The Fighter's Block (7 page)

His words at face value were just fine, but Dani knew all too well that Brian was full of lip service. Yeah, for a while things were great between them. He was there for her when she lost her job, and when she couldn’t pay the rent on her apartment anymore, Brian was more than willing to let her move in with him—even though they’d barely been dating but a few weeks. She didn’t feel like she had a choice. Jaime and Steve were going through a rough patch and she didn’t want to add any more stress to their marriage. Her friends all offered a couch
f
or a short-term stay, but she didn’t really expect anyone to go out of their way. She
was
in between jobs, and she decided that Brian’s offer was the best one at the time.

For a few weeks it was great. Brian was a really sweet guy and he always treated her like a princess. B
ut then Dani
began
seeing a side to him that she really didn’t like. He started
to get
a little controlling, and he started making her feel guilty about going out with her other friends. He even got into a little tiff with Casey, her guy fri
end that she’d known for years.
Casey hadn’t
spoken to her since
,
but
all of his
suspicions
about Brian were finally getting through to her
.

And then that night at the club… He accused her of smiling at some guy. She might have—she wasn’t even sure—but Brian took it way too far and made a big scene over it. That was the last straw for
her
and she ended it entirely
.

Now she had Van. Or did she?
She couldn’t read him very well
but her instincts told her he was a good guy. It seemed like they were now in a relationship, even though neither of them really
chose to label it
. But they’d only known each
other for a week
and Dani was trying to pace her feelings for him. She wasn’t about to throw herself into another relationship so fully like she’d done with Brian. There were aspects of that experience that she was sti
ll trying to sort out. S
he felt she was too needy with Brian. She was too dependent on him too soon because she was struggling
at the time
.
Her circumstances made her make choices that she otherwise wouldn’t have
made
.

And then when Van came into the picture… It just seemed like the same scenario. He was there to help her with something
she couldn’t handle on her own
and Dani didn’t want to get mixed up over it. She had a compensation complex: she always had to ma
ke sure she paid someone back.
She really liked Van, and she appreciated how selfless and considerate he was, but she wished they hadn’t met under the circumstances that they had. Dani already worried that he felt sorry for her, or he was only interested in her because
it had been convenient that way.

She wasn’t quite sure what to think just yet…

Brian threw the phone against the wall. He’d left her several messages and she refused to call him back. But if she wanted to make things harder for herself, then he could be patient. She’d
need his help again in no time
and then this little fight would be long forgotten.

But it had been eight days and she hadn’t so much as picked up the phone to answer his call. It wasn’t like Dani to be so
egotistical
. She owed Brian and she knew it. There was no way that she’d just cut off all ties with him just because she was mad at him. Plus her stuff was still in his apartment. She’d never just leave it there. No, she was coming back.

He happened to glance at the calendar: March
1
5
th
. He suddenly remembered that
she
would be at Jaime’s house, watching the kids
while Jaime and Steve went to some kind of
charity
event.

He got up from the couch and grabbed his keys, glancing at his watch. He was pretty sure she’d still be there, so he headed downstairs to jump in the car. He got excited that he was finally going to see her, and as he came down Griffin Street, he felt
confident
that he’d say the right things to get her back.

But
the disappointment set in when
he
saw her car back out of Jaime’s driveway
ahead
,
and then she turned onto the next street
.

He decided to follow her. She hadn’t stayed at Jaime’s the last two times he’d been by her house, and if Dani wasn’t staying there, he had no idea where she
would be. He’d already tried
M
ia’s
house
and Jillian’s apartment; he’d even watched Casey’s house for a night and she hadn’t shown up there
,
either.
He wasn’t sure what to think since those were the only friends Dani would consider staying with
, and he knew that the rest of her family was out of the question
.

As he followed her this time, he wasn’t sure where she
could be
headed. She ended up par
king on
Willet
Street,
and
then
she
entered an apartment building that Brian was unfamiliar with. He couldn’t recall any friends that lived in this particular neighborhood
, but he was aware of the fact that Dani
had a new job
and could possibly be
there for other reasons.

He
convinced himself it
wasn’t where she was staying
.

He sat in his car for almost two hours and she still hadn’t come out. He even called her again but her phone went right to voicemail, which meant it was turned off.
He was tempted
to just go inside the building to see what he could f
ind out. F
inally
he
did enter
the lobby to see if there
was a list of
names and apartment numbers he could look over, and even though there
was a wall of mailboxes with last names only
,
nothing was familiar to him
.

A kid came off the elevator—he looked to be about fifteen or so—and Brian stopped him with a friendly smile.

“Excuse me. I was supposed to
meet
my girlfriend here, but I forgot the name of the friend she’s visiting.
My girlfriend’s
about this tall,
” he motioned with his hand to his
neck
,
“
has
dark
brown hair that’s long, big blue eyes… She’s beautiful
, a model
. P
robably can’t miss her. Have you seen her here?”

The kid
thought for a second and then nodded his head. “Yeah, I think so. She was rushing out of here this morning pretty fast. It might have been her.”

“Her name is Dani.
Or Danielle.
You think that was her?”

“Uh, I don’t know her name, but I saw her another time, too. Maybe last week.”

“Has she been staying here?”

The kid gave him a funny look, like he’d caught onto Brian’s snooping.

“I’ve been out of town and she doesn’t like to stay at home alone,”
Brian
smiled. “I just forgot which friend lives here.”

The kid seemed to accept that answer but shrugged his shoulders. “I really don’t know. I just saw her those two times. I mean if it
was
her.”

Brian smiled another friendly smile and asked, “Well, did you see her with anyone else? Maybe you can describe the person so I know which of her friends lives here.”

He shook his head. “No, she was by herself. Sorry. You can always ask Eddie,” he pointed to somewhere behin
d him. “
He’s probably in the office—
”

“Oh, nah, that’s okay,” Brian smiled casually. “I’ll just give her a call.
Thanks, though
.”

The kid left out the front door and Brian stood there for a moment. He didn’t want to risk a run-in with Eddie,
so he left a few seconds later
and then sat in his car again.

So Dani really was staying here. At least it seemed that way. Brian was uncomfortable with that, and he knew he needed to change his tactics. Maybe it was time to be a little more
assertive
.

Dani was lounged across Van’s couch when she decided to check her messages. She was reluctant because she didn’t want to
hear
another message from
her ex
. But while Van was down the hall talking to Quincy, she decided to get it over with. She hated the fact that he called her all the time, and she seriously consid
ered
changing her
phone number. But with Brian, she almost felt like it wouldn’t do any good.

Van left Quincy’s with what he came for and re-entered his apartment. Dani was on the phone, so he set the movies by the television and returned to the couch to sit with her. But he’d already caught the look on her face before she tried to hide it, and when she hung up the phone and
attempted to det
er the moment right away, Van wasn’t fooled.

“Uh, n
o
, I don’t care what we watch first,” he answered her. “I’ll let you pick.”

“Chick flick?”

He smiled. “I think all Q had was chick flicks. Take your pick,” he nodded to the pile.

He watched her peruse through the movies until she chose one, and when she paused trying to figure out his entertainment system, Van got up to help her.

“So what was the phone call?” he asked as he stuck the movie into the DVD player.

Dani was caught off guard, thinking she had played it off just right.
“Oh u
h, just listening to my messages,” she shrugged as she sat on the couch.

Van slightly nodded and then turned to face her. “And it was somethin
g pretty serious. Anything I can help with
?”

She didn’t know what to say. She actually wanted to tell him about it, but at the same time, she wasn’t sure
what
kind of conflict it would cause
. She was so done with Brian
and she didn’t even want to mention his name.

“Dani, whatever it is you can tell me,” Van said gently
, sitting down next to her. He put his arm on the back of the couch behind her
. “You looked pretty worried, and even now, when you’re trying not to seem concerned, I can tell something is bothering you. What is it? Who called?”

She hesitated, but finally sighed and said, “Brian.”

Van wasn’t surprised. And he’d also gotten the feeling the guy had probably called before. It explained why she was so weird with her phone sometimes. She claimed she liked to turn it off so she could have the time alone with him without any distractions, but he never knew of any girl that went to those lengths. Sure they’d turn the ringer off, but not shut it off entirely.

“H
ow many times has he called you
and what does he want?” Van asked her.

She sighed and replied, “H
e’s called at least a dozen times and left
about six messages
. I don’t answer his calls.”

“So
what
do the messages
say
?
”

“Just…stuff about me coming back and talking things over. I have zero interest in seeing him,” she added quickly, hoping that Van didn’t actually think she did.

“I know you don’t,” he replied. “But Dani, you’re worried about something. What is it? Is that all he says on the phone? He’s not threatening you, is he?”

Van expected the worst, and h
e looked at he
r until she finally decided
to tell him.
Brian was an expert at
interrogation, and
Dani
was used to having to defend herself over every little thing he got upset about. But Van wasn’t that way. She could tell that he was just worried
for
her.

But
she could also tell that Van was debating whether or not he needed to kick Brian’s ass again…