Page 121 of Cul-de-sac

Chapter Forty

Dani is sitting on her bed,staring at the far wall, when she hears the front door open and her husband’s footsteps on the stairs.Get up,she tells herself.Get up and get moving. At least change your shirt.She can’t very well go downstairs wearing the one she has on, not with the blood covering it still so fresh.

But when Dani tries to move her feet, they collapse under her, and she’s forced back into her previous position. She knows Nick will be angry when he sees her. He gave her explicit instructions to get herself cleaned up, apply ice to her injury, and put on a happy face for their neighbors. He’ll accuse her of deliberately trying to make him look bad. Just as he accused her earlier of trying to undermine his authority with the boys over…God only knows what.

“Dani?” she hears him call. “Dan…”

She feels him staring at her from the doorway.

“Dani?” he says again. “Sweetheart, are you all right?”

Dani can scarcely believe her ears, let alone respond. Can he have forgotten what transpired barely an hour ago? Forgotten that he struck her with his fist over some perceived minor transgression, catching the side of her nose, and unleashing a torrent of blood down the front of her white blouse? Is such a thing possible?

Slowly, gingerly, Dani turns her head toward him, careful not to move too fast lest the sudden motion cause the bleeding to start up again.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Nick says, walking into the room and kneeling at her feet. “Have you been sitting here all this time?” He reaches up to touch her cheek. His fingers move cautiously to the side of her nose.

Dani instantly recoils.

“Hold still,” he tells her, pressing down gently. “The good news is that it’s not broken. Just a little swollen. You obviously didn’t apply ice, as I suggested….” He withdraws his hand. “When will you learn to trust me? I’m a doctor, remember?” he says, with a smile.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles, fresh tears filling her eyes and dripping down her cheeks to mingle with the dried blood at her chin.

“Yes, well, it’s too late now. You’ll probably end up with a black eye.” He pushes himself to his feet. “Which could have been avoided if you’d only listen to your husband once in a while. Come on,” he says. “Let’s get you out of this shirt.” He undoes the blouse’s delicate white buttons and slips it off her shoulders, trapping her arms at her sides as his fingers trace the lace outline of her bra, also stained with her blood. “Better get this off, too,” he says, undoing the clasp at the back of the bra and sliding it down over her breasts.

His hand moves to her neck, and Dani finds herself holding her breath, not sure if he means to caress her or choke the life out of her.

Given the choice, she’d choose the latter.

The front door opens. “Mom? Dad?” a small voice calls up the stairs.

Nick’s hand moves to cover Dani’s lips. His index finger wiggles into her mouth. “What is it, Ben?”

“Mr. Grant said to tell you the food’s ready, and you want to get it while it’s hot.”

“Be right there, buddy.”

“Mom, too.”

“We’re coming.” Nick slowly withdraws his finger from Dani’s mouth as the front door closes. He walks to the dresser and tosses Dani a lime-green T-shirt and a change of bra. “Get yourself washed up,” he instructs. “Put these on, apply some concealer under that eye, and get your ass downstairs. Wear sunglasses. If anyone asks, tell them the truth—you had a nosebleed.” He walks to the bedroom door and stops. “And hurry up. Don’t make me have to come back again.”

—

“Well, there you are,” Sean calls as Nick rejoins the party. “What’ll it be, Doc? Hamburger or hot dog?”

“Hamburger with the works.”

“Here’s your burger.” Sean drops a hamburger onto a paper plate and hands it to Nick, then points to the condiments on the next table. “Help yourself to the works.” He looks toward the Wilson house. “Will the Mrs. be joining us?”

“Should be down momentarily.”

“Hey, Dad,” Tyler calls. “Can I show Leo my fish?”

“Later, Goldilocks.”

“How come he calls you Goldilocks?” Leo asks. “That’s a girl’s name.”

“Your sister says it’s a…a term of endearment.”

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