“Just a sec, that might be important.” He lightning jumped to his pile of clothes and answered the call without looking at the ID. “Hello?”
“Hey, Danny, got a minute?”
Stella. He’d been hoping for Cho. “Hey…” Glancing at Andre, then at Lynn as she came in from the hallway, Danny offered an apologetic shrug and walked past her to take the call out of earshot. He trudged down the hallway toward the kitchen. “What’s up?”
“Just confirming you’re joining us for family dinner again this week.”
Crap. Danny had forgotten she’d texted him about that earlier. There went another evening, he thought as his stomach bottomed out, but he’d promised he wouldn’t fall into his routine of ditching. “Yeah, of course. What was that message you sent about playing Trivial Pursuit after dinner though? Can’t wewatch a movie or something instead? It’s like youwantthe night to end in a fist fight,” he forced a laugh.
Stella chuckled. “Well at least now that you’re Zeus, you can heal any bruises I give you in only a few hours.”
“Ha…right.” Yeah, he healed—like his body was a big whiteboard that could be easily erased. “Was there anything else? I have to get out on the streets.”
“Oh, um, yeah, actually…if that’s okay?”
Danny leaned against the wall by the mini fridge, sensing something big coming. “What is it?”
“Look, I know it hasn’t been very long with Joey around, in the grand scheme of our lives, but he’s not going anywhere any time soon.”
“Sure,” Danny frowned, “it’s not like I want him to go.”
“No, Danny, I know that. That’s not what this is about. And I’m not saying now is the best time, I just wanted to test the waters on what you might think.”
“On what I think about what?”
“On telling Joey that you’re Zeus.”
“What?” Danny’s eyes widened as he pushed from the wall.
“He’s family, Danny. He’s bound to find out eventually. Wouldn’t it be better if we controlled that? If we found the right way and time to tell him ourselves?”
“Because the best way to welcome him to the family is to put his life in danger?”
“He’d be in danger anyway, he just wouldn’t know why.”
Danny’s lightning thrummed through him with an audible buzz. He’d thought the same thing so many times, that the people he loved were always and would always be in danger because of him, but no one had ever said it out loud before.
“So being part of my family, just knowing me, is enough to endanger someone’s life?”
“I didn’t say—”
“You didn’t have to. It’s true. Rick died because of me.Momdied because of me.”
“Danny—”
“If I could send you and Dad away, I would, to protect you from…”
“From you?” Stella prompted when Danny trailed off.
Raising his fingers to touch the tears on his cheeks, Danny was as surprised to find them there as he’d been the night he fought Camo. He should be stronger than this. He had to be stronger than this.
“Danny, talk to me,” Stella said.
He didn’t want to be sad. He didn’t want to be angry. He didn’t want to be numb. He just wanted to be happy again. He knew that wasn’t something he could feel every moment of every day, but just one, just one day, why couldn’t he haveone day? Lately he’d only felt wholly and truly good during and immediately after seeing Cho.
God, he was so messed up.
“Danny, please—”
