Altnerate Ending

This picks up from about where Marlene leaves; I was inspired in the shower. I'm not a creep: the shower is really the only private place I can be upset without being seen by anyone.



“She’s cool,” Danny said as Molly straddled him, again. It was always made more sense than sitting on his lap. “What are you doing?” he protested when he realized that his girlfriend was on top of him. “I have to go.”
“No, you don’t,” she said softly.
“I’m not doing this again,” he replied, remembering how hard it was for her to say goodbye. “Come on; you can walk me home. It’s a really nice night, and I wanna go to Alice on the way.”
As a sign of compliance, Molly raised herself off of the chair and stumbled around her apartment in a clumsy attempt to leave quickly. By the time she’d found her purse and cell phone, he was ready to go, and they headed out the door.

Central Park was dark, as it was now at least one in the morning, but the concrete path that wound through it was lit by yellow street lamps. The two of them walked side by side, Molly struggling a little to keep up with Danny’s long strides. They each had a pair of headphones stuffed inside their ears that connected to a different iPod. Danny sang along to whatever music was blasted into his ears, and Molly laughed with him. They passed the Dela Court Theater as Molly reached for Danny’s hand without thinking. She quickly pulled it back, however, remembering his qualm with public displays of affection.
“Sure, we can do that,” he said in between songs, reaching for Molly’s hand and entwining their fingers together.
They walked on, loosely hand-in-hand, until they reached the Alice in Wonderland statue Danny had mentioned he wanted to stop by. They climbed the statue, settling next to one another near the Mad Hatter.
“Do you have it?” Danny asked.
“Yes,” Molly answered, realizing his was referring to Shmolly. “But I thought you were going to bed when you get home.”
“I am. That’s why I need it.”
“Why?” she asked, handing it to him.
“I don’t sleep well.”
“Why?”
“Bad dreams.”
“Oh,” Molly said slowly. She paused. “About what?”
“Dying.”
“You’re afraid of death,” she said quietly, non-judgementally.
“I dream that I’m dying.”
Molly reflected for a minute as Danny packed a bowl. “Like, being shot?”
“Someone pushes me off a building.”
Again, Molly was silent for a minute. “I would never let that happen to you,” she said quietly to him.
“That’s what they all say.”
“Yeah, but I’m different.”
“They all say that, too.”
“How have you not figured out in five years of drama that I’m not going anywhere?”
“I don’t know,” Danny answered, adjusting himself on the statue. “Fuck!” he yelled just after he bumped his knee on a piece of the metal surrounding them. He fell silent, clearly screaming in agony on the inside. Molly watched him, unsure of whether or not to console him, until she finally felt safe putting a hand on his thigh. When he’d calmed down, she continued.
“Like that?” she used her head to indicate his knee. “I’ll be there for all of it. Through any surgery, all the physical therapy. Anything that may come up, with your knee or your heart or anything else. If the doctors are right, and you stop being able to walk altogether, I’ll push you around in a wheelchair,” Molly said. She felt a lump in her throat. “I’ll push you down hills,” she added, smiling softly.
“Why?” Danny asked, clearly not questioning her desire to roll him around hills.
“Why?” she repeated, almost scoffing, though she felt her face grow hot and her eyes start to swim in liquid. She held her forehead with her fingertips, attempting to hiding what was clearly about to come out of her eyes. “Because I love you. Because I honestly don’t think I could live if you weren’t alive somewhere, even if you weren’t with me. Because I don’t think—” she stopped, feeling tears silently running down her face, almost afraid to go on. “Because I don’t think my mom, who I know is protecting me, would allow me to be with you if this didn’t mean something so much more.” She didn’t look up at him, afraid of what she might find in his face. “I just…” she searched her minds for the right words, but none came. “I just love you,” she finished.
At a loss of words, Danny put his hand on her thigh, and it was her turn to calm down. Once she had, he removed his hand and wrapped it around her far shoulder, pulling her closely to him. She rested her head on his arm, as she was too short to reach his shoulder, and he bent down and kissed her forehead. “I love you too, you know,” he said quietly to her. She nodded into his arm, doing her best to not get riled up again.
They sat there for awhile, after which Danny lit up the bowl he’d packed and smoked it. It felt like forever had passed before Molly noticed a red light a ways away that indicated a patrol car was somewhere near them. She pointed it out to Danny, and, both of them registering that the park closed at 1AM and neither desiring to be arrested, they gathered themselves and walked the rest of the way to Danny’s apartment.
On his corner, they kissed goodnight, and Molly watched Danny disappear into his building before she held out her hand and got into the cab that would take her home.