The Love We Hate

CHAPTER 6

“Danielle!” Chip’s angry voice bellowed in the house, bouncing off the walls and scraping at her already raw nerves.

A short tense silence followed. Danielle didn’t dare answer or walk to the room where Chip lay in bed, demanding her presence.

If Danielle had to see Chip’s face one more time or hear him scream a demand like an entitled royal ass of a crime boss, she thought she was going to implode.

She held her breath and waited. She knew he would call again and the agitation in his voice would only grow with her refusal to respond. It was as predictable as the sunrise at this point.

It had become dreadfully clear that the house was too small for the both of them to coexist in peace. Especially with everything that had happened.

Danielle had to get out, she had to breathe, she just had to draw a bit of fresh air away from him. There was too much pent-up energy swirling in her blood. She needed an outlet. She also needed to distract herself from all the questions, anger and confusion that assaulted her mind night and day.

Just then, an idea floated in her mind. It got her heart pumping hard with possibility. Danielle loved the gym and her body showed just how deep that love went. She didn’t have an ounce of fat on her body. Her muscles were firm. If she took the time to lift weights, she would probably have defined biceps as well. Lucky for her, she only loved to run, cycle, and extensively use the elliptical machine. She loved the way she pushed her body until every tense muscle in her had no choice but to let go.

Her foot tapped against the floor in agitation for a few seconds. She had the option of sneaking out and hitting the nearest gym hard. She could work her body and sweat from every pore on her skin until her muscles trembled from exhaustion.

By then, she was certain she would be in less of a mood to strangle her own brother with her bare hands. Her tolerance levels would certainly be recharged and ready to go another round.

She mused over it for a moment. Her second option was to sneak out for some fun instead. As soon as Danielle retrieved her phone and searched for Khandi’s name, she knew which option she preferred.

~~~

“Wait, back up.” Khandi twirled her pointing finger in the air in almost a blur. “I need more details. Use more words this time. The hot air blowing out of your ears doesn’t translate to meaningful words, I’m afraid.”

Danielle threw her friend an exasperated look. She really couldn’t blame Khandi. Danielle wasn’t sure she was making sense, anyway. She was trying to summarize everything that had happened in a single sentence while desperately trying to keep a lid on her emotions bubbling under her skin.

She was mentally tired and frustrated. Dealing with her new reality was taking a toll on her, and Chip wasn’t making things any easier. Hell, he seemed to be on a mission to drive her insane.

With a sigh, she tried again. “Dad, Innocent, and Henry are all dead.”

“I got that part. I would say my condolences, but I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about it and, most importantly… how you feel about it.”

A beat passed, then Danielle shrugged. “What do you want me to say? I’m sort of sad and I miss them, but it doesn’t also change the fact about who they were and I somehow feel that they not only had it coming, but they deserved it.”

The pained look in Khandi’s eyes said she knew exactly how confusing and contradictory the emotions were. Her hand came up, and she ran her fingers through her hair a few times while she seemed deep in thought, as though she was trying to process a complicated math equation. And unfortunately, calculus wasn’t her strong suit.

Danielle threw herself on Khandi’s bed and closed her eyes. She had sneaked out of the house without being caught. That had been some good luck finally on her side. She knew she had a few hours before she had to go back. There was so much she had to tell Khandi. They hadn’t spoken since before the shooting. Danielle told her friend she had gone dark and silent on her for the sake of all their safety, but the truth was, Danielle just hadn’t known if she needed a friend, or if she could actually rely on Khandi as one. The possibility that Khandi would have turned her back just like everyone else had kept Danielle from reaching out.

But now she was in Khandi’s room across town and her friend hadn’t yet thrown her out. It was a relief.

“So why is Chip giving you a hard time?” Khandi finally asked, after processing everything Danielle had told her. Or at least the bits she had captured from the poorly summarised narrative Danielle had given.

Danielle didn’t bother to open her eyes when she answered, “Does he ever need a reason to make my life hell?”

“Don’t be like that, Danielle.”

“Like what!” she snapped and shot up off the bed to pace the confines of the small bedroom. Anger and frustration radiated from her in waves.

“He is the only family you have left… you…” Khandi hesitated and scratched her scalp before continuing. “You two have to work on your relationship and be there for each other now.”

A mocking, dry cackle burst out of Danielle’s mouth. “Work on a relationship? With Chip?” She shook her head and let loose another round of harsh laughter. After a few seconds, she finally sobered and looked at her friend. “I know of all my brothers you have always had a soft spot for Chip, Khandi… But whatever angel you think you see in him is an illusion. Chip is a Marvick down to his bone marrow. He could give the devil a run for his money.”

“But you saved him.”

Danielle frowned as though the statement left a nasty taste in her mouth. “Family. Loyalty. Strength,” she spat out words like they burned her tongue.

Her friend’s lips thinned in disapproval. “That was your father’s belief.”

“And he made sure to engrave it into our brains. I couldn’t have left Chip bleeding out in the forest. Whether or not I like it, he is still my family.”

Khandi shook her head. “I don’t get you sometimes. One second you sound like you would do anything for your family and then the next, you sound like you would gladly put a bullet through your own brother’s skull.”

Danielle chuckled softly before she sighed sadly and said with a defeated wave of her arm. “That is my life.”

A moment passed, and both women remained quiet and staring anywhere but at each other. Each was lost in their own thoughts.

Danielle absentmindedly took in the state of Khandi’s room for the first time since arriving. Nothing had changed since the last time she had been there, she realized.

Her friend’s room still held the same simple double bed with a knitted blanket that Danielle knew Khandi’s grandmother had made. A large blue teddy bear sat on one of the pillows on the bed. There were posters of boy bands on the walls that had been there for years since they were teenagers. It was like looking at the room of a little girl that never really grew up.

It was almost a wonder how they had ever become friends, as innocent and normal as Khandi’s life was compared to Danielle’s.

Six years ago, two teenagers had run into each other at the mall when Danielle had been out shopping. A rare occasion of freedom. The sixteen-year-olds had met over a similar interest in fashion and had quickly formed a friendship against all odds. Or maybe it had been because of all the differences.

Danielle never hid anything from her friend. Not that it would have been possible with her family like hers and the constant presence of dangerous-looking men always within reach of her. Her family name was also a dead giveaway. Even normal people who had nothing to do with the criminal underworld had heard whispers of it.

She could still remember the day Khandi actually witnessed how cold and merciless the Marvick family could be. Clement Marvick himself had been at the center of that display of brute force against a young man that had dared to cross him. Danielle had been certain she would lose her friend, but Khandi hadn’t left. Whether it was fear or genuine love that kept her around, Danielle had never been sure. She just chose never to look the gift horse in the mouth.

But every so often, she thought about it. If she was being rational, Danielle would have just believed Khandi loved her, and it was as simple as that. Except, things were never that simple. So Danielle left some room for doubt.

“What are you going to do, Danielle?” Khandi eventually asked.

That was the million dollar question. But one Danielle wasn’t yet ready to answer. She only knew the answer to the impulse that had driven her to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night at the risk of endangering her life and incurring her brother’s wrath. “Right now? I’m going to have fun.”

Khandi blinked. “What?”

“I want to go out and have some fun,” she clarified with a smile.