(A/N): Be careful my friends <3 This chapter is almost 6000 words long and it's very, very graphic. I know you're probably not averse to detailed violence, but there's some really shitty behaviour from our special guest. Read at your own risk.

The door opened and, as things always seem to do with you, everything comes crashing down. Seated on the living room couch on the other side of the door is a man- he's tall and broad and has the same jet-black hair and striking features as Danny; the only difference is that rather than the warm, sunshine gold you had fallen in love with his eyes were venom green, dull yet sharp in one threatening bundle. You noticed the way Danny withered beneath his viper-like gaze and easily put two and two together. As pieces slotted into place and you discovered that this was Danny's father your heart dropped into the pit of your stomach and your lungs began to cinch. Everything about him, from the way he stood to the way his cold green eyes raked up and down his sons body screamed nothing short of danger.

"Who's this?" His voice was low and rugged, so, so similar to Danny's that you wanted to run away. You didn't, because then you'd be leaving the love of your life all alone.

"My partner." Danny blurted out, reaching over to you and catching your hand in his. His own palms were clammier than your own- hoping to calm his nerves, you gave it a reassuring squeeze and ghosted your thumb back and forth over his knuckles.

"This is the bitch you took to the dance? You said they were hot," Mr. Johnson grumbled, his malicious eyes now set on you. They travelled uncomfortably low, and Danny, swallowing hard, stepped in front of you just a little more to obstruct his view.

"What does it matter, David? I like them, so what does it matter?" The weakness in his always-powerful voice made you shudder. He was walking on eggshells, and carelessly so.

"You been crying? The fucks up with your eyes?" To accent these words, David stood up- Danny swallowed hard again and his grip on your hand tightened drastically, though he held his footing and forced his chin a little higher.

"No. I know boys aren't supposed to cry, do you-" Another swallow, a shaky exhale, "Do you think I'm some pussy?"

"Some days." David replies with a shrug, and takes a few steps in your direction.

"Well no, I wasn't crying," Danny fills his voice with as much disgust as he can muster. It breaks your heart. No wonder he was so ashamed for you to see him cry. "Some of my friends were smoking weed. I didn't have any." The lie melted like honey off of Danny's tongue and even though it felt so natural, David didn't seem to buy it. He raised one eyebrow and licked at his lips. Then, he scoffed, rolled his eyes, and rerouted for the kitchen.

"Get outta my sight, fuckin pansy." As soon as he was around the corner, Danny was dragging you towards the stairs, taking them hastily and slinking into his room. As soon as you were safely inside he clicked the door silently shut and flicked the lock into place before deflating like a popped balloon. You went to him and wrapped him in your arms before he could even speak, knowing he was fighting back those tears again.

"You can cry if you need to, D," You whisper to him as you pull him into your chest, but he just hugs you back and shakes his head. Everything is clearer to you now. The bruises, the nail polish, Dahlia going with Aurelia to work- it was all because of David. Even when spoken in your mind the name made that temper in your stomach bubble up red-hot. He was scarring this family. He'd already ruined the boy in your arms and who knows what he's done to those poor girls. Something about David was so incredibly wrong it made your insides churn, swamping you with nausea. "Sleep?" You ask him, and Danny hesitates a moment before nodding, though he only hugs you tighter instead of letting go. You wait another full minute before finally, reluctantly, pulling your arms away to look at him once more. You place your hand upon his cheek, thumb tracing over his cheekbone, and offer him a sad, little smile.

"I'm sorry." He says, and you nod your head because you don't have the words to express that he has absolutely nothing to apologize for. He steps away from you and sheds the jacket of his suit, letting it crumple uselessly to the floor. As you do the same, he pulls open his closet doors and shuffles around in search of something to wear to bed. He returns with a tee for himself as well as one for you, helping you pop open the buttons of your collared shirt, pulling it so gently from your shoulders. How could someone so... perfect, be raised by someone so obviously terrible? Pity blooms into a treacherous flower in the pit of your stomach. You want to be able to crush it- you can't. Danny helps you out of your pants next, and then you raise your arms for him to slip the shirt over your head. Once it's on, you lean in and kiss him again, offering one more short hug before moving and sitting down on his bed to let him change as well. He moves quick, changing in no time at all, and then he moves over to the mirror on his dresser to grab the small packet of makeup wipes he has hidden in the top drawer. With them, he wipes the colour from its place caked over the bruise around his eye.

"I love you," You say once he's come to sit beside you, savoring the little smile he manages to muster up in return. Danny slumps, letting his head fall onto your shoulder, and mumbles,

"I love you too." Minutes pass that way, with him close to you and you praying to whatever Gods exist that you can keep him safe, at least for tonight. Then, you crawl under the covers and sleep, tangled in each other's limbs until the great disturbance.

***

"Danny! Danny wake up!" A familiar voice dragged Danny suddenly from his deep slumber. He let out a groan and lifted one arm to drape it over his eyes, fighting to cling to the edges of sleep, but hands rested on his shoulder and chest and shook him violently away from it. "Danny, you have to wake up!" With another grumble Danny wiped the sleep from his eyes with the back of his hand, forcing his lids open. The room around him was dark, the silver moonlight filtered and dimmed by the onslaught of snow currently coating Ashboro in white. Ignoring the ache in his still-tired limbs Danny forced himself to sit upright, turning to the one he shared his bed with. As he adjusted to the darkness and made out the shape of your face, he smiled and leaned in to kiss you until he realized that it was etched with a deep worry.

"Sweetheart...?" He asked, reaching for one of your hands- there was a tension in your movements as you took his hand back and Danny grew even more afraid. "What happened? What-"

"David, I didn't know! I didn't-" That was his momma's voice, dripping with a rabbit-like fear that only presented itself when David was angry. The voice of Danny's father (the voice spoken with scorn and disgust even inside of Danny's own head) came back, too quiet to make out the words but just loud enough to hear the fury within his gruff timbre.

"Danny, I-" Your voice was quiet, as if you were afraid to be heard by anyone but Danny himself. "I think he hit her." His heart turned to stone, ice-cold- with his face gone pale and his eyes gone foggy, he must have looked dead.

"Honey, listen to me here okay? I'm gonna go down there-"

"No! What if he-"

"Honey." Danny caught your face in his hands, settling your eyes on his. "I've... I've dealt with this before. It's probably nothing, I just- I just need to go down there and help them sort this out, okay?" Your bottom lip pursed, and you nodded your head slowly, unsurely.

"Be careful, please," You beg, and Danny smiles at you.

"I will. Stay here, okay? No matter what." Without giving you a time to reply, Danny kicked aside his covers, making sure to turn and pull them back over you, and picked through the sparse clothing scattering the floor for a pair of pants; he settled for a generic pair of black sweats, stepping into them and moving right for the door. As soon as he set his hand on the cool, metal knob, popping the lock and pulling it open, the voices touched his ears and he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"-some fairy. No wonder he's the way he is, Aurelia, he's being fucking converted! You're raising two sick queers!"

"I won't have you talk about my children that way!" Danny's mother was an incredibly strong woman, but not even she could withstand the wrath of her husband. Breaking into a run, his footsteps featherlight and near-silent, Danny sped down the stairs and staggered into the living room, spotting his mother and father haloed by the harsh kitchen light above them. David was towering as he always did, demanding submission in every single muscle. Normally, Danny notes, in a situation like this, Aurelia would shrink into herself and listen. Not tonight. She has her shoulders squared right back, her chin raised defiantly, though the prey-glow in her eyes was still evident enough for David to know that she could be shrunken with very little effort.

"What are you gonna do about it, leave? I'd like to see you fucking try," David's voice was more of a snarl than anything else. "I own you, Aurelia, you know I do, and if you ever try to leave you know exactly what will happen."

"I'd rather die than spend the rest of my life with you-" David's hand flashed out so incredibly fast that not even Aurelia herself saw it coming- a closed fist tore across her face, a spray of flood flying from her nose as a sickening crack marked the crescendo of the evening. Aurelia flew to the ground, her head bent, and David went to turn to her. As he moved, Danny stepped from the shadows, and two sets of eyes clicked to him. The only thing was that Aurelia's eyes were still glued to the floor, and the second set belonged to Dahlia, from where she was standing behind David with a tattered suit in her little arms. Danny's jaw sank, and his heart crumbled to pieces, because he knew that suit. It was the suit Dahlia had asked to wear to her fall dance. It was a suit that looked shockingly similar to your own, because you had looked so pretty in yours and the little girl had wanted to mirror that.

"You're the sick one." Danny spat, and now Aurelia's eyes were up and hollowing out with even more horror.

"Danny, Danny no, he's not in his right mind he's going to-" David surged forwards and slammed his foot into Aurelia's stomach, stealing her breath away in the worst way a husband could. She let out a choked sound and crumbled to the ground once more.

"Look who finally decided to show up?" David hissed, taking a lurching step forwards. It is now that Danny realizes his father is drunk off of his ass, or something similar. His father has never been one to drink or to use. He was always angry enough without any influence, but now, he was entirely different. Viper-green eyes grew sharper, more brutal. These were the eyes of someone who could hardly even recognize his children as his own. These were the eyes of serial killers and rapists in mugshots you saw on true crime shows.

"Step the fuck away, David," Danny stood as tall as he could, his own eyes sharpening as a fierce protectiveness stole over him. His momma, the most wonderful woman in the world, was bleeding and breathless on the floor in front of him and he was going to beat the shit out of his father for it. His little sisters gorgeous suit was in tatters and he was going to beat the shit out of his father for it.

"Awww, little Daniella's trying to use her words, is she?" The condescending tone of voice David used made Danny furious. He wasn't a woman, and even if he was, who gave David the right to mock like this? Balling his fists at his sides, Danny was wide awake and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

"Yeah, I am, because bashing your ugly fucking face in isn't worth making my knuckles bleed!" Danny didn't regret spitting those words, even when David sent himself flying in his sons direction with his face twisted into a hideous scowl. With a rapid sidestep that ended in a near stumble Danny managed to evade the first attack, hurrying to his mother's side to help her to her feet. As soon as she was standing Danny shoved her as gently as he could into the kitchen, positioning himself in the doorway to protect his girls.

"You wanna say that again, you fucking bastard?" David spits, and he charges once more though Danny is ready this time as he charges all the same to meet his father in the middle. The two crash together with a monumental force, Danny's teeth chattering together as his father and he collide. Bracing himself with planted feet Danny forces all of his power into one burst, trying desperately to offset David's balance- He lets out a cry as, instead, David gets the upper hand of him and lifts his foot to smash it into Danny's knee. The one leg giving out, he crashed halfway to the ground and used the lowground advantage and sudden momentum to throw himself forwards, his entire upper body smashing into his father's stomach and forcing him back a few wonderful steps. That hope in Danny's stomach reignites as it so frequently tends to do in these situations, but it's crushed back to soot as David brings down an elbow on his son's neck and back, drawing out a cry and sending him to the ground. As soon as he touches down on the floor a foot, clad in a heavy work boot, is planted on his spine and ground down violently. Again, Danny chokes out a scream.

"Dahlia, Dahlia my dear call 911 and tell them to-"

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" David roared at the sound of his wife's gentle, fragile voice, and Danny craned his neck despite the pain flaring in his back to see Dahlia with the house phone in her hands.

"Call them, baby, please!" And then Aurelia is forcing herself away from her daughter to take up Danny's place in the kitchen doorway, teetering lightly on her feet, still dazed from the hits she'd previously taken.

"Oh, you little bitch!" David springs from his spot pinning Danny and charges for Aurelia instead. Fighting down the splintering ache Danny tries to stand, gaining his feet for only a second before his throbbing knee gives out again and his aching lungs fail him. He's choking in breaths, watching as his mother grits her teeth and throws a punch that misses. David steps easily back and then lunges like a prairie lion, his teeth bared and his eyes blazing. Dahlia screams as her mother comes crashing to the floor with David on top of her, the sound of a skull on linoleum echoing louder than it should have. The little girl is crying now, sobbing into the phone, begging for help and not being able to remember an address.

"Danny-" Danny's heart swoops and his head snaps to the left, to the stairs, and he sees you cowering there with a terrified expression. He opens his mouth to choke out a sentence and then he hears his mother scream, weak and strangled, as a hand tangles in her hair and Danny's attention is held there.

"Get- off!" Danny screams, his lungs lurching with the action, and he forces himself up and staggers on unsteady legs, picking up speed with every step until he's flying at his dad and catching him around the throat with one sturdy arm. From over his father's shoulder he sees the spreading pool of blood like a crown around his momma's head and he falters. In that blink of weakness David strikes, throwing Danny away like a ragdoll. This isn't like the other times, Danny realizes. This isn't just his father, angry, looking for something to hit. This is life or fucking death. Aurelia is dying. You are on the stairs, the only one not in the fight. The only one fit to do something without risking the life of someone else. Fighting to his feet and leaning heavily on the wall below the stairs, Danny forces one foot in front of the other and reaches one hand up to slip in between the banister. Yours lands on top of his in an instant, and it gives him just a little more strength. Through the darkness shrouding the stairwell, his eyes catch yours, and his plan forms behind his eyes like a spider spinning web.

"Danny, I have to do-"

"Bedside drawer. Parents bedroom. A gun. It's loaded, you have to-"

"Oh, look," David lets out bellowing laughter, like someone just told him why the fucking chicken crossed the fucking road, "Daniel, not even your cheap fuck wants to save you? Come here, you fucking coward, come here." David moves for the mouth of the stairwell in a nightmarish blur. Your hand leaves Danny's and you let out a cry.

"Run!" Danny screams, and the sight, the feeling, of you in danger does something to him. He feels the same way that he did that night in the bowling alley, when Freddy Krueger had his hands on you- when Chrissy had had the audacity to hit you. It's animalistic, pure instinct driven by a love so powerful it makes him want to scream until his lungs fill with his own blood. With his adrenaline going into overdrive and his unadulterated rage flowing purely alongside it, the pain fades into the back of his mind and all he sees is red. "Don't you fucking touch her!!" the words are screeched, Danny's throat erupting red-hot, but the adrenaline blocks out the pain and fuels his shaking limbs, forcing them to steady. He's running without realizing he's running, jumping without realizing he's jumping, landing and clinging to David's back without realizing that he's doing it. With the ferociousness of a man who's soulmate was in danger, he flashed his nails at his father's face, digging them in with all of the strength he could muster. One nail snaps and the raw spike of pain is only there for a second before the oozing red of David's blood sends a blast of dopamine from head to toe through Danny's body. He broke skin- dragging his nails down, down, Danny ignores his own pain and listens to the roar of pain that his shitbag father lets out instead.

"You fucking brat! You useless fucking pussy!" David whips himself back and forth, struggling to dislodge Danny, who has a death grip on his face and neck. Growing crazed, David backpedals and slams Danny in the wall, crushing him and forcing the breath from his body yet again. At last Danny's arms go slack but he manages to just catch himself with two set feet. David whirls, pulling and arm back and slamming it forwards. Ducking with adrenaline-fueled speed, Danny slips from his confined spot and hears you rather than sees you shouting for him to take the gun.

"Throw it!" Danny demands, and his vision clears just enough for him to realize he needs to catch it, too. The cool metal sinks into his hands, a heaviness he wasn't used to but didn't hate. Spinning and jutting his arms out, steady, the gun was aimed right at David in the nick of time, getting the man to stop dead in his stride. "Don't fucking move, or I swear to God I'll blow your fucking head off!" Silence falls. Painful, deafening silence. Danny's ears are ringing, distantly, and he knows it'll get louder once the adrenaline fades. Dahlia is crying quietly in the kitchen, and Aurelia isn't making a sound; Danny won't risk looking over there, or else his whole plan will fall to pieces. His eyes have to stay on David. "I want you to get on the ground."

"Sure you do, you slut. You'd just beg for that, wouldn't-"

"I am demanding that you get on the fucking ground." Moving the gun up a notch, Danny redirected it at his father's head. The man smiled, unphased. Fucking psychopath.

"You won't shoot me."

"Says who?"

"Says me. I'm disappointed in you, Daniel. I raised such a screwup. You don't have the balls to shoot me."

"Wanna test that theory?" Danny grit his teeth, fighting back the fear itching at the back of his mind. What if he can't shoot his dad? What if he misses? What if David is right? What if he is a screwup?

"I know you won't shoot me, Danny, so hand the fucking gun over. I can fix you, you know. You don't have to keep growing up as some sick, fucked up que-" Danny closes his finger on the the trigger, bracing for the bang, bracing for the recoil, bracing to miss and-

It clicks. No bullet fires. David's face contorts into a sick grin. The safety. As David bursts out into laughter Danny scans the gun for the little switch, the thing little thing that just fucked up what could be the last few minutes of his life. He's never used a gun before but the thing is easy enough to locate and he jams at it with his thumb but doesn't have time to aim again as his father rushes him, throwing a violent fist that snaps Danny's head to the side and the rest of his body along with it. He falls hard, the gun lost from his grip, landing awkwardly in a way that makes the pain in his back explode all over again, but that's nothing compared to the explosion of the gun as it hits the ground and fires, right towards the kitchen. Dahlia screams, a blood-curdling sound that makes bile rise in Danny's throat and block out his breathing.

"Dahl- Dahlia!!" He forces out, his battered nails digging into the floorboards as he dragged himself with all of his strength in her direction. Through the haze over his eyes he couldn't see her, but he could hear her sobbing. He had fucking shot her, he had shot Dahlia, hadn't he? Getting his hands underneath him Danny struggled to one knee, about to bring up the other one when a foot connected with the back of his head and sent him to the floor all over again. "Dahlia...!" Danny didn't even realize he was crying until a sob stole even more air from his lungs, but he ignored the way everything inside of him hurt and kept crawling forwards with all of his might. He could see the gun through his tear-blurred vision, the shining metal that would save him from everything going on here. He was close enough to reach it now, his father walking almost carelessly at his side, savoring the fear, the hurt, the blood. He was still laughing, everything but Danny forgotten, and all that Danny knew was him and the gun. You didn't cross Danny's mind a single time as he lifted a shaking hand, his bones screaming for rest, and let it fall on top of the metal, curling around the grip. As he went to lift the gun, his hand shaking so bad he hardly had any control, that heavy boot crashed down on top of it and slammed it into the floor. A bone cracked somewhere in Danny's hand and he didn't even have the strength to get out anything but a choked sob.

"So pathetic." David spat down at him, Danny craning his neck to stare up at his looming stature. He removed his foot from its place on Danny's hand, revealing a bleeding mess. The guns safety, the small bar jutting gently from the side, had cut a crease into his palm, slicking the silver gun a shiny red. David settled to his knees and snapped his hand into Danny's hair, lifting his head so that he was nose to nose. "You're no son to me."

"I-" Danny choked out, blood bubbling in his mouth. He had to stop, spitting it so that it run down his cheek, "I don't fucking want to be your s-son." David grimaced one more time before dragging Danny's head up by the hair, smashing it down into the ground one brutal time. There was a snap, pain exploding in Danny's face, consciousness slipping.

"You're sick." Danny can't hear him over the blood rushing in his ears, the sudden coldness pressing in over him. He was so, so cold. "And that friend of yours is no better. I knew she was bad news the minute I laid eyes on her, and what do you know? She's a fuckin' faggot." You spring to Danny's mind. You, somewhere, not safe. Never safe with David around. "She's trying to get you to turn into her queer sidekick or some disgusting shit. What a whore." Amanda. Amanda was still mad at Danny. He would die without being able to make it up to her. "Unbe-fucking-lievable." A boot cracks into the back of Danny's head. His nose snaps again. Pain, searing, white-hot. His mind his hazy. And then, through the darkness, his mother's voice, faint and soft and fucking furious.

"You... you killed my boy," She choked out. Danny clawed for wakefulness, clawed for strength, lifting his head. Blood was in his eyes, in his mouth. It's all he could taste. All he could smell. He mother's hair was matted, thick with the same scarlet, and her eyes were dull. Her face, however, was twisted with a mixture of grief and anger. She got to her feet, and if she could do that then so could Danny. She was staggering, blood soaking the back of her shirt. From somewhere that seemed far off there was a cry. David stoops, and picks up the gun. Danny finds his breath again. "My boy, David, you killed my precious boy!" When a mother's child is stolen away, things change inside of them. Aurelia's eyes were sharpening. So were Danny's. She was coming back from the brink of death. So was Danny. One last fight to avenge her son, her beautiful boy- her Daniel. "David, you killed our boy!!" And then she was reaching behind her, ripping a knife out of the knife block, and sending it hurtling through the air with a sharpshooters precision. It sailed with a whistle, moving so incredibly fast that there was no way it wouldn't hit David. Danny could see it, hear it, watch his father's corpse fall- David tried to move but it isn't possible, he could never be fast enough. The knife hits home with a sickening thud and blood sprays, warm and red and bright. Danny would cheer if he could have- but David doesn't fall. David doesn't even scream.

"Can't even sharpen all the knives, you useless bitch?" And then David is pulling the dull blade from it's shallow place inside his arm and throwing it aside, well out of the way. Aurelia's rage falls, replaced with a sudden hopelessness. She reaches behind her for a knife again but she's not fast enough as David is upon her and whipping her over the head with the base of the gun, ripping her consciousness away all over again. As Aurelia falls, Danny does the opposite, emptying his last reserves of strength. If he falls again, he won't make it. None of them will make it. David is done with Aurelia, for now. She's still breathing, Danny can tell. He can see her chest rising and falling laboriously. Dahlia is nowhere to be seen. Now, Danny sees you, but so does David. You're right in front of him. At some point he'd already hurt you. Your lip was split and you were coated in a slick layer of blood. You'd been there, taking care of Danny's girls while he wasn't able to- hurt, too. You weren't going to die for doing the thing he couldn't. "You shouldn't even be here," David hisses, and you cower. There's nowhere to go. "No one's going to miss you." Wrong. Danny runs. He almost slips on his own blood but something rights him again and he keeps on moving, one leap at a time. As David raises the gun, Danny grabs another knife, a sharp knife, from the knife block and slashes viciously, one massive, brutal swipe, along the backs of his father's knees. His venom green eyes shoot wide and he lets out a startled cry, because surely his son had been dead?

"You won't fucking touch her." Danny's words are a snarl, animal-like in every sense of the word. His eyes are wide and crazed, distant yet sharp all at once. Blood is soaking his face and his hands and he's fighting his very last fight, soaked in desperation and unbearable love for you. David goes down, and Danny crashes down on top of him. Whipping the gun up to aim it at Danny's head, the younger boy catches his father by the wrist and flexes his every muscle to stop the gun from reaching him. The barrel, sleek and red and deadly, is mere centimeters from his brain and Danny can't hold it for long. With both of his hands trapped holding his fathers, he only had one option left. Pulling his lips back into a snarl, baring his teeth, Danny lunged. He caught the tender flesh of his dad's gun-wielding wrist between his teeth and sunk them in as far as they would go. His jaw, aching, screamed in pain but he kept on sinking his teeth in as his father's screaming joined it. Danny's teeth clicked against bone, undeniably so, and that's when Danny tore his head away. The motion was a jerk, a single, snapping movement. Blood erupted from his hand as his main artery was torn in two by human brutality. The gun fell to the ground, and this time no bullet fired. Danny reached for it, certain that his father was done for. He grabbed the gun, made sure the safety was off. His father reared up, bucking Danny off of him and moving to pin him instead, but Danny was faster.

With one last scream, his eyes glued shut, Danny pressed the gun to his father's stomach and pulled the trigger.

***

The only sign that the gun had fired, to you, was the ringing in your ears. Your head was throbbing, your chest was hurting, you were much too cold. You don't know who had shot who until red bloomed like a flower on the back of David's shirt. The colour stretched out, it's groping fingers taking more and more of the fabric as his heart sped up.

"You..." David croaked, "You shot me..." You didn't give him another chance to speak, hobbling forwards and shoving the man from on top of Danny. As soon as you saw his face you collapsed to your knees at his side, breathing heavily, unevenly. After a moment of letting your head spin, you sank to lay at his side, scooting so your head rested on his shoulder. He lifted one tired, shaking hand, and placed it on your cheek, staining it redder than it already was. Neither of you spoke just yet. You were breathing. Danny was breathing. David was breathing. Aurelia was breathing. You spent minutes, who knows how many, singling out their different sounds so that you could be absolutely certain. Danny was okay. David was dying. Aurelia was alive. It was over.

"I'm sorry," Danny chokes out, lifting his other hand to wipe blood from his lips. You just shake your head.

"You should be." David's voice is not welcome here. You sit up to glare at him, and his eyes click with yours. "You don't deserve him. You don't deserve any child of mine." You sniffle, silently waiting for him to continue. Danny's hand finds yours. It's still shaking. "You're almost as awful as he is. You're both fucked in the head." Danny squeezes your hand- it almost feels like some odd sort of permission. You don't know, just yet, what it's permission for, but you will in a matter of seconds. "You know, if I get out of here alive I'm going to make that Young kid sorry for what she did to you, Daniel. I'm going to take her into the forest. I'm going to fix her. And then I'm going to burn her alive." Danny squeezes your hand again. This time it's more like he's asking you to do something. "And if you live, too? Oh, I'll make it so much worse. Maybe you'll like it though." Beginning to laugh through bloodstained teeth, David moved a shaking hand to grab obscenely at his crotch. Nausea roiled through you. Danny squeezed your hand again, and at last, you looked at him. His eyes were stained with tears. "I'll fuck you up 'til you realize what's wrong in your head. I'll fuck you up as you beg me to forgive you. I'll fuck you up as I hang you from a tree. I'll even fuck you up after-" You snap up the gun, aim, and fire. Your ears don't even ring this time. David doesn't speak again. A third eye, gushing red, has opened in his forehead. You're unfazed by the thought that you've just taken a defenseless life.

"Thank you." Danny sighs, and you let your hand with the gun fall slowly.

"I love you." You say.

"I love you too." Danny says back.

"You shot me, you know? Not Dahlia." You say. Danny doesn't say anything back right away this time. When he does, he doesn't even sound afraid.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

"You'll live?"

"Yeah." There are sirens in the distance. "We should go. I killed him."

"Let them get a little closer. Is Dahlia okay?"

"Yeah. I hid her in the cabinet. I told her to plug her ears and only come out for the police."

"Thank you." Another few beats pass. Maybe a minute, or two. You're feeling colder now, but your head is clearing up and you know that the gunshot wound, which only skimmed your shoulder, won't kill you if you cover it within the next few hours.

"Ready?" You say. This time, Danny sits up, slowly. You offer a hand and help him.

"Ready."

The two of you leave.

(A/N): And that's it. That's the last chapter. Expect an epilogue, probably today to be totally honest. This chapter was so awful, but I have to say writing it was great. I've been waiting for months for this scene, and it's been too long since I've written such ruthless violence. Don't worry, the next chapter is a happier ending than I usually do.