in common. Like when we do things together, it's usually... Well, we're usually not doing something we both enjoy. Fishing, going to the observatory, usually it's just what one of us wants to do and the other just goes along with it."
"You don't like fishing? I thought you loved fishing."
"No, I don't really like any outdoor activities. What I really like about fishing is just...spending time with Dad." Danny paused. "Or at least, that used to be what I liked about it. But I just always seem to make him mad. Somehow."
"Danny, is this something you've been feeling for a long time now? Or just the past few days?"
"The past year or so, I've kind of been feeling it. But I guess it's been worse the past few days. Ever since I really pissed him off. When I snuck out."
"You didn't piss him off," said Maddie gently. "It wasn't your fault Dad was in such a bad mood. Or not entirely, anyway. Something else happened that night, you know."
Danny didn't react. He already knew all about the "something else" that had happened that night.
"Your father and I had a pretty big fight that night."
Danny's brows lowered, his attention immediately snapping to her with sharp focus. Okay, maybe he didn't know after all.
"It's nothing you need to worry about," said Maddie. "I won't tell you the details. But that's the real reason your father was in such a bad mood that night."
"But this happened...when? While you were out looking for me?"
"Well, yes, it happened—" Maddie's mouth hung open for a moment. "Oh, sweetie, the fight had nothing to do with you, okay?" Her mouth scrunched. "Your father just kept something from me that he shouldn't have. Something really important. It wasn't about you at all."
Danny thought back to that night. Hands in the air and arms growing so tired, his back toward his father, an ecto-gun aimed right at his head.
And his mother's voice crackling over his father's radio, asking if Phantom had been located yet.
And his father always answered no.
When his mother finally found the two of them together, her teeth bared as she stomped up to them.
Danny had never seen her look so furious before.
His mother was wrong. Their fight had been about him. It had everything to do with him.
"But…" Danny blinked slowly down at the table. "But you wouldn't have fought at all if...if I hadn't…"
"Danny, your father gets into bad moods," said Maddie. "Really bad moods. He's always been that way. Most of the time, he's pretty happy and very little can bother him, but when he does get angry, suddenly even the tiniest things can set him off. And he'll sometimes take it out on people who have nothing to do with why he's in a bad mood. It's his own problem, not yours."
Danny didn't look up from the table.
"And he does like you," assured Maddie. "He's told me so many times that we couldn't have asked for a more wonderful son."
Danny lifted his head. "Really? He's actually said that?"
"Of course! He's crazy about you, sweetheart. He's so proud to have you. And I promise that his bad mood right now isn't about you at all. It's about someone else. Not you."
"Someone else?"
Maddie flinched. "Oh, I've said too much. Listen, you might be getting the brunt of all this, but it's not because of anything you did, okay?" She moved her chair enough so that she could reach over and touch his shoulder. "Please try to believe that, sweetie. You always think everything is somehow your fault. But it's really not this time."
Her touch felt nice, kind, soothing. Danny's expression softened while his mind churned.
It's about someone else. Not you.
No. It was about him. A him she didn't know was sitting right beside her.
She was wrong.
But…
She was also right.
His dad hated Phantom. He could never change that. No matter how hard he tried to prove himself, Jack could never possibly change his mind about a ghost, certainly not about his most hated ghost.
But his dad didn't hate him. His son.
He had dealt with his dad hating Phantom. This was nothing he hadn't already accepted before, nothing he hadn't already learned to cope with. He just had to remember how to cope with it again.
And his dad's mood always swung back eventually.
Things would certainly go back to normal soon. He just had to hold out for it. And perhaps he could begin by trying to lift his own mood instead of waiting for his dad to become happy again first.
The rest of his sandwich wasn't too difficult to swallow down. It even tasted kind of good.
"Ready to go, Danny?" asked Maddie, collecting their trash to throw away.
"Yeah." Danny stood, shopping bags hooked around his arm. "So, um... I did bring my permit. So I could drive us home. If you want me to."
Maddie stroked a couple strands of his hair. "I'd love it if you drove us home."
He smiled appreciatively.
Things would definitely get better.
He dared to actually believe it this time.