Against the Wall

Being Vulnerable... :'(

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Wrote this entire chapter on my mom's iPad. It was fun :)

Scuse the mistakes.

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"Long time, no see, Sawyer," Danny said with a smile. "How you been, Runt?"

I used to hate that nickname, but after not hearing it for so long, I couldn't help but grin. "I've been good. I have a grandma now."

"So I've hear," Danny replied, leaning back in his seat. He waved at Griffin's car with his sunglasses and asked, "New friend?"

I blushed deeply and said, "That's Griffin. He's my boyfriend, actually." I watched Danny's cheerful demeanor instantly fall to a more serious one at the mention of Griffin, and I frowned. "What?" I asked confusedly.

"You're getting really attached to this place, aren't you Runt?" he said, making it more of a statement instead of a question. I'd known Danny for almost my entire childhood, and I knew when he had to tell me something. It was in the way he talked, the way his eyes sent me a hidden message, and in his stiff body language.

"What are you doing here, Danny?" I questioned, propping my elbow up on the top of his car.

"Your dad told me to keep an eye on you," Danny answered uncomfortably.

"You've talked to my dad?" I asked, my eyes widening. I hadn't heard from him ever since I'd run away, and the fact that he'd made an effort to talk to someone other than me hurt. I know he must've been upset that I'd run away, but it wasn't like it had been an easy decision for me.

"Yeah," Danny replied slowly, "haven't you?"

"No," I deadpanned, "No, I haven't." So Danny didn't know. That still didn't make me feel all that better about the situation, though.

"Listen, Sawyer," Danny said, recapturing my attention. "I know you're mad at your dad, and I'm a bit pissed as well, but I need you to listen to me. Do you know why your dad left the country?"

"Because there's a warrant out for his arrest," I replied, remembering what Grandma Aggie had told me.

"C'mon, Sawyer," Danny said, "We both know your dad. If it was just a warrant, he'd go into hiding, but he wouldn't leave his business." He had a point.

"So there's no warrant?" I asked, trying to sort everything out.

"Oh, no," Danny said with a chuckle, "There's a warrant, but something else, better yet, someone else drove him from the country."

"Who?" I asked, wondering who on earth my dad had managed to infuriate this time.

"Marcus."

"What?" I gasped. Marcus was an extremely dangerous man, something I knew all to well from personal experiences. Making him mad was definitely enough reason for my dad to leave. "What did my dad do?"

"You're dad borrowed a whole lot of money from him to finance one of his many business ventures. However, the venture tanked, and when the time came for your dad to pay Marcus back, he didn't have the money, so he left the country."

Images of the last time my dad couldn't pay Marcus back, and I could feel the cold metal of his man's gun on the back of my neck. "Why did my dad send you to watch me?" I asked slowly, but I felt like I already knew the answer.

"He's scared that Marcus will come after you to have leverage on your dad," Danny stated, and I sensed some anger in the way he said the words.

"Does Marcus know where I am?" I asked nervously.