“Heyyyy, there sssshe is,” he slurs as he gets up and stumbles down the first step. I take a deep breath as he continues to stumble towards me, stopping just in front of me as I round the car and cross my arms over my chest.
“Danny, what are you doing? It’s three in the morning,” I say, not hiding the exasperation in my voice.
“I’ve beeeeen waiting to ssssee you,” he says with a lopsided smile. “Lemme come in with youuu.”
“No, Danny. I need to sleep because I have to be up in three hours for work.”
“Pwwwwease…” Oh my fucking God. Really? I don’t have the patience for this.
“Go home and I’ll speak to you tomorrow,” I tell him before I move to walk around him and to the front door, but as I do, he grabs my wrist, his fingers gripping me tight and jolting me back.
“Ow,” I cry out, because he’s pinching my skin. “Danny, let go of me.”
“No,” he says as he drags me until my back is hitting the car. He encases me with his body, and my heart starts to race.
“Danny, what the hell is the matter with you?” I hiss, because I am so fucking pissed that he’s putting his hands on me like this.
“I’ll tell youuu what the mmmatter is, sssshall I?” he asks but doesn’t wait for an answer as he continues to fill me in on his problem. “I’ve been waiting allllll night ffffor youuu, and youuu want me to just go because you’re tired?”
He spits out the word ‘tired’ like it leaves a bad taste in his mouth.
“Yes, Danny, I am fucking tired and I want to go to bed, so let go of my wrist and go home,” I say forcefully, but all that does is make him tighten his grip more as he twists his hand slightly at the same time.
Tears spring to my eyes and I bite my bottom lip to stop them from spilling over.
“Please, Danny, I promise I’ll see you tomorrow, just let me go,” I plead. I’m not above pleading if it will just get him off of me.
He doesn’t say anything, but he crashes his lips on mine, hard. I squirm as he tries to force his tongue in my mouth, and I manage to move my head to the side, so his lips end up on my cheek.
“Now you listen to me—”
“Cameron? Is that you, dear?” I hear Gran say, and my heart stops for a beat. “What’s going on?”
“Uh, nothing, Gran, I’ll be right in,” I say, unable to hide the shakiness of my voice.
Danny eyes me for a moment, and then he leans by my ear and whispers, “I’ll see you tomorrow,” before he lets go of me and walks away. He doesn’t even look towards my gran in the doorway, and I let out a sigh of relief as I quickly move on wobbly legs to get in the house.
I must look awful as I walk past Gran and tell her to close the door and lock it.
“What on earth has happened, child?” she asks, looking at me with concern.
“It’s nothing, Gran. I’m just tired and really need to get some sleep before the big meeting tomorrow.” I called Gran earlier and told her that I would be home extremely late, and like always, she insisted that she wouldn’t go to bed until I either stepped foot inside the house or told her that I wouldn’t be coming back. Bless her heart. But on this occasion, I’m very glad she interrupted whatever the hell that was out there with Danny. I’ve never seen him like that before. He was wild, unhinged, and drunk Danny is not someone I want to see again. We’ve never done the getting drunk thing together, because I have no desire to get off my face every weekend, and as he knew early on, I’d rather go for a meal or be snuggled up on the sofa with a good book or watching a movie. Seeing him like that tonight, I can see why he had no problem with never getting pissed, because alcohol clearly doesn’t agree with him.
“We’ll talk in the morning,” she tells me. “For now, go and get washed up and get some sleep.” She gives me a kiss on the forehead before she makes her way back to the lounge, probably to turn off the lamp and make sure everything is in order for the morning. She is a creature of habit, and I love her dearly for it.
I make my way upstairs and try to calm myself down. I take a look at my wrist and see angry red marks from where Danny held onto me so tight, and I pray that there won’t be a bruise by morning.
ChapterEight
Cameron
As expected, I hardly managed to get any sleep last night. And there is definitely noticeable bruising on my wrist.
I dress in a long-sleeved white shirt, which I pair with grey tailored shorts and black heels. It’s meant to be quite warm today, but I can’t risk anyone seeing the bruise forming on my wrist, and I wouldn’t usually wear shorts to work but they’re smart and it’ll help keep me cool. Last night was just… I don’t know… fucking bizarre, and today is purely about business. This is my chance to prove I have what it takes to move up the ranks, and I won’t throw that opportunity away because of Danny. In fact, I won’t be having much more to do with Danny from now on. I can’t have someone in my life who would put his hands on me like that.
I put my makeup on and go downstairs, where Gran is already in the kitchen with my travel coffee mug filled and a blueberry muffin packed away, ready for me to take. Christ, she is the best.
“Morning, Gran,” I say as I pick up my coffee and muffin bag and give her a kiss on the cheek.