Bringing Home Danny Read Online Free Page A

have fallen on his face if Mitch hadn't had a firm grip on him.
    I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry, Danny stubbornly told himself.
    Turning him back around, Mitch took a tight hold on both of Danny's upper arms, squeezed hard, and shook him.
    “ Would you care to try that again?”  
    Danny gazed down at their feet. He tried to think of an answer that wouldn't make it sound as bad as it was.
    “ Eyes on me, Danny.”  
    Danny slowly glanced up at Mitch. He opened his mouth to speak and let out another loud hiccup. Mitch's face contorted in anger; he had none of the soft compassionate edges that always made Antonio seem safe even when he was mad. He wondered how a man who claimed to love him could make him feel so small.
    “ Take a deep breath and calm down, then, I want an explanation.”  
    Easy for him to say, thought Danny. He's not staring at a man twice his size with a death grip on his arms. Accepting that there was nothing he could do to make the situation better, and not knowing what else to say, he stammered out,   “I...I'm ssorrry.”
    Giving a heavy sigh, Mitch questioned, “Sorry for what?”
    Danny looked regretfully over at the smashed oatmeal mess.
    “ I'm sorry for not eating the oatmeal and for throwing…”  
    He paused to consider the chances that Mitch wouldn't find out that he tried to split TJ's head open with it. The odds were against him. “…ThrowingitatTJ,” he finished in one quick, quiet breath.
    “ I'm sorry, could you repeat that?” Mitch asked, dropping his grip on Danny. “This time slower and louder.”  
    Unable to maintain eye contact, Danny focused his attention straight ahead towards Mitch's chest. In what seemed like an alternative universe, Danny couldn't imagine how he ever thought of his broad muscled chest as sexy or comforting. At the moment, he only thought of it as a solid wall he could neither move nor escape from. Suddenly, the blood drained from his body. An eerie calmness came over him as he crossed his arms to rub the ache out of his biceps.
    “ I – t h r e w – i t – a t – T J,” he said, emphasizing each word.  
    “ I see. Was there any particular reason for that? Or, were you trying to play catch with it?” Sarcasm stretched each of Mitch's words, as well.  
    “ Umm...no. I was trying to knock the smirk off TJ’s face, and empty my bowl at the same time.”  
    Although it was as honest an answer as he could give, his instincts told him it was not the response that would make Mitch happy. Not trusting what he would see if he looked him in the face, Danny glanced past him and caught Antonio shaking his head in disbelief.
    “ But, he ducked and I missed,” Danny finished before losing his nerve.  
    “ Are you being smart with me?”  
    “ N-no, sir,” Danny stammered, and proceeded to bite his thumbnail.  
    “ Because trust me, boy, this is not the time to get cute.”  
    Danny remained silent. He began to study his thumb and chew the skin around it. He found himself getting irritated. Danny wanted Mitch to stop prolonging his agony with stupid sayings such as 'being smart' and 'getting cute,' as if it was something he could turn off and on. Besides, he couldn't help it if he was both cute and smart. And so what if I am? What's wrong with that? Danny knew he was letting his mind wander. It was something he did as a coping mechanism to avoid unpleasant thoughts. Curious of the silence, Danny ventured a peek up at Mitch. Mitch returned an equally curious look back at him.
    “ Get your thumb out of your mouth,” was all Mitch could think to say before pulling Danny's hand away.  
    The gesture brought back some of the earliest memories Danny had of his father. He seemed to always be cross with him, and was constantly telling him to get his thumb out of his mouth. He could not understand now, any more than when he was a child, why it mattered to anyone else if he sucked his thumb or bit his nails. Who was it hurting? Danny