Scarred for Life

  "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, Danny. I think you might have jumped into too much too soon. I mean, before that, you stayed in the house for weeks on end and then you started going out almost every night."

  "Guess you're right. I was trying to take your advice."

  "Danny, sweetie, when I said go out, I didn't mean try to make up for all of the time you stayed in the house. I just wanted you to socialize a little." I definitely didn’t mean go out and grab a girlfriend so soon. Nicole was surprised by how bitter she sounded in her own head and rapidly shook the thought away.

  Dane scratched her nose. "I took it as socializing like completely. You know, going all in and shit like that."

  "You shouldn't jump right into something that you're not too used to doing, especially if you aren't too sure you want to do it. Take it easy."

  Dane nodded. "I'll just make sure my socializing never makes it back to the house again,"

  "I'm not too worried about that, Danny. I believe you when you say you never meant for that to happen."

  "I didn't,"

  "I know," Nicole said gently, caressing Danny's scalp.

  Silence settled around them. Nicole didn't want to get Dane worked up about the party again. Instead, she turned her attention back to the television and called out an answer for the show. Dane purred briefly as Nicole's fingers worked on her head. Nicole glanced down at the musician, noting how the purr made her shiver. Dane calling out an answer drew Nicole's attention back to the television. The competition was back on.

  ***

  Dane tried her best to bite back every swear word that she knew, but they instead came out as angry mumbles as she moved about the kitchen. She was basically moving on one leg. A tight grimace cut through her face each time she put the slightest pressure on her right leg. The pain was so excruciating that she didn't notice Nicole was standing in the doorway until the lawyer spoke.

  "Danny, maybe you should see a doctor about your leg," Nicole commented as she stepped deeper into the kitchen.

  "Don't need a damn doctor." Dane grunted, leaning on the counter to take the weight off her leg.

  "Your leg's been bothering you for over a week now. Go to the doctor."

  "It's not bothering me. It just hurts a little." It just hurts a lot.

  "Doesn't look like a little from where I'm standing."

  "I'm okay."

  "Can I at least look at it?"

  Nicole didn't wait for an answer. She moved, turned Dane around, forcing her to lean against the counter. Dane yelped in surprise and winced from the movement. Glancing down, she saw wild, auburn hair. She groaned as flashes of vulgar and highly erotic thoughts rushed through her mind. Those thoughts were gone as quickly as they came as Nicole touched her knee.

  "Ah, shit," Dane screamed at the top of her lungs, jumping to get away from her tormentor.

  "Danny, sweetie, your whole leg is swollen."

  "It's fine."

  "No, it's not. Go lay down on the couch right now."

  Dane opened her mouth to protest, but glaring green eyes instantly silenced her. She limped to the sofa, purposely appearing as indignant as possible while forcing down any sounds of anguish. She flopped down on the couch and elevated her leg.

  Nicole followed her with a couple of baggies of ice and an ACE bandage. Dane hissed as Nicole placed the ice on her knee and leg, and wrapped the ACE bandage around the bags to keep them in place. She eased a small pillow underneath Dane's foot.

  "Stay off of it for the day."

  "What about breakfast?" Dane asked, turning to rise. The glare that put her on the couch kept her there.

  "I've got it. You stay here and do not move." Nicole pointed at Dane as if her finger could shoot bullets to keep Dane in place.

  The musician nodded and made herself comfortable. Nicole returned with more pillows and a blanket. She put the pillows under Dane's head and covered her with the blanket. Once again, Dane was about to protest, but Nicole didn't stick around to hear it. She handed the television remote and the stereo remote to Danny before exiting the living room.

  "You'll be late for work at this rate." Dane called into the kitchen.

  "Stop worrying about me for five minutes and let me take care of you."

  Dane grumbled under her breath and looked like a petulant child by the time Nicole returned. Nicole smiled and handed Dane a bowl of oatmeal. As Dane took the offering, Nicole patted the supine woman on the head. Her fingers suddenly decided to crawl through soft black locks and she massaged Danny's scalp

  "You know…no one's ever done that to me before…"

  "What? Made you oatmeal or take care of you when you're sick?"

  "Well, there are those things, yes, but no one's ever pet me before. I guess it just never crossed anybody’s mind before considering how tall I am." And maybe considering the fact that if anybody ever tried it, I'd break their damn arm.

  "If you want me to stop…"

  "No, no, it's cool. I was just saying that no one ever did it before. It's pretty relaxing. I really like when you do it. Now, you stop worrying about me and get moving. You're going to be late and I bet your parents never let you hear the end of it." Dane teased.

  It was Nicole's turn to yelp. She rushed off to get ready for work, but continuously returned to check on Dane in the process. Dane tried to brush her off by saying that she was only making herself later, but Nicole didn't listen. Nicole was about fifteen minutes behind schedule when she was dressed and seemed ready for work. Instead of heading out the door, though, she went to check on Dane again.

  "Here's water for you." Nicole placed down a two liter bottle of spring water on the coffee table. "Here's lunch." She placed down a plate that was covered with plastic wrap. "Once all of the ice melts, stay there. I don't want you even getting up to put more ice on it.".

  "What about the bathroom?" the injured woman inquired with a bemused look.

  "Yes, you can go to the bathroom. Just don't get up every five minutes and then lie to me when I come in, saying that you had to go to the bathroom."

  "I wouldn't lie to you," Dane said indignantly. She folded her arms across her chest, even though she wouldn't be able to keep her word.

  "I'm teasing, Danny. I just want you to get better. So, please, stay on the couch and rest your leg," Nicole implored.

  "Fine, I'll stay on the couch and rest my leg."

  "Thank you." Nicole leaned down and kissed Dane's cheek.

  "Have a good day at work," Dane called to the retreating lawyer.

  ***

  Nicole smiled as she closed the front door. She rushed into her car and waved to her neighbor, who wasn't usually out when she left. Her neighbor, a middle-aged gentleman ran a framing business downtown, waved to her as if calling her over but she didn't have the time.

  Nicole pointed to her watch to indicate that she was late and entered her car. She pulled off before he had a chance to signal for her again. She ran into the office even though she was already late. A few of her colleagues that were in the lobby of the firm threw a few teasing jeers her way.

  "Better hope the momma bear doesn't find out baby bear is late for work," Clara remarked as she walked by Nicole.

  "Don't say anything," Nicole begged. She could trust Clara. It was the other people around the building that would probably betray her.

  "You know I won't, but you better get your ass to your office before Tyler finds out you're late. You know he'll rat you out for the brownie points he'd get with your folks."

  Nicole nodded in agreement and rushed to her office. She hastily set herself up to look like she was working just in case she got any surprise visits. She relaxed as the morning passed and she seemed to get away with being late.

  "Nikki!" The door to her office burst open.

  Nicole yelped as her father entered, filling the space with his vibrant energy. Nicole's father, Raymond Cardell, stood exactly six feet tall with deep auburn hair that was professionally cut short and combed back. A p
rofessional also did his thin mustache; it was neat and even. He had green eyes that were always alert and sharp. It was an expression that father and daughter shared. His skin tone was much lighter than her own, but they clearly were father and daughter.

  "What can I do for you, Daddy?" She recalled when she first came to work at the firm, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to address her parents, senior partners in the vastly successful firm that they built from the ground up. She didn't want to seem unprofessional or that she gained the job through nepotism—even though she did—so she tried calling them Mr. and Mrs. Cardell. They didn't stand for it and she quickly reverted back to using their proper titles.

  "I need the briefs for the Tashlin file before I have to go and strangle the man myself." She sighed in relief, happy he wasn't there to say anything about her being late for work.

  "Sure thing, Daddy." Nicole opened her briefcase and her face fell.

  "What's wrong, Nikki?"

  "I forgot them on my nightstand. I was in such a rush this morning."

  "What were you in a rush for?"

  "I was merely behind schedule. I'll go home and get them."

  "Isn't your roommate usually home around this time? Why don't you call her and ask her to bring them around?"

  "Danny doesn't drive, Daddy."

  Raymond's expression showed that he thought it was impossible for an adult not to drive. "She's got a license, doesn't she?"

  "Yes, she does but she doesn't have a car. She gets around with a bike."

  Raymond laughed. "The little things you tell us about this roommate of yours makes me wonder how she's related to Tyler at all."

  "You and me both," Nicole muttered, knowing her father meant it differently than she did. "I tell you what, I'll go pick them up. I need to check on Danny, anyway." She wanted to be certain the younger woman stayed on the couch and off of her leg.

  A thick, auburn eyebrow shot up. "Why's that?"

  "She's not feeling well, but she's one of those irksome people that swear they're fine no matter how sick they are. Kind of like you," Nicole teased with a grin.

  "Watch it, Nikki. I happen to know your mother needs a second chair for a case she's working and I have no problem with dropping your name to her."

  Nicole's face dropped in horror. "And I thought you loved me, Daddy."

  "I'll love you even more when you get those files in my hand."

  "I'm on my way."

  Nicole grabbed her keys and rushed away. The last thing she wanted to do was work with her mother; the woman was frightening when it came to work. The redhead traveled home, surprised at how quick the drive was without the usual traffic. She exited her car to see her neighbor out watering his lawn.

  "Hey, Nicole, you're home pretty early."

  "Hey, Mister Boyler. Sorry about this morning, I was running late. That's the reason I'm back here now. I forgot something this morning."

  "I wanted to tell you about that kid living with you. I've been keeping an eye on her since she threw that crazy party while you were gone. Hell, the only reason I didn't call the cops was because I didn't want to get you into any trouble. Anyway, you know I keep odd hours since my daughter started running the business, so I'm home a lot of time now."

  Nicole nodded, hoping the story was going somewhere. "Thank you for thinking of me, sir. We've taken care of that problem."

  "Oh? I wanted to tell you this morning that the kid's been coming and going a lot in the past couple of weeks. I don't know, she might be planning something else. You know how kids can be. I mean, you remember my son? All the trouble he got into last year. I just hope the little scamp isn't doing the same thing in college now, too."

  "Coming and going?" Nicole's forehead wrinkled and her eyebrows curled up. That doesn’t sound like Danny. Even when Danny hangs out with her friends, she leaves late at night, not in the morning or afternoon. Besides, Danny’s always home by the time I come in and never says anything about going out.

  "Yeah. In fact, she rushed out of the house an hour ago and hasn't been back yet. I don't want her tearing up your property or getting you in trouble, Nicole. You're a nice person. I don't know why you always have such characters staying with you."

  Mister Boyler had lost Nicole when he said that Dane rushed out an hour ago. "Thank you, Mister Boyler," she said absently, marching to the house and entering. "Danny! Danny, your ass better be in here."

  Scouring the house, Nicole found it empty. She growled as she grabbed the items that she needed and marched back out to her car. She cursed Danny all the way back to work.

  "Damn her. I told her to stay off of that damn leg. Stubborn, smartass Wolfe. Now I see how she's related to Tyler. Damn, pigheaded, stubborn jackass."

  ***

  "I'm home, Danny," Nicole called as she entered the house. She was elated to be there after yet another day of the same thing at work. She strolled to the living room and discovered her roommate knocked out on the couch just as she had left Danny that morning. The only problem was that Danny was wearing different clothes from the one's she had on in the morning. Nicole's gaze narrowed. What's going on, Danny? What aren't you telling me?

  Instead of waking Danny to interrogate her, Nicole showered, washing away the grime of the day. Her body didn't relax under the hot shower. Tension remained wrapped around her body like a giant anaconda. She went downstairs and went to the couch like always. She stared down at Danny and wondered if the younger woman would say anything about where she was earlier. Why is Danny sneaking around?

  "Nick?" Dane yawned as she turned in her sleep.

  "Danny, you awake?"

  "Hmm…"

  Nicole smiled slightly. "Of course not. You never just wake up when I sit down. I have to do this." She massaged the musician's scalp.

  "Nick." Dane smiled before yawning. She blinked a few times and opened her eyes to gaze at her housemate.

  "Hey, Danny. How was your day?" she asked, continuing to work on Danny's head.

  "Same as always."

  Nicole waited for an elaboration. Maybe some hint as to where Danny was that afternoon, but nothing else came her way. "How's the leg?"

  "A little better…I think…" Dane glanced down at the aforementioned limb.

  Nicole noticed grey eyes were pained as they checked out the leg, but she didn't mention it. "That's good. You should probably stay off of it tomorrow, too."

  Dane nodded. Nicole bit her lip to prevent herself from starting an interrogation. Why is Danny lying? Is she up to something? Nicole shook those thoughts away. Danny hadn't shown any signs of wrongdoing or endangering herself or Nicole. The one thing that Danny had done that was over the top she made sure to apologize profusely for and she was genuine. Nicole decided to give Danny the benefit of the doubt; no matter how suspicious Mister Boyler made everything Danny did sound.

  ***

  Nicole entered the house and tossed her briefcase aside. Rubbing her temples, she went directly to the living room to make sure Dane was where she usually was. There were lines underneath Nicole's tired green eyes as she wondered if Danny's leg was any better. Over the past week, Danny's leg seemed to be getting worse, but the former rocker didn't say anything. The limp and the cursing betrayed Dane's anguish. Nicole was going out of her mind trying to figure out what to do about her friend; not to mention work was as grueling as always.

  Dane was sleeping on the sofa. Her leg was propped up and there was a curious item resting next to her. Nicole approached the couch and put her hand on the black, vinyl case that was by Dane's head. Nicole unzipped it and saw that it was what she thought it was—a guitar.

  "I thought she didn't have a guitar…" Nicole muttered. Everything with Danny was getting stranger. "I don't think I can take any more of this…"

  She left the resting form on the sofa and went through her typical routine to get comfortable. Coming back into the living room she flopped down hard on the couch, accidentally waking Danny. Dane shot up from the couch, snorting and twis
ting from the shock. She relaxed when she saw Nicole sitting next to her and settled back into her original resting position.

  "Nick?" Dane said, blinking hard. "You don't look so good."

  "Thank you," Nicole replied sarcastically.

  "Sorry. You really don't look good, though. Are you okay?"

  "You're one to ask. How's the leg?"

  "Leg's how it always is. It's you that I'm concerned about. You seriously look like hell. Maybe you should go to bed."

  "No offer to carry me up there?" Nicole teased with a light laugh.

  The idea was so ludicrous at the moment that Dane had to laugh. That gave the redhead a clue on just how much Danny's leg was truly bothering her.

  "Danny, what's this guitar doing here? Are you holding it for a friend or something?"

  "Guitar?" Dane shifted to see what the hell her friend was talking about. "Oh. No, that's my guitar."

  "I thought you didn't have a guitar."

  "I don't have one in that case you see me carrying around. I've had this one put away for a long time."

  "And why do you have it now? Are you playing again?"

  Dane chewed on the inside of her cheek momentarily. Nicole was about to withdraw the question and apologize, but the musician proceeded to explain. "Well, I'm not exactly playing again. I've been giving lessons…you know…like a job…thing…" She glanced away, as if she were embarrassed to admit that.

  "You got a job?" Nicole smiled.

  "Don't bust a gut with joy here, Nick. Yes, I got a job. Figured it'd keep me out of trouble. To be honest…I was going to surprise you by buying replacements for all the stuff that got broken at the party."