Hope

Chapter Twenty Six

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I hurried out to my truck and climbed in, taking deep breaths to try and calm down. Freaking out over whether or not Danny was hurt or worse was a good way to get myself killed, and I didn't want to do that. If I found out that he was dead when I got there, and knowing what I did to him, I might want to be dead, but I wasn't going to kill myself before I got there. As I started my drive to Hope I wondered if maybe it would have been a good idea for Gabriella to let Daisy know that I was going to be there soon.

While it may have been a good idea, I'm glad that she didn't. I've done a lot of stupid things in my life, the latest being running away from Danny when I freaked out over remembering my life. But, if he was alright, I wanted to make up for it in my own way. And that meant surprising him at home. I know that if Daisy knew that I was coming, she would warn Danny. If Danny was half as pissed off at me as I would have been at him, had he done to me what I did to him, I would have taken off if I knew he was coming for me. I wanted to surprise him so I could actually see him face to face, and not have to wait for him to come home. Running away was my specialty. And I didn't want to force him to do the same.

The road was long, but my thoughts occupied my time. Before I realized it, I was driving through Hope towards his house. My big red truck got a few odd looks from people, but no one could see in through my windows. I had the darkest tint available for just that reason.

When I pulled in front of Danny's house, I sat in the truck for a minute trying to figure out what I was going to say to him if he was home. Finally, I decided that I had to stop being such a baby and just do it. Danny would tell me to be strong and take charge, to go for what I wanted. Until the moment I saw the news about the fire and the fireman that had died, I hadn't realized entirely what it was I wanted. Now I knew, I wanted Danny. That was all I wanted. If my parents disowned me for it, so be it, but I wasn't going to let anything stand in my way for a second longer. I only hoped that he still wanted me.

I got out of my truck and slowly walked to the front door. I rang the doorbell and waited patiently for Danny to answer. Footsteps grew loud as they neared the door, and I couldn't help but tear up as the door opened. When Danny saw me standing there he just looked at me with a pained expression on his face. I was so happy to see him alive that I threw myself on him, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist. He didn't hug me back, just stood there patiently until I let go of him.

When he finally spoke, his voice was angry and sullen, "What are you doing here?"

I expected him to be angry at me, but this was way more anger than I had thought he would feel towards me, "I'm sorry, Danny." His eyes softened slightly before hardening again, "I saw on the news that fireman had been killed fighting the huge fire that is on its way to Colorado Springs, and I had to know that you were alright." It was awkward standing outside while he filled up the door, not letting me in, but I tried to ignore it, "I know that I've hurt you, but..."

He held up his hand, "Let's not have this discussion out here. Come in."

He walked inside towards the kitchen, leaving me at the door. Carefully, I moved inside, shutting the door behind me. He had gotten two beers out of the fridge and opened them, handing one to me. We sat down at the table and neither of us spoke. Finally, he said, "I've been so angry over the past few weeks. Angry and hurt. I couldn't figure out why you left. Then Daisy tried to make things better, but when she talked about you it was like she knew something that I didn't. When I confronted her on it, she got flustered and told me that you asked her not to say anything." A lone tear feel down his cheek, "You had my own sister lying to me for you. Do you even realize how much that hurts?"