Soon after, Michelle called out to her that dinner was ready. She moved the chair back into its rightful position and walked down the hallway into the kitchen.
‘Can I help with anything?’
‘Oh, you’re so sweet, but no thank you, everything’s already done. Just go and sit down, honey, I’ll dish in a second.’
Danni went and sat down. She assumed Michelle sat at the other end of the table from her husband so she sat to the left of Michael, opposite Andrew. Andrew was staring at her intently, and she could still feel his stare as she dipped her head and looked at the meal that Michelle was dishing up.
‘This smells delicious Michelle, thank you.’ It was the best meal she’d had in a while, months even, possibly years. Her mother wasn’t big on cooking and Beth sure as shit wasn’t going to cook for her.
During dinner she answered the questions that Michael and Michelle asked her. They seemed to be going out of the way to make her feel at ease. Halfway through the meal, she felt a foot touch her ankle, sliding its way up her leg. She looked directly at Andrew for the first time. He was smiling.
She stood up and he frowned. ‘I hope you don’t mind if I don’t finish my dinner, I’m suddenly not feeling so well.’ Without waiting for a reply from either one of them, she quickly walked down to her room, shut the door gently and placed the chair under the knob. She did actually feel unwell. How dare this boy act like that toward her. In that moment, she felt like feeding his balls to him. She was not going to stand for another abusive house, yet another person that made her feel small, scared and alone.
She managed some sleep early in the morning, most of the night spent with one eye open to vigilantly check the door. It was a familiar feeling. When she went into the kitchen the next morning after getting into her school uniform, Michelle was making pancakes and toast. ‘Which would you prefer?’ she asked.
‘Do you have any coffee?’ Danni asked.
‘Coffee?’ asked Michelle as if it were a foreign concept to her. ‘Well, I guess there’s no harm in it.’ She grabbed a cup and poured coffee into it. She put it to her lips, and it tasted bitter, like her life. She couldn’t wait to get to school to see Joe. Everything would be fine once she saw him, talked to him, felt his arms around her. She’d be safe.
Danni grabbed her bag after finishing her coffee. Luckily for her, Andrew caught the bus to another school, a fancier school where they all wore blazers. Michael and Michelle were so proud that he went to that school. They couldn’t see that he was a spoiled twat. Danni didn’t see the big deal. It was like throwing away perfectly good money.
‘Oh, Danni, before you go, I needed to tell you something. I’ve booked you an appointment with the psychologist.’
‘What? Why?’ she said, alarmed. She didn’t need to see a psychologist. She was fine.
‘The department suggested that it would be a good idea to follow up with one. Okay?’ Michelle smiled reassuringly at her.
Danni, stunned, just nodded. She walked out the door as fast as she could, some long-forgotten memory tugging at her, just out of reach, but instinctively she knew she didn’t want someone poking around in her head. Was it really just a case of her needing help due to her background? Or did Michelle do this to make sure they weren’t sharing a house with a psychopath? The latter seemed more likely to Danni.
She smiled as she walked through the gates of the school, desperate to see Joe. She went to the courtyard where she and Joe normally hung out. He was there… but so was Beth. Hanging on his every word, her laughter carried on the breeze to reach her ears. How could Joe even sit near her? He knew what Danni had gone through at her hands. Instead of going to stake her claim, she went to the toilets to do something she’d been meaning to do for a week, she’d just been waiting to be somewhere safe and private.
Three minutes after entering the toilet, she got her answer. She was pregnant. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. How could this have happened? They always used a condom. Neither of them wanted a baby, yet here it was, growing inside of her. She lifted up her dress, bunched it around her waist and slid her hand over her flat belly. One day soon it would be swollen with Joe’s baby. Joe. How the hell was she going to tell Joe? She didn’t think he’d be happy, in fact, he’d be furious. She thought about Beth and wondered if they’d picked up where they’d left off again? But she believed Joe when he said it was over. She resolved to tell him that afternoon when he drove her home. But he didn’t appear at their usual pick up spot. Was he with her sister?
Danni went straight back to the house and used the phone to call Joe’s mobile. He picked up after the third ring.
‘Hey,’ she said when he picked up. ‘I missed you this afternoon. Was I late?’
‘Nah, had some other things to do.’ She heard the tittering of a female in the background as he shushed her quiet.
‘Joe, I really need to talk to you. Today. Could you please come over?’
‘It’ll be dark soon,’ he said, as if that was an excuse. She was silent and he exhaled noisily. ‘Okay, I’ll be there in twenty.’
She brushed her hair and changed out of her uniform, waiting anxiously for Joe to come around. When he did, he beeped the horn and she went out to his car, getting in the front seat.
‘Hey, babe,’ he said as he leaned over and kissed her. She kissed him back, wondering if it was going to be the last time their lips ever touched.
‘I came looking for you this morning and saw you with Beth, you two looked cosy.’
‘Jesus, Danni, not everything is about you.’
‘You’re right,’ she said calmly, ‘this is about us. Joe,’ she said, taking in a big gulp of air. ‘We’re pregnant.’
He sat there looking at her for a long moment, frozen.
‘Joe, did you hear me? I said…’
‘I know what you fucking well said, Danni!’ he spat. ‘How did you let this happen?’
‘How did I? You were there too, weren’t you?’ she asked angrily.
He hit the steering wheel in frustration, banging it hard repeatedly. Danni had never seen him violent, so she knew he was really angry at her, or at the situation, she couldn’t tell which.
‘Well, what are you going to do about it?’
‘You mean what are we going to do about it?’
‘Danni, how am I ever supposed to get out of this town saddled with a kid? A wife even? I had planned on going by myself.’
‘You little piece of chicken shit. How dare you say that to me. This is happening to us both. I had plans as well, you know. I turn eighteen in two months and I was going to leave too, with you, I had hoped. Are you going to do the right thing or what?’
‘What? Stay in town, get married and raise a family?’ he asked sarcastically.
‘Yes,’ she said simply. ‘We’ll stay in town. We don’t know anyone in the city and we’ll have a baby. It makes sense to stay where we know.’
Joe was silent for a good five minutes, obviously running through his options. While she waited, Danni played with a thread on her jeans, pulling at it until it came away in her fingers.
‘Okay.’
‘Okay what?’
‘We’ll have this baby and get married when you’re eighteen. Till then, shit has to stay a secret, okay? No one can know, they might separate you from me.’
‘Cross my heart. But you have to do one thing for me.’
‘What?’
‘Stop hanging around Beth.’
For a moment she thought he was going to say no, but then he smiled and suddenly all her worries faded away as he nodded.
‘I trust you,’ she whispered. Finally, she felt happy.
It didn’t last long. Within two days Beth came for her. She had just finished sport, wondering how much longer she would be able to play soccer, knowing that she only had a couple of months until she turned eighteen. She was so caught up in her musings that she didn’t realise everyone had left but her.
She had her back to the door and didn’t hear any
one enter the locker room until she was pushed violently against the wall. The person spun her around and Danni saw immediately that it was Beth, but she didn’t look like Beth. Danni had never seen her like this, so angry; her face was red, livid with rage. She punched the wall, hard, right beside Danni’s head. Danni flinched from the blow. Beth looked ready to kill her and Danni was seriously frightened for her life.
‘How could you?’ Beth said in a low dangerous voice.
Danni felt the hairs on her arms stand up. ‘How did you find out?’ she asked weakly.
‘You think he didn’t tell me? How you trapped him. He’s devastated, broken. You did that to him,’ she spat.
‘Beth… I never meant for this to happen, I was going to go away, leave this place but it all went… wrong.’
‘If I ever see you again, I’m going to kill you, do you understand Danni?’
22
Mia couldn’t stop thinking about the meeting at the café with David. The way he had looked at her, what he’d said to her, how she felt safe in his presence. There were no warring parents, and no Oliver stalking her and trying to scare her. She knew it was wrong, that she shouldn’t have let him hug her to his side and she should definitely not have let him put a hand up her shirt. She had touched him back, wasn’t she leading him on? Then again, no one had seemed to see her in a long time, seen within her soul. Not ever actually. David got her.
Walking into the classroom for first period maths with Jane sitting beside her and Oliver behind her as usual, for once Mia was able to ignore Oliver. It was only after Mia looked in her bag that she realised that she didn’t have her textbook and notebook. Where the hell had she left them? It was then that she remembered that she had left them at the café when she had run out on David.
‘Mia?’ She looked up. ‘I’d like a moment of your time outside in the hallway if you don’t mind.’
Mia scraped her chair as she stood, her classmates making noises at her. She looked over at Jane who gave her a look as if to say, what did you do?
Mia walked out into the hallway. David kicked the door shut with his foot. ‘You ran out of the café before you could take your books, so I thought I’d be a gentleman and return them to you.’ He handed over the books to Mia who took them from him, their hands touching briefly.
‘Meet me after school, Mia, near the shed on the edge of the oval. Please. I want to help you with your problems, and I can’t do that if you won’t talk to me.’ He touched her on the shoulder, gripping her gently. ‘Let me help you.’
‘Okay,’ she whispered before opening the door, holding her books and going inside.
She saw both Jane and Oliver staring at her. Jane raised her eyebrows, a questioning look on her face. Oliver looked angry.
The day went slowly. Mia kept glancing at the clock in each classroom, watching the minute hand go round and round, inching ever closer to the three o’clock bell. Should she meet David after school? She still wasn’t sure, even when the bell rang, yet she found her feet walking towards the oval. As the shed came into view, David stepped out from the doorway. His arms were stretched up, hands gripping the top of the door frame. It was hot and his t-shirt was pulled tight across his chest and his arms. Mia found her breath increase in speed, her heart beating faster and faster.
‘Hey Mia,’ said David in his gravelly voice.
‘David, hi. I’m not sure… not sure why I’m here. This is weird. I don’t know.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with meeting up, Mia, we can work on your maths, just like we planned to the other day if you want. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.’ He put down his arms, placing his hands on both of Mia’s shoulders. ‘What do you want to do?’ he asked, his voice husky with desire.
As if she had a choice. Mia dropped her bag to the ground and stepped into David’s arms. He gently wrapped her against his chest where she felt his heartbeat. It was a nice, steady beat. Comforting, solid. Something real she could cling to. She pulled back, staring up into David’s eyes. He looked down at her, as if he was staring into her soul. She felt the electricity crackle between them. He stood closer to Mia, breathing her in, then he gently bent down and kissed her on the lips.
Mia’s whole body was on fire with desire. She knew it was wrong, but as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, she didn’t give a damn. David pulled her closer, crushing him to her, then backed away.
‘I’m sorry, Mia, I just can’t help myself.’
Mia stood up on tip toes, the wind blowing her hair over her face as she turned to check no one was watching. ‘I can’t either,’ she whispered, as she leaned in for another kiss. This time she felt David’s hand gently cup the curve of her buttocks, pulling her to him, melding their bodies together. It felt right, like they belonged together. She never wanted this to end, but eventually, they heard laughter and were forewarned that students were nearby. Mia left first, picking up her bag where she had carelessly dropped it to the ground. David followed her out a few minutes later.
Neither of them were aware that their romantic tryst had been caught on camera. Oliver had seen, and recorded, everything.
At first Danni didn’t know what to do with this information. She couldn’t deny that Mia was seeing her teacher and tutor. Oliver, Mia’s stalker, had photographic proof. She couldn’t explain it away as innocent because it wasn’t. They had been in the pictures in all their glory, kissing in the doorway of the shed. How romantic.
She felt so many emotions flying around her head. Trust was her biggest issue right now. She couldn’t trust her daughter to tell her the truth and she had trusted David Simmonds to be a role model for Mia and teach her maths, not how to have an affair with her teacher. How did they even get to this stage? They had only had two lessons to her knowledge. Did they even study? Thoughts of naked limbs entangled pushed their way into her already full and jumbled mind. She struggled to get them out. She wanted to wring his neck for what he had done and slap Mia again for being so… well… stupid.
Danni knew that she should have taken snaps on her phone of the photos that Oliver had taken in case he erased them down the track. The thought made her mad all over again. He’d probably never agree to meet her again now, especially not alone. She had thought Oliver the one responsible for starting the fire, but now she wasn’t sure. She found herself believing him. David, on the other hand, he had a lot of explaining to do.
Oliver Marks pushed his damaged bike the rest of the way home, paint missing from where Danni Brooks had taken a crowbar to it. It was ruined beyond repair and he was not only pissed, but scared. He had to hide the bike before his father saw it. He headed toward the shed, but then he heard swearing coming from within. Oliver could hear things being thrown around, smashed against the walls. Oliver knew that he couldn’t hide it in the shed, so he wheeled his bike around the side of the house to push it against the wall under his window. It would have to do.
Oliver went into the kitchen slowly, quietly closing the door so he didn’t startle his mother.
‘Oh, hi, how are you?’
‘Good thanks, Mum. I’m just going to my room,’ he said, too quickly.
His mum looked at him strangely, but she had learned to keep her mouth shut. He went down to his bedroom, pulling out the camera from his bag. He had plans for these photos. He downloaded the images quickly, copying them to two thumb drives. He tucked one into his pocket and put the other one in his hidey hole.
‘Oliver!’ called his mother.
‘Coming, Mum,’ Oliver responded. He headed down toward the kitchen, knowing that his mother would never have yelled like that if his father had been in the house. He must still be outside.
‘How has school been?’ she asked, flour dusting the end of her nose.
‘Fine,’ he said, swiping the flour from her nose. As he set the table, he could still hear things being broken in the shed. ‘Dad having a bad day again?’ he asked, knowing the answer.
‘Your dad lost his job today
. He was laid off,’ she whispered. His mother had such a terrified look on her face that Oliver felt sorry for her. He knew she was going to cop it later, and he knew that, as usual, he’d step between them. He had never successfully managed to really hurt the big, burly man, but it didn’t stop him from trying. He’d had black eyes on more than one occasion. The only person he had confided in was Ms Appleby, the guidance counsellor at school.
He sat down to dinner, as did his mother, waiting on his father to come inside. Finally he did, slamming the door, not taking his boots off, tracking mud and dirt across the lino. Just another thing his mum would have to clean up after him. His dad sat down, dropping his weight into the chair which groaned alarmingly.
‘How was school today?’ he asked in a quiet voice.
‘Fine thanks, Dad,’ Oliver said.
‘That all you got to say, boy?’ his father said, spoiling for a fight.
Oliver looked at his mother, her eyes pleading with him to just leave it alone, just for one night.
He nodded slightly, he wouldn’t make his mum’s life harder than it already was.
After dinner, Oliver went to his bedroom and checked that the thumb drive was in his bag, ready to use. Since he didn’t have his newer bike, he would have to ride his old one, smaller and with a slightly wonky wheel. It would have to do. The next morning he rode all the way to school, leaving early and wondering how his mother was going to cope with his father home all day. She’d get nothing done, she’d be scared to. He would have stayed home today to help her, but he had something important to do.
He parked his bike and chained up the piece of shit that no one in their right mind would steal. Oliver headed straight for the maths classroom and found Mr Simmonds sitting at his desk, alone.
‘Oliver,’ he said as he looked up. ‘How are you this morning?’
‘Fine thanks, David.’ Mr Simmonds frowned at the use of his first name. ‘I just have something I want to show you. Some photos that I took.’
The Silent Daughter Page 15