As he made his way down to his bedroom, Danny did his best to keep his seething anger under control. It had been so easy to promise his mom that he'd keep his emotions in check until she had a chance to explain the situation to his dad, but actually keeping that promise had ended up being much more difficult than he'd expected. He found it next to impossible to be in his dad's presence without his feelings of hurt and betrayal bubbling to the surface. It was only the nervous look on his mom's face that kept him from causing a bigger scene.
On top of his own personal guilt, he was also anxious about what was happening upstairs. Despite his anger at his father, he couldn't stand the thought of their family being torn apart by the events of the past few days. He was angry, yes, but he also loved his dad and found it difficult to imagine what life would be like without him in their lives.
After eating his dinner in silence, he spent nearly an hour sitting in bed, staring off into space and thinking through all the angles of his family's current situation. With no clear answers or indication when his mom and dad would finish talking, he decided that the only thing to do was distract himself with some video games.
While he waited for his PC to boot up, though, he heard the rhythmic buzzing sound of his phone vibrating on his nightstand. It was Christina.
"Hey Chris, what's up?"
"Not much. I just got back from Olivia's and wanted to see how things went with you and your mom this afternoon."
"Well it started out okay... We talked for a while about well... everything."
"... Everything?" she asked in a playful lilt.
"Well... sort of... I mean I didn't just come out and ask her if she wanted to get it on, if that's what you're asking."
"Well what
did
you say?"
"I dunno..." Danny replied, suddenly embarrassed. "I told her that I thought she was beautiful, and I think she's really sexy and that I don't get why my dad would want to sleep around with other women."
"Aww, that's the Danny I know and love. How did she take it?"
Even though no one was there to see it, Danny felt his cheeks begin to flush red with embarrassment. "Honestly, I'm not sure. It's not like I have great instincts for this kind of thing."
"No, you definitely do not," Christina said with a warm chuckle. "But maybe I can help. Did she say or do anything in particular that stood out to you?"
Danny hesitated as he searched his brain. "Not when we were talking... but I could swear that she was going out of her way to show off while we made dinner."
"Ooh, really? Like how?"
"It's possible that I was just imagining things, but there were a few times where it seemed like she dropped something on purpose just so she could bend over and show off her butt or cleavage."
"You weren't imagining it," Christina said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "I bet she was testing the waters to see how you would react."
"You really think so?"
"Definitely."
He felt a wave of excitement begin to wash over him as Christina confirmed his suspicions that his mom had, in fact, been coming on to him. His emotions were tempered a bit, though, by the knowledge that she probably wouldn't be too keen on taking things further after what had happened at dinner.
When he didn't immediately respond, Christina said, "What's wrong? Isn't this a good thing?"
"Yeah, it is, but the rest of the night hasn't been quite so great."
"Uh oh. What happened?"
He went on to explain how he'd given his dad the cold shoulder from the moment he walked in the door, culminating with him walking out half way through dinner.
"I really fucked things up, didn't I?" he said.
"Well, it probably wasn't the most productive reaction, but honestly, I wouldn't be too worried about it," Christina replied. "I think you have a right to be a little bit pissed off, even after everything we've been up to lately. I know I would be if I found out my dad was doing something like that."
"Thanks, Christina," he said. "It means a lot knowing that you have my back."
"I'll always have your back, Danny. No matter what happens." There was a momentary pause before she continued. "I would at least give him a chance to explain himself, though. Maybe there's more going on than either you or your mom realize."
"Anything's possible, I guess. After the week we've had, I guess it would be crazy to rule anything out. There's no way to know until we find out what how he reacts when he hears what we've all been up to."
"I wouldn't worry too much about that," Christina said. "Your dad's a pretty open-minded guy. Besides, If your mom, of all people, can come around to the idea of incest, I'm sure he can."
"Yeah, I hope you're right..."
There was a long, awkward pause, and Danny sensed that it was time to change the subject.
"So what are you up to?" he asked.