Chapter 52.
I'm sorry.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.
What ensued after that was something Daniela couldn't put into words even if she wanted to.
It didn't take them long to find their way back to Lip's building and stumble into his room. Through the lust-filled haze, she found herself praising the fact that he had been wise enough to become an RA and get his own bedroom.
Lip's mouth stayed latched onto hers as they shifted towards the bed. When the back of her legs found the soft mattress, she took a seat and leaned back, all the while keeping her hand pressed against Lip's jaw. She felt the bed sink on each side of her as he climbed over her lower body, causing her to arch her neck upwards to meet each one of his kisses.
The rest of whatever they had been wearing was quickly discarded as Lip took a moment to take her in. Daniela stared up at him, watching the way emotion flickered through his stare before he dipped down to kiss her neck.
Whatever concerns she might've had were pushed to the side as she gave into the contact; her soft moans in his ear, his hands in her hair. She relished in the familiarity of it all and the bittersweet reminder of what they had once shared.
Lip's sudden attentiveness wasn't lost on Daniela. He took extra care with her in an attempt to make the most out of whatever this was and, as they fell back into the forms of their past selves, she couldn't help but think about how much she had missed this- how much she had missed him.
/
The soft brushing of skin against her face caused Daniela's eyes to blink open. Still half-asleep, she grimaced at the sunlit background silhouetting Lip's figure. He was rested on his side, propped up on one hand while the other slowly dropped from where it had been grazing against her cheek.
"Mornin," he said softly, his voice still carrying that early-morning huskiness.
Slowly, the events of that night came to mind.
"Hey," said Daniela, a light frown marring her features. "How long have you been up for?"
Lip tilted his head and brushed his thumb against her jaw.
"Not long." His stare lingered on her collarbone before flicking up to her face. "You're so beautiful."
Daniela folded her chin into her neck at the sudden compliment as Lip watched her with thinly-veiled curiosity.
"Do you know what time it is?" She asked instead.
Lip remained still for a moment before looking over his shoulder and reaching for his phone.
"7:40," he said. Exhaling, he put his head back on the pillow and traced the side of her jaw; the motion sending a warm chill down Daniela's spine. "Why, you need to be somewhere?"
"Uh, yeah. My dad said he was gonna try and call before I left for work," she said before abruptly sitting up. "Which reminds me, I need to go get changed."
Lip nodded, sensing that she hadn't completely let her guard down yet. He continued to stare and decided to test out the waters. When Daniela's eyes met his, he leaned up whilst coaxing her chin down for a kiss.
She let it happen and even responded in kind, but once he pulled away, her eyes shifted elsewhere. Beside her, Lip couldn't hide his disappointment.
"How're you feelin?" He asked, hoping that a bit of conversation would help open her up.
She turned her head so that her chin rested against her shoulder to look at him.
"About my mom or the fact that we had sex?"
The humor in her voice caused Lip to smirk slightly.
"Your mom first. "
Daniela breathed in and nodded. "I feel good- better."
"And the sex?" Prompted Lip, causing a silence to fall between them.
"I don't regret it," she said finally, her voice softening. The tension in Lip's shoulders faded somewhat at that. She knew it would be his main concern. "If that's what you're thinking."
"But…?" He asked, sensing that there was more.
Daniela licked her lips and sighed. "I just don't want you to think that this is gonna become a regular thing, you know? Because I'm still sorting a lot of stuff out."
"Right," said Lip, unable to keep his disappointment out of his voice.
Daniela seeing this, placed a hand on the side of his face; her thumb grazing his skin slowly.
"That doesn't mean that I don't want more of this," she said quietly. "Because I do, believe me, I do otherwise I wouldn't have let this happen but, I also need to make sure that it's the right choice."
Lip understood plain and clear what she was saying and he knew that she was right. He didn't want her to feel like she was always second-guessing herself.
Nodding, he traced his fingers over her collarbone.
"I've been waiting for this for almost a year," he said, pressing a kiss to it before meeting her eyes. "I can wait a little longer."
Relief swelled in Daniela's chest as she bit down on her lower lip. Holding the sheet against her, she positioned herself on the edge of the bed and began gathering her clothes.
Once she was dressed, she lingered by the bed, unsure of what to say next.
"I'll call you," she settled with causing Lip to nod as he remained in bed.
"Okay."
Nodding to herself, Daniela moved to leave but hesitated. Lip watched as she walked back to the bed and leaned forward to press a kiss to his cheek. Her mouth lingered for a few moments before she left the dorm. He watched the door shut behind her and collapsed back onto his pillow with a sigh.
/
Mandy was stood at the counter refilling napkin dispensers when Daniela arrived at work.
"Hey," she greeted, regarding her entrance for a moment. "How did yesterday go?"
Daniela huffed and slumped onto the stool beside her. Hearing her sigh, Mandy did a double-take at how conflicted she looked.
"Uh, it went about as well as it could," said Daniela, scratching behind her ear. "But uh, last night I went to see Lip."
That alone was enough to cause Mandy to stop what she was doing. She turned to face her fully and placed a hand on her hip.
"And?" She asked, already assuming the worst.
Daniela tilted her head, creating the facade of a guilty child.
"I might've slept with him," she said tentatively, bracing herself for her friend's response.
Mandy's brow raised and she blinked.
"Daniela…"
"I know, I know! It was an impulse decision."
"Yeah, no shit." Rolling her eyes, Mandy pushed the filled napkin dispenser to the side and grabbed another one. "I don't even wanna think about how awkward the morning-after talk was."
"I feel like it could've been worse," said Daniela retrospectively.
"Yeah well, wait till Simon finds out," joked Mandy, a small grin on her face. "So, do this mean you're back together?"
Daniela hesitated for a moment causing Mandy to glance up at her.
"Uh... I'm not too sure actually."
"I thought this was what you wanted?" Asked the other girl, seemingly confused.
"So did I. And I do, but..."
"You're scared."
Daniela's mouth folded as she nodded.
"It's just- I don't know if I can trust him after everything that happened," she confessed with a heavy sigh. "I know that he's changed or, at least I think he has, but I can't help it. What if, I become this person who just obsesses over everything he's doing and where he's going and who he's texting?"
Her shoulders sagged as she raked a hand through her hair. "That's not me. I never want that to be me."
Mandy, noticing some people trickle into her section, grabbed some menus and gestured for Daniela to follow her.
Daniela did and cleared a used table while Mandy served hers. Once her back was turned and the orders were taken, they both headed to the pass.
"Look, I'm not gonna tell you what you should or shouldn't do," began Mandy as she put in the order and Daniela dropped off the used plates. "But if I'm being honest I wouldn't trust anything he said."
"Maybe that's just me being biased or because, oddly enough, I care about you." Daniela couldn't help her small smile at that. "But, at the end of the day, you have to do what you think will make you happy and, if that means forgiving Lip and taking him back, then so be it."
Daniela chewed on her bottom lip and lifted her shoulders.
"I just don't want anyone to think I'm stupid for forgiving him."
Mandy regarded for a moment, a sliver of sympathy shining through before she sighed.
"How about this- you and I go out Saturday night. You can get hit on by some sleazy guys and then, hopefully, one cute enough to spend the rest of the night with. That way, you can figure out if you like it or not," said Mandy with a shrug. "If you do, you know that you're not really up for a relationship with Lip, but if you don't, you'll have your decision."
Daniela thought over it as a round of orders were put up to take out.
"Do I really have to screw someone just to figure it out?" She asked warily.
Mandy quirked a brow. "Did you have a better idea?"
She didn't.
/
At the end of the week, Daniela found herself dressed up nicer than usual at a bar near campus. Mandy and Simon had picked the place thinking that they'd have a better chance of finding better guys there but they had been there for half an hour and Daniela already wanted to leave.
She was a ball of nerves as she sipped on her drink. The couple had taken off elsewhere, leaving her to fend for herself.
Pulling out her phone, she opened up her messages and found Lip's name. She still hadn't spoken to him ever since their night together.
D: Hey
She sent the text as a small ice-breaker.
D: I heard about Carl's sentencing yesterday. Sorry, I couldn't be there, we had an in-class test.
Her eyes remained on the screen, waiting for his reply.
L: No problem
She bit down on her lip and typed out her response.
D: I'm a little surprised he didn't take the deal
L: Yeah, somehow I'm not
D: I hope he's okay
L: He should be
Daniela sighed. When she had heard that Carl had asked to go to juvie, she was disappointed but Lip was right. Carl had always been a wild card, especially when it came to authority, so it really shouldn't have surprised them.
A minute later, her phone lit up with another text from Lip.
L: So how are you?
Sensing where this was going, Daniela sent a quick response.
D: Good, and you?
L: Yeah, same.
L: Any progress so far on where you're at?
Daniela hesitated.
It had been almost a week already and she knew that despite his reassurance, Lip would inevitably become more insistent on her decision.
"Hey there."
Caught off-guard, Daniela's eyes whipped up to see a cute guy smiling down at her.
"Hi," she replied.
She watched as he gestured to the bartender for a refill before turning his attention to her.
"I'm Scott," he said, leaning a forearm on the bar.
"Daniela," she replied with a kind smile.
His never left his face. "Are you here alone?"
"Oh, no my friends are around here somewhere," she said, gesturing around them.
Scott nodded before frowning slightly.
"And they left you all by yourself?" He asked as if the idea seemed absurd.
Daniela simply shrugged. "They're kind of hoping I'll hook-up with someone tonight."
Her blunt answer caused Scott to laugh.
"That's funny because my friends were hoping for the exact same thing."
"No kidding?" She joked sarcastically, watching his grin widen.
"Can I buy you a drink?" He offered.
"Uh, sure but just because you do doesn't mean I'm gonna have sex with you," she said, tilting her head.
He laughed again and shook his head.
"Don't worry about that," he assured her. "I like to think I'm charming enough without needing coercion."
Scott called the bartender over and put in her order while she took the time to check her phone again. Lip's message was still unanswered.
As she went to put it down, another text popped up that caused her to frown.
M: Get off your phone and start flirting.
Whipping her head up, Daniela looked around the bar but couldn't find Mandy anywhere.
"One drink for the lovely lady," said Scott, reclaiming her attention.
Daniela accepted the drink from his hand and watched as he raised his own glass.
"Cheers," he said.
Daniela smiled and clinked her glass against his.
/
The next morning found Daniela slowly making her way across campus. There was a dull aching in her head but not nearly as bad as what she had experienced in the past.
At the sound of her phone going off in her hand, she checked to see her brother's name on the screen and answered.
"Hey," she said as she moved through campus.
"Dani, where are you right now?" Asked Jakob, his voice causing the girl to frown.
"I'm just heading back to my dorm," she answered. "Why, did something happened?"
"How fast do you think you could get over to the house?" He said instead, not bothering to answer her. It left her feeling even more confused.
"Uh," she glanced around her surroundings. "I don't know, maybe a half-hour. What's going on?"
"I just need you to get over her now. Please," he said after a brief pause. "It's important."
Now Daniela was really worried and slowed to a stop. "Did something happen? Are you okay?"
Her brother's weary sigh sounded out in her ear. "Just get over here."
He hung up shortly after that. Daniela quirked a brow and shook her head before looking down at herself.
She was still in her outfit from last night and didn't want to show up dressed up. She also just wanted to be out of the clothes as soon as possible.
Making up her mind, she picked up the pace and hurried to her dorm room to get changed before she headed home.
When she finally arrived outside of the house, she noticed an unfamiliar car sitting outside. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the Floridian number plates and wondered who it belonged to.
Wasting no more time, she headed up the stairs and into the house.
Immediately, she heard voices talking, her confusion building when she picked up on a mix of her brother and Spanish; a rarity in their household since neither had spoken much of it after their mother became sick.
She followed the voices into the living room, coming to a stop when she saw her brother placing down some coffees for an older woman and what looked to be her son.
"Hey," said Daniela, to announce herself. She glanced around the room before settling her attention on her brother.
Jakob's eyes widened when he caught sight of her.
"Dani."
Her brow raised as he made his way over to her and lightly gripped her shoulders. He frowned as he took in her slightly disheveled appearance.
"What happened to you?"
Daniela rolled her eyes and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear.
"I went out last night. What's going on here?" She asked, looking over his shoulder to the woman who now seemed to be staring back in shock. "You said it was important."
"Yeah..." began Jakob, suddenly nervous. "About that. You remember when-"
"Daniela."
At the sound of the heavily-accented woman, Daniela locked eyes with her, unprepared for the tight hug she was soon enveloped in.
"Oh."
A hand stroked her hair, caressing it delicately as the woman muttered to herself in Spanish so quickly that Daniela could only catch half of it.
Pulling back, she eyed the woman oddly and looked at her brother for help as the woman continued to assess her in detail.
"Look at you," she said softly, placing her hands on the sides of Daniela's face. "Eres muy guapa, just like your mother."
At the mention of her mother, Daniela's frown deepened and she shook her head slightly.
"Sorry, I don't-"
"Dani." She turned her head to meet Jakob's wary stare. He inhaled and gestured to the woman still looking her over.
"This is Teresa Rivera - our grandmother."
.
It's gonna take a while for me to get used to writing this story again but I'm trying.
Thank you for all of the encouraging messages, they meant a lot.
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