Author's Note: Hello everyone. Sorry for the delay. I wanted to have this update posted by the weekend, but it didn't happen that way. But it's here now. I hope you all enjoy.
As I mentioned before, Clara is totally written from my personality. I'm glad so many of you like her. The name "Sister" that she and Lacey call each other is actually what my sisters and I call each other. There's 8 of us, so I guess you can all figure out why.
There's some harsh language in this chapter. I know most of you already know how I talk and how I write, so the cussing is normal to me. I could win an award for cussing. I don't feel bad about that at all. I know some people think I cuss too much, but I'm grown and I can say what I want. LOL. :D
I DO NOT own the lyrics to "Go Outside in the Rain" by Milira. They were used for entertainment purposes only.
Please enjoy this latest update. Reviews are hugs!
Danny felt uneasy as he looked around Lacey's house. He couldn't believe his eyes. Gone was Lacey's beautiful, yet hostile face. He was instead looking into the face of his dead father. Vikram looked just like he looked the last time Danny saw him. Alive and well. Vikram had the smirk on his face that Danny inherited. "Boo!" Vikram says as he looks at the sheer terror plastered on his only son's face. The look of content frightened Danny deep to his core. He closed his eyes, wishing the image in front of him would go away. When he opened them again, his body jerked in fear. He then looked around his office and realized he had dreamed about seeing his dead father. His sleepless night and heavy as a ton burdens wore him down to the point he fell asleep and had the nightmare of all nightmares.
The vision he had of his father seemed so vivid. He couldn't believe he dreamt all of that. It seemed so real that he asked his boss if he could leave work and he drove to Lacey's house. He felt her yank the door open and reluctantly let him in. He felt the rage oozing from her pores. He couldn't believe it wasn't real. Danny was starting to think he was really going off the deep end. The feeling nagged the hell out of him. He still felt like there was no way he was going to get any work done. He did just like he did in his nightmare/hallucination and called his boss and told him that he was ill and needed to leave. He would still drive to Lacey's house. He would still try to explain himself. He knew he wasn't going to see his father this time though. It was completely nonsensical for him to even entertain that thought. He had never had that nightmare before and ultimately attributed it to Regina coming in and wrecking things like a category five hurricane would. He hated and resented her for being able to come in and cause Armageddon, and then just leave in its wake. She probably didn't have a care in the world about what she did. There was no probably in it. She didn't care about the chaos she caused. Regina cared about nobody but herself and nothing but money. Danny started thinking that maybe she was an idiot for messing up the money Danny was going to give her to buy his freedom. Then he just pegged her as the sociopath that she is that thrived on the fact that she hurt him and messed up something good in his life.
Danny left his office and the building and drove to Lacey's house. He needed to put all of his cards on the table and clear the air. He needed her back in his life desperately. She had only been gone from his life for less than a day, and his life already felt weird and unreal without her in it. He hoped that she was home. She had to be. She had to let him in and let him talk. She had to let him explain. She had to listen. She had to forgive him. She just had to.
Lacey was in her bed, watching a daytime talk show. That's something that she never gets to do since she's always at work. It felt good to lounge around and not have a care in the world. Her phone went off yet again. Lacey had just turned it back on a half an hour ago. She checked it expecting to see a text from Danny. She wasn't even surprised when she saw one from Whitney instead. It read:
Hey. I know you're not feeling well. I hope you feel better soon. Is everything ok? Danny was acting weird. Ttys.
Lacey groaned out of frustration. So Danny was acting weird. Lacey slowly got out of bed and made herself presentable enough for her guest. She could just sense him heading towards her house. She knew he probably wouldn't want to prolong their talk. She turned off the tv and headed downstairs to wait. She just sat on her couch and wondered why she even thought to hide her car. Danny was persistent and always went after what he wanted. He wouldn't just accept that she wasn't home since he didn't see her car. He would still try to have his way. Like he could just will her to be there. Sarita already informed her that he came past and rudely interrupted her the night before.
She sat for a few more minutes in silence. She had much thinking to do. She started thinking about what she would say to Danny. She also prayed that she would listen to whatever he had to say to her. She had a right to be angry and nobody and nothing was going to take that away from her. She was lied to and misled. She was hoodwinked and bamboozled. All she wanted to know was why. Why Danny felt the need to crap on her emotions the way that he did. She was angry at herself for letting him. What a fool she was for getting involved with a man that she hated passionately. She knew she would have regrets about Danny for a long time to come.
Lacey heard his car pull into her driveway. She allowed him to pound on her door and ring her doorbell because she didn't want him to know she was waiting for him. Lacey got up off her sofa and walked over to the door. She slowly opened it and willed herself to not have any feelings for or attraction to Danny at that moment.
Danny gingerly smiled at Lacey before he began. "How are you feeling?" Danny asks.
"How I feel isn't important." Lacey answers in a sardonic expression.
"It is important. How you feel is important to me. Why didn't you come to work today?" Danny asks.
"Danny, you know why I didn't come to work. What do you want?" Lacey snaps.
"Can I come in? We need to talk." Danny says almost timidly.
Lacey stepped aside and let him in. No time like the present to get this over and done with. Danny reached out and tried to touch her as he walked past her. Lacey flinched. "Don't touch me." Lacey says dourly.
Danny genuinely looked hurt by her actions, but he can't really blame her. He hates that it has come to this. "Sorry." Danny offers as an apology.
She didn't want to dwell on the impending breakup, she just wanted it to be over. Lacey guided him over to sit on one of the adjoining chairs. She sat on the sofa. She forced herself to be cordial. "The floor is yours." Lacey says calmly.
Danny looks at Lacey in surprise. Her calm and stoic demeanor is jarring to him. "I know you're upset. I should have told you that I was married before and I'm sorry." Danny says truthfully.
"Yes, you should have told me. I don't appreciate being your fucking mistress. I really don't appreciate you making me your mistress without my consent. I don't fuck other people's husbands." Lacey expresses that with feelings of guilt, repulsion and resentment.
"You're not my mistress, Lacey. I wish you wouldn't think of yourself that way." Danny counters.
"You're married to another woman and I was sleeping with you. That makes me your mistress. I hate even saying that. My mother didn't raise me to be a damn mistress." Lacey replies in utter disgust.
Danny looks at her pained expression, and starts to feel her pain as well. "Yes, I am technically still married to her, but our marriage wasn't real and I haven't seen her since I was 19." Danny says before he pauses to stop. He can tell Lacey needs to ask him something.
"What do you mean your marriage wasn't real? Did one of you need a green card or something? Did you get drunk in Vegas and got married? How wasn't your marriage real?" Lacey inquires.
"My father hired her to seduce me for my money." Danny says and he really doesn't want to explain that, although he knows he has to.
Lacey looks confused. "I thought your father was drunk and drove off of a cliff." Lacey states.
Danny sighs. "He did that to fake his death. Then he hired her to get the life insurance policy he left me." Danny says.
"So you lied to me about your father being dead? You would really lie about something like that?" Lacey wonders incredulously.
"He is dead. I didn't lie about that. I just didn't know how to tell you that he faked his death." Danny answers honestly.
Lacey feels her blood start to boil. "I'm not understanding all of this clearly. Maybe I'm an idiot. I need you to explain it to me like I'm an idiot." Lacey says almost harshly.
"I met Regina at college. I fell in love with her because she seemed so perfect. Then my father died and she was really there for me. I wanted to marry her for being so loyal to me. I thought she didn't care about the money I inherited when my father died. Then she started acting strange, so I followed her. I saw her talking to my supposedly dead father and found out that it was all just a plan my father devised. She was sleeping with him too. So I started acting like I wasn't married-" Danny says but Lacey interrupts.
"Sounds familiar." Lacey says with much sarcasm and Danny just looks at her and tries to ignore what she just said.
"And I just started sleeping around until she got tired of it and asked for a divorce. She threatened to take all I had not knowing that I hid my money from her. She left after our confrontation and I haven't seen her since then. Not until she showed up at my place." Danny looks like a wounded animal as he waits for Lacey's reaction.
"So you cheated on your wife with more than just me? And all that bull you laid out to me about what and idiot Archie was for cheating on me, yet you were doing the same thing. And to think I actually believed you when you said you wouldn't cheat on me if I was with you. How silly of me to really believe that." Lacey spat.
Danny looks hurt by that. "Archie was an idiot for cheating on you. I wouldn't do that to you, I swear. I only cheated on her to get out of our marriage." Danny confesses.
Lacey cuts her eyes at him before responding. "You really think you're better than Archie? You really shouldn't bash him like you're better than him. You aren't. You're both the same. You don't think I know that anything a man does with me, he'll do to me? Why should I believe I'm special enough that you won't cheat on me too?" Lacey questions.
"Lacey, you are special enough to me. I wouldn't cheat on you. I haven't wanted another woman since I got with you." Danny counters truthfully.
"You really expect me to believe all of that?" Lacey asks sharply.
"Yes. I'm telling you the truth Lacey." Danny says as he locks eyes with her.
Lacey held it together as long as she possibly could. She then exploded at him seemingly lying to her face. "Well, let me tell you something. The fact that you lied about your father angers me. Because you knew that my father lived a damn lie. YOU FUCKING KNEW AND YOU STILL LIED TO ME TO MY FACE! You knew how devastated my mother was when she found out her life was a lie. YOU KNEW! You let me live a lie as well. YOU KEPT SHIT AWAY FROM ME I HAD A RIGHT TO KNOW! I introduced you to my mother thinking you were a great guy. You had me sleeping with you and you knew you had a damn wife out here. How could you just lead me on like that? You took me to meet your mother. She told me she wanted grandkids for god's sake! Was this just some sick little game you felt like playing? Did you tell her to tell me that to make me think she likes me?" Lacey asks. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She dared them to fall.
Danny is stunned by her outburst, but he's not surprised. He knows that she has a reason to be upset. "Lacey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't think you would understand. That's the only reason I kept this from you." Danny says. He runs his hand over his hair out of pure frustration. "I didn't tell my mother to tell you that, I swear. I didn't even know she told you that."
"I'm sorry, but I really don't believe that. You kept this from me to cover your own ass. You had so many opportunities to tell me that shit. So many. You knew I wouldn't want a damn thing to do with you since you're married. Why would your wife just show up all of a sudden and ruin what we had? Well, what I thought we had. You claim your marriage wasn't real, but our relationship wasn't real either." Lacey says as her voice cracks.
"She came here because I found her so that we could end our marriage. I can't stay married to her if I want to marry you." Danny says.
Lacey looks at him in shock. "You really think I'm a fool, don't you?" Lacey asks.
Lacey's question stuns Danny. "No, I don't think you're a fool. Why would you even ask me that?" Danny wonders.
"You must think I'm a fool if you expect me to believe this story you've just concocted. And then you try to pull the wool over my eyes with you telling me you want to marry me. There is no way in this world you could want to marry me. You got busted and that's the end of the story. I'm hurt, but it's my own damn fault for getting involved with you in the first place. I knew what you were, and I got with you anyway. Shame on me. I knew I should have stuck to hating your guts and avoiding you. But you got into my head and my bed. You seduced me the same way you claim your wife seduced you. I'm the fool that let her guard down. I'm such a damn idiot. I can't believe I let you do all the disgusting things I did with you. And the whole time, you had a wife. Do you have a child too that I don't know about?" Lacey asks harshly.
"No, I don't have a child that you don't know about. Lacey, you're being ridiculous." Danny says.
"You're right. I am being ridiculous. And stupid. For sitting here and listening to this bullshit." Lacey stands and walks over to her door to open it. "You need to leave. I have nothing else to say to you." Lacey says.
Danny just remains in the chair, unmoving. Lacey is not amused. "I'm not leaving yet. Not until you forgive me. I need you to forgive me." Danny short of begs with her to forgive him for hurting her.
"I forgive you. Now leave." Lacey says to Danny and this time he stands and walks over to the door.
Danny stops in front of her and Lacey looks off to the side to avoid having direct eye contact with him. "Thank you for listening and for forgiving me." Danny says sincerely as he reaches up to touch her. When she feels his finger glide across her neck, she jumps. She turns toward him and smacks his hand away.
"I asked you not to fucking touch me." Lacey says, her voice laced with hostility.
"Lacey, please let me make this up to you. Give me another chance." Danny pleads with her.
"I think you should focus on making up with your wife. You cheated on her, not me. There's nothing for you to make up to me. Please leave. Your wife is probably wondering where you are." Lacey says. She's going for the jugular and Danny doesn't know how to handle that.
"Will you please stop calling her my wife? She's not. I don't even know where she is. She left just as fast as she came." Danny says.
Lacey laughs. "But she is your wife, Danny. She is. I should feel sorry for you for not knowing where your wife is. I'm positively sure that you can find you another mistress to fulfill all your sexual needs. Go and find Valerie. I'm sure it wouldn't take much. All you would have to do is smile at her and her legs will just fly open. Leave my damn house now, please." Lacey says.
"Dammit Lacey, you're starting to make me angry. Stop calling Regina my wife and calling yourself my mistress. I don't want Valerie. I don't want any other woman but you. We can get past this." Danny says as he awkwardly smiles at her.
"Oh we will get past this. We'll go back to being enemies again. Only this time, I really mean it. You do know that this is over, right?" Lacey asks mockingly.
Danny gives her a woeful expression. "We don't have to go back to the way it was before. This doesn't have to be over. Don't you still love me?" Danny asks as he steps closer to her.
"Of course I love you. I love the hell out of you." Lacey says as she stares into his eyes. Danny knows what she means, considering their little play on words when it comes to them expressing how they feel about each other.
"I would much rather hear you say you hate me then." Danny says. "I know you can't have gotten over your feelings for me this fast." Danny states.
"I have nothing but feelings of animosity and disdain for you. Now leave my property before I have you removed. I'm ten seconds away from calling the damn cops. Would you rather leave willingly or forcefully? Either way, you're leaving." Lacey says strongly.
"You've threatened to call the cops before and you didn't, so that scare tactic doesn't work on me." Danny says surely.
"Danny, I am as serious as a heart attack that if you don't get the hell out of my house, my face, and my life, I will make your wife a damn widow." Lacey says in the nastiest tone possible.
Danny looks at her with a stunned look on his face. He never thought he would hear Lacey actually say something like that to him. He sticks his neck out. "That threat won't work on me either." Danny says as he gives her the smirk that usually made her weak in the knees.
Lacey just looks at him and he can't read the expression on her face. She starts to walk up her stairs without a word. Danny doesn't know what she's doing, so he shuts the door and follows her. Bad move. He sees Lacey in her bedroom. She leaned across her bed to grab her phone, and stood back up with her back turned to him. She unlocked the screen and Danny saw her press the 9. He grabbed her from behind before she could dial anything else. Him grabbing her startled her and caused the phone to slip from her hands and land on the floor. He kicked her phone under the bed. That did nothing but anger Lacey more. She started to swing at Danny and he pulled her into a bear hug and pretty much tackled her to the bed.
"Let me go, Danny! I want you to leave!" Lacey says as she tries to swing at him again but all of his body weight is on hers.
"I know that this is a lot to take in." Danny says quietly.
"A lot?! No, this is too much." Lacey says as she tries to break free from him.
"Lacey, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you, but you need to calm down." Danny says.
"I will calm down once you let me go." Lacey says as she continues to struggle from his hold. Suddenly, everything is too heavy for Lacey. She admits defeat, and just starts to cry. Her crying turns into hysterics. Danny changes his grasp on her from forceful to lovingly holding her. He feels terrible that she's that hurt, and she doesn't have to be.
"Lacey, stop crying and calm down. I know I hurt you and I'm sorry." Danny says in a somber tone.
"Danny, please just leave. This is too much for me. If you really care about me, you'll respect my wishes and just leave. Please." Lacey says sadly and solemnly.
Danny lets out a sigh of exasperation. He knows he should do what she asks, even though it kills him to do so. "Ok, I'll leave. I don't want to, but I will. I'm sorry that I hurt you Lacey. I really am." Danny says truthfully.
"I'm sorry that you hurt me too." Lacey says gravely. She finally felt Danny release the hold he had on her and slowly sat up on the side of her bed. Since she was fully free from him, she turned her body to face the wall.
"Lacey..." Danny intends to speak, but he can't find the right words to say to her.
"We're done." Lacey says without emotion.
Danny reluctantly accepted his fate and got off the bed. He left Lacey's house and her life without a word.
Danny got into his car and pulled out of Lacey's driveway. He felt like he would be doing that for the last time. He was angry and frustrated. He felt like he was either in quicksand, or someone cut his legs off at the knees. He felt useless and hopeless. Just a mere 24 hours before, his life was fine and made sense. He was in a blossoming relationship with a woman he loved dearly and loved him as well. Now because of Regina, she was gone. He really thought that once he explained things, Lacey would calm down and be by his side again. That was not the case. She was just as angry as the night before. And behind all that anger he saw a woman who was truly hurt. All because of Regina. He had some blame in it as well because he should have told her. He should have. Now he's paying the price for that.
He drove to his place because there really wasn't anywhere else he wanted to go other than Lacey's house. She already kicked him out of there, so the only place for him to go was home. He pulled into his usual parking spot and walked up to his door. He saw the bag sitting there and he knew it was for him. He remembered the little altercation he had with Archie and Lacey and him mentioning how she left all his stuff on his doorstep.
I see she's consistent. Danny thought glumly as he picked it up and entered his building. He felt like an old man. He was completely drained. He was also furious and hurt. He wanted to turn green and wreck shit. He was so mad at Regina that he would probably strangle the life out of her if he saw her again. He knew he would have to see her when they went to court to dissolve their marriage. He took comfort in the fact that there would be armed guards around so that he wouldn't be enticed to kill her as soon as he laid eyes on her. She fucked up his life in more ways than one. He was glad he hadn't already given her the money he was going to give her to sign the papers saying their marriage was a fraud. He knew he would have to find some kind of way to repay her for fucking up the best thing in his life.
Lacey continued to lay in her bed for she didn't know how long. Her chat with Danny had stressed her the hell out. She was just glad that they had their chat and it was over. Now all she needed was her stuff from his place. She hoped he wouldn't be immature and not give her the things she left there. She felt like asking for her stuff, but she didn't want any contact with him at all. She didn't want to involve anyone else in it because they were both adults. She just hoped that Danny would do the honorable thing and give her her things back. She felt silly for focusing on material things when she wanted things back that she knew she couldn't get back. Her love, time, heart, and her body. He played with all four like he was at the carnival. She wondered which one he got the biggest prize for.
She made a mental list and thought of how easily and ruthlessly he led her on to get those four things from her. He came out winning. She had lost big, while he was completely victorious. He got a woman who essentially hated him to love him. She gave all of her free time to him, except for the times she decided to stay away as a benefit to him. She gave him her heart when she knew she shouldn't have. She had just broken up with Archie. She should have given her heart time to heal. And her body. She didn't give her body time to heal or rest. He got her panties off and had her in his bed in lightning speed. That must have all been a part of the plan. From the first time she came over his place, he had played her. From the moment he went down on her, he was playing her. The damn sofa turned into a bed. Of course he did that shit all the time. Of course he did. He turned her into another notch on his belt.
That slick bastard. Lacey thought. She got up to get her phone from under her bed then she went to turn her iPod on. She was sad and depressed and wanted music to accompany how she felt. Listening to sad music somehow made her feel better. She was alone and could do what she pleased. She was done with the crying. She wanted to share her misery. She turned on Go Outside in the Rain by Milira.
The days begun
And there's no one inside this empty house to love me Oh, no
No one to share my love with
No one to care no one who's here to take care of me
Nobody
Why must I feel so lonely without you here?
How I wished it was only a dream
When I think of all the love we shared
I can't make the tears stop rolling down my face
That's why I wanna go outside in the rain (in the rain)
So no one, no one, no one, knows that I'm crying
I wanna go outside in the rain (go outside in the rain)
To drown my pain, pain
Oh Lord I see so many eyes on me
And I imagine what they're saying
They're saying I'm a fool
They're saying I'm a fool if I'm still in love with you
Don't they know I'm only human, human
When I look out, of my window and see the rain
I see visions of you in every drop
And when I think of all the times we shared
I can't make the tears stop rolling, rolling down my face and I want to
Go outside in the rain
Yes, I do, I wanna go outside
Don't want nobody to see me crying
Go outside in the rain
And drown my, my pain, pain...
Some people, (some people)
Feel deeply, (feel deeply)
That true love (that true love)
Won't fade (Won't fade away) won't fade
Hold tightly (Hold tightly)
Love mightily (love mightily)
And love will save the day
But then my baby's gone away
I don't want to go back inside baby
My eyes are tearin
My heart is achin
I can't go back inside baby
Help me, baby, help me
My heart is in pain
I walk into the rain
To try to drown the pain
Oh, baby, if you knew what I was talking about
I'm living here all alone, baby
No one to live with me
No one to take care of me
I can't go back inside
Go outside in the rain
I gotta see ya standin' there
If I don't see ya standin' there baby
I'll go crazy baby
I can't go back inside
I gotta keep walkin' in the rain baby
I gotta try to drown out the pain baby
Lacey was singing along to the music when her phone going off interrupted her. She was about to turn it back off because she feared it was Danny, but she saw that it was Clara. She was probably still worried about her. Lacey decided to answer to let her baby sis and best friend know she was ok.
"Hello?" Lacey answers.
"Sister? Where are you?" Clara asks.
"I'm in the house, Why?" Lacey wonders.
"I'm outside and I don't see your car." Clara replies.
"I had to hide my car in the back. I was hiding from Danny." Lacey says.
"I'm coming in." Clara says and she hangs right up.
Lacey turned off her iPod and headed downstairs as Clara was coming through the door. Clara gave her a hug as soon as she shut the door. Lacey feels Clara rub her back and she forces herself not to break down. "Thanks Sister." Lacey says as she guides Clara over to the sofa so they can sit and chat.
"So what happened with you and Danny?" Clara asks.
"Well, to make a long story short. He's married." Lacey says and waits for Clara to explode.
"HE'S WHAT?!" Clara asks.
"He's married, Sister." Lacey says sadly. She hates that everything has been turned upside down.
"You're going to have to tell me the whole story. I can't believe he's married." Clara says.
"I can't believe he's married either. Well, yesterday Danny and I were cooking dinner together when the front door buzzed. I let the person in and a woman walks off the elevator." Lacey says but Clara has to interrupt.
"What does she look like?" Clara asks.
"She's about 5'6", thin with strawberry blonde hair and green eyes. She's pretty." Lacey says.
"Humph." Clara says.
"I know." Lacey says.
"Do we have to go and beat her down?" Clara asks.
"No, Clara." Lacey says.
"But I want to." Clara says and Lacey ignores her statement.
"Can I finish now?" Lacey asks but doesn't wait for an answer. "Danny looked like he saw a ghost and now I know why. He was speechless, so I introduced myself to her as Danny's girlfriend and shook her hand. She smiled at me and told me she was his wife. Danny looked like a deer caught in headlights. I put my clothes on faster than I ever have. Danny followed me around his place and tried to explain, but I didn't want to hear shit he had to say. She sat on the couch and watched like she was enjoying it. I left and went to a hotel because I knew he was going to go looking for me. I didn't go to work today, but he did because of the way he was dressed. He came over here and told me this fantastic story about how his father hired her to seduce him for his money and that his father faked his death. He said he only tried to find her because he wanted to end their marriage so that he could marry me. He said their marriage wasn't real and that he didn't tell me because he didn't think I would understand. He says he got rid of her when he found out the truth and he hasn't seen her since he was 19. I told him I didn't appreciate him making me his mistress and I told him I would make his wife a widow if he didn't leave my house. I broke up with him and he left." Lacey says. She finally finishes and looks at Clara who has a funny look on her face. "What?" Lacey asks after Clara hasn't said anything.
"Sister, if the story he told you is true, then I think you're overreacting." Clara says.
"What?! I'm overreacting? Are you kidding me?" Lacey asks incredulously.
"He hasn't seen her in so long though. He only hid it from you because that's a hard story to tell someone. It's not like he was living a double life and cheating on his wife with you." Clara says.
"But he kept it from me. I told him about Dad and the lie he kept from Mom. He should have told me. I can't believe you're taking his side." Lacey admits sadly.
"I'm not taking his side. Yes, he should have told you. But he wants to marry you. I think you should forgive him." Clara says quietly.
"I can't believe you! You're just as bad as he is." Lacey says harshly.
"I'm not just as bad as he is. I would hate to see you lose a guy you love over something stupid. I think you should go and talk to him. Maybe talk to him and her, to see if he's telling the truth. I think you two can get past this." Clara offers as a suggestion.
Lacey looks at Clara and is madder than she has ever been at her sister. She just stands and heads for the stairs. "I think you need to leave. Bye, Sister." Lacey says without looking back.
"Sister!" Clara yells after Lacey. All she hears is Lacey slam her bedroom door close.
Danny was laying in his bed sulking when his phone rang. He only checked it out of the pure hope that it was Lacey calling him to tell him she had time to think and wanted to get back with him. He was highly disappointed when he saw that it was his mother. He didn't feel like talking to Karen, but he hadn't talked to her in a while. Plus, she was persistent. She worried about her only son and would call until she could get in touch with him. Danny decided to get on with it and answer the phone to let her know he was ok so he could go back to hating his life and himself.
"Hello." Danny answered in a tone he tried to fake. He thought he sounded happy.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Karen asks.
"Nothing much. I just have a headache." Danny says. He really does after thinking so much.
"It's nothing serious is it? I called your office and I didn't get an answer." Karen says.
"I left work early, because I couldn't focus. I'm fine though." Danny lies.
"Did you take anything? Have you eaten?" Karen asks in a loving, motherly tone.
"No and no. I'll fix myself something soon." Danny offers.
"Good. How's Lacey?" Karen asks.
"Lacey, my ex girlfriend is fine." Danny says bitterly.
"Ex?" Karen asks quizzically.
"Yeah, ex. She broke up with me." Danny says.
"Why? I thought things were going good." Karen states.
Danny chuckles despite himself. "Things were going good until Regina came here and fucked up everything. Sorry, Mom." Danny says.
"That tramp bitch." Karen says. She hated Regina from the beginning, and that won't change. "Why did she come back here?" Karen asks.
"Just to screw me over one last time. Lacey was angry and hurt. In all the years I've known her I've never seen her that upset. She told me she hates me. She even threatened to make Regina a widow." Danny says in a doleful tone.
"Wow. She was really upset. I'm sorry honey." Karen says.
"My life is now ruined. I lost the best thing in my life because of Regina." Danny responds.
"I can't believe she would come here even after you offered her money. I still hate that scandalous bitch. I told you she was no good." Karen says to remind him of how young and stupid he was.
"I know, Mother. You don't have to remind me what a dummy I was." Danny says sarcastically.
"I'm sorry, Danny. I'm sorry that you're in pain. Is there anything I can do?" Karen asks.
"Make Lacey come back to me." Danny says bleakly.
After Danny ended his phone call with his mother, he decided to follow her advice and fix himself something to eat. He had been so preoccupied with thinking about Lacey, that he forgot to eat. Now his body demanded that he eat something. Maybe that would make his headache go away. He knew the one, maybe two things that would make him feel better.
He walked into his kitchen and looked in his fridge. He didn't feel like cooking anything. He decided to order himself a pizza. He was glad he had a few beers in the fridge too. He needed it to calm his nerves. He would get drunk and think about the good times he had with Lacey. He would try to not think about killing Regina. He was glad his father was already dead because he would think about killing him too. Vikram brought Regina into his life. What a great father he had.
Danny heard his front door buzz. He assumed it was his pizza, but he was wrong. He had another uninvited guest. This visitor was worse than the last one.
This one actually scared him.
Author's Note Again: Some of you got a little overzealous with your guesses in the reviews for what Danny saw when he first entered Lacey's house at the end of Chapter 15. I had to change what I originally was going to do because I like to keep you guys on your toes. When people can actually guess what I'm going to do next, it makes me feel like I'm losing my touch. I won't say what I was going to do, but I hope the change wasn't disappointing. Thank you for reading.