Chapter 104 (1/2)

First things first, Dan had to calm his distraught girlfriend. Abby might have seemed calm during their brief phone call, but Dan knew her well enough to understand how worried she was. The girl preferred to do her hand-wringing after the fact, pushing down and packing away all her negative emotions until danger had passed, upon which she would pop like an angry, belligerent balloon. Dan had done something stupid and reckless, and it was time to take his lickin' like a man.

After arriving back home, and collapsing in a heap on his couch, Dan took a brief minute to simply be. His hands, he noticed, were shaking. But not from nerves, or fear, or anxiety. It was the simple biological consequence of adrenaline. The crash that he'd expected to happen upon finally having a moment to himself never came about. There was no oncoming train loaded up with stress, roaring into the station of his mind. There was no epiphany or revelation, no moment of prayer to the heavens that thank God he was alive. He just was. Calm, and steady.

”Huh,” Dan said, more alarmed by this revelation than he'd been for the entirety of his brief imprisonment. It was possible that he was better equipped to deal with this whole danger thing than he'd expected. Or maybe he was just so used to his life going pear-shaped that bad things barely even registered anymore.

Neat.

But he was putting off something important. Dan pulled out his phone, and dialed in Abby's number. She picked up before the first ring even finished.

”Are you okay?” she demanded urgently, her voice still somehow calm. ”I found a good lawyer. Should I send him over?”

”I'm okay,” Dan replied quickly. ”Bartholomew is in custody, and I made it out safe. No lawyer necessary. Connor's uncle let me off.”

”Good. Good. That's good.” She took a long, deep breath, and Dan mentally braced himself.

”What were you thinking, going back there!?” she bellowed into the phone at a volume that Gregoir would applaud.

Dan winced, opened his mouth to reply, and was immediately cut off.

”You were clever, and lucky, and got away clean, but did you call the cops? Noooo!” The drawn out denial raised in pitch until Dan was pretty sure that he could hear glass shattering in the background. ”You figured now was a great time to settle a grudge, and you went back!”

”In fairness, I did, technically, call the police,” Dan pointed out meekly.

Abby made a sound like a yowling cat dropped into a bathtub.

”Sorry, dear,” he added.

”Next time,” she spat, emphasizing every word, ”next time, and their better not be a next time, but next time, you run away and stay runned away!Okay!?”

”I'm sorry Abs,” Dan repeated. ”I just... I got so damn angry, and I wasn't thinking straight. He hurt Connor, and all those people in that apartment complex. He needed to go down.”

”Why did I fall for someone with a hero complex?” Abby loudly lamented from somewhere beyond the mouthpiece. Dan could almost picture her, both hands covering her face, looking skyward in irritation.

Dan smiled at the image. ”At least I got the guy.”

There was a long pause on the other end, and Dan clenched up, worried that he'd misread the mood. But then, ”Did you give that bastard the beat down that he deserved?”

Dan's smile widened. He'd failed to mention any specifics on Bartholomew's condition when he'd given her the rundown on his situation. Now that he was home free, he could brag a little.

”He won't be walking for a while,” Dan admitted.

Was it odd that he felt little more than grim satisfaction at basically crippling a man? As far as Dan was concerned, Andros Bartholomew had more than earned his injuries. When Dan had first arrived, he'd been a little appalled at how casually violent this parallel could be. He could see it now, how easy it was to slip into that mindset. Even recognizing the change in his thoughts, he wasn't sure if it was wrong. Not here, at least. After all, Bartholomew was still alive. The man was better off than he would've been had the police found him first.

”Good,” Abby replied, some vicious approval leaking into her tone. ”I'm glad. And I'm glad you're okay. Even if you're a reckless idiot who should never ever do that again.”

”I'll keep it in mind,” Dan promised.

”You better. I'll be back in town tomorrow, and I expect to find you in one piece.”

He nodded, more to himself than her. ”Of course.”

”Good.” She paused for a moment, then added, firmly, ”I love you.”

Dan's smile turned soppy. ”Love you too, Abs. See you soon.”

”And don't forget to check in with your teacher!” she added. ”Or he'll call for a search party about two hours too late!”

”Yeah.”