Messy Ending

Danny

“Oh, I could fucking kill that bastard,” Sammi seethed, pacing back and forth in front of me. “How could he do that to her?!” she was nearly screaming and I would be surprised if Dai couldn’t hear her.

“Sam, love, calm down-“ I started to soothe her, but she was quick to interrupt me.

“Calm down?!” she aimed her rage at me now. “CALM DOWN?! My best friend is in there,” she gestured wildly at the door Dai was behind, “crying her fucking eyes out because of that asshole and I’m supposed to calm down?!”

“Sam,” I managed to maintain a calm tone. I stood up and pulled her close to me in an effort to calm her rage. “We’ll go in the morning and get Dai’s car and when we do we’ll talk to Ben.”

“Fuck that!” she scooped Dai’s keys off of the coffee table and looked me square in the eyes. “Let’s go now.” She had her jaw locked and I knew I wouldn’t be easy to sway her from the decision.

“Sam…” I tugged her back by the hand before she could get too far. “It’s late. We can always go tomorrow. C’mon let’s go to bed.”

“Danny, I don’t wanna go tomorrow. Ben needs to hear this now!” she argued, breaking free of my hold on her. “If you don’t take me I’ll drive there myself.”

That girl was so stubborn and hard headed, though I couldn’t say much, because I did fall in love with her. “And how do you expect to get her car back here, huh?” I queried as I arched an eyebrow and folded my arms over my chest.

“Maybe I’ll just go there to have a talk with Ben and return in the morning to get her car,” she retorted without a second thought.

A small smile found its way to my lips and I shook my head with a slight chuckle. “Fine, Sammi. Fine.” I took Dai’s keys from her and grabbed my own as well.

Sammi smirked her victory at me and led me out of her apartment.

~~~

Before I brought the car to a complete stop Sammi was hopping out and running up to Ben’s door. “Sam! Jesus Christ, be careful!” I shouted at her as I began to chase her across the yard.

Sammi barely acknowledged me on her sprint to Ben’s door. She then proceeded to bang her fist on his door several times.

Moments later the door opened, revealing Ben. One look at him and I could tell he’s been crying. His eyes were bloodshot and the salty water of the tears stained his cheeks, making them blotchy.

Sammi, with her tiny hands, shoved against Ben’s chest. Without much of a fight the shove sent him stumbling back into the foyer, despite the fact he probably could have resisted the small girl if he wanted to. “How the fuck could you do that to her?!” she screamed at him as I shut the door behind us.

Ben didn’t respond to her, not even when her palm connected with his cheek. The slap echoed in the foyer. By the way he did nothing about Sammi and the look on his face I could tell that he was miserable.

“Ben, she loved you so fucking much! Do you know how it feels to have your best friend come home in tears and listen to her cry herself to sleep, because of some asshole?!” She kept her voice at the same high pitched scream she’d used before.

Ben decided then that he could speak. “You don’t understand, Sammi. I do love her. I really fucking do.” Tears were beginning to gather in his eyes now.

“Bullshit,” she scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “If you loved her you would have broken up with your girlfriend before you tried to get with her, let alone sleep with her!”

The pain in Ben’s eyes was clear and I couldn’t recall any other instance in which I had seen him cry. He just didn’t do it and I could tell by the tears welling in his eyes that Dai meant the world to him. Now he was a fucking idiot for not breaking up with Ali before this catastrophe, but if he had another chance with Dai I was sure he wouldn’t repeat his mistakes. He would treat her better than he had Ali even.

“Sam.” I stepped forward to grip her forearm, gently. “Lay off him a little.”

Sammi looked at me then like I’d just sprouted two extra heads. “Are you kidding me?! You saw how torn up Dai was!”

“Yeah,” I agreed with a curt nod of my head. “But right now I also see how torn up Ben is. Yeah, he’s a fucking idiot in the fact that he stayed with Ali and got with Dai.” I paused to shoot him a pointed look. “He made a mistake.”

Sammi obviously couldn’t care less for an argument that stood up for Ben. She turned to face him now, scrutinizing his countenance. “Did you take Dai into account at all when you made this as Danny put it ‘mistake’?”

A loud sigh escaped his lips. “In all honesty, yes. I couldn’t break up with Ali over the phone while she was caring for her nearly dying father, but all I could think about was if Dai found out. I was going to break up with Ali the second I saw her in person. I never wanted to hurt Dai.” The last of his sentence broke off him a soft sob.

“You did hurt her, Ben. Tonight I listened from my living room as she cried herself to sleep because of you,” she informed him for the second time that night, just as harshly as she had before.

“Sam,” I cut in before she could say another word. “Can I please talk to Ben privately? You should just take Dai’s car home,” I suggested, tossing her the keys that I’d hidden safely away in my jacket pocket.

Surprised, she reached up and caught the keys with both her tiny hands. “Danny-“ She cut her protest short when she took notice of one of the rare serious expressions I wore on my face.

“Do it, please,” I requested in a gentle voice. When she slowly nodded her head, I pecked her lips softly. “Thank you. I’ll be over shortly, love.”

She scurried out the door, briskly.

“You fucking idiot,” I spat the moment the door shut behind her. “Dai loves you so much and I fucking know you love her too! Why would you throw all that away?” Angrily, I paced back and forth in front of him just as Sammi had done to me only an hour before. “Listen, Ben, I love Dai like a little sister. Seeing her hurt like this makes me want to fucking murder the bastard that made her feel this way. Now, I can’t exactly do that as the culprit just so happens to be my best friend,” I ranted, pacing back and forth and not once looking up at him the entire time.

“Danny…” Ben finally spoke, breaking me from my rambling trance. “I don’t want to lose her. I can’t. It would kill me if I lost her.”

I turned to finally look at him. “I believe you, but I think you’ve already fucked this up, Ben,” I told, bluntly. “However, I don’t think it’s hopeless. That girl adores you and loves you more than anything else. I’m sure there could be something you can do.” I gestured wildly with my hands and paused to think about what I would say next. “Don’t take my word on this, though. She’s pretty miserable.” I took another short pause. “And for the record, I don’t believe the guys will be as kind to you on this matter as I was. We all love Dai, you know.”

Without looking up at me he nodded. Absentmindedly he fidgeted with his hands. “Yeah. I know.” I thought he didn’t have any more to say, but then he added, “I’m probably dead to you guys now… It doesn’t matter. It’s what I deserve.”

I regarded him sadly for a moment before I spoke again. “I’ve got to get back to Sammi, Ben. I know she didn’t want to leave.”

He nodded once more without words.

“Ben, you need to make this right,” I continued in a soft voice.

“I would if she didn’t hate me. It’s probably best if I keep my distance from her. She’d be happy if I never saw her again. All I want is for her to be happy,” he told me, tone desolate.

“She would be happy if none of this had ever happened,” I muttered, starting my way toward the door.

“Yeah. I know,” he replied for what felt like the hundredth time that night in a soft tone.

Once more I regarded him sadly before I left him for Sammi and Dai’s apartment.