It was early evening when he finally was escorted back to his apartment. He had some cotton in his mouth where his tooth had come loose, his right eye was swollen and a bruise on his left cheek. The ID card that hung from his neck felt like the scarlet letter. A physical representation of his deception. He hung his head low in the short walk back to his apartment and lifted his head to see Dani’s door.
“Actually, can we stop here? I want to visit with a friend.” He asked the security guards who looked at each other and nodded at him. He sighed and knocked on her door, hoping the guards would just leave instead of wait for him to go inside, but that was unlikely.
It had been a strange day. She had returned home early that morning after spending the previous day with Roman - he had been so wonderful to comfort her after she had stumbled upon the dead guard - and was preparing a cup of tea when she suddenly heard sounds. It sounded like scratches and maybe a whimper? They seemed to have been coming from the other side of the wall which meant it was coming from Ehren’s apartment.
Both curious and a little concerned, Dani went to the next door apartment to see if everything was okay. There had been no answer and his door, when the knob was tested, was surprisingly unlocked. The place had been wrecked. That wasn’t the most surprising thing though. She followed the sounds that grew louder as she approached a cabinet and, upon opening it, found a small corgi puppy that was more than a little distressed. How the hell did Ehren have a puppy?
The rest of the day had been spent taking care of the said puppy in her apartment. Presently, the little thing was passed out on her bed after a long play session that Dani was sure gave her white hairs. Trying to keep a puppy quiet was damn near impossible. A knock came at the door and she quickly looked over at the pup. She didn’t appear to be reacting, thank god.
Closing the bedroom door behind her as quietly as possible, Dani went to the door and peered through the peephole. It was Ehren flanked by guards and in rough shape. “Ehren!” She exclaimed as she opened the door. “Oh my god what happened?”
He didn’t say anything until he walked through her threshold and closed the door on the guards behind him. He leaned back against the door and sighed. “Roman happened.” He replied, the disdain in his voice was apparent. Holding up the ID card he was forced to wear now he let it fall before fixing her with a look.
“They came to my apartment and brought me to Roman who tested me, forced me to register.” He was still bitter about everything. His discovered mutations, Logan being locked up that he didn’t even stop to think that maybe he was just doing his job.
“They sent in some sort of thug when I was in processing to beat the answers out of me.”
“Roman?” Her brow furrowed. She wasn’t particularly fond of the tone in which he said her boyfriend’s name. Dani allowed him to continue without interruption, however, leading him into her living room and motioning for him to sit on the couch. So he had been taken to Roman to be tested. That must have been one of the things he had to do when he left her for a few hours the day before. “Forced you to register?” She questioned, quirking a brow. “If you tested positive-” And she knew he would even before seeing the id card “- I don’t think there was anything he could do to keep you from being registered.”
He stepped away from the door to find himself a place on her couch. From her bedroom he heard rustling coming from her bedroom door and he raised a brow. “Is he here right now?” He asked looking back at her with fear. He didn’t want to see Roman now, not after what he’d just been through.
He disregarded her other questions and stood up to listen more to the sound. His eyes went wide when he realized what was going on and opened the door to see Daisy. He smiled and then hissed as his injuries flared up from the movement. He leaned down to grab the little pup and was quiet as he looked down at her. He worried about her while he was at the hospital so he was happy that Dani of all people found her.
Realizing he’d been leaving her in the dark he turned around and fixed her with an expression. “They brought me in to question me about the murder suspect.” He said to her. Dani and Ehren hadn’t spoken much lately and he felt guilty for not filling her in on all the things going on in his life.
“He dangled my freedom in front of me, Dani. Said all he had to do was sign some papers and I’d be on a boat back. But he knew, they took all my manuscripts and used them to press me in the processing. He just wanted to offer me my freedom only to take it away.” He didn’t expect Roman to help him in any way, but he was beginning to believe this was the only option.
The fear in his eyes startled her. Was he really so scared to encounter Roman? She didn’t understand why. Ehren claimed that Roman forced him to register, a claim that she was quick to counter. Not that he seemed to care what she had to say about it. He was too busy trying to determine the sound from her room. She heard him hiss in pain which prompted her to go into the kitchen to make a makeshift ice pack for his eye.
The mention of the murder suspect made her pause. The suspect… she had heard whisperings but didn’t pay them too much mind for her own sake. She didn’t want to think about the murder at all. Focusing on it just brought back the memory of the dead body which is turn heightened her anxiety and made her mind wander to other unpleasant memories.
Ehren seemed quick to get off the subject which should have been a relief but he immediately went back to ranting about Roman. She wasn’t impressed. Dani understood that Ehren was angry but there was no reason for him to try and paint Roman as some villain gleefully taunting him. He was simply doing his job. “I doubt he read them. Seems like you’re just trying to find someone to blame,” she responded curtly, handing him the ice pack with little ceremony.
Now it was time for her to disregard his words. “So explain the dog.”
He stopped when she began to speak, the composure in her tone beginning to crumble. And here he was again, this new Ehren with no anxiety throwing everything in his life on the shoulders of his best friend. Was this what the whole thing with Caspian was for? To fall back into his old habits that alienated him from everybody else?
He wanted to apologize to her but Dani didn’t need apologies, she needed him to listen to her. He looked down at Daisy and pet her belly. “I don’t know how he did it, but Logan got her for me. I named her Daisy.” After the dog he’d left behind when he came here. He looked up at her with concern and placed the dog back down on the floor.
Walking up to her he put his hands on her shoulders to look her in the eye. “What happened to you?” He wondered aloud. He hadn’t been home since the murder was announced so he’d had no idea what she could have known or seen.
Logan. The handy man that Ehren had become friendly with and, if the whispers were correct, the current murder suspect. That would explain why Ehren was brought in the be questioned. "He smuggled a dog onto the island," she stated back to him, brow furrowed once again. That was... stupid. They weren't supposed to have pets.
Her gaze dropped when Ehren attempted to make eye contact with her. She shook her head, gently pushing his hand from her shoulder. "Nothing important," she answered, backing away from him. This was not a subject she wanted to breech.
"What do you plan to do with the dog?" She asked, moving the conversation back to the puppy currently chomping on a makeshift toy Dani had made from an old shirt. "She isn't safe here. You know that right?"
He sighed as she darted his question, he didn’t want to wait to hear about it, Dani was his best friend. “I don’t know, Dani. I didn’t expect him to get me a dog. They’ve been in my apartment and god knows there are probably cameras in there right now. I guess we planned on keeping her in Logan’s apartment.” He’d brought over some papers for her to pee on but they didn’t really have dog supplies on the island.
At least if anyone was going to look after her it was appropriate that a man who turned into a wolf looked after her. “I can see if Riley and Finn can look after her, until he’s been released.” Which he hoped but there was no way to tell yet.
“Seriously Dani, something is up. Will you please tell me what’s going on?” He asked her, frustrated that she didn’t feel comfortable enough to tell him what she’d been through.
“If they bother to put cameras in your apartment there would be ones in his,” she pointed out. If he was so sure cameras were placed into his apartment just because he was questioned, there definitely would be placed in the apartment of a murder suspect. So even if Logan was proven innocent - she couldn’t say whether she believed he was innocent or not - and returned to his apartment the puppy would be found out. —
“This is ridiculous.” She let out a sigh, rubbing her temples. “Okay, we can see if Riley and Finn will help. This dog isn’t going to be able to stay in one place too long or she’ll be noticed. And she’ll need to be trained not to bark. Quickly.” It wouldn’t be easy to explain the sound of a yapping dog away.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she declared as she walked back into the kitchen, putting distance between them.
He didn’t like this, she was stressing out over something that was for Ehren. He didn’t like making her do his bidding. “Dani, don’t worry about the dog, I will take her back to my apartment. If they find her then I will take the heat, I just…” This probably just sounded completely manic to her right now, she was obviously distressed. He sighed and walked into the kitchen to where she was.
He didn’t say anything for a while, just sat against her stove with his arms crossed over his chest. He’d spent the latter part of the night worrying about Logan that he hadn’t even bothered to think about how his other friends were feeling.
His eyes looked down at his feet. “We’re a pair aren’t we? My life is like an endless soap opera and you can’t tell me what’s going on in yours.” He looked back up then to address her. “You’re my best friend, Dani. I want to know what’s going on with you.”
“How can I not worry about the dog?” Daisy’s presence on the island brought the possibility of several people getting into trouble. How much trouble, she couldn’t say for certain, but it definitely wouldn’t be pleasant no matter what ended up happening. “You’ll get in trouble and her-” She motioned toward the pup that tottered along behind them. “-She’d get killed. Maybe worse. That’s not fair to the dog. She didn’t ask to be here.” She shook her head. “I’m part of this now, I can’t in good conscience ignore it.”
Dani busied herself by tending to a handful of vegetables sitting next to the sink. She washed them in silence, then moved them to the cutting board. Ehren spoke just as she started slicing a squash. She let out a heavy sigh. He wasn’t wrong; their relationship had been that way for a long time. It was partly her fault; she didn’t like to burden others with her problems and Ehren already had so many so she kept quiet about her troubles. Perhaps it wasn’t the most ideal set-up but it worked for her. Ehren seemed to want to change that though - unfortunate timing.
“I saw the body, okay?” She finally admitted, her tone sharp. Why was he going to make her talk about this. She started cutting the squash. “I saw the body and I freaked out and I went to stay with Roman who really helped me-” The speed and force of her cutting increased, her tone growing more distressed. “-then you come in here saying how horrible he is and then there is the dog-” Her eyes were watering despite herself. “-and she might die and I wouldn’t be able to stop it just like with Emilio and-” She slammed the knife down onto the table “-and I just don’t want to talk about this okay?!”
He grabbed her by the wrist so that she wouldn’t do any more damage to her kitchen and pulled her into a hug. She hadn’t talked about Emilio in a long time so it must be serious.”I’m so sorry Dani, I had no idea. That must have been awful.” He replied, bringing his hand up to the back of her head to brush through her hair. He shushed her a little as he held her, awaiting that classic move where she struggled in his grasp.
“I’m not going to let Daisy get killed ok? She’s made it this long, all I can do is try to keep her safe as long as possible.” Again, he never asked Logan for a dog but here she was, and she was the cutest thing he’d ever seen. Logan had done a lot to get her for him and Ehren wasn’t just going to let her go easy.
Dani attempted to struggle against his grip but went still as soon as he pulled her into the embrace. She didn’t want to be held. She didn’t want this. She repeated it over and over again in her mind but she did nothing as he stroked her hair and shushed her. As much as she didn’t want to be in his embrace, the comforting touch did help. Her breathing started to even out and she appeared calmer though her body was still tense in his grasp. Finally, she pushed her arms against him, forcing herself out of his arms.
“It was awful,” she said softly, wiping at her eyes as she took another step backwards. “It was horrible. So much blood.” It brought back memories of finding her brother’s dead body. She shook her head roughly, forcing the creeping images away with each shake. “Roman helped me so much. So much.”
Her gaze moved to Daisy. The pup had skittered away toward the other end of the kitchen when she slammed the knife down. She expression grew sad. Poor thing; she scared her. She felt horrible. Dani moved toward the dog, extending a hand out for the cautious pup to sniff. Once she could tell the corgi was comfortable, Dani scooped Daisy into her arms.
“Why do you hate Roman so much?” She asked suddenly as she stroked Daisy’s back. It was back to the topic of Roman, though this time she was the one dictating the direction it would go. “He’s done only good things. Why do you have to keep being hostile toward him?”
There was nothing he could say to her that she wouldn’t just negate and his heart felt heavy as he tried to search for the answer. She didn’t see what he was like to Ehren, didn’t notice the slimy backhanded compliments he constantly made to him. All she could think about was how much she loved him and that was starting to scare him.
“I’m just worried about you Dani. You deserve everything good in life and I just don’t think he has your best interests at heart.” He was digging himself into a deeper hole and he knew it. “I’m sorry Dani, I’m just tired and my face hurts and the guy that I really like is in jail for a crime he didn’t commit.” He threw up his arms at that last statement and covered his face.
“You’re wrong.” Roman was a good man. He cared about her. Whatever it was Ehren saw that made him think Roman didn’t have her best interests at heart was all in his head. Little things blown out of proportion and left to fester in a paranoid mind. He never trusted the government; that mistrust was being thrust onto her boyfriend.
“Why don’t you go home,” she suggested, looking at him sympathetically. He needed comforting, she knew, but she wasn't able to give it. Not right now. She was too tired. It had been an emotionally draining couple days for both of them. “I’ll look after Daisy for a bit longer so you can get some rest.”
His eyes softened as she told him to leave. The last thing in the world he wanted right now was to be alone but maybe she needed him to leave. Maybe she needed to be alone right now. “Dani…” he quietly protested, reaching out for her arm.
He loved her once, maybe he still did a little bit and while he never disliked the idea of her being with someone else he could see Roman changing her. “...I’m sorry. I know that I’ve been unfair to Roman. You just mean the world to me and I get scared that he’ll poison you against me. I can’t lose you.”
Dani turned away from him, leaving his reaching hand without a place to settle, and her head shook gently back and forth, another nonverbal indication that his touch was not wanted. “Go home Ehren,” she repeated, firmly this time. It was no longer a suggestion. She couldn’t handle him right now. He was worried Roman would cause her to drift away from him, a genuine fear but unnecessary. Roman wouldn’t be the one to make her drift away, Ehren was doing a good enough job of that himself. “Take Daisy if you need to. But you need to go home.”
Just out of his reach he let her slip through his fingers, like he had many years ago. Sadness washed over him as the one person he really felt he could go to was completely rejecting him. He wanted to know what she was feeling but that wasn’t his job anymore, it was Roman’s. “Please tell me you’re still going to talk to me.” He begged, because this couldn’t be the end of their friendship, not like this.
He sighed and rubbed his face in his hand before leaning back up onto his feet and making his way to the door. “I love you.” He said to her, picking up Daisy to give her a rub on her belly before placing her back down on the ground.
“I’ll figure something out for Daisy tomorrow.” Right now he needed to at least attempt to sleep. His injuries weren’t going to heal at this rate if he didn’t.
Dani looked at him with a sad expression. He was beginning to spiral, the stress of the last forty-eight hours heightening his fears and anxiety. He feared he had lost her, that she was rejecting him permanently, but that wasn’t the case. She just needed time alone. She managed a hint of a smile. “Forever a drama queen, aren’t you? Of course I’ll talk to you,” she assured gently. Even when she was feeling exhausted, hurt, and frustrated, she still tried her best to ease the worries of the other.
She watched as he headed for the door. “I know you do.” A soft sigh. “Don’t worry yourself. We’ll talk later. Get some rest.”
Finally a smile came to his face and he hissed as it stung his cheek and his eye. He knew she’d rejected his touches before but he leaned into to press a kiss to her forehead, an arm around her shoulders. “Call me, please. As soon as you’re ready to talk.” Because he wanted to know what was going on and she wasn’t going to tell him until she was ready.
“Thanks for watching her.” And basically saving her since she had grabbed her from his apartment. He offered one last sad smile before opening her door to make his way next door to his apartment. This was going to be a stressful couple of weeks and he hoped he could have Dani by his side through it.