Hurting You, Killing Me

Chapter Five:

Danielle's POV:

I shouldn't have been surprised at all when Johnny told me that Danny didn't take it well. Danny never had been good with his feelings to begin with; I shouldn't have thought that he would be able to accept that he had a daughter.

I felt bad for getting so upset in front of Johnny and Kitty. I knew they were trying hard to make sure that I knew they loved me. They had been so understanding of everything. I appreciated their effort, I really did. There were pictures of me everywhere and they bought me anything I could possibly want.

But…I still wanted Danny to be my father. With Kitty and Johnny, I just felt like I was stepping in and imposing on their little family. It had been just the two of them for so long; I didn't want to intrude, even though they assured me I wasn't.

All those countless nights I'd spent alone in the Ghost Zone, all I'd wanted was Danny. I cried for him almost every night. I was so happy when he needed help saving the world; I thought that maybe he would invite me to stay with him, even if only as his cousin. But he didn't, he completely ignored me.

I just didn't understand it; he'd seemed so upset when he thought I melted. He honestly looked like he'd lost a child, but then…he let me go. He didn't care…

I guess I'd fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, Johnny and Kitty were waking me up for dinner. I stretched and followed them into the dining room, taking my usual seat, across from Kitty and to the left of Johnny.

Kitty sat a plate down in front of me, along with a glass of milk. I took a sip and ate a few bites, but mostly just pushed my food around with a fork. "Are you okay, Danielle?" Kitty asked.

I looked up to find her staring at me in concern. "Yeah. I'm fine," I replied, pushing my hair back behind my ears.

"Okay…" she said, but she didn't seem convinced.

After the plates had been cleared away, Kitty brought out a chocolate cake, my favorite. She gave me the first piece she cut, a huge piece with a ton of frosting. I forced a smile, but only managed to eat a few bites.

I could tell that they were worried about me and that was only making me feel worse. I sighed, "Maybe…maybe I should just go away…"

"What?" Kitty asked, dropping her fork.

"I don't want to…be a burden on you guys anymore."

"Danielle, where is this coming from?" Johnny asked, reaching over and placing his hand over mine.

"I'm a freak. Nobody wants me. I shouldn't even exist."

"That is not true," Kitty said. "You're not a freak and we want you. We want you here with us, so we can keep you safe."

"I'm just causing you guys trouble. I was fine before..."

"Danielle, do you want to leave?" Johnny asked.

"No, but I-"

"You don't want to cause us trouble?" I nodded, looking down, and Johnny continued. "Danielle, you don't have to worry about causing us trouble ever. We want you here. If we didn't, we wouldn't have brought you here in the first place. Don't you ever worry that we don't want you here with us."

"Are you sure?" I asked quietly.

"Absolutely," Kitty answered.

I smiled at them and even managed to finish my cake, but I still couldn't ignore the feeling in the pit of my stomach.

That night, long after we'd all gone to bed, I lay awake, thinking about Danny. I couldn't help but wonder why he was so against me. I honestly was convinced that he loved me. It just didn't seem like him to tell Johnny what he did. I knew Johnny and Kitty weren't lying, but still, I couldn't comprehend why Danny was being the way he was.