Page 12 of Safe
“Hey, bro.” Danielle didn’t even look up from her game of Solitaire. She made no effort to acknowledge me, and frankly, I expected nothing less than pure hatred.
“Someone brought you food!” Alex used a fake, overly cheerful voice that I assumed was his lame attempt to cut through the Ice Queen’s tension. So far, it wasn’t working.
“So?” Danielle still wouldn’t look up.
“Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to introduce yourself?” Alex kept nodding toward me.
“Sorry.” I took a step forward and held out my hand. “I’m Cody. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
As I moved closer to her, I could see just how bad off she really was. I didn’t know exactly what I expected, but I tried hard to keep my face neutral, especially since she seemed to be in a good mood. Seemed to be. Danielle barely glanced my way before turning to scowl at Alex, and just like that, the good mood was gone.
“Is this really necessary, Alex?” she asked. She didn’t bother hiding the edge in her voice, either.
This is going to be worse than I thought.
Alex was right. She was a stubborn one.
“Fuck’s sake, Danielle. Can’t you just say hi?” Alex was quick to snap back at her. It appeared as if they’d had similar conversations before.
All I wanted was to leave. There was no way any amount of money was going to be worth bearing the brunt of her anger. Instead of backing down, I blurted out the most sarcastic and, without a doubt, the dumbest thing that could have come from my mouth.
“You know, it’s not like this is some goddamn vacation for me either.”
Alex immediately burst out laughing, but my face was already burning. I could feel the shade of bright red on my face.Considering all this girl had been through, the instant the words came out, I regretted what I said. For a moment, I felt like a complete moron.
“Danielle, I—”
“Well, at least you have a backbone.” She held out her hand with a sigh, as if it physically pained her to introduce herself. “I’m Danielle.”
Alex finally stopped laughing. “See, Cody, I told you she was just a stubborn ass with two broken legs.”
“I’m a what?!” Danielle’s head snapped toward Alex. She had a fierce look in her eyes that I couldn’t stop staring at. Honestly, I’d sooner go through basic training again than take that look being shot in my direction any day.
“Oh, lighten up. Your legs broke, not your sense of humor.” Alex was doing his best to ease the tension in the room. “Besides, you have to be nice to Cody. He brought you dinner, didn’t you, Cody?”
He nodded toward the bag in my hand. I looked down at it, then back at Danielle with a smile. Judging by the way her face lit up when she saw the bag, I realized I should have started by mentioning the food.
Danielle had a beautiful smile; even beneath all the scars, there was something infectious about it. I soaked it in for a second, as I imagined that’d probably be the last time I saw it for a good while.
“Oh, uh, yeah. No solid food yet, though. Sorry. But we did get you some mashed potatoes with gravy.” I pulled a quart-sized container from the bag and handed it to her.
“Thank you.” Danielle looked me right in the eyes and smiled. For some reason I couldn’t explain, I had to force myself to keep my composure, and I wasn’t sure I liked it.
Just do your job and get your paycheck, Cody. Stop staring at her damn smile.
Considering the attitude she had when we walked into the room, food or no food, she was suspiciously kind all of a sudden.
Before we got out of the car, I promised Alex I would never tell Danielle he would be paying me. Paying me well, at that. He didn’t want her to feel like a burden or like I was some hired help. The less she worried or hated the situation, the safer she would be. Besides, Alex was just trying to help me out since I had to quit my job for this. For him, I would have gladly done it for free. But I wasn’t about to tell him that.
“How did it feel to say thank you, she-devil?” Alex cut into my thoughts.
“Like rubbing lemon in every one of my cuts,” Danielle replied, though I couldn’t tell if she was joking or serious. It did seem like she was finally starting to lighten up, but then again, she did have food now.
We ate in silence long enough for it to become awkward for me, so I could only imagine Danielle felt the same. I did my best to break the tension with some small talk. After all, if I wanted the next few days, weeks, or, god forbid, months to be anything less than painfully awkward, I needed to get to know Danielle.
“So, Danielle, what are you watching?” I asked after swallowing a bite.
“Mysteries at the Museum. Not that I’d expect an empty Jarhead like you to know what that is,” she shot back, laced with sarcasm.
