Dark Danny Pt.2

It was Saturday afternoon and Danny was at home noticeably depressed that he didn't have anyone he could call besides Rico who wasn't answering his phone.

Danny suppressed the urge to think of Rico being intimate with Lace instead choosing to believe that Rico would never do that to him knowing how he felt about her.

His Lace Danny thought possessively recalling the name he had used whenever he tried to reach Lacey. It symbolized the love and tenderness Danny felt for her and he couldn't help thinking that it wasnt a coincidence that she had chosen to identify herself with it.

Nervously tucking his loose hair behind his ears Danny decided on a whim to give Jo a call and let her know Lacey was back in town. Her phone rang a couple of times but just before Danny was going to end the call she picked up the phone.

"Hello" she said sounding gruff. Danny could hear the sound of wind moving in the background like she was in a car

"Hey" Danny said trying to be non threatening. "

"May I help you? She said strangely without saying his name leading Danny to assume rightly that she was with Tyler.

"I guess you have company" he said trying to play along. "but I called because ..

"I'm sorry you must have the wrong number Jo said acting. She continued in a mock conversation as Danny listened confused.

"Umm hmm" she said "Oh its no problem at all.

"Jo are you okay" Danny said lost. "I just wanted to find out what happened to you yesterday."Maybe we could meet up tonight so you can tell me what the emergency was"?

She interrupted him laughing casually and said "Yeah one night I accidentally texted my friends to meet me at our old fort so it happens but anyway sorry I couldn't help you" and the phone went dead.

Danny held the phone in his hands looking at it knowing she had never accidentally texted him and Lacey, then it clicked and he got the message. For some reason Jo didn't want Tyler finding out that she wanted to meet up with him tonight at the fort.

Danny decided to call Rico one more time, angrily tossing the phone on the floor when he didn't answer

Deep breaths Danny, he thought before he headed downstairs to eat something.

—

Karen was cleaning out the fridge when she heard the sound of Danny's footsteps on the stairs.

"Hey" she called to him. " I'm shocked to see you're up after you got in so late last night".

"Yeah well I am too" he said as he headed into the kitchen seeming frustrated.

Seeing he was upset Karen asked"Danny whats wrong with you and before you say its nothing remember I may be your mom but I'm also your biggest cheerleader"."So what's going on"?

Realizing that squabbling with his mother wouldn't help when what he really wanted to do was talk, Danny exhaled "I saw Lacey"!

"YOU SAW LACEY"! "Where was she"? "How was she?" Karen asked thinking of how fond she had always been of Lacey ever since she had moved into their neighborhood an adorable pig tailed girl of 4

She paused seeing that Danny wasn't as excited as she was. "Danny I thought finding Lacey was a good thing"?

"It is". He said trying to explain. "Its just that she's not the same Lacey that you remember".

"Well the Lacey I remember was always complex even when she was a little girl" Karen said.

"Like that one night she called you after Judy and Samuel got into a fight" Danny tried to remember but there were so many so he let his mother continue

"When I tried to get her to talk about it the only thing she would say was she was worried about her mom and wanted to talk to you". "I figured it was important but I didn't find out how important until I talked to Judy the next day but I noticed that after that day Lacey acted as if it never happened.

Danny remained silent taking it all in

"My point is I can't imagine what she's going through with the whole school seeing that video of you and her but I suspect that since she's always carried a lot on her shoulders maybe after she left she wanted to leave all of that behind".

Danny really listening to his mother for once thought about all that Lacey went through. He thought how about she always managed everyone's problems. Seeming effortlessly to make everything insurmountable seem small and that's what he loved about her.

With all the troubles in Danny's life he needed that her logical balanced perspective to cancel out his crazy ideological one. It was clear that just as he needed her she needed him too but somehow Danny had managed to miss that.

"What do I do"? Danny said unsure now about which way to approach her

Karen sensing Danny's despair wanted to encourage him so she said "Lacey is a lot like me Dannys she needs to know that you'll be there even if she's at her worst and you love her so I know you will just make sure she knows it too".

Danny grabbed a banana out of the centerpiece bowl then came around the island to hug his mom."Thanks" he said to her before hurrying back upstairs.

Karen pleasantly surprised started to think that maybe Danny would need her help because if Lacey was as much like her as she thought he would have his work cut out for him.

She smiled looking up at the ceiling thanking the heavens that it wasn't Kyles daughter that he had chosen

Talking with his mother had done Danny a world of good. If he really thought about it he could understood now why Lacey wanted to keep their relationship secret until they cleared his name.

Back then he thought she was being selfish, only protecting herself but seeing the fallout from people knowing he realized that she was also trying to protect him Jo and their budding relationship from the backlash.

He also realized that he had not stood by her when she needed him the most. It was simpler at the time to worry about Jo's feelings than it was to repair Lacey's trust because Danny knew he would have to work twice as hard to regain it, but by doing that he had shown her that yet again her feelings were second to others.

She deserved better than that. She deserved someone who saw her inner child and cherished it so she could laugh and play without worrying about everyone else and what they needed from her and Danny was going to show her that she would never be second to anyone.

He strengthened himself for the battle ahead by remembering the daily feeling of drifting when Lacey was gone. He had been lost without her to anchor him and he kept sane by promising himself that when he found her he would never take her honesty and faith in him for granted again.

Danny took a shower and got dressed thinking ahead to his meeting with Jo

He wondered when they would meet since she hung up the phone before he could ask. As if she read his mind his cellphone buzzed with a message from her. All it said was the number 8.

Alrighty then Danny thought looking at the alarm clock on his bedside table. Eight o'clock it is.

—