Coming Home(131)

She nodded her head imperceptibly, her eyes trained on him.

Danny dropped his eyes, his jaw muscle flexing rapidly.

“How is it your fault that he’s a disrespectful prick?” he asked, lifting his eyes to hers. “How is it your fault that he tried to intimidate you?”

Leah opened her mouth to answer, but Danny cut her off. “And how is it your fault that I was f*cking stupid enough to let him get a second chance at it?” he said, his voice rising in anger. “How is it your fault that I left you alone with him, even after I saw him corner you, after I saw him grab you? I left you alone with him, for what? So he could put his hands on you again? His f*cking mouth on you?”

He turned quickly, whipping his car keys across the room; they crashed up against the front door with a clatter, and Leah jumped, pressing her lips together.

“How is it your fault that I f*cked up? I f*cked up, Leah! I keep f*cking up! And you paid for it! Just like Bryan paid for it! Just like Gram’s paying for it, and Jake, and Tommy and everyone I give a shit about in this world is paying for it!”

He was yelling now, and Leah stood there, her eyes pooling with tears. Because they weren’t talking about Scott anymore.

And all at once, she realized what had happened tonight was so much bigger than him.

On some level Danny had been a powder keg for the last year of his life. That phone call today was the strike of a match.

And Scott had tossed it in.

Danny cursed under his breath, dropping his head back and covering his face. “It’s not your fault,” he said from behind his hands. “You didn’t deserve what happened tonight. I shouldn’t have left you with him. I f*cked up.”

“You were just doing what I asked,” she said, her voice trembling, and Danny’s hands fell from his face at the sound of it. “I put you in a position where you felt like you had to protect me. And that was so stupid of me, because I don’t want you to leave me for any longer than you have to—”

Her words cut off suddenly as she burst into tears, and she cupped her hand over her mouth.

Saying those words out loud had completely demolished her, because it wasn’t hypothetical anymore. It wasn’t something that might happen someday. That phone call made it real. The date was set. It was so close.

He was in front of her immediately, pulling her into his arms, and she covered her face with her hands as she sobbed into his chest.

“Please don’t cry,” he crooned softly, running his hand over the back of her hair. “I’m so sorry for yelling like that. I’m not mad at you. You know I’m not mad at you.”

Leah’s breath hitched as another sob fell from her lips, stifled by his shirt.

Danny pulled back and ducked down, bringing his eyes to her level as he removed her hands from her face and replaced them with his own. “Don’t cry, sweet girl,” he said, pressing his lips to her forehead. “I’m so sorry. For all of it. I just…I can’t stand the idea of anyone hurting you. It makes me crazy.”

His voice was dejected, cracked into a million pieces, and she hiccupped repeatedly, trying to calm down. Danny brushed his thumbs under her eyes, pressing his forehead to hers. “And I know that I’m the one hurting you now, and I don’t know how to fix it, and it’s killing me. Because I love you, Leah,” he said, brushing his lips over hers.

Everything stopped.

Her tears. Her breathing. Her heart.

Danny pulled back slightly, his hands still on her face as he met her eyes. “I love you,” he repeated softly.