When I saw her fly out of the lunch room earlier, I knew something was wrong so I followed her. I wanted Daisy to know that she could come to me. I knew what it felt like to feel like you were alone going through all the bullshit and I didn’t want her to suffer through it alone. I had come to terms with my shit, but I didn’t know if she was as strong as I was. That’s why I knew I had to come with her. She didn’t have to hide around a fake smile when she was with me.
Daisy's hometown was nothing like Atlanta. I was sure the town only had two stoplights it was so small. The roads were dead with snow lining the sidewalks. "You hungry?" I asked, driving under the speed limit on the unplowed roads. In our rush to the hospital, we never stopped and ate anything.
"No," she answered softly, resting her head against the window. A small circle formed onto the window from her breath. Ignoring her response, I whipped my steering wheel, turning into the first fast food place I saw and drove straight to the drive-thru line.
"Too bad. You haven't eaten anything all day and I'm not letting you starve on my watch."
"I can't eat anything right now," she mumbled, keeping her head against the window.
"Babe, I understand you probably aren't hungry, but you have to force yourself to eat something," I demanded, repeating the same words my aunt used to say when my mom would disappear for weeks.
"Fine," she groaned, finally looking my way. "I'll have some ice cream." She pulled out a few dollars and held them out my way.
Ignoring the bills, I tapped my foot on the brake and rolled down my window. I ordered almost everything on the menu. Daisy might not have been hungry but when she smelled all the greasy shit I ordered, her stomach might change her mind.
The attendant told me my total and I pulled around the side of the building. "Here," Daisy said, shaking the money at me.
"I got it," I ordered, ignoring the money again.
A brush of air left her mouth. "No, you drove all the way up here for me, so please just take the damn money."
"My mom told me to never let a girl pay for her own meal," I lied. My mom never taught me shit.
She muttered something under her breath and crumbled the money into a ball, setting it in my cup holder. I would find a way to get it back to her later when she wasn't being so cranky. "Where to now?" I asked, after paying for the food and unwrapping one of the five cheeseburgers I ordered.
"Turn right at the next light and my house is on the end of that street," she guided, dipping her spoon in the sundae and taking a large bite. I obliged, controlling the steering wheel with my leg and shoving the burger down my throat.
"Right here," she pointed, when we turned down the street. A small, brick house was perched on the corner. I braked, pulling into the uncovered driveway in front of the garage door. It was dark, so I couldn't see much except for the front door with a bright light shining above it.
We shuffled out of the car, feet in the snow and her dad opened up the door, clad in a full police uniform. I wasn't sure if he had just got off work or if he was trying to convey a message to me. "My Daisy girl," he greeted, engulfing her into his arms.
"Hi dad," she replied, her voice tiny.
"Keegan," he said, his voice turning deep. "Thank you for bringing my girl."
"It was no problem." I dragged my hand through my hair, shaking out the snow.
"Are you two hungry?" her mom asked, walking into the entry way and giving Daisy a tight hug. "I can whip you guys up something real quick. I'm sure you're starving since you've been on the road for hours."
"Thanks mom, but we stopped and got something on our way here. We're just tired," she answered for the both of us, yawning.
I glanced around the room. The best word to describe it was: homey. The living room was flooded with pictures and knickknacks covering the walls, tables, everything. I did a loop, studying the pictures as I passed them. Most of them were of Daisy but my feet skidded to a stop at one. She was wrapped in some guy's arms on the beach, smiling. Her dark hair was shorter and curlier but the best part about the picture was her smile. It was real and I knew it was because of the guy. Her eyes sparkled, looking up at him with a beaming grin so different than the artificial ones she gave out now.
My focus moved to the guy, the ex-boyfriend, I could only guess. The kid was the fucking poster child for the "All American Good Guy," the guy parents dreamed their daughters would bring home. The complete opposite of me.
With my curiosity still piqued, I looked at every picture of Daisy and golden boy, or some with a blonde chick that smiled too big, it was almost creepy. I finally figured out who each person was when I reached a photo with the words, Tanner, Tessa and Daisy, Spring Break 2009, scrawled across it. Ahh, so the blonde was the girl on suicide watch, who looked strangely similar to the boy with his hand wrapped around Daisy's hip. Interesting.