A Snowy Night
Part 3
By Kellie
Danny looked across the road at the accident scene. The car wasn't Michelle's and he let out a sigh of relief. The driver didn't appear to be injured, but it would take a while to get the car out of the icy ravine. Danny continued up the driveway towards the lighthouse. He spotted Michelle's car as he heard an announcement on the radio that the beach road was closed to non-emergency traffic due to the accident.
After hearing the sirens go past a moment before, Michelle had been silently contemplating calling Danny to let him know she was okay. She was startled when she heard a knock at the door.
"Michelle, I know you're here. Let me in," Danny called out.
"Go away. I don't want to see you!" she shouted back.
"Michelle, I'm not leaving. Now let me in."
Michelle knew that if she didn't let him in, Danny would break the door down. She got up and went over to the door. She slowly opened it and he stepped inside. He pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank God you're safe. I've been driving all over town looking for you. When I drove up and heard the sirens and saw the lights - "
Michelle pushed Danny away and replied, "Now that you know I'm safe, go away and leave me alone."
"Michelle, they're closing the beach road to clean up the wreck. I can't go anywhere. With this storm, it looks like we're stuck here until morning. Anyway, we need to settle some things."
"Great! Just great! We're stuck here and you want to settle things. What is there to settle? You've single handedly destroyed my chances of being acquitted." Michelle ranted. She walked over to the door and stepped out on to the stoop.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked as he grabbed her arm. Michelle lost her footing on the icy stoop and they both fell into the snowdrift by the door.
Danny got up out of the snow and reached out to help Michelle up, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Michelle replied tersely as she took his hand. They both began sliding on the icy porch and fell back into the drift. They couldn't help bursting into laughter. Finally they managed to get up and go back inside.
Michelle walked over to the window to watch the falling snow. "I guess I should enjoy the snow, especially since I won't be watching any snowfalls in jail."
"Don't talk like that. I promised you that no one would take you back to jail. I'm not going let that happen."
"Danny, thanks to you it looks like that exactly where I'm going," Michelle muttered.
"Michelle, I had to do something. I couldn't sit back and watch while you're being railroaded - this whole murder charge mess is my fault. If we weren't married, you wouldn't be in this position. I'm to blame for all of this - I had to do something to try and protect you."
"Great! You've managed to protect me right onto the path for a conviction!" Michelle shouted. Tears poured down her face as she continued, "Danny - all I have ever asked is that you always be honest with me - no secrets, no deceptions, no handling things the way your family would. You couldn't do that for me - I can't live with lies and manipulation. I don't even know if I want to be your wife anymore! "
"You don't mean that - you can't mean that," Danny whispered.
"Right now, I'm not sure of what I want. All I know is that when the Len got back on that stand and admitted he'd lied and that you were behind it, I saw my whole life fall apart - all hope gone. Then I looked over at your mother, with what I know was a phony look of sympathy on her face..."
"Michelle."
"You need to understand this Danny - Your mother is the only person who hates me enough to put me through this."
"Michelle, today was all my fault - my mother had nothing to do with it."
"You don't get it - this whole mess is her fault. That much I'm sure of. I can't prove it, but in my heart I know she's the one who set me up. I just wish you believed me. It was bad enough having this gut feeling that she was doing this to me - to us; but it was a hundred times worse when I realized that this whole trial had turned into a power struggle between the two of you. You're both trying to influence the outcome of the trial. Carmen has to be the one who paid off that maid, and you intimidated Len into lying on the stand. At this rate, they might as well take me behind the courthouse and hang me before the jury even deliberates."
"It's not like that, Michelle."
"Yes it is, even if you can't admit it. Danny, until your willing to admit that there's some truth to what I'm saying, we can't go on." Michelle looked at him; her face was puffy and red from crying. "I'm going to take a shower. You might as well fix yourself a place on the floor to sleep."
Part
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