Daisy had known something was on my mind that night, we’d gone to the drive in and usually, we’d talk and laugh and make out through the entire movie but that night, the air was stifling and the words were swarming my mind. I knew I had to tell her, I had the chance to when she’d asked me what was wrong. I could have told her how much I loved her and how desperate I was to take her with me, how I didn’t want to live without her, how I wanted to marry her and keep her as my own forever but none of those words came, I took the cowards way out and declared I was just tired.
I had dropped her home that night with her thinking she’d done something wrong. It had taken me three weeks to tell her the truth, and the truth didn’t feel good to me. I knew I couldn’t subject her to the life of the possibility I wouldn’t be coming home one day, I knew the dangers of the job, working in the police force and because I did love Daisy I couldn’t ask her to choose that life. So instead, I broke her heart. I told her that I was leaving for the academy and she wasn’t coming with me. The light I had loved to see in her eyes faded, washed away by the tears that streamed down her cheeks. I wanted to console her, hold her and smooth her hair. Tell her I loved her and that I was sorry but she slapped my hand away, screamed at me that I couldn’t have ever loved her. She told me that she would never forgive me for lying to her by telling her I would never hurt her when all I had done was stab a knife into her heart.
I hadn’t seen her again after that, a box of my things turned up at my parents’ house, delivered by her father, breaking Daisy’s heart had a flow on effect to the other men in her life that loved her. He’d wished me good luck and I had asked him to take care of her. He’d known I loved her still so it meant a great deal that he could understand why I couldn’t take her to the city with me. I respected her father, her family was practically an extension of my own.
I had tried to call her the night before I left, she’d accepted the call and just as quickly as I could blink she slammed the phone back down in my ear. The sound echoed through my body and vibrated in to my heart. It felt like it stopped for a second, the realisation I had lost her, there was no comfort from knowing I had been protecting her, only heartache in the fact I felt responsible for breaking her. She was an angel and deserved someone who was going to give her the world, the stars and the moon because Daisy, she deserved nothing less.
Even as the seasons passed, something’s have never changed, Daisy still deserved those things and I was still in love with the feisty, sexy and completely consuming woman she is.
Now, I needed to decide on a plan of attack, it was what I did for a living so surely I could convince the only girl I’ve ever loved that she still loved me too and we needed to be together. For the first time in days, I could feel a smile crossing my lips, the thought of Daisy back in my arms was enough to sweeten the darkest of days.
12
daisy
* * *
By Friday the hope that Oliver might’ve come back diminishes, he’s gone again and Drew volunteered no further information than what he had earlier in the week.
“Daisy, when was the last time you got out and enjoyed yourself?”
“Take a look around, Drew, in case you haven’t noticed there isn’t a whole lot to do around here. The craziest this town gets is when the book club has a few too many chardys and get a bit rowdy.”
“Jefferson has a movie starting tonight I really wanted to see, I thought you should come with me, we could have a couple of beers beforehand maybe?” Jefferson was the closest biggest town located anywhere near Fosford on the map, it was only a thirty-minute drive but it might as well be a world away, Fosford is as much rural country as Jefferson is a thriving metropolis in comparison.
Jefferson had a pretty decent night scene, with some pretty popular bars that Oliver and I had frequented on date night, they also had the closest cinema complex, mini-golf and an old classic roller rink. I had my first kiss at the end of the “couple-skate” at the roller rink, it had been a complete disaster, kissing on roller skates is not the world’s easiest thing to do, the boy, Tony Mathers bit my lip so hard it bled for a solid hour and swelled to the size of a grape. Tony broke up with me the following Monday at school, told people I was a terrible kisser and almost everyone believed him. I didn’t kiss another boy all the way through high school, in fact I was eighteen before I had my second kiss and thankfully it was with someone who had a little more experience.
The kiss was, well it made my knees go weak and caused the cocoons inside my stomach to open for the butterflies to emerge. I hadn’t expected to need to cling to the iron-like body in the way I had, or the way I felt in the strong arms that held me pressed against it. Jefferson had been advertising a movie marathon for Halloween and a bunch of us decided that it would be a fun idea to dress in costume and take the drive to watch a series of horror movies. Back then I had no idea that costumes on girls were to be revealing and some kind of animal, a sexy kitty or a playboy bunny, Drew convinced me to partner up with him so I ended up as Sally to his Jack Skellington. We had hunted for weeks for pieces of our costumes. It has been a fun night until half way through the third movie and it became apparent that the movie was no longer the reason for being in a dark cinema, it had turned into a huge make-out session for everyone who had coupled up.
Drew and I had only gone as friends, so it didn’t bother me when I had to tap him on his shoulder to get his attention away from Gemma Brown’s ample cleavage. “Drew, I’m going to go home.” I whisper loudly to him.
“Uh, oh. Okay.” I push my hand back down on his shoulder as he tries to rise from his own seat.
“No, stay. I will get my own ride. See you later.” His sheepish smile was all the answer I needed to know that he was okay with my leaving.
Pulling the heavy cinema door open I am greeted by warm air which was kind of refreshing after sitting in the air conditioned room for so long. Checking the time, it was already after two AM, and seeing those small numbers was about the time reality hit that although my parents were going to be pissed at being woken at this time of morning for a ride, I knew they would still come for me, and the consequences would have to be dealt with later. Lack of options meant the reluctant reception of disturbing their sleep was what I would have to contend with.
Just as I was rifling through my bag to find my phone I hear my name from a voice behind me.
“Daisy? Are you okay?” Turning, I smile, seeing his face always had the effect on me.
“Oh hey, Ollie, yeah, I’m fine. I’m just going to get my parents out of bed to drive half an hour to come get me in the middle of the night.” An uncomfortable giggle escapes me as I shake my phone with my free hand.
“Why? Where is Drew?”
“He’s still inside with Gemma Brown.” Oliver curses under his breath as his eyes trail from the floor between us to my face.
“And you’re okay with that?”
“Sure, why wouldn’t I be?” Only then do I notice he isn’t in a costume at all. He was dressed simply in a pair of dark jeans, a button down shirt perfectly clinging to every mouth-watering muscle across his chest and a leather jacket.