Mirror Man

Trusting Danny!.

John and Rachel.

"John, what do you really think of Danny?" Rachel said quietly as they sat side by side at Marks bedside.

As they had the previous day John and Rachel visited with Mark first while Danny and his friend wandered off for extra coffee across the road.

"He's......he's not what I expected to be honest" John huffed, "I mean that in a good way" he chuckled as his wife took on a look of surprise.

"I mean........I thought being with Dylan Cross for two years he'd be more......arrogant I suppose, more......self serving, but he's not" John smiled as his wife took his hand in hers.

"I really thought when Mark talked about him so much, that he'd........I don't know really, I was worried that Mark was getting into something dangerous, with this Danny being involved with Cross and his dodgy dealings", John sighed as he looked over at his son, still, sleeping, the scruff on his chin growing into a messy short beard.

"I must admit I was concerned" Rachel said, following her husbands gaze with her eyes, "but he was never involved, how he managed to stay out of it all I don't know", John nodded, "Cross just wanted him as arm candy, it's sad how little worth he put on Danny".

"He's got quite the messy past I know, I mean the Taylors........well, I'm really not surprised by what they did, seeing as his adoption was hushed up, and given what happened to their own son" Rachel sighed.

"I wonder if Danny knows they actually had a son before him?" John mused, "I bet they never told him" the man sighed heavily, "poor kid being shoved away in that 'hospital', suicide is no way to go for an 11 year old, god knows what they did to him?", John stretched, "do you think we should tell him?", Rachel sighed.

"I see no reason to if I'm honest, he wasn't directly related, but if it comes up for any reason then I won't lie to him, let's just get Mark well and home first", John sighed.

Little did Danny know but he wasn't the first son the Taylors had, they had had a son when they were both young, but that baby was born with multiple birth defects, having been horrified by this they'd shoved the poor boy into a 'hospital', a closed facility of very dubious character, where the poor young lad was kept under lock and key for the entirety of his short life.

Some details had come to light about the abuse and the treatment of children in that 'hospital' but the exact details were kept sealed, but whatever the poor child suffered he'd ended it, along with his life with a stolen kitchen knife, aged 11.

While the infant son was whisked away to be hidden from view to save face, the Taylors had managed to adopt Danny, a beautiful, perfect blue eyed boy, hushing up the whole sordid affair.

But as Danny grew he'd resisted their conditioning, turned his back on their conniving ways and didn't fit the bill, soft hearted, kind, humble, not playing into their dodgy schemes and extravagant lifestyle, not wanting to enter their twisted world, sold off to save face and reputation, another son discarded.

Connie, born of a liaison with some foreign business man they were schmoozing at the time, 10 years after Danny was adopted.

Michael Taylor hadn't cared what his wife had done and the result of that trist, a pretty dark haired daughter with an evil glint in her eye, that got everything she wanted at the click of her fingers, became their partner in crime essentially, brought up exactly the way they wanted, ruthless, unfeeling, scheming and cold.

Danny wasn't what they wanted so they'd thrown him away once he'd been used to their advantage.

Some might think Danny would be bitter but he wasn't, not really, he just took everything on the chin believing it was all somehow his fault, his shortcomings, but no, it was theirs.