Page 83 of Dare You to Run
“You didn’t have to say it! You made it abundantly clear. Message received.” I spin on my heel and decide food isn’t worth the high blood pressure and possible second stint in jail if I stay here and argue with him.
“I don’t want to lose you,” he shouts, and I freeze in my steps. “I know you feel something big for her. You’re going to end up marrying her and leaving us behind. I fought too hard for this family, Henny, and I’m not about to lose it without a fight.”
The crowd around us falls to a hush, waiting for the next part of their impromptu soap opera.
I look over my shoulder and see a man who is more vulnerable than he was when he was just a punk kid who ended up in foster care when his dad killed his mom, and none of his family wanted to take him in.
“We’ll always be family, D. You’re my brother. Nothing can take the place of you and Mal.” I take a few steps closer until I’m toe to toe with him. “I won’t lie and say that Dagen doesn’t change things, but being with her doesn’t mean I can’t have you in my life.”
Danté’s face hardens, but not in anger. He steels himself from showing any emotion. The Dare brothers don’t do emotions other than anger. Danté most of all.
“We’ve been through too damn much. You, me and Malik. No one else has the bond we do, as fucked up as it is, and no one ever will.”
“Guys always say they won’t change when a woman comes into their life, but in the end, nothing ever stays the same. Soon it’ll just be me and Malik and you’ll be off, having a life and family of your own.”
“Danté…you’re my family. And wherever the future takes me –be it with Dagen or someone else– they’ll have to realize that you and Mal and me are a package deal. You want one, but you get all of us.” I clamp onto his shoulder with my hand and squeeze it.
His black eyes are turbulent and I feel a pang in my stomach and my heart. I never thought that he would have a reaction like this. Ever. He’s the brick wall that nothing can penetrate and the fact his wall is showing a crack is huge.
“Is that why you pulled that shit with Soria? And the fight?” When he doesn’t say a word, I know I’ve hit the nail on the head. “I’m not going anywhere. Physically, I don’t know where life will take me. But as far as I’m concerned, you’re blood. You’ll always be here. The three of us, we need each other to live.”
His chest expands with air as he inhales and his jaw clicks with tension. His head nods and he holds out his hand in the best apology he knows how. Normally that would be good enough for me. But Dagen has changed me and this moment calls for something bigger.
I grab his hand and step closer, giving him a pat on the back in a hug that only men do. It takes him by surprise, but he quickly goes a step further and wraps me in a hug. The kid that needed family to hug him and reassure him they’d be there for him has been waiting for so long for that moment. And now it’s here.
Another set of arms clamps onto us and a sappy voice speaks. “Aww. A family hug. I’ve waited so long for this moment.” Malik pretends to sniff and Danté smacks him in the gut. “Does this mean we can go back to normal? No more sticking me in the middle of your fights?”
We all drop our hold and take a couple of steps back.
“No more putting you in the middle. Promise,” I tell him.
“Cool,” he says with a huge smile. “So then can we eat? I need a triple greasy Griff before we go back home. School has been kicking my butt lately and those little petri dishes love sharing their germs. I can’t stand to eat anything at school for fear that I’ll ingest strep throat.”
“Or the cooties,” Danté adds.
“Hey. Cooties are a real thing. And Hendrix has tons of girl cooties.” He shakes his hands like he’s trying to rattle away clinging germs.
“So, uh, is it serious with her?” Danté turns his head to look at the passing cars.
“I mean…I think so. I’ve never felt anything like this before, so I think that means it is.”
Malik smiles, and there goes another arm around the neck. “Henny’s in love. D, it looks like we have a new sister.”
“Oh Jesus. That’s not what it means. It just means that I like her more than a temporary fling. That’s all,” I explain, not fully convinced myself.
“K-I-SS-ING. Henny and Dagen sittin’ in a tree.” Malik begins to sing and I punch him in the shoulder.
He winces and rubs it out. “C’mon. I thought you were hungry?”
“Yeah. Hen’s got a girl to go see . Let’s eat.” Danté walks past Malik, bumping into his other shoulder.
“Damn, y’all. What is this? Beat up on the nice guy day?” he asks.
“Yes,” we both say and pass each other a smirk.
Things are right with the world again. Now I just need my girl in my arms and life is perfect.
THIRTY-THREE
