I'm Not Alone

Chapter 2

*2 weeks earlier*

The bell rang. Teenagers scurried from their classrooms, to the hallways, to the bathrooms, and then to their buses. Danni always stayed at school after the final bell on Fridays. Just for one hour, each week, until the end of junior year. She did not want to keep doing this into senior year. What senior goes to therapy? She asked herself. Kids made fun of her. She was embarrassed. Her family could afford a private therapist, but it was included with private schooling, so they settled for Mr. Bates.

Mr. Bates was a run of the mill therapist. He played the part. Tall, skinny, gruff, and he wore glasses. All therapists wore glasses, so it only made sense he did, too. He opened his door and allowed Danni to enter. She always sat against the lockers until he summoned her. It was respectful in his eyes, but for her, she would hope the door would stay closed.

She was not against therapy, it had its pros. It was nice to talk to someone. Her parents were often busy. Both of them had very strenuous careers. Danni did not resent her parents for that, she understood. But she did wish that they would notice her more.

Elijah was strict. He expected her to do extraordinary well in school, in her job, and just every part of life. Except boys. She was not allowed to have a boyfriend. They were too much of a distraction. But that was not a big deal to her, she was not focused on boys anyways. Danni just wished her dad would notice her achievements, her feelings, and her thoughts as much as he noticed her failures, dips in GPA, and attitude problems. He loved her, and Danni knew this, or at least she would tell herself that.

Olivia cared for her, but in a very objective kind of way. Everything had to have explanations, and reasons, and roots. Her mom believed there was a reason for anything, and that she could fix the issues by finding that reason and crushing it. It made sense. Working in the ER, she saw a lot of accidents caused simply by stupidity. She wanted her daughter to be better, be smarter, be safer. Although she did not see Danni much, Olivia would always promise her some mother-daughter time. Maybe the mall, maybe a movie, maybe a dinner. Truth be told, Danni would be happy with something as simple as a family dinner. Everyone together. Everyone happy.

She would tell herself not to complain, though. She always hated complaining. Danni knew she had it better than a lot of other people. So when people treated her like crap at school, or when she'd come home to an empty house, or when she'd sit in her bed crying because she's all alone, she knew she still had it better than someone else. It was her trying to be optimistic. Optimism did not take away the tears, though, or the cuts.

"Please, take a seat." Mr. Bates suggested. He was a decent therapist. He did not care if the student sat down, stood up, or laid on the floor. Them being comfortable was the only thing that mattered. It was the best way to get the student to open up, to talk, and to figure out how to help them. His office was very old fashioned. It had a bookshelf at each wall, stacked with all kinds of educational books and self-help guides. Like every other therapist, he had his diplomas hung up, and a huge wooden desk. Maybe it was cherry, maybe it was mahogany, Danni did not know.

She decided to take a seat in the black leather chair. It was in the corner of the room, between two bookshelves. She was secluded there, safe there.

"Is there anything on your mind today, Danni?" The man asked.

She stared at the ceiling. "No, nothing out of the usual."

"Well, you must be at least excited about the party tonight?"

Her eyebrows rose.

"Yeah, I am. My mom and dad will be there, so that'll be nice."

"Does that bother you at all?" Mr. Bates inquired.

Danni sat up. "Does what bother me?"

"You mentioned it last week, Danni," he began. "You were upset that your parents would be present for Tyler's birthday party but lack when it comes to being around for you."

She shrugged. "They're not there for Tyler."

"What do you mean?"

"My dad is best friends with Alan, Tyler's dad. They practically grew up together."

"So, you think that is why your parents are going, for Alan, not Tyler?"

Danni scoffed. "Yes, doctor. My dad and Alan are not only best friends, but they work together. They are also both working on something new, some kind of project. I am sure the party is just another way for them to brainstorm and talk. Besides, Alan basically has a lab of his own on the property, so they'll probably spend most of the time there."

"And your mom, is she just collateral damage? Just happens to be there? Maybe you will have a chance to talk to her there." He readjusted his seat.

"I mean, no. But she is always attached to my dad. He does not share much information with her, so she will likely be too busy ease dropping on them, to pay attention to me."

"Yeah," the therapist flipped a page in his notepad. "Well, the party is for Tyler, why don't you talk to him and his friends?"

"He won't have any friends there."

"Why?"

"His dad is very... anal, if that's the right word. He doesn't want to take any chances that some kid might wander and explore the property."

"Is Alan hiding something, Danni?"

"Well, not exactly. But he has his lab, which is like top secret, and then there's the trench of course."

"Trench?"

"Yeah, like, so our property is a couple acres. On one side is Tyler's house, and on the other, mine. Our parents bought it together. But at the side is this trench-thing. The best way to describe it is a waterfall without the water."

"That seems dangerous." The therapist's eyes were wide, interested.

"Exactly. They are supposed to put fences there soon, but in the meantime no one else is allowed on the property till its fixed. So, between the lab and the trench, Tyler was not allowed to invite friends. It is more of a family gathering, so it's not a big deal anyways.

The therapist nodded and smiled.

"What?" Danni asked.

"Well, isn't that a good thing?"

"How?"

"It means you and Tyler will be alone. You can talk to him. You like him, don't you?"

Her cheeks turned bright pink. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"I think he's cool, we haven't really talked much lately."

"Why is that?"

"My dad doesn't think I should waste time on boys."

"What do you think, Danni?"

She blinked; her head bobbed. "I think I shouldn't listen to him."

"Well, I wouldn't advise going against your dad's orders, but it is Tyler's birthday, I think you could get away with talking to him for a bit. That should not hurt, right?"

She smiled. "Yeah. You're not too bad, you know that Mr. Bates?"

He laughed. "I'm glad you think that. I know it's only been a month, but I think we will get to the core issues by the end of the year. I know you don't want to continue this into senior year but try to think of this as a place where friend's talk, rather than therapy."

"Yeah, I'll try that. What do you think is wrong with me?" Danni asked.

He stood up and moved closer to her. "Danni, let me be very clear; I do not think anything is wrong with you. Nothing is wrong with you. You are a teenage girl, with her fair share of personal issues just like everyone else. Do not let those other kids get to you. Most of them see me on a weekly basis, too."

She wanted to hug him, but she knew it was inappropriate. It was not often that she felt cared for. Danni almost started to cry but held it back. Why can't my parents treat me like this? With love?

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

He retreated towards the door. "Well, that's it for this session. I hope you have a good night at the party, Danni."

She climbed out of the comfy chair, leaving her safe space, and headed towards the exit. As she exited, Mr. Bates tapped her on the shoulder.

"I'll see you next Friday, okay?" He smiled.

She nodded and walked away.

He watched as she walked down the hallway, then closed the door. Mr. Bates ripped the sheets out of the notepad and put them on his desk. He walked to the tall, grey cabinet. Opening the top drawer, he pulled out a file labeled 'Danielle Atillia".

"Shit," he sighed, as the file's content fell to the ground on its way to his desk.

He bent down and slowly picked up paper after paper. Some of it was notes from the sessions. Some were printed requirements from the school. Others were observations from other students, teachers, and her parents.

A yellow piece of paper caught his attention, it had a photo attached to it.

Quickly, he grabbed it and shoved it back into the folder. He hated looking at that note and photo. It was disturbing, scary, and just plain wrong.

It was a core issue of Danni's that he needed to address with her but had not gotten to yet. He figured she was a nice girl, who just had some unpleasant hobbies. He did not want to overload her with something that huge without getting to know her first. Without gaining her trust.

He placed his new notes into the folder and placed the file back in the cabinet. Till next week, Danni.

Danni walked out of the school's doors and watched as the second round of buses left. She was too late. It did not really matter. The bus did not take her close enough to home for it to be worth it, anyway. She pulled headphones out of her backpack, plugged them into her phone, then put them in her ears.

She clicked on 'Dr. Flame', turned up the volume, and made her way home. Dr. Flame was a pod-caster Danni often listened to. He had all kinds of videos on his channel, ranging from 'How I did this' to 'today I laughed because..." He was entertaining, to say the least.

Danni trotted on home. She arrived a couple hours later, but with enough time to shower and freshen up before the party. Her home was big, and modern. It was not a mansion, or anything, but better than most of the homes in that area. It was littered with windows and had huge bay windows in the front of the house, which gave it a lot of sun. The lawn was always immaculate, and the trim around the house was blessed with an array of different colored flowers. Her mom and dad obviously did not have time to do that themselves, but they did have money to hire a lawn-care service.

She opened the door and peered inside. "Anyone home?!" She yelled. Her voice echoed throughout the house. Immediately inside was the living room. It was warm and bright, due to those bay windows. To the right was the entry way to the kitchen. To the left, a pathway to the garage. Straight ahead were two staircases. One leading to the second and third stories of the house, and one leading to the basement.

No one really used the basement, but sometimes Danni would go down there and hang out. It wasn't finished, but she liked that it was chilly down there.

No one answered. She was not surprised that her parents were not there, but she was let down. I had hoped to see them for a minute before the party. Guess not. She proceeded up the steps. Upon reaching the top, there were three hallways, and a square door in the ceiling.

The right hallway led to her room. The left hallway led to her parents' room. Straight ahead was where the spare room was. Her father used it as a study. The door above her, was access to the attic. Something she always noticed while heading towards her room, was the bare white walls. Most families had family photos, or photos of their kids, at least. But not hers. They had some art downstairs, but not very many photos of them together. It made her sad.

She proceeded to the right and pulled out a key from her back pocket. She had a lock on her door. Danni appreciated her privacy. She did not expect her parents to agree, but as long as she behaved, and did not have boys over, they figured it was not worth arguing over.

Danni twisted the key, and after a click, pulled it out.

She entered, closed the door, and locked it.

Danni pulled the earbuds out of her ears and threw her phone onto the bed. She took off her navy-blue backpack and tossed it to the ground. She undressed and grabbed a change of clothes. One of the nice things about her house was that her parents and her had their own bathrooms in their rooms. There was a half bathroom in the kitchen, but they hardly used it.

She turned the hot water on, waited for it to steam, and stepping into the shower. The water hit her skin like lava hitting ice. Danni was a cold-blooded person. That is what her mom always called her, at least. She liked the warmth of the shower but enjoyed a cool room and space. It is why she often resorted to the basement; sometimes her room was too hot, especially after a shower.

Danni lathered her body with soap, and then rinsed. For a moment, she let her mind wander. Sometimes she would just stand in the shower, thinking. She figured it was normal. Most people did it, right? She did not like the idea of being different. Danni wanted to fit in and be like any other regular girl. She wanted to be normal. Her chest rose as she took deep breaths, mentally preparing herself for tonight's party.

She quickly turned the knob to cold, so her body wouldn't have time to adjust. She shook and stood there as the drops hit her body, like small needles. Danni enjoyed the pain; it was one of those pleasurable pains.

Danni turned off the water, reached for a towel, and patted herself down. She stepped out of the shower carefully, as she has fallen many times. She wiped off the rest of her body, and threw the towel in the hamper, behind the door.

She wiped the fog off of the mirror and stared at herself. She was slim but had a fit figure. She walked and ran a lot. She had long black hair, it almost reached the top of her butt. Her eyes were a glistening blue, a blue people could get lost in. Her face was always slightly pink, like she was damned to an eternity of almost-blushing. Her breasts were perky, and her stomach flat. She was perfect. Danni used to think she was beautiful, but the red lines on her thighs and upper arms convinced her otherwise.

She let out a heavy sigh and began to get dressed. She wore leggings to hide her legs. A long sleeve shirt to hide her arms. She put a skirt over her leggings, it was a mix of purple and red. On her wrists, some bracelets. Danni walked out of the bathroom, back into her bedroom. She grabbed a pair of mix matched socks and sat on her bed. After putting them on, she grabbed her converse shoes and laced those up. Tight but not too tight. Just right.

She went back to the bathroom and put on the usual makeup. Eyeliner. Foundation. Eye-shadow. Lipstick. Mascara. Just enough to draw away from the rest of her pale body. Behind the mirror was a series of orange plastic bottles. She took a pill from each and washed them down with some faucet water from the sink.

Danni went back into her room. Her room was like any other girl's room. The walls were covered in posters, drawings, ideas, and notes. She had a digital clock above the door, an a/c in the window. She liked to draw, but was not a part of an art class, so she kept a journal with her and drew on her free time, or when she was bored. Her really good drawings were hung up on her walls. Some of them were of trees outside the house, or kids hanging out at school, or of wildlife around the property. Her posters were of movie stars, like Gal Gadot, Elizabeth Olsen, and Emma Watson. She also had some of her favorite quotes from Dr. Flame pinned around the room.

Her bed was centered in the middle of the room. She was always told that if the bed was not in the middle, it was a sign of immaturity. Her dresser was directly across from her bed, and there was a 42" television placed on it. She never really watched it but liked to use it to steam music. On one side of the room, there was a desk with her laptop. Her desk was a mess, littered with school papers, notes she had written, and art she had started. On the other side, a nightstand, and the entrance to the bathroom. On the nightstand was a lamp, and there was a small rainbow flag sticker stuck to it.

Danni finished getting ready, put her phone in her back pocket, and headed back down the stairs. Upon entering the living room, she glanced around and noticed her parents still were not around. She looked out the bay window and saw Elijah & Olivia with Alan, setting up the grill. They were towards the middle of the property. Alan had purchased some picnic tables, for this exact situation. Her dad always had a grill on standby, though he hardly used it for their family.

Instead of heading outside, she decided to chill in the basement for a few minutes. She walked down the steps, and opened the door, exposing a wide, spacious room. The walls were concrete, and the pipes hung off the ceiling low enough for someone taller than 5'8" to bang their heads on them. Luckily, Danni was a short girl.

There were no other rooms in the basement, it was literally just one large room. It was chilly, and Danni liked that. In the corner, was a wooden chair. She sat it in and lost herself in her thoughts.

Suddenly, Elijah yelled down to her. "Danni, are you down there?!"

She woke from her daze and responded with a stutter. "Ye-Yeah dad, what's up?"

"The food is going to get cold, get up here. You're missing the party!"

How long was I down here? She thought. But it quickly left her mind at the realization that her dad must care about her if he came to her get. She smiled.

She could hear him walk down the steps. He opened the door and peered inside.

"Tyler asked for you, he'll be waiting for you near the trench."

Elijah slammed the door.

Oh. Danni began to tear up, but sniffed in, cleared her eyes, and headed towards the door. She opened it, exited the basement, and hurriedly shut the door.

It produced a gust of wind, that made the square trapdoor in the basement fly open. It was located right behind her wooden chair. In it, a space with it's very own darkroom.