Fear shakes me to the core. I’ve never heard him sound that way before. Like he actually means me harm.
Knowing that there is nothing I can do or say to get him to listen to me, I take a defeated step away.
The second I move, he slams the car door shut, and then he’s revving the engine and pulling away a second later, his tires kicking up against the gravel, leaving me in a cloud of dust.
As I watch his car leave, a sob hitches in my throat. Covering my mouth with my hand, I swallow it back.
I’ve screwed up badly. He’s never going to forgive me.
I look around me. Thankfully, the car park is empty of people.
Taking a shaky breath in, I dry my face with my hands, and then I get my phone from my bag and press the last number in my Call History, calling the only person I’ve ever been able to rely on.
Hand trembling, I put my phone to my ear.
“Hey,” Cece sings down the line. “How’s the date going?”
“Ce…can you come pick me up?” My voice wobbles.
“Daisy, what’s wrong?” Her tone is instantly protective.
“I-I…screwed up, Ce. Real bad. And I need you to come get me.”
“Okay. I got you, Mayday. Just tell me where you are.”
“I-I’m at a place called Superhumans. It’s on an industrial estate in Brixton. It…it’s Kas’s place.”
“I’ll find it.”
“Please be quick,” I plead, tears filling my voice.
“Okay. Just stay on the phone with me, Daisy. Don’t hang up.”
“Okay.”
I hear her moving around. Keys rattling. A door slamming. A lock turning. Then, I hear her shoes slapping against concrete as she runs down the stairs of our building.
“I’m sorry to be a bother, Ce.”
“Shut up,” she chides softly. “You will never be a bother to me. You’re my family, Daisy.”
“You’re my family, too,” I whisper, brushing away a tear.
I hear a door slam. Then, a car engine comes to life.
“I’m putting you on speaker,” she tells me. The line goes silent for a moment, and then it comes back to life with an echo. “Can you hear me?” she asks.
“I got you,” I tell her.
“Good. Now, tell me, do I need to put out a hit on this motherfucker?”
I let out a sad chuckle as I wipe away another tear. “No,” I say somberly. “He hasn’t done anything wrong.” And it’s the truth; he hasn’t. “This was all me. My fault entirely.” And it is.
I’ve screwed up everything. Yet again.
Twenty-Eight
It’s late. Close to midnight. I’m in my pajamas, ready for bed, and I’m in the bathroom, brushing my teeth. My eyes are puffy from all the crying I’ve done, and I’m feeling emotionally drained.
Cece is already in bed. She turned in about half an hour ago. She spent all night trying to make me feel better. Not that much is going to make me feel better, apart from Kas, and it’s not likely that’s going to happen.
I haven’t heard from him.
I tried to ring him once I got home after Cece picked me up, but the call went unanswered. When I tried calling again, I got voice mail, telling me that he’d turned off his phone.
I left a voice mail, apologizing again and asking him to call me—well, I might have pleaded for him to call me.
I also sent a text, just in case he decided to ignore the voice mail. Of course, he can also ignore the text, but at least I’ll know when he’s read it.
Not that he’s read it yet. I might have checked once or twice…or a hundred times.
I spit out into the sink and rinse my brush under the running tap. I’ve just put my toothbrush into the holder when someone starts banging on our front door.
Cece comes out of her room, and at the same time, I exit the bathroom. She’s all wide-eyed. I think my expression mirrors hers.
“Who the hell is that?” she asks.
“I have no clue.”
“Daisy!” a voice hollers through the front door.
My body jolts in shock, and my heart starts to hammer in my chest.
“It’s Kas,” I whisper to Cece. Why I’m whispering, I have no clue. “What do you think he wants?”
And how the hell did he get in the building without being buzzed in? So much for building security.
“I’d suggest opening the door and finding out.”
“Funny.” I give her an unamused stare.
Maybe he’s come here to yell at me some more—or worse, fire me.
He bangs on the door again. “Daisy, open the door!” His words are slurred. He sounds drunk.
“You’d better answer the door before he wakes the whole building up,” Cece says with a grin in her eyes.
“Shit,” I mutter. Then, I quickly make my way through our apartment and to the front door.
Reaching it, I inch up onto my tiptoes and look through the peephole just to be sure. And, yep, Kas is on the other side of my door.
Bracing myself, I unlock the door and pull it open.
I smell the alcohol on him first. Then, I notice he’s still in the clothes he was wearing earlier.
“Daisy,” he slurs. It comes out sounding like Duh-easy. He steps through the open doorway and practically falls on top of me.
“Jesus, Kas.” It takes all my strength to hold him up.
His hands grab around my waist as he buries his nose in my hair. “You smell so fucking good,” he murmurs into my hair. “I don’t deserve you, but you smell so fucking good.”
He’s really drunk. Reaching out my leg, I kick the front door shut.