After a while of letting Jordan and Joel comfort me, with words and touches, I needed to go home. I needed a shower and to change out of my work clothes.
"I needed to go home," I mumble; I started to feel sleepy.
"Are you sure?" Jordan asked. "You can always stay here; we have a spare room for you to use."
It was really tempting. I bet the room would be nicer than my whole house, but I had to check on my mom. I doubt she moved or noticed how long I have been gone. I'm sure Jess was getting worried. I wouldn't be surprised if she were outside my house waiting for me. One time, I was just too tired and forgot to call her. She came into the house using the spare key under the mat and ran into my room, slapping me awake.
"Yeah. I told Jess I would call her when I got home." I answered.
"Dani... Are you still...?" Jordan asked carefully.
"No, not for a long time," I replied quickly. "Please don't treat me any differently than before you knew... I don't know if I can handle it." I look down at my feet, regretting that I said anything.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I think I just need some time to sort out what you shared. It was a lot. I wish you had told us back then; we could have helped." Jordan lifts my face up to meet his soft brown eyes. I don't think they could have stopped what happened, even if they wanted to.
"Okay..." I replied weakly.
"Hey, we are here for you no matter what. You are family. Don't forget that," Joel said, standing up. "Come on, I will drive you home," I go to stand up and get off of Jordan, and I realize if someone had walked into Joel's office a few moments ago, it would have looked like there was some sort of sexual thing going on between me and the brothers. Heat raced up my neck to my face at that thought.
"Dani? You, okay?" Jordan asked, trying to look at my face; I did my best to hide my expression.
"Yeah, sorry, got up too fast." I lied, trying hard to quickly hide my embarrassment.
"Dani, have you eaten today?" Joel asked as he put a hand to my forehead. He could be such a mother hen.
"A little bit at break earlier," I answer honestly. I haven't had much of an appetite for the past few months. It was just starting to come back slowly.
"Alright, we are stopping and getting you food first," Joel stated as he began grabbing his things.
"No, no, it's okay; I have food at the house." I tried arguing, but I knew it wouldn't work when Mother Joel was out.
"Fine, but I am making you something to eat. I want to make sure you eat," Joel stated. Yup, there was no winning when he was like that. Even Jordan was smirking at his brother's antics. As kids, Jordan and I would complain all the time about Joel being a mother hen to us. I am glad that hasn't changed. Even though he hides it from other people but when it was just us in private, Mother hen Joel could come out at full force at any moment.
"I am coming too, Mr. Motherhen," Jordan chimed in as he gathered his things behind me.
"What? No! You don't have to. What will happen with the VIP with both of you gone?" I asked, panicked that both Holloway brothers were coming to my house. They had been over a billion times, but that was with our dads, and my mother wasn't in the state she was in. Would she still be in the kitchen? Hopefully, she went to bed. That was the only time she wasn't in the kitchen staring off at my dad's old work shed. They knew she was really struggling, but I didn't want to see how bad it was.
"I think this place will survive a couple of hours without us," Jordan said playfully. He was right; I am sure there were plenty of times when none of the Holloways were here. One of those times I knew about was my father's funeral and services. I don't remember much of that time, but I knew they were always around, helping make things go smoothly for me and my mom.
"Haha, okay, fair. Let me just call Jess so she isn't worried about me." I smiled for real; seeing Joel still be a mother hen and them not judging me for the past really made me feel good.
I pulled out my phone, and the smile fell from my face. I had over 20 missed calls from Jess and over 50 text messages. I put my phone on silent when Jordan picked me up I didn't want any distractions while I told them about Chad.
Something felt wrong; even when I was suicidal, she never messaged me this much; she always just showed up at my house to check on me. I took a deep breath to prepare myself for whatever life-altering thing had taken place in the hour that had passed since I last saw her. I went to open my phone to listen to the Voicemails and check my texts, but I didn't get the chance; Jess was calling me again. Of course, this time I answered it right away.
"Jess, what's wrong?" It had to be an emergency. I tried to hide my growing panic for my best friend. Was she hurt? OH... My... God! Was it the twins? I had to calm my racing heart to hear her, wait... Why were there sirens in the background?
"Jess! I can't hear you?" I can't hide the panic in my voice. I felt more than I could see the Holloway brothers grow close to me.
"OH! THANK GOD YOU ARE NOT HOME! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Jess's relief was apparent, but that didn't set me at ease. Panic still climbed up my neck.
"I am with the Holloways?? Why! What happened at my house!" I was getting ready to bolt. I could sense the Holloways behind me. I think they were talking, but I couldn't tell whether they were on the phone, talking to me, or talking to each other. Their voices were muffled as panicked thoughts filled my head as I tried to focus on what Jess was saying to me.
"Dani... there is a fire... A bad one... They haven't been able to find anyone inside yet..." Dread and fear filled me as I ran out of Joel's office. I knew what she was trying to say without actually saying it. My mom had to be okay. I don't know if I can handle losing her, too.