ᴀ ɴɪɢʜᴛ ɪɴ ᴘᴀʀᴀᴅɪꜱᴇ | 𝘓𝘰𝘶 𝘹 𝘋𝘦𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘦

sixteen

Ａ ＮＩＧＨＴ ＩＮ ＰＡＲＡＤＩＳＥ

- Twelfth of August, 2014.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀʀᴛʏ ʀᴀɢᴇᴅ on around them. Lou's eyes bore into Danny's, curiosity and skepticism painted across her face. "Let's get this straight to the point, why are you here?" she demanded, her tone equal parts serious and exasperated.

The clock had chimed 12 midnight.

Danny took a slow drag from his cigarette, his gaze unwavering as he exhaled a plume of smoke into the air. He leaned back against the kitchen counter, The cigarette hanging casually from his fingers, not held tightly. "Just because?" he quipped with a half-smile.

Lou's eyebrows shot up in disbelief, heaving a sigh that practically rolled her eyes. "Oh, screw that! You can't just answer me with 'just because'!" She crossed her arms, her irritation palpable.

Danny chuckled, his amusement uncontainable. "Easy, Miller," he said, his fake Australian accent, teasing Lou, once again surfacing. "Okay, I want to make things right."

Lou's expression drew a sarcastic response. "Make things right? With who? With Debbie?"

Danny nodded, his gaze now distant as if lost in his thoughts. "Yeah. With Debbie, with myself. I've been away for too long, and I've come to realize that running away..." He paused, and looked at Lou. "doesn't solve anything..."

Lou maintained an unwavering gaze fixed on Danny, almost as though she were scrutinizing his sincerity at that moment. "Debbie would not be able to take this tonight. Please don't ruin her again," Lou warned, her voice tinged with a note of hurt and concern.

Lou has seen the way Debbie suffered when Danny left. She was present the evening Daisy phoned. Following the call, Debbie stayed with her mother for about a week before deciding to return to the apartment. They never found Danny. The day she came back, Lou was taken aback when Debbie embraced her. Debbie's vulnerability caught Lou by surprise.

Danny's eyes met hers, a touch of sincerity underlying his gaze. "I'm not here to ruin anything, Lou. Believe it or not, I've changed. I've learned from my mistakes."

Lou's skepticism was still evident, but there was a flicker of curiosity in her eyes as well, as if wanting to give Danny the benefit of the doubt. "And what kind of mistakes are we talking about here, Danny Ocean?"

Danny took a final drag from his cigarette, then stubbed it out straight on the kitchen counter. Lou could only frown. "The kind of mistakes that led me to leave in the first place. The kind that hurt Debbie. The kind that made me lose sight of what truly matters."

Lou's arms dropped to her sides. "You're saying you've had a change of heart? That after all these years, you're suddenly a reformed man?"

Sarcasm hung in the air.

Danny chuckled, a wry smile playing on his lips. "Reformed might be a stretch, but I've definitely gained some perspective. Maybe I've grown up a bit. And maybe I've realized that life is too short to hold onto grudges and regrets."

Lou sighed, a complex mix of emotions playing across her features. She's caught in the moment of perhaps believing this man who's almost a stranger to her. She hadn't met him before and never knew him on a personal level, except for seeing him in a picture frame on Debbie's bedside table. "You know, Danny, you've got a lot to make up for. You hurt her deeply."