Reaching Out From Solitude
Svenne14
Summary:
Daniel can't take it anymore. Being alone, it's eating him up from the inside. He needs somebody to talk to. Somebody he knows...
Chapter 1: Is There Still Hope?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
One month after the border incident…
One whole month had passed since he arrived here. When he arrived in Puerto Lobos, Daniel had been crippled with guilt, covered in blood, and broken both physically and mentally. None of that had changed really. He was still covered in blood, however, in a more metaphorical way… most of the time. As it turned out, Puerto Lobos wasn't very big. What that meant to Daniel, was that word traveled fast of a new homeless kid in town. Daniel had woken up more than once by gang members, either about to hurt him, or recruit him. No matter what their purpose had been, he made sure that none were left alive.
Life in Mexico was rough, but he had found a few easy ways to make a living. Pickpocketing is ridiculously easy with his powers, even if he doesn't like it. At least, he didn't at first. Now… he doesn't care. That way, he's able to buy all that he needs using real money. Food, clothes, all the basic stuff.
Then came the tourists…
The naive American tourists, wearing expensive golden jewelry to the beach. It was just… too easy. Daniel made a small fortune over the weekend, selling all that shit to a local "pawn shop." Thanks to that, his father's house now has electricity, water, and he even has a bed. That he's never used. Sure, it might sound good on paper. On the outside, Daniel might look like any other boy in town, except for the scar on his face. On the inside, however, things are… different. He doesn't feel angry anymore, or sad. He doesn't feel much of anything, really. Nothing gives him joy, he never feels happy, Daniel never smiles or laughs. The loneliness in Mexico is tearing him apart. He's got nobody to talk to. And… he really needs to talk to somebody, about everything.
Daniel had stolen a phone last week. Lucky for him, the idiot owning the phone, didn't use a password. He's spent the last week thinking about it. Daniel knew it would be a bad idea. Then again, could things really get any worse for him?
"Fuck it!" He sighs. He's doing it. Question is, who to call? He really wants to call his mother, but she was arrested. Somebody else. His grandparents would just demand to know where he is, and he doesn't want that now. He just wants- needs some emotional support. From a friend. He knows who to call now, thank god this phone had internet so he could look up the number. Daniel takes a deep breath, presses the call button, and can feel how his body shaking in fear.
"BEEP" Fuck… this was a terrible idea.
"BEEP" Nobody's answering… he's alone.
"BEEP" It's over. Why would anyone even want to talk to him? How fucking stupid-
"Hello?" A voice says on the other end of the line. He recognized it immediately. Daniel can't even speak.
"Hello? Anyone there?" Same voice, just a bit agitated. Daniel tries to get it together, but all he manages to do is breathe heavily into the phone like a creep.
"I know someone's there, I can hear you." Fuck! Daniel uses what little self-esteem is left inside of him, finally managing to say one single four-letter word.
"L- Ly- Lyla…?" The other end of the phone went silent. Daniel's frozen in fear. Does she… know? Is she going to hate him for what he's done? She should…
"Holy- holy… shit. Holy shit, holy shit, holy SHIT! Daniel?! Is that… really you?" He can hear how Lyla's already crying.
"Yeah. It's- it's me, Lyla. It's Daniel." He still didn't know how to react. Was she happy, or was she… angry?
"Oh, Daniel! Thank god you're alive! I- I don't even know… what to say. I've been so worried for you." Daniel instantly felt an enormous weight leave his entire body. Somebody out there still cared about him. Maybe… there's still hope?
"Yeah, Lyla. I'm ok. I'm safe, kinda." Neither of those was anywhere close to being true. But at this moment, he actually felt… happy.
"God, Daniel. I missed you so much, where the hell are you, kid?" He can't, he just… can't.
"I'm sorry, Lyla. I can't… tell you. I'm just calling because… Sean always wanted to, when we were on the road. He was so worried about you. How- how are you?" Daniel mentally punches himself in the face for mentioning his brother.
"Wow, Daniel… you've really grown up, haven't you?" It's not like he had much of a choice. He can hear Lyla sigh on the other end.
"When you guys left, I was in a really… bad place. I've been in a psychiatric ward since before Christmas. I still am, Daniel… I can use my cellphone, but no internet whatsoever. I've been completely cut off from the world. No internet, no television, not even a fucking newspaper. But… I'm getting a lot better." Shit. She's really been affected by all this shit.
"I'm… so sorry, Lyla," Daniel tells her as genuine as he possibly can.
"It's fine, Daniel. Not your fault. How are things with you? Do you like it, wherever it is that you live now…?" Daniel sets the phone down, putting on the speaker. His hands are shaking so badly, he almost drops it to the floor.
"No… I don't." He closes his eyes.
"You don't? What's wrong? Talk to me, Daniel?" He can hear in her voice, how worried she is.
"I- I- everything here just fucking SUCKS! It's terrible. Kids beat me up, adults beat me up, I steal money from innocent people to survive! I've been shot in my shoulder, TWICE! Now, my entire shoulder is fucked up, so I can't even use my right arm like I want to! I- I can't do SHIT here! I FUCKING HATE IT!" Daniel collapses to the floor, the phone next to him. He cries silently.
"Nobody… nobody gives a shit about me." Daniel sobs silently into the phone as Lyla listens in fear.
"Daniel!" He doesn't answer. This was a bad idea. What the fuck was he thinking?
"I can hear you, Daniel. I know you're still there, and… I care about you. I really do." Daniel can only think of one thing to say.
"Why…?" He could not in a million years understand, why she still cared about… him.
"What the f- what do you mean why? You're adorable, sweet, funny, nice, awesome, and just… good, Daniel." She doesn't know how wrong she is.
"No. I'm not good, Lyla. I'm just… a monster." Daniel cried, still lying on the floor.
"Daniel, I love you… but I want you to do something for me now, ok? Can you do that, buddy?" She sounded very… serious.
"Sure… whatever." At this point, he didn't really care anymore.
"Good, Daniel. Now, I want you to go and get Sean. I have to talk to him about this, ok?" Half a second after hearing his brother's name, Daniel now sat up, and all that weight came back, a thousand times heavier.
"No…" It was barely audible… barely.
"Come on, Daniel. You said that you could do it. Just… trust me." Fuck. She's been cut-off so long that… she doesn't know. Daniel is taken back to that day, the day at the border. How he forced the car through the border, all the people he killed on the way. The sheer amount of pure joy he felt as he took his first breath of the Mexican freedom, and howled in victory. Then, he turned to Sean, and everything went to shit. Forever.
"No, no, please don't! SEAN!" Daniel screams, just as he did upon discovering his brother's fate.
"Daniel, what the hell is going on?!" Lyla screams, voice full of concern.
"He- he's… Sean-" He can't say it. Never.
"Daniel! You tell me… right now… what the fuck is going on. Where is Sean?" Concern had turned to fear.
"I- I- I'm so sorry, Lyla. Sean… at the border… he… died." Daniel needed almost a whole minute to say this one sentence. This was the first time he said out loud that his brother was dead. It hurt him… so much. But something else scared him, at this moment. Lyla was completely silent. Not a word, no panic attack, nothing. Silence.
"… Lyla?" Daniel asks after almost two minutes of silence. As soon as he spoke, he heard a deafening cry. So loud it almost broke his eardrum, so sad it would have broken his heart if he still had one that is. Fuck. What did he do? She said she was getting better. Then, he calls and fucks everything up. Like always.
"Lyla. Please… I- I need help. Help me, please…" He didn't know why he said it, but it didn't matter.
"NOOO!" One last cry, followed by a loud crashing sound, and the call ended abruptly. Lyla Park threw her phone towards a brick wall, breaking it into a million pieces. Daniel Diaz falls back to the floor of his beach house, wondering what the fuck the point of this was. He just ended up hurting another person he loves. That's… what he does. He hurts people. If only he could speak to someone that understands him, what he's been through. Somebody that knows about his… curse.
"Wait… Daniel, you fucking dumbass!" He says to himself as he slaps his own face. Daniel picks up the phone and calls a different number, to a different friend. A friend that always saw the good in him, even when Daniel only saw the bad. And now… he really only saw the bad stuff. He dials the number, hoping that his friend will answer. The phone rings once, twice, and then, somebody picks up.
"Hello, who is it?" Daniel forgot how happy he always was. He never understood how… he did it.
"Chris…?" Daniel's even more scared now, than when he called Lyla.
"Dani- Superwolf?!" Chris calls out, sounding overjoyed.
"Yes, Chris. It's me, it's… Superwolf."
Notes:
I always wondered what would happen if Daniel were to contact people from his past. Apparently, nothing good. Chapter 2 coming soon.
Chapter 2: Maybe...?
Summary:
Daniel tells his best friend about the horrors he's faced since they last saw each other. Will Chris really be able to understand...?
Notes:
Read tags and all that stuff...
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Daniel held his breath, too afraid of what might happen if he were to speak. He could hear Chris breathing on the other end of the line, apparently doing the very same thing. This got awkward fast.
"You- you're alive? You really are alive? I- I can't believe it… I knew it. Everyone told me to just… move on. But I couldn't. You were the only real friend that I've ever had, Daniel." The remaining Diaz brother can't help but wonder… how much, if anything, Chris knows.
"Thanks, Chris. You're the best friend I ever had. You, and… Sean." Fuck, why did he say that? He's so fucking stupid. Just saying his brother's name makes him cry. He can't stop it. Tears are pouring down his face, and at this point, he can't be bothered to care anymore.
"Daniel… I- I want to ask you something? Something serious…?" Chris's voice had a tone of fear and worry that Daniel never heard before.
"Sure, I- I guess…" There's no point escaping it, really.
"What happened to the two of you after you left Beaver Creek? All I know is that Sean… didn't make it over the border. I- I guess you did, Daniel. I'm so sorry about Sean. He was a great guy. Must have been an awesome brother…" Shit. Chris only knows that Sean's dead, but not… how. He's not sure if he can do this.
"Thank you, Chris. Sean really is… was… awesome. I just… didn't realize it, until it was too late. I'm sorry too, for making it out alive." He truly believes that he would be better off dead.
"Daniel, don't ever say stuff like that. Do you hear me?" Yeah, you say that now. Daniel's wondering if Chris will be able to repeat the same thing after knowing the full story. Probably not. Most likely not.
"I'm not the same person anymore, Chris. Too much… bad shit has happened." Daniel closes his eyes, takes a few deep breaths…
"After Beaver Creek… we ended up in California, working on an illegal weed farm." He could hear Chris gasp. If the weed farm itself was that bad, this probably won't end well.
"Weed, like… drugs, Daniel?" Chris almost whispered the word "drugs." Like it would cause him to self-combust if anyone heard him say it.
"Yeah, that kind of weed." Daniel could hear Chris getting up and closing a door.
"But… nobody ever used it, right? Especially Sean?" This actually caused Daniel to smile a little.
"Dude, do you have any idea of how much weed Sean used to smoke in Seattle? In California, everyone smoked it. Well, not me of course." Daniel was actually starting to enjoy this conversation.
"Oh my god, Daniel. How- how long were you there?" Ok, now he's not really enjoying it anymore. He tells Chris everything about Humboldt. How angry he was at Sean, how he was forced to work, everything. It felt good to finally talk about it.
"Daniel, you had gone through hell, and so had Sean. He liked it there because he had people his own age to talk to. That, and… weed, I guess. He didn't ignore you on purpose because he didn't care. Sean probably just felt like he… found a place where he could relax, and be himself. He trusted the others to take care of you, and he trusted you. But it's still normal to feel like… nobody cares. Like… you're alone in this world. And the one person supposed to look after you… changes… to someone, something… else. Something… bad. You were afraid, Daniel. Afraid of losing your brother. You just… didn't know how to say it." Wow… when did Chris Eriksen become a psychiatrist?
"Yeah, I guess. But it still doesn't excuse what… happened." He's really not comfortable talking about the next part.
"So… that guy, Finn? How did Sean react when he found out that Finn tried to force you to go along with it?" Shit. This is it.
"Uhhh… I- I… Chris, I made a lot of… mistakes." Daniel's stuttering so badly he can barely speak.
"It's ok, Daniel. We all make mistakes." No. Not like this.
Daniel tells him about the heist. How he had approached Finn, demanding to do it, and not the other way around. About Sean and Cassidy coming after them, Merrill with his shotgun. Daniel getting shot and… losing control. Chris is completely silent the entire time.
"… And when he shot me… it- it hurt so much, Chris. It hurt so much. I lost control. The entire house… destroyed. I passed out, and when I woke up, Sean-" Daniel can't say it, he just… can't.
"Daniel? What happened… when you woke up? What about Sean?" God Chris, don't you ever watch the fucking news?!
"He- he was covered in… blood, and- and his eye had a piece of… glass in it. I- I thought he was dead, Chris. I really did." Daniel cries out. Chris makes a sound like he's about to throw up.
"You didn't mean to, Daniel. It was just… an accident. A horrible accident. You know that, just as well as I do. It wasn't your fault." Sean had told him that so many times, it no longer meant anything.
"Whatever…" He sighs.
"You wanted to help, Daniel. You wanted to get out of there, go to Mexico. What happened, isn't what you wanted, so how can it possibly be your fault?" Actually… that's a good question.
"I- I don't… uhm…" Well played, Chris, well played.
"Exactly! It can't be! Stop blaming yourself, Daniel." He wished he could do that. How the fuck does Chris do it?
Daniel continues, telling Chris everything about the horrors of Haven Point, and how he finally got to meet his mother. It was… difficult for him, talking about it. Haven Point was something that not even Sean could get him to talk about at times. Add to that his mother, a sensitive topic even back in Seattle… and he's right on the edge.
"Wow, Daniel. I- I don't even know what to say. Sean… went through all of… that? For you?" Yes, but he didn't have to.
"But I just watched him get beat up, Chris. I did… nothing." He did nothing because he IS nothing.
"You were brainwashed, Daniel. Manipulated. Haven Point was a cult. It's… what they do. It sucks, but it's… true. Sorry, man." Daniel always felt so stupid for buying into all the lies Lisbeth told him. Maybe Chris had a point? Either way, Daniel felt a lot better when finished speaking about it.
"But I really believed it, Chris. And instead of just… walking away, I burn down the church." His grandmother would not be proud.
"Yeah. You did, Daniel. I'm not gonna lie, it's not exactly… a great thing to do. But just like the farm, it was an accident." Chris doesn't get it, does he? He doesn't get that Daniel's not… good.
"Yeah, but-"
"No, Daniel. Plus, you finally got to meet your mom. Be happy about that, at least. I- I wish… I could meet my mom. But I can't." No, because she's dead.
"I know, Chris. I- I know." Both boys are silent after realizing why Chris can't ever meet his mom again.
"So… what happened, Daniel? You know, at the… border?" He could hear how Chris tried to be as careful as possible when asking. Still, it felt like time had stopped. Was he ready to talk about this? No, he wasn't. But he had to. Daniel pushes all of his dark thoughts to the deepest part of his mind, where it won't bother him. Then, he tells Chris about that day. He does so without crying, without breaking down, only pausing to give Chris time to take it all in. Everything that happened that day, it's a lot to explain, and a lot to take in. Chris tries to understand, how Daniel literally tore down the wall, only to get shot… again. He tries to understand… how the wolfbrothers must have felt after their arrest. Being so close, only to fail, right at the finish line. Chris almost got excited as Daniel explained their escape from the police station.
"So, we went for the border again," Chris says nothing, waiting for Daniel to continue.
"But… they got there before us. Cops. We weren't getting through that roadblock. Not without…, you know?" Daniel keeps pushing back his tears.
"Oh, no…" A barely audible response from Chris.
"I- I was so scared, Chris. So scared. I didn't know what to do. But I knew that, if we gave up… Sean would go to prison. I- I couldn't live with that. I just… couldn't. I asked him: So, how does the story of the wolfbrothers end?" Deep breaths… deep breaths…
"How- how did it… end, Daniel?" Chris asked, knowing parts of the answer. But clearly, terrified of learning the details.
"Sean said: I think their story ends here." Daniel could still hear those words, echoing inside his head. Haunting him.
"Sean wanted to… surrender?" Chris sounds confused.
"Yes, he did. But I… didn't. I- I panicked, Chris. I saw only one option." Daniel's voice starts to tremble.
"Daniel… you didn't?" Chris's voice is full of disapproval. It was great knowing you, Chris. It really was. Now… you will hate me.
"I- I forced the car through the roadblock. Anyone in the way… I just pushed them away, hard. It was over in just… seconds. We were in Mexico. The wolfbrothers were finally free, Chris. I felt so happy because it was over. It was finally over. No more running or hiding. Then…" Daniel takes one final deep breath. This is it.
"Daniel-" Chris tries to say something, but Daniel doesn't let him. He needs to say this while he still can.
"… Then, I turn to Sean." Now, everything hit him at once. Just as bad as when it happened, perhaps… even worse? Daniel was crying and screaming, but just like the border, nobody's coming to his aid.
"He- he was shot, Chris. In- in the th- throat. There was so much… blood. Just as I got to him… I felt his arm just… fall down. He- he died right there, Chris. My brother. Sean. He died, and it's my fault. I- I killed him, Chris. I killed… Sean." Both of them now, a sobbing mess. Daniel can't stop the tears from coming, not that he's trying. Chris is the first to speak up.
"Daniel…" FUCK! Chris sounds so sad, so… broken, just like him. Except that Chris is… good, and Daniel's… not. Now, Chris would tell him to fuck off, never contact him again, and that yes, it's all his fault.
"You- you couldn't have known, Daniel. You only did what you thought was right. You might have done a few… mistakes, Daniel. I don't believe that killing is… ok. But your situation… it left you with no other choice." What the fuck? Is- is he serious?
"Chris? I literally caused my brother's death!" Daniel says, slightly more angry than intended.
"Daniel! It wasn't your fault!" Fuck this! It actually felt good to hear Chris say that… for a while. But Chris is so blind. He only sees the good people, and never the bad.
"Shut the FUCK up, Chris!" Daniel screams into the phone as tears pour down his face.
"Daniel? Is- is everything… ok?" Tell me… you did just not say that?
"Really, Chris? Really? NO! Everything's not fucking ok! I'm a wanted mass murderer, and my entire family is DEAD because of me. So no, I'm not fucking ok! I'm alone, Chris! Alone in a country, I've never been in before, where people only speak a language that I don't know, and where I'm not a citizen." Daniel paused to breathe for a few seconds.
"Daniel, calm down-" Nope. Too late for that.
"Do you- do you have any idea, Chris… what horrible things I have to do here to survive? Do you, HUH? Answer me!" Part of Daniel wants to calm down. He never wanted this. But in a way, maybe he… needed this? Vent his frustrations?
"Daniel… I- no, I don't." Chris says sounding defeated.
"Yeah, you don't! You can bitch all you want about your drunk dad grabbing your wrist too hard and screaming at you, at least you have a fucking dad! My dad's dead! Dead because of me!" Daniel felt sick. That's a horrible thing to say. What the fuck is he doing?
"My- my mom's-" Chris sounds terrified, trying to speak up.
"Yeah, I know your mom's fucking dead! At least you've had two parents growing up, I didn't. I didn't meet my mom until I was ten, Chris. Ten. I met her for two months, and now I'm never going to see her again. Why? Because she's in prison, because of ME! You know what's even worse than a mom dying, Chris?" Daniel gave him time to respond now.
"No, Daniel. I- I don't." A silent answer.
"It's growing up without a mom, but always knowing that she's out there, somewhere. You spend an entire decade… building this person up, inside your head. An entire decade… planning everything you want to say, word for word. And when you finally meet your long-lost mom… she's exactly like you had expected her to be. You get to know her, love her, and… be loved, for two months. Then, she's ripped away from you, just like your dad was, and just like your brother would be." Every single word from Daniel's mouth is full of venom.
"Daniel, I'm- I'm sorry." That's all Chris said, nothing else.
"Sorry for what, Chris? What can you possibly have done wrong in your perfect fucking life?! Nothing, that's what! But me? I've killed people, Chris. A lot of people." Daniel's tone becomes more somber.
"Only by accident, Daniel. Never by choice." You just know… so very little, do you?
"In America, perhaps. In Mexico, it's… different. I have to do whatever it takes to survive, even if I… don't like it." He hates everything right now. Daniel hates what he's become, what he's done, what he's going to do, and what he's about to tell Chris.
"Daniel…" Chris sounds like he's almost ready to hang up at any moment.
"When I first got here, I was robbed. A gang of street kids stole everything. All my food, water, even Sean's sketchbook. But I got it back. And you're right, Chris. It was an accident. I- I didn't mean to-" Daniel feels like throwing up as he remembers that day. How everything turned white as he heard fifteen children, all screaming in pain.
"No… that's- that's horrible, Daniel." Chris sounds horrified.
"Yeah, I- I know. One of them survived, but he… pissed me off." He hates it but feels like he needs to talks about it.
"What… happened, Daniel?" Chris's voice is almost on autopilot at this point.
"I broke his fingers, then his arms and legs, and finally… his spine," Daniel says silently, ashamed of himself.
"You- you tortured… him?" Chris sounds like he's starting to freak out.
"I- I tried to help him first, but he wouldn't let me." Daniel hears how bad that truly sounds. Chris doesn't say anything.
"Look, it's different here, Chris. You have to… do stuff, to survive. I had to get some first-aid stuff for my bullet wound. Only one place in the area has it. The hospital. One of those old-fashioned, catholic hospitals. You know, with nuns and shit?" Daniel… really didn't want to talk about this.
"Uh… yeah?" Chris sounds nervous, Daniel doesn't blame him.
"So, a priest there was willing to give me some medical stuff," Daniel says.
"Well, that's good, right?" Kinda…
"I thought so first. But he wanted-" Daniel goes silent for a while.
"He wanted me to… give him something… in return. As… payment. He told me to just… close my eyes, and it wouldn't… hurt." Chris definitely understood what he was talking about. The sound of him throwing up was proof of that.
"I- I didn't do it, Chris." Might as well get this one over with.
"You- you didn't?! Oh, thank god, Daniel!" Daniel's not sure if god is the right one to thank here…
"Of course not! Why the hell would I? He… won't be hurting anyone again… ever." This one… Daniel's not ashamed of.
"Daniel… you can't just keep… killing people. It's… wrong." Oh, so getting his brother killed was fine, the same thing with fifteen kids and torturing the sixteenth. But killing the creep that wanted to do… stuff… to him? That's crossing the line?!
"You don't know what it's like, Chris! You don't FUCKING understand! I- I want to die, Chris. Every day, I want to die. But I can't take my own life. Because if I do, Sean died for nothing. I have no other reason to live, Chris. I have nothing here. Nothing, and no one."
"You have me." Chris reaches out with an invisible hand towards Daniel, offering his support. Daniel could really need some support right about now.
"I- I do?" Daniel already knows the answer, more or less. But his entire life, or at least the last year, has been full of lies and people letting him down.
"Yes, Daniel. You will always have me by your side!" Judging by the way Chris sounded, he wasn't lying.
"Thank you, Chris." He didn't know what else to say if anything.
"Just… promise me, you'll call me again soon, Daniel?" Wow. Chris actually wants him to call back? That… he did not expect.
"I- I will, Chris. I prom- I swear. I swear, I will call you back." He can swear, but no more promises. Last time… it didn't end well.
"Goodbye, Superwolf. Be careful." Chris really puts emphasis on him being careful.
"Goodbye, Captain Spirit. I will be." Daniel ends the call and lies down with a deep sigh. That was exhausting. As he lies on the floor, he realized something. He immediately ran towards the bathroom, looking at his mirror image. Shit… he looks… bad.
"You're not… alone. You're not alone anymore. Lonely, but not… alone." After all those terrible things he just said, Chris is still his friend. Why he will never understand. What he does understand is that the creature looking at him in the mirror is no longer alone. He should be happy, standing on the balcony howling in victory.
Instead, he feels empty.
Like nothing had changed.
This… angered the lone wolf, quite a lot.
"Fuck you!" Daniel screams as he closes his right fist, aiming for the face of his mirror image.
Then, he punched it. He punched so hard that the mirror broke. Daniel collapsed to the floor in a fetal position, holding his hand. A hand that was now covered in blood, and in it was three large pieces of glass. To say that it hurt… would be an understatement. Still, he almost did not feel a thing. He wondered if he's so broken that it's not possible for him to… feel real emotions anymore. He wasn't even sure if that was a real thing or not.
Perhaps…
He could…
… ask Chris?
Notes:
Very much unsure about the overall result of this fic. As for this chapter, I kinda went back and forth as to how I wanted it to be. First, Chris was going to be angry and disgusted. Then, Daniel was going to be pissed because Chris only sees the good in him, and throw the phone into the wall in pure rage. However, as soon as the line "You have me" popped up in my head, I knew I had to change my plans. I liked that line just too much to not keep it in.
So, this actually got a somewhat happy ending, at least for being LW-Daniel. I mean, the whole reason I named chapter 1 "Is There Still Hope?" was so I could name chapter 2 "No. There Isn't". So a lot changed as I wrote this. Still, I stand by the way I wrote Chris here. To me, he seems like the type of person that literally can't get angry, unless you mention something very specific. Which Daniel did, but Chris always wants to see the good in people, which is something Daniel needs now.
Anyway, I hope this is readable.