Phoebe: I beat you!
Lacey: Girl, I've been back
Phoebe: How long have you been in that man's bed?
Lacey: Possibly since the day after Christmas
Phoebe: Jesus, we going out tonight or what?
Lacey: Can't. He broke my back and after last time, I definitely can't walk
Phoebe: This is Danny, isn't it?
Lacey: How can you tell?!
Phoebe: Where's my girl?
Lacey: Bathroom
Phoebe: So you're just snooping in her phone then?
Lacey: I wouldn't call it that, she's pretty boring, there's nothing to see really
Phoebe: You put her phone down right now
Lacey: Hey sorry about that
Phoebe: Verify this is Lacey please
Lacey: I ate all your candy before I left for my parents
Phoebe: you BITCH!
Lacey: Danny was half right, I can't go out tonight
Phoebe: It's New Years Eeeevvveeeeee whyyyyy not?
Lacey: Jo's case starts the day after tomorrow, Danny has practices scheduled for every waking minute after that, it's our last night together for a while
Phoebe: K
Lacey: Don't be mad
Phoebe: I'm not mad, just miss you. I'm stealing your blankets
Lacey: Love you Phoebs
"You done?" Danny asked, his voice a bit garbled due to his lips never leaving her mound as he spoke.
"I can't help how much I'm loved and adored." Lacey shrugged and smiled smugly.
Danny paused his mission to crawl up and kiss her deep.
"I read through all your texts and you're not really that popular." Danny snarked back and dodged a few half-hearted slaps.
"Phoebe misses me and why were you all in my phone anyway?!"
"Just curious." Danny kissed her again.
"Yeah?" Lacey held her hand out, "Let me see your phone then."
"Hell no." Danny dodged a new round of slaps, "Damn it, that one hurt. Why are you so violent?" He gave her a husky giggle, "I know you're not creeping, why are you mad?"
"Says the guy who is apparently unaware of my burner phone!" Lacey quipped back.
"That's it." Danny went in on a tickle assault until Lacey was doing silent belly laughs, "Jesus Lace, I love the shit out of you."
"Alright you win, I'll put the phone down." Her smile stayed planted on her face, "Get back to showing me how much you love me."
Danny nipped at Lacey's body from her face all the way down on his journey back in between her perfect long legs. His lips and tongue sucked a swirled in just the right spots.
"So fucking good—" She groaned out.
Just as soon as Lacey had thrown her phone down beside her, it lit up again. She peeked down at Danny, his eyes already aware and waiting for her to decide what she as going to do.
He rolled his eyes as he watched her hand go for the phone but he didn't stop all the eating. Lacey winked at him in thanks.
Karen: Hi
Lacey: Hi
Karen: Everything okay?
Lacey looked down at her painfully attractive boyfriend, face-deep in her crotch and trying very very hard to pull her focus to him and away from her phone.
Lacey: Everything is really good actually
Karen: Listen, I was hoping we could talk more? I'd like to make sure we're all on the same page
Lacey: I think I'm good with the follow up
"Mm, Danny—"
"Put your phone down, please?" He begged between sucks.
"Shhh, less talking." She smiled and pointed for him to get back to work.
Karen: I know Danny and I'm sure you know what he wants you to know, probably not everything you need to know
Lacey: Please, Karen, I mean no disrespect but we're just having fun. I'm okay with everything I know
Karen: He's not taking his medication anymore, you need to know that
Lacey shifted a little, medication? She wondered if this was crazy Karen being delusional as Danny said she was or if it was a very concerned mother trying her best to help her child.
"Just tell Phoebe to come over here. I can share my work—" Danny glared at her from his spot in her fern.
"Excuse you." Lacey warned, a bit surprised by that.
"Is there an emergency or something?" Danny grumbled.
Karen: Honestly, it's an emergency Lacey
Lacey got goosebumps all over her as the Desai at her feet and the Desai in her hand both said the word emergency at the same time. Lacey wasn't a superstitious person, but this time the coincidence really freaked her out.
She wanted desperately to ask Karen more questions, she wanted Danny to make her come and she wanted him to stop whatever this new obsession was with snooping and watching her every move. She needed more time to think.
"I'm just saying, I don't want to share you right now, so I can either stop or she can come over and I'll share with her the same way you're not sharing with me right now."
"Don't be such a baby—" Lacey could barely understand what bizarre, jumbled reasoning he had just spewed out.
"Your dad was right, you should be staying at your dorm when you're on campus." Danny wiped his mouth and stood up in a huff.
"Ouch, shots fired—" Lacey looked at him with major hurt all over her face.
When he didn't immediately say anything to smooth it out she silently slipped off Danny's bed and gathered her clothes up off the floor.
"Can I use the bathroom before I leave?" She asked carefully.
"Don't go." Danny slid in front of her and wrapped his arms around her, "I'm sorry."
"You're going to have to do better than that."
Danny dropped his arms, "I was trying!" He shouted, "What were you guys talking about anyway?" He grabbed the phone from Lacey and used his own fingerprint to unlock it.
"Hey!" Lacey tried to grab it back.
"My mother?!" Danny barked louder and more pointedly at her, the sudden fierce energy making Lacey close her eyes and take a step back.
"DON'T yell at me like that! Who do you think you are?!" Lacey shouted back and grabbed for her phone.
Danny easily maneuvered around her attempts as he read all the texts. He shook his head in frustration before taking a deep breath and calming himself down a bit.
"I told you she's delusional. Don't engage her like this." Danny pointed to the phone.
"She's delusional and you're perfectly fine?"
"Excuse me?"
"First of all, I can talk to whomever I please. Secondly, Karen has never given me a single reason to think that she's delusional, you on the other hand—"
"You're calling me crazy?"
"You're certainly acting like it!" Lacey stepped forward and Danny blocked her, "I'm using the bathroom, move."
Danny stayed put and Lacey slid her way past him, her body having to rub against him just so she could fit through to open the bathroom door.
"Gee, thanks." Lacey griped.
Danny remained stone-faced, Lacey's phone tucked into his armpit as he kept his arms folded across his chest.
"Damn it." Lacey whispered as she stared back at herself in the mirror above the sink.
Something clicked for her then. Lacey turned the faucets on and carefully opened the medicine cabinet. She picked up the half empty bottle of Danny's vitamins, popped the top off quietly and slid one out and into the pocket of her pants.
She finished up and threw herself back together, looking and feeling like shit after days of basically never ending sex since they had returned to Danny's place after Christmas. She took a moment to really think about what could have happened, what had changed.
Danny's temper was shorter, stronger. He wasn't sleeping, he was impulsive, he didn't always make sense when he spoke. Maybe Karen wasn't delusional, maybe Danny was.
While Lacey was in the bathroom Danny took action and began texting his mother.
Lacey: I'm done with this I'm blocking your number
Karen: Lacey please don't be upset with me, I'm trying to help you. Danny isn't well and I like you so much. I'm trying to make life work for everyone here, safely
Lacey: Maybe if you were a better mother Danny wouldn't be so fucked up. Goodbye.
Danny deleted the text exchange with his mother, blocked Karen and Vikram's phone numbers and changed Karen's number in her contacts to his own.
Lacey poured her heavy heart out of Danny's bathroom. He held her phone out and gave it back to her.
"When did you add your fingerprint anyway?" Lacey asked softly as she went in and removed his access.
"Last night. Your phone was blowing up while you were sleeping and I got curious."
Lacey sat at the foot of the bed, "When did you stop trusting me?"
Danny sat beside her, "I do trust you, like I said, I just got curious."
"I should go." Lacey looked at him and hoped to god he could just explain everything and make this new nightmare end.
"Have a good night."
Wow.
"You know what?! I'm so glad I made you wait a month, introduced you to my family and then had make up sex for basically a whole week just to be treated like this. You sure know how to break a heart."
Lacey stood and went straight for the stairs. She wanted out of here. She reached the front door and just started running.
Her legs ached after days of not running her normal routine. Her lungs burned, her eyes watered and she wasn't sure if she was crying or if it was the icy cold wind making her tears spill.
They obviously were not ready to move in together like Lacey's brain had dreamt up for their near future. Something had changed, something was wrong.
"Hey!" Phoebe had her music blasting and was wrapped up in all of Lacey's fancy blankets on her bed when Lacey finally stumbled into their room, "I thought you weren't coming back tonight?"
Lacey was sniffing uncontrollably as her nose warmed up and began flowing like crazy. She was breathing hard and grasping erratically for tissues.
Phoebe knew immediately that something was very wrong. She threw the blankets off and walked up beside Lacey as she blew her nose, rubbing her back lovingly.
"What the hell did he do?!" Phoebe was pissed.
"I know where your head is, Phoebe, but I really need your help and not more drama this time, okay?" Lacey blubbered to her best friend.
"Babyyyy—" Phoebe pulled her in for a hug and Lacey accepted because goddamnit she deserved to be babied a little right now.
She let it out and once she calmed herself down she shuffled to her bed and plopped down in a deflated mess.
"He didn't do anything, I'm just—I need to sort some stuff out."
"How can I help?"
"Do you know anyone that can like, analyze the contents of a pill?"
"Cole's friend is a chemistry major, Rico, I think that's his name?"
"Cole and Rico are friends with Danny—" Lacey shook her head no.
"How will they know it has anything to do with Danny if the request comes from me?"
"The pill is unique, they'll know."
"Can I see it?"
Lacey fished the reddish-orange pill out of her pocket and handed it to Phoebe.
"Is this one of his infamous Flintstones vitamins you told me about?" Phoebe smiled for a second until she looked over to see the desperation on Lacey's face, "I'm sorry. Okay, well, I have a mold for E. We can crush it up and re-form it first?"
"Dare I ask why you have a pill mold?"
"Yeah, don't." Phoebe cringed and pulled out a couple different ones.
Lacey picked the flower shaped one and Phoebe got to work crushing the pill down and pressing it into the pill mold until it was mostly in there and set. She popped it out and handed it back to Lacey.
"Wow, fucking hell that's terrifying."
"Truly."
Phoebe took it back from Lacey and sealed it in a plastic baggie. She texted Cole and got Rico to agree to test it the next day.
"Done. He'll have the results tomorrow. So, do you want to go out tonight after all?"
"No."
Lacey stole her blankets back and curled up to have the conversation with Karen she knew she had to have.
Lacey: I'm sorry I cut you off earlier. I'm back home now, can we talk about Danny? What medication did he stop taking?
Karen: What are you talking about?
Lacey: Danny's medication, you said he stopped taking it, what does that mean? What was he taking medication for?
Karen: Are you calling my son a druggie?
Lacey didn't understand why Karen seemed to suddenly flip like this. Maybe her delusions came out when someone reached out to her and caught her off guard?
Lacey: No?
Karen: You're making stuff up about my son like the other mindless whores he's been with.
Lacey: I'll let you go, I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just trying to figure this all out
Karen: Bye bye
Phoebe rolled out on New Year's Day and left Lacey alone with her anxiety. She did the pill hand off to Rico and he promised he'd text her the results ASAP. After, Phoebe decided to pay Danny a visit.
Danny answered the door after being woken up to her incessant knocking. He wasn't wearing anything at all.
"Nice." Phoebe rolled her eyes
"You're the one whose pants are on fire, apparently." Danny turned and left the door open before walking back inside.
Phoebe walked in and tried desperately to look anywhere other than at Danny's absolutely stunning body.
"She doesn't know I'm here."
"K." Danny chugged water straight out of the gallon container he pulled out of his fridge, "You need a hook up or something?"
"Fuck you."
"Right, that's what I'm asking."
"I don't fuck with you."
"Okay, well, you're standing in my kitchen right now so—"
"Why are you being such a dick all of a sudden?"
"Why are you here?"
"Can't you just put some clothes on?"
"This is my apartment. Finding it hard not to look? I'll let Lacey know." Danny smiled wickedly.
"This was a mistake."
"Yep!"
"You never deserved her."
"Can I go back to bed now or would you like to yell at me some more first? It's not my favorite kink, but I'll do whatever."
Phoebe could tell there was really something wrong here.
"Are you taking drugs?"
Danny chuckled, "Nope."
"Okay then SHOULD you be taking drugs?"
"Bye now." Danny shoved Phoebe toward the door.
Just as she reached the front door, Danny spun around beside Phoebe and snapped a selfie. Phoebe wasn't looking, she had been off balance with her mouth half open in surprise while a very naked Danny smiled and held her waist. On the surface it appeared they were enjoying some sort of hook up. Phoebe had no idea he had even taken the pic.
Danny: How's your day going?
Danny texted Lacey the pic he had taken of him and Phoebe.
Lacey: What's this?
Danny: What does it look like?
Lacey: I don't understand why you're trying to hurt me
Danny: She came to see me, thought you might want to know
Lacey: I'm sure there's more to it
Danny: Whatever, you're all mindless whores
Phoebe walked in a few minutes later, dazed and very very quiet.
"Where did you go?"
"To give Rico the pill—" Phoebe played dumb.
"Don't fucking lie to me Phoebe."
"I just wanted to see what was going on with him, okay?"
"How was it?" Lacey glared at Phoebe, "He's good, right?"
"Hey, whoa, nothing happened—"
"He just sent me this picture!" Lacey pointed to the pic on her phone.
"What the hell?" Phoebe had no idea how he managed that, "Lacey I swear—"
Lacey's face suddenly dropped, "Wait a minute, wait a minute—mindless whore!"
"Excuse me?" Phoebe was so lost.
Lacey read back through her texts, "MINDLESS WHORE!" She pointed to the screen.
"Okay, look, I don't know what's going on. You've both lost your fucking minds—"
Lacey continued to paw through her phone until she finally figured it out.
"He replaced her number with his own! Holy shit."
"Lacey, are we good?"
"Here it is here it is, he blocked it!"
Lacey unblocked Karen's number and a flood of texts and voicemails came though. She read through the texts as quickly as she could.
Phoebe's phone buzzed and she unlocked it to reveal the text from Rico. Both women looked up at the same time.
"Paliperidone and lithium." They said at the same time.
Lacey got to work researching each drug.
"Is this what he's supposed to be taking?" Phoebe asked.
"I think so." Lacey said as she resumed texting Karen.
Lacey: Karen, he blocked your number
Karen: I figured. Sounds like Danny
Lacey: What's going on with him?
Karen: He has schizoaffective disorder, it can get pretty severe when he's off his medication.
"I have to make a phone call." Lacey hoped Phoebe would take the hint.
"Got it, I'll be in the bathroom."
Once she heard the whir of the bathroom fan turn on, Lacey took a deep breath and called Karen's number.
"Hi."
"Hi Karen."
"You told me the other day that you wanted to take over, right? That you love him, that you'll always protect him?"
After how Danny had treated her, Lacey was seriously on the fence. If he could be the Danny she knew when he was on medication, she knew she had to take the time to see what she could do to get him back there. She did love him and his mental health was part of that.
"I'm trying."
"I know, honey. It's going to be a lot to learn, but I've seen you two together when things are good. You can do this if you really want to."
"Where should I start?"
"Last year we finally found the perfect combination of his medications. He hates swallowing pills so our pharmacist makes the chewables for him."
"When did he stop taking them?"
"The day before Christmas Eve. They take a few days to completely leave his system and so his more troublesome symptoms would start creeping back in right around now. He leans heavily toward mania and has some pretty incredible impulsive rage. He doesn't hear voices or see things that aren't there, but he definitely overreacts to simple things and has trouble making sense when he speaks too fast. He has always been a master manipulator."
"Why did he stop?"
"He gets sick of it. It's been about ten years since he's been diagnosed. We went through hell trying to help him to function. He definitely struggles knowing he is tethered to this medicine for the rest of his life."
"Wow, so he was diagnosed as a child? I didn't know—"
"After what happened with Tara I knew I had to find out what was making him rage to point of hurting people."
"He hurt people?" Lacey was lost now.
"Well, yeah, as you know now, he suffocated Tara and then shot her. I had to do something—"
Lacey felt dizzy.
"I—I'm sorry, Danny suffocated Tara?"
"You told me he told you." Karen began to panic.
"He told me you and Tara had a fight and that you suffocated her and then made him shoot her so it looked like an accident—"
"No, honey, this is what I'm talking about, he's manipulating you. He's very good at that. You need to be so careful because he can convince you to jump off a cliff whether he's off his meds or not."
"The cops think it was an accident?"
"Shooting Tara was an accident. Suffocating her was beyond Danny's control at the time. We struck a deal and placed Danny in a mental health facility to get him the help he needed. He was there for six months. The official story is just that, the story."
"Did he want to kill her?"
"No, he doesn't have urges to kill, but his impulsiveness is very strong and when he was eleven he could not control it at all. Danny knows how to control it now when he's off his medication, but it's difficult and he gets angry easily because of that."
Lacey's mind drifted to their first weeks getting to know each other. Danny had been different from the jump, always cocky and sometimes too open. He was outwardly kind and respectful to her.
Maybe Danny's past and his daily struggle were the real reasons he had decided to study sociology. If he was trying to fit into society, it would make sense that he'd want to study what made people tick and why. He was trying to understand, to make his life easier for himself.
"Danny needs to burn energy, it makes him feel better. He loves sports, so when he was little we got him into soccer. It was all about teamwork and running. It was perfect for him, very therapeutic. When he wasn't playing, I'd have him in the kitchen with me. As long as he can either move or focus intently on things like cooking, his symptoms improve."
Lacey jumped when loud pounding began on her door. Lacey walked over and looked out the peephole. It was Danny.
"I've gotta call you back."
Lacey hung up and Phoebe came out to investigate.
"Who is it?" Phoebe asked, watching Lacey monitor whomever was out there for a moment too long.
"It's Danny. I want you to leave when I open the door." Lacey said sternly.
"I'm not leaving you in here with him—"
"Give me ten minutes, I need to talk to him."
"Lacey! Open the door!" Danny yelled from the other side.
"Please?" Lacey pushed.
"This is a bad idea."
"Ten minutes then do whatever you have to do." Lacey said cryptically, "He won't hurt me." She added, trying to convince them both.
Lacey opened the door and Danny walked straight up to Phoebe and removed her from the room.
"Come on, Danny! I was leaving anyway!" Phoebe slapped his hands and arms as he pushed her out.
He closed and locked the door behind him before marching up to Lacey with the same energy.
"Hey, hey, slow down—" Lacey said gently, clinging to Karen's words, believing he wasn't about to kill her.
Danny crowded her into the corner of her room. He didn't lay a hand on her.
Lacey didn't shrink down but she made no move to try and challenge him either. She swallowed her body's raging flight response and kept her face neutral.
"You think I don't know when something of mine goes missing?" He said softly.
"Like your loyalty?"
"My loyalty?"
"Phoebe."
"Do you really think I would ever crack that shit?" Danny looked repulsed.
"So why were you stark-ass naked with her?"
"I was joking around—"
"You lied to me."
Danny didn't say anything.
"You told me they were vitamins."
"My mother has been forcing me to take them since I was a kid."
"You lied to me." Lacey pressed.
"I didn't want you to know!" He screamed in her face.
Lacey slid down the wall behind her and just started crying. She had tried to be strong, but he was so scary and the news about Tara just melted her into an overwhelmed pile of emotion.
Danny stared down at her, watching her cry for a few moments before sitting down in front of her.
"Hey, why are you crying?" Danny asked sweetly, as if he hadn't just screamed at her.
His face had softened, a glimmer of the Danny she had fallen in love with.
"You're scaring me." Lacey admitted honestly.
"Me?" Danny's face fell and he looked crushed, "I—I'm sorry."
His words were loaded, Lacey could feel their weight. He meant more than just remorse for scaring her. Danny had never loved anyone before, he was scared too.
"Why did you stop taking your medication?" Lacey tried to stay on track.
He looked down. Lacey scooted closer and held his hands. He squeezed them back, gently running his thumbs over her wrists over and over.
"Help me understand. What does it feel like?"
"When I'm on the medication? Heavy, I guess. I'm just, heavy."
"What about now, what's it like?"
"It's just me, I don't know. I know I'm not doing the right things but I can't stop sometimes. I don't like talking about it."
She wasn't sure how hard to push him so she cut right to what she expected of him while he seemed calm and receptive.
"I want you to take the medication."
Danny stopped rubbing her wrists. He stayed perfectly still, his eyes still cast down to the floor.
"Danny."
He looked up at her apologetically.
"Sometimes I forget what it's like to be off it. Like maybe after all these years my brain changed and I don't need it anymore, but every time I check and see, something bad happens." It was Danny's turn to cry.
Lacey climbed further toward Danny and pulled him into a hug, a real one. They both held on tight, both of them worried about what was to come. Lacey pulled back and wiped his face.
"Tell me about Tara."
"She was so mean to me. She watched me after school until my parents would come home. He used to hit me with a belt all the time. That day she had hit me more than usual because I was a fucking mess. She chased me and tripped and fell face first into the sofa in my Dad's office. The second she went down I went to sit on her back so she couldn't get back up. I didn't know she couldn't breathe. I felt her die, it was awful." Danny was crying uncontrollably.
"How did she get shot?"
"I got scared and rolled her off the couch. She rolled into the doorway and I thought she as going to come back to life like in the movies and kill me, so I pulled out my dad's gun and it went off. I didn't try to shoot her or anything, the gun just went off—"
Danny suddenly pulled her hands off of him and scooted her away gently with his feet until she was back by the wall.
"You shouldn't touch me. Not now." He was trying to protect her.
"Okay."
She could sense his annoyance beginning to grow. Danny's face changed back to the Danny that had walked in five minutes ago. Lacey took a deep breath and waited.
"Where's my pill?"
"I don't have it."
"Where is it?"
"I had to know what was in it."
Danny froze, no blinking, no breathing. His eyes held her against the wall as if they had some invisible force.
"What did you do?!" He growled.
"I had a friend of mine test it."
"You have no friends." Danny noted rather harshly.
Lacey ignored it, "No one knows where it came from. Phoebe and I made sure—"
"Phoebe? Who else knows?!" Danny bellowed.
"I needed her help—"
"That's bullshit! You tell me you're here for me, but you're not. You want to fix me, just like my mother. Maybe it's all of you who are broken!" Danny stood and paced around the room.
"I'm not trying to fix anything. I've seen both Dannys."
"AND?"
"And, I'm still here."
Danny's face crumpled, his chin hitching up briefly. Lacey stood up and walked closer, careful not to touch him.
"I'm still here." She repeated.
Phoebe walked in with Archie in tow. Lacey looked at the two of them with wide eyes. Phoebe cringed a little she hadn't known what else to do.
Lacey wasn't gonna lie, she felt a bit of relief to see someone walk in that could physically match Danny's strength if he decided to throw a tantrum. Her eyes darted back to Danny to see how he'd react.
Danny connected with Archie before closing his eyes in an attempt to control the spiraling he was feeling. He needed to ground himself.
"There you are man, game's on, let's go. We're watching at your place though, the guys are literally having a pissing match right now." Archie shook his head in disgust.
Danny turned and faced Lacey, not sure what to say.
"I didn't know she was getting him—" Lacey panicked a little.
"It's okay, she's smart. He knows about my health. He knows." Danny nodded.
"I'm still here." She repeated a third time.
Danny swarmed her and wrapped both arms around her neck for a super emotional hug. Lacey hugged him back just as tight.
"I love you." He said after a few beats.
"Please, Danny, do this okay?" Lacey pulled back first and kissed him quickly, "Take your medicine."
"Come back home with me?" He whispered to her, "I can't sleep, I can't sleep."
Lacey looked at Danny's exhausted face as he rambled something she was sure made sense to him.
"We don't sleep when we're together either, big guy." She smirked, "Listen, you need to get back on track."
Danny slid his arms away, "I knew you had a favorite Danny. It's the meathead one you like."
"I'm not excited about the Danny that scares me, no. I don't view medicated Danny as a meathead, he's amazing. You're amazing."
"You're still here?" He asked for confirmation again.
"Yes." Lacey smiled.
"There's things you don't know." Danny fidgeted uncontrollably as they sat together outside the courthouse before Jo's trial.
"I'm sure." Lacey resigned herself to being the friend that she knew how to be, the rest would have to wait.
"I'm sorry I haven't told you everything. I ruin everything good I've ever had." Danny incessantly reapplied chapstick.
"Did you take your medicine this morning?" She asked without thinking.
"I don't need another mother!" Danny shouted.
"He took it." Archie reassured her.
"Thanks, Dad." Danny scowled sarcastically.
"Ooo, I love when you call me that—" Archie giggled.
"Oh my god." Phoebe groaned.
"It's gonna be a long day." Lacey muttered at the same time.
The prosecutor had briefed them as much as possible on what they would be asked and how to respond. They were all nervous and headed into the courtroom, ready for this to be all over.
Their parents had arrived shortly after and all filtered in to be supportive and watch. The process lasted almost a full eight hours, they were exhausted.
At the end of the day, they had all done their best testifying. Danny had a difficult time maintaining his composure and the prosecution had trouble with controlling his outbursts. No one knew if they were helping or hurting things at this point.
What was it that Lacey hadn't known? That Danny had met Jo almost ten years ago at an inpatient mental health facility and that they had remained in close contact with each other ever since.
They also learned what Jo's defense team had come up with for their bid at reasonable doubt: someone else had killed Phoebe and framed Jo, an easy target due to her mental health background. Someone else like Lacey and Phoebe.
"This trial is bullshit." Phoebe protested, so pissed that she was being used as the scapegoat that she completely missed the bombshell link between Jo and Danny.
Lacey hadn't missed it though.
"You didn't meet Jo at orientation?" Lacey asked quietly as she walked Danny out to their parent's cars.
"No." Danny reached for her hand and sandwiched it between his own, "Jo and I agreed to explain it that way so no one had to know we'd both been in a mental hospital."
"You told me you stayed friends last year so you could protect Regina."
"Jo is a compulsive liar. She had a crush on me when we were eleven and followed me to SU. I started dating Regina and Jo lost her shit. Regina was always the focus of all of Jo's wrath, she was so jealous of her. I had to keep her in our loop in order to protect Regina. When I started messing with the others she got used to it and calmed down a little, it didn't get bad again until I met you. She knew your were different."
Lacey said goodbye to Danny and his parents and proceeded to update her own once they were back in the car. Mr. and Mrs. Porter were empathetic and very, very worried about their daughter.
They tried everything to get Lacey to come home with them. Lacey knew just how worried they were when her dad had offered to help her transfer to another college under an art major alone, dropping the double major.
"Just because he has a mental illness doesn't make me immediately stop loving him. I'm not ready to bail on us."
"We're not saying you have to bail, just put some space between you two. Karen's talking about you like you're going to take over as Danny's caretaker. He's your boyfriend not your husband. You have your own life to live." Samuel pushed.
"Danny deserves the life he wants too and right now, he's not taking away from mine, he's complimenting it. If that ever changes, I'll let you know. We're working on this, I'm not giving up yet."
The Porters reluctantly dropped their daughter off at her dorm and headed back home.
The trial lasted several more days. Although Regina's friends and teammates were done testifying after that first day, they took turns attending when they could. They all wanted justice for Regina.
Lacey and Phoebe stayed away. They were furious that the defense team planned to make them look like murderers. The strategy worked for some of Regina's friends, who now had doubts that Jo acted alone or had even killed her altogether.
At the end of the trial, the jury ruled that Jo was guilty.
She was sentenced to life in prison without parole and Lacey felt a huge sense of relief flood her body and free her mind.
Lacey checked in on Danny every day, dodging his gripes about her persistence and her need to baby him. As the days passed, Danny's temperament had evened out and Lacey was sure he was taking his medication again regularly.
Danny: It's been three weeks
Lacey: Since when?
Danny: Please sleep over?
Lacey: Oh, since you got your dick in
Danny: We have our first game tomorrow, then I'm gone for two weeks. Can we please see each other tonight?
Lacey: Okay, I'll be by after I'm done this essay
"When do you work again?" Phoebe asked from her bed.
"I quit." Lacey admitted as she tossed her phone down and pulled her laptop into her lap.
"Really? I thought it was easy money—"
"It is, but things have changed a lot over the last month. I have that nest egg money, I'm going to up my game. Sell more work, invest in myself."
"You sure it's not because you want to be available to take care of Danny when he needs you?"
"It's not."
"How is Danny?"
"Almost back to normal, even though that sounds kind of derogatory to say now." Lacey sighed, "I'm going to see him tonight."
"Archie still staying at his place?"
"He left last week, Danny's been solo for the last couple days."
"He looking to hook up?"
"Oh definitely. I guess I'll see how he is when I get there.
Come with me to his game tomorrow?"
"He hasn't apologized to me yet."
"He probably doesn't even remember. You know he didn't mean to be an asshole."
"But he still was."
"I'll talk to him."
"I don't want a forced apology."
"Right, no, Phoebs, I know. I'll just remind him that he has stuff he still needs to unpack. If he doesn't apologize after that then that's on him."
"Okay, fine, I'll go. You text me if there's a problem tonight. I've seen him now and I'll never feel okay about you being alone with him." Phoebe said with a level of gravity.
It was hard to embrace Danny's reality and be open to helping him while keeping up with her own life and constantly trying to convince her friends and family that he was worth it.
"I will."
"Oh fuck, I don't deserve you—" Danny panted as Lacey laid him out and rode his dick.
"You did the work, you reap the rewards." Lacey panted back.
"Don't mom me right now."
Lacey slowed to a stop and licked her lips, her chest still heaving.
"God, no, Lacey I'm sorry. Please—" Danny begged in frustration.
"I'm not into it now." Lacey grumbled and disappeared into the bathroom.
"Fuck!" Lacey could hear Danny shout after she had closed the door.
Danny was a lot better, but it would take more time before Danny would be back to the man she knew at the start of her freshman year. She was being more than patient with him.
Lacey wanted him tonight. He had massaged her feet and said all the right things. They made out for a long time before Lacey pulled him up to his bed.
She was nervous. She didn't want to play any games or explore any kinks. Lacey had climbed aboard and decided she'd stay in control for their time together tonight, her aim was to satisfy their needs before he left for a couple weeks, not to start a fight.
Lacey pulled his medication out of the cabinet and inspected it. The bottle was full. She checked the date and the prescription had just been refilled two days before. The bottle missing two pills. It was all consistent with him taking it as directed.
She sighed in relief and put it back, happy he didn't have to hide it in unmarked containers anymore. At least this small part of his life was now being lived authentically.
Lacey washed her face and returned to what had become her side of the bed.
"Can I still stay over?"
"Please, yes."
Danny reached for her and pulled her into the bed next to him. He cuddled her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck.
"I'm sorry."
Lacey could still feel his interest poking into her back. She debated on resuming their activities, noting how calm and loving Danny seemed to be.
She couldn't help nudging her ass backward into him, a sign he took and ran with. Lacey tensed when he rolled them so Lacey was flat on her belly. Danny noticed immediately.
"This okay?" He asked sweetly into the beautiful curls that fell over her ears.
"Yes." Lacey couldn't help it, she wanted the good sex with him so bad.
Danny massaged her ass before even doing anything, a bid to relax her further. He reached for her arms and pulled them behind her, resting each of her hands on her ass. Lacey took the hint, grabbing and lifting her backside up so Danny could slide in deep.
He leaned forward and pressed his palms over her wrists, pinning them to her lower back and leaning all his weight there while he dug her out. Lacey couldn't move.
"Danny—"
Danny gripped her tighter, wrapping his fingers around her waist, her wrists still pinned to her back.
"Trust me."
Lacey squeezed her own ass higher so he could get in even deeper. She loved this position, he was hitting it just right. She moaned, something she rarely did.
"Did you miss me?" Danny wanted her screaming tonight.
"Mm—yes."
Danny went harder, his balls slapping against her in time with her whimpers.
"Let go now, please." Lacey wriggled her hands and Danny released them.
Danny slowed, pulling out gently and snuggling in beside her again.
"Why'd you stop?" Lacey asked.
"I want you to not have to think about me hurting you the whole time. You don't trust me anymore."
Lacey pulled him close and wrapped her arms around him in a tight snuggle.
"You scared me. It's going to take me some time—"
Danny hugged her back and kissed her, "I'm so sorry. You're so important to me, it shouldn't have happened."
"I forgive you. You scared Phoebe too, just saying."
"I definitely owe her an apology. She's such a great friend, Lace. I'm an asshole. Nothing happened with her, I was almost asleep when she came over that day and I was not well. I'll make it right."
"I believe you."
"I can't believe we didn't get it done tonight." Danny smiled and brought her hand up to plant a tender kiss.
"I have a crazy idea." Lacey smiled back at him.
"Oh yeah?"
"When's the last time you slept?"
"Hmmm, like over a month ago."
"I think we should sleep together." Lacey giggled.
"I would love to sleep with you." Danny laughed back, "Goodnight Lacey, I love you."
"I love you."
Danny had met up with the girls before the game and formally apologized to Phoebe, something that resolved something deep for the three of them and their friendships.
"Holy shit, I never thought soccer uniforms would be hotter than football uniforms, but I was wrong." Phoebe drooled all over Danny's teammates.
No other football players played soccer, but many of the team sat in the stands around Lacey and Phoebe to cheer Danny on.
Danny was hot shit. He had slept a full eight hours the night before and was feeling good. He pumped up the crowd with his footwork during warm-ups and made the whole thing a show.
"He's amazing, Lacey!"
"This is what his scholarship's for, but I had no idea."
Lacey was in awe watching him run all over the place, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. Danny was in his element.
"Those shorts though." Archie giggled from behind Lacey, nudging her with his knee.
"Easy now. That's boy's mine." She declared, enjoying the shorts just as much as everyone else.
Right before the game began, Danny's face had visibly changed. His smile was gone, he stood shifting his weight from one foot to the other, his arms wrapped around his chest. Lacey feared the worst.
She turned around to face Archie, "What's wrong with him?"
"I know that face." Archie looked around the sidelines until he seemed to connect with the source of Danny's mood change, "That's why." Archie pointed.
Lacey spun around and spied three gentlemen sitting along the front row.
"Who are they?"
"MLS Scouts." Archie smiled in excitement, "They're absolutely here to watch him. That face is Danny being nervous as hell."
Lacey remembered his anxiety when he was faced with the football scouts last fall. She ended up sucking his dick for that one, she knew she couldn't do the same in this case, there wasn't enough time.
Lacey stood and headed down to the sideline as close to Danny as she could get. Danny noticed and jogged over to her, the barriers making it difficult to get close enough to have their conversation remain private.
"Do it." Lacey said simply.
Danny gave her a nod and his signature side smile. He held up an 'I love you' sign with his hand and jogged off to join his team. Something about that small exchange did it for him.
Danny was on, starting as a center and supporting all sides of his team. The second half he moved to striker and scored and assisted with every one of SU's three goals of the night. The crowd was wild.
After the game, Lacey watched the three gentlemen drag Danny off and she didn't hear from him again for over two hours.
"Has he texted you yet?" Phoebe asked anxiously.
"No, you?" Lacey asked Archie.
"Oh it'll be you, sweetie."
Lacey checked her phone again, the three of them sitting in Danny's apartment and hoping for the best.
Danny: Where are you?
"Oh my god, he's texting me, he's texting me. Everybody shut up!" Lacey stood and paced Danny's living room.
Archie and Phoebe could barely contain themselves, holding hands on Danny's couch as they looked up at Lacey and waited.
Lacey: At your place
Danny: You alone?
Lacey: Archie and Phoebe are here
Danny: Can you come and meet me? Just you.
Lacey: Sure, where?
Danny: Dome
Lacey: I'll be right there
"He wants me to come to the dome alone." Lacey bit her lip, now wanting to smile and celebrate too soon.
"Aw, shit. He totally got drafted." Archie smiled confidently.
Lacey scrambled for her shoes, "Watch your phones, I will text you to get the hell out of here if shit went sideways, got it?"
"Yes ma'am." Phoebe nodded.
Lacey ran to the dome, spotting Danny on the picnic tables where they spoke during the homecoming dance. He was still, dressed in regular clothes, hair pulled back and looking hot as hell.
"Danny! Hey—"
Danny stood, stone faced until she reached him. His eyes twinkled as the warm outdoor lighting kissed them, he looked like a fucking angel.
"I got drafted." His face lit up with all of the excitement that one person who had been through hell and had finally reached his dream could have.
"Oh my god! Danny! That's fantastic!" Lacey leapt into Danny's arms and he swung her around, "I'm so proud of you!"
Danny buried his face in her neck and refused to let her go. He held onto her like she'd float away if he did. After a few beats too long Lacey took action.
"Baby—" She pried his hands off of her and pulled him away, he was crying, "What's wrong? Oohhh, D—" She hugged him again, Danny's chest heaved a little.
"I leave Friday." Danny choked out.
For some reason, Lacey had forgotten all about this part. Surely joining an MLS team in New York wouldn't cause any more of a disruption than they had already gone through. A couple weeks on the road and then back again. Why was he so upset?
"Okay, wow, that's fast. It'll be okay, a big change but you're ready." Lacey tried to stay positive.
"Lacey—" He grabbed her hands and pulled her close, "The scouts were from Galaxy."
"Like, L.A. Galaxy?" California. Holy shit.
"Yes." Danny watched her intently.
"Oh my god, they're like, number one, right? Amazing Danny—" She tried to keep her shit together.
"Lacey, I don't want to end this."
Lacey teared up this time.
"Come with me."
"Like, now?" She couldn't even get her head around that.
"They have a place for me to live, everything will be paid for. You could transfer to a college out there. Come Friday, come at the end of this school year, whatever you want."
Lacey took a seat on the picnic table before she fell down.
"Danny I can't just go—"
Lacey had some cash, she had nothing else holding her here. She had picked Syracuse because it was only a couple hours away from her family and had an amazing art program. She had never contemplated moving to the other side of the country.
She had a reason to go, she was in love with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend who had a complex mental illness who was going to move twenty five hundred miles away from his support system of family and friends.
She didn't want him to be alone, but Lacey struggled with knowing the responsibility for the management of his health would inevitably fall on her alone if she went. Could he do this on his own? She knew it wasn't her job to plan Danny's life but she couldn't help but worry.
"You don't have to answer now. Think about it."
"What if I say no?"
"I'll totally understand, Lacey, I will. If you are not wanting to come along, I think we should call it off. The long distance thing won't work, I wouldn't want either of us to do that."
"So this is it, I'm either going with you, or this is where we end." Lacey said to herself.
"My contract is for two years. I'm making millions. If it doesn't work out, I'll get you back here. Trust me, please? Take this leap with me. Be a WAG." Danny smiled, love radiating from him, "I want you."
Her heart melted.
The pair walked back to Danny's place, Archie and Phoebe running out of the apartment the second they saw them.
"Drafted." Danny said confidently before they tackled him onto the cold hard ground.
"Hell yes!" Archie squealed.
"You did it, asshole!" Phoebe screamed.
"Shit guys, I can't get injured now, get off me!" Danny laughed from the bottom of their love pile.
Lacey helped her friends off the ground, pausing to brush Danny's ass off too many extra times.
"Are you spanking me right now?"
"Yes." Lacey smiled and headed inside to celebrate by drinking all of Danny's wine.
"I can't believe you're doing this." Phoebe sobbed into her best friend's shoulder.
"I'll get you out there to visit, okay? We'll go shopping on Rodeo and spend Danny's money." Lacey sobbed back.
Lacey had gone home to talk this opportunity through with her parents. They had flat out said no at first before warming up to her embracing these opportunities as they came.
Danny seemed stable, the trial was over and everyone agreed that maybe getting away from all of this negativity would help them both. Her parents promised that if it didn't work out, she could always go home.
In the span of three days they secured her a transfer into the fine art program at USC and Danny got her a flight with him. She was all in.
"I'm going to miss you." Archie cried, hugging Danny like he was about to be wheeled into a risky surgery.
"Love you, man. Take care of yourself." Danny would miss him too.
Lacey and Danny boarded their plane and settled in for the five hour direct flight into LAX.
"First class?" Lacey was shocked.
"I'm a baller now, baby!"
About halfway through their flight, the attendants came around with alcohol and snacks.
"This is nice." Lacey smiled and sipped her champagne.
Danny tapped his glass against hers in agreement.
"You're my ride or die, Lace, thank you for coming. I love you."
"Aww, Danny I love you too."
"I trust you—" Danny's face suddenly wasn't warm and happy anymore.
Lacey's stomach dropped a little and she wasn't sure why.
"You okay?"
"I killed Regina."
Lacey sat up straighter, her face in total shock.
"You—you what? What are you talking about?"
"I did." Danny nodded, "She needed a hook up but at that point we had stopped sleeping together. She asked me to choke her the way she loved and I did, I did. I waited too long and I couldn't revive her, so I left her on the floor."
"You were at your game—"
"No, I wasn't. Not the whole time. She left early that day and texted me. I left to help her out and came back after."
"Jo, she confessed—"
"I convinced her she did it."
"How—" Lacey mind raced back to Karen telling her how good Danny was at manipulating people.
"I was off my meds back then, just for a short time." He shrugged.
"She's in prison for the rest of her life—"
"Jo was an incredibly dangerous person. It all worked out, Jo's where she belongs now and so am I." Danny laced their fingers together, "I feel so much better getting that out."
"Have you been taking your medication?" Lacey asked, horrified.
"I don't need it." Danny smiled.
The final installment. As always, thank you for taking the time to post comments and feedback, I read them all and y'all are a riot! Please let me know if you're interested in reading other storylines that I have written for these two.
Dacey forever,
Twigg