Page 101 of Never To Suffer

Dani’s a mess. We only made it through to the next round because the other band all got sick and had to drop out. It was bad.

Sorry to dump all this on you. I just didn’t want you walking in blind.

I’m sorry, Skylar. That’s a lot to deal with on your own. Call me if you can or if you need to. I’ll let you know as soon as I land, and we’ll sort this all out.

We’ll get through this. It’s just a bump in the road to test our suspension.

Love

Good thing I know how to fix those.

Be safe, we miss you. And your cooking.

CHAPTER 42

UNSHATTER

LINKIN PARK

“Daniella, open the door.”

“No!”

“I’ll take it off the hinges if you don’t open the door.” We’ve been communicating through the bathroom door for twenty minutes and I’m tired of it.Communicating. I guess that’s what I’ll call it since it’s more or less been me checking on her, and her telling me to go away. Words have been spoken, but to say it’s conversational is overstepping. “Dani, come on. You don’t need to do this alone.”

“I do!”

I rock my head forward and it thumps against the door. This is the part of relationships no one likes, and sometimes, it’s the part that ends them before they can begin. This is the kind of shit I’ll bring up when people want to talk about all the sex I must have in a poly relationship. Yeah, there’s sex, but there are also four distinct personalities going on a journey of emotions with each other. Sometimes—most of the time—they’re not in sync with each other. There’s no way to plan when one, or all of us, is sad, depressed, and unwilling to budge.

“Beetle, I want to help you. If you open the door, I’ll go away, or I’ll hold your hand. I’ll stop talking and listen, or I’ll tell youstories till you fall asleep. I’ll do whatever you need, but love, I need this door open before I can. Please?”

There’s a shuffle of movement, the lock clicks, and the door whips open so fast her loose hair flies around her head in the breeze. Her red eyes and nose scrunch up into a scowl and she pushes past me with a grunt.

“Dani?”

“WHAT?!” she spins, teeth bared. “I opened the fucking door. Now, what the hell do you want?”

I don’t move, I don’t even speak, I just look at her. Her mask of anger melts away and her eyes fight to find more tears to cry, but she has none left. I hold my arms out and, with more hesitation than I’d like to admit, she comes back to me, slamming into my chest so I can wrap around her. Theo’s due home soon from his family. He doesn’t know volatile things are right now. More explosions are imminent, along with more tears once her body has time to replenish them.

“I only want you to know you’re safe. You’re going to get through this, and when you’re ready, we’re here for you. But I won’t let you lock yourself away like that. I can’t. The worst things happen behind locked doors.”

She sniffles, reluctantly moving her arms around me. It’s more holding on than hugging, but I’ll take it.

“Do you want to get out of here for a bit?” She nods against my chest. “I need to go meet up with everyone. We’re going to the Irish bar near Steve’s gym. Why don’t you come with me?” She nods again as I rub her back in slow circles. “Do you want me to help you get dressed?”

Her head pulls back, and she looks up at me, resting her chin on my chest. “Can we go find Xander after that?”

“Yeah, love. We’ll come back and get Theo, and we’ll find our little lost boy. I promise.”

There’s a thunk from somewhere outside the bedroom before Theo calls out. I lean over and kiss Dani’s forehead, giving her one more squeeze before I let go over her. I always hate letting go of her. It never seems fair.

“I’m gonna go shower.” She nuzzles her face against me, wiping her dried tears on my shirt. “I’ll leave the door open.”

She grabs her things and turns on the water while I go out to find Theo leaning against the frame of the passageway we built. His face looks a little softer, but he also looks like he needs about a week's worth of sleep. “Permission to enter the fight circle?”

“Permission granted.” We embrace, but it’s more than a hug. It’swelcome home. I’m sorry, things are crazy. I missed you.I read between the lines of the open book that is Skylar as we hold each other up. “You picked a hell of a time to come home. I’m sorry, it’s not a warmer welcoming committee.”

“You’re more than enough, Skylar.” His gentle words set my heart pounding. There’s so many ways to say ‘I Love You’without using those exact words, and usually, they’re deeper and more meaningful. He kisses my cheek and we finally part as he looks around the apartment. “How bad?”

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