Who did she think she was? My cheeks still burned red from anger as I paced back and forth on the porch. Candice barely knew me and had already made her mind up about the type of person I was just because of one small piece of information she managed to know. I could hear slightly raised voices coming from inside the house. I imagined Candice had finally recovered from the shell shock from my outburst and was now looking toward Melinda for some sort of apology. Not that she deserved one.

                I sighed as I made my way to the swing that I had recalled seeing on the side of the porch earlier in the day, feeling slightly guilty for leaving Melinda to deal with Candice alone but something told me she was perfectly capable of doing so.

                Sitting on the swing I let my head rest on the back of it giving a gentle push with my feet before closing my eyes and enjoying the calming swaying motion. The heat from earlier in the day had been replaced with a cool breeze and that paired with the slight hum from the nightlife that surrounded me I found myself more relaxed than I had been in a while.

                “I bet you’re wishing you took Elijah up on his offer earlier,” Daniel’s voice cut through the night air, a light chuckle rumbling from his chest. The swing dipped and rocked to the side as he sat beside me.

                The offer he was referring to was that I share the blunt Elijah demanded to finish before coming up to the house with him. ‘You’ll need it just as much as me.’ Elijah had warned. I politely declined not wanting to overstep any boundaries on my first night here. Even though they had all ensured me that Melinda and my father were okay with the idea of smoking and drinking happening as long as it remained on their property and didn’t go beyond marijuana use, I still hadn’t felt comfortable enough to partake.

                “Beer?” Daniel offered after a few moments of silence had passed. I opened my eyes and looked in his direction to see him holding not one but two bottles. This time the one he was offering me remained closed. He was a quick study. Had it not been for the fact that Nathan himself had enjoyed a beer along with his dinner I would’ve declined for the same reason that I declined Elijah’s offer earlier, but after the long day I had I didn’t see the point in saying no to one beer.

                “Thanks,” I mumbled, grabbing the beer, and twisting the cap off it before taking a sip.

                Daniel and I sat in silence as the swing swayed gently with the breeze, listening to the croaking of what sounded to be frogs coming from the pond in the distance. I knew he wanted to say something more and I appreciated that he hadn’t yet.

                A few more moments of silence passed before we heard car doors slamming and the faint hum of an engine kicking on. Candice must have finally taken the hint and left. I wondered if Melinda would be upset with me for leaving the room like I did. I hoped not.

                “Sounds like it's safe for you to go back inside now. I think that must’ve been Candice leaving,” Daniel said breaking the silence.

                I nodded but did not move to go inside. I was enjoying the fresh air.

                “You know,” Daniel spoke tentatively, “last I heard you were killing it at school. You and Brady were always the smarter ones out of all of us. I didn’t realize you had gotten your GED.”

                I peeked an eye open and shot an irritated look in his direction. The silence was nice while it lasted, but I knew it was only a matter of time before he brought up the conversation he overheard in the house.

                “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. At least you didn’t just drop out.”

                I knew he was trying to make me feel better about the situation but the more he spoke the more I felt the frustration growing inside of me. He didn’t know enough about it to be able to console me. He barely even knew me as it was. All he knew was the innocent 10-year-old little girl that used to chase him around the yard and the occasional update that I assumed he had gotten from the boys. A lot has changed since then.

                “I didn’t dr-,” I sighed stopping myself. “Daniel, I appreciate what you are doing, I really do. But if I wanted to talk about this, I wouldn’t have come out here by myself. So, either sit here in silence with me or go find someone else to annoy.” I wasn’t proud of the curtness of my voice after all he was just trying to help me, but I didn’t want to explain my entire life story to a guy who thought he knew me just because we spent a couple of summers together nearly a decade ago.

                “I’m sorry, I just,” he cut his sentence short when he saw the look of annoyance displayed on my face. “Right, silence it is then,” he mumbled in a defeated voice.

                I felt a pang of guilt. I knew he was just trying to be a friend and considering that the only people I knew here close to my age were my brothers, a friend was something I could use. I was just taking out my frustration on him and it wasn’t fair.

                The longer Daniel and I sat in silence the more my guilt grew. I didn’t know if it was the near-empty beer bottle in my hand or the calming night air, but the more time that passed the more comfortable I became in Daniel's presence. The past year I had become more of an introvert, and it was very seldom that I found someone I was comfortable around as I much preferred to be alone.

                “I’m sorry,” I spoke quietly as I finished the rest of the beer, placing the empty bottle into the cup holder that had been etched into the arm of the swing. “It’s just a touchy subject that I'm not used to talking about.”

                “Don’t sweat it,” Daniel shrugged. “I shouldn’t have brought it up, it was obvious you didn’t want to talk.”

                I smiled softly at his response. I appreciated that he was okay with just sitting in silence if that’s what I wanted.

                “But, and don’t take this the wrong way,” he started, choosing his words carefully, “it may not hurt to talk about it with someone. It doesn’t have to be me, but if you want it to be it’ll stay between us.”

                He wasn’t wrong. I’m sure talking about it all with someone would be beneficial, but it was a long story and one that would drudge up some old feelings that I had worked so hard to shove down and move past.

                “Maybe.”

                “I’ll be here whenever, if ever, you decide you want to,” he said reaching his arm behind me and giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

                Normally, I would have pulled away from such an embrace but instead, I found myself leaning into it with a slight flutter in my stomach. It must be the beer. Surely it was.