11. Daisy

ELEVEN

DAISY

Two days had gone by since I watched Kye beat a guy until he was bleeding and broken on the ground.

Knowing Kye was feral was one thing.

Seeing it in action was another.

He had punched and punched until the guy was on the ground, hitting him a few more times until he knew he wouldn't get up, and then walked away like nothing had happened.

His knuckles had been bleeding and his lips had split open from being hit, but he hadn't seemed fazed, and drove around with me in the car for another hour after.

Even now, the thought of how wild he went made me shudder.

I still didn't think he would ever hurt me, but how could someone be that brutal and not be expected to turn on me at some point?

The thought was stuck in my head as I waited outside for my friends. We were headed out to the boat today, and I needed to not be lost in thought about Kye. The car pulled up, three of the girls packed inside. I slid into the back seat and came face-to-face with Sydney.

"I didn't know you were coming today," I said, the polite edge to my tone not hiding the anger that rolled through me. This was the girl that was trying to sleep with my boyfriend before we even broke up and then succeeded immediately the second we did break up. What reason did I have to be nice?

But it didn't matter. I was going to play nice and not cause any issues, like always.

Jessica and Isabella turned around in the front seat, both giving me an apologetic smile. They felt bad for me.

I was the loser Dean dumped, and Sydney was his prize for that. The tight smiles were a harsh reminder that I was the pathetic one here, and they honestly pitied me for it.

Of course, they did this on purpose.

"Is that a problem?" she asked, wincing a little.

"No, not at all," I said, smiling and hiding any ounce of anger I had. "I just didn't know. Ready?" I asked, facing Jessica and Isabella. They smirked and turned back.

We pulled out of the driveway and headed for the beach. The conversation lulled into surface level topics. It was easy enough, but I could feel my anxiety bubbling underneath, making me watch every word that came out of my mouth. Anything I said would be ammunition if they turned on me again, and this time, I was going to be a lot more careful about what I said.

I got into the boat, the lazy rocking already setting me on edge. The entire group consisted of us four girls and the three of the guys. Dean, Steven, and Michael were taking turns driving out farther into the lake, trying to get us far enough out that we wouldn't be bothered by anyone else.

I was too busy trying not to throw up the farther out we got. I had always gotten a little sick on boats, but their careless driving was making it get out of control.

The glint in Steven's eye since we got on the boat wasn't making me feel any better.

I didn't want to make a scene, though. I didn't want to ruin everyone's day or be called names for backing out.

This was fine. I was safe, and it was just my anxiety making my thoughts get out of hand.

The rest of the group teased and joked, poking fun of me for holding on so tight to the railing of the boat, but the deeper the water, the more anxious I got. Jessica and Isabella came to my side, and the knot in my chest grew.

"Soooo," Jessica started. "Tell us about Kye."

Isabella looked at Dean with a smirk, but she still talked to me. "Yeah, tell us all about the new boyfriend who is mysteriously not here today. I thought you would bring him."

"Yeah, he couldn't make it. Maybe next time."

Dean snorted. "Couldn't make it because he's not actually your boyfriend? Or because he already broke up with you?"

"Neither," I said as sweetly as I could. "He's just busy today."

"Right," Dean said, the cocky smile still on his face. "Maybe he just couldn't handle spending the day with me here."

"You think Kye would be bothered by you ?"

"I think he might be annoyed about you wanting to spend your day falling all over me."

My eyes narrowed, and I looked him over. "I have literally not said a word to you until right now."

"Doesn't mean you haven't been eyeing me up the entire time," he said, laughing as he fist bumped with Steven.

My lip curled, and I looked at Jessica, who was trying to hide her laugh.

Isabella gave me a sad, apologetic look, and I wanted to hug her. I hadn't had a friend care in so long that even her one sympathetic look made me emotional.

Just as fast, though, her eyes went wide. By the time I felt hands on me, it was too late.

"Come on, Daisy, let's go for a swim."

I screamed, fighting back as Dean grabbed me while Steven and Michael grabbed Jessica and Sydney.

"Dean, put me down! You know I hate the deep water."

"You know how to swim. What's the problem?"

"Because I'm scared. Put me down!" I screamed, as he threw me into the water.

For one terrifying moment, I was engulfed in darkness, my frantic kicks and splashing doing little to bring me back up to the surface. The panic threatened to overwhelm me as I struggled against the fear. When I finally broke the surface, a hand was already outstretched, waiting to help me up.

Isabella.

The rest were laughing, the other two girls giggling as they made it back into the boat, but I was nearly screaming.

"Bring me back. Take me back to shore right now."

"Calm down," Dean said. "You know how to swim."

"And I told you I didn't want to be thrown in because I'm scared. Take me back right now or I'm going to call my dad and tell him that you're out here drinking."

Dean rolled his eyes and the other guys groaned.

"Damn, Daisy, you are such a loser. I don't know how I ever managed to date you."

"And you're such an asshole that I don't know how I managed to date you !" I yelled. "Take me to shore now."

Twenty miserable minutes later, I was back on land, and the entire group was booing as they went back out. No one cared that I was upset, and no one cared I would be standing here alone without a ride until they were done.

No one cared because they never cared.

I had already known it, but having it thrown back into my face again felt worse than if they had slapped me.

I could already see Sydney sidling back up to Dean as they pulled away, and I was surprised at how little I cared about that even.

Maybe they didn't care, but apparently I didn't either.

I wrapped the towel tighter around myself and moved to hide by the tree. The trunk kept me hidden from all of my friends.

My ex-friends?

Did you break up with an entire group all at once?

I guess that's exactly what I was doing.

My hands were shaking as I pulled out my phone and hit his name. My dad would come get me in a heartbeat, but I knew there was no explaining this situation to him now. He knew all of my friends and their parents—he would have too hard of a time understanding what they did wrong. Plus, as much as I didn't want to care, part of me didn't want to actually be the loser that brought her sheriff dad to pick her up and rat out all her friends.

And as much as Kye freaked me out the other day, I was pretty sure I could count on him showing up.

At least, I hoped.

"Hey." Kye's voice came over the phone and the simple word made me sag against the tree.

"Hey, what are you up to?"

"At two o'clock on a Thursday? I'm working like all the peasants have to do. What's the prom queen doing? Ruling her kingdom from the throne? Getting her nails done?" The words that were supposed to be funny had an edge to them that only upset me more. Maybe he noticed I hadn't talked to him since the other night, or maybe he was just showing exactly how fake this relationship was, but either way, I wasn't in the mood.

"Wow, forget it. I'll talk to you later."

"No, wait. I was trying to make a joke, but my day's been shit. Why are you calling me? You said you were hanging out with Dean."

"I said I was hanging out with my friends. Dean just happens to be a part of that group. Unfortunately."

"Yeah, how unfortunate that you choose to go hang out with people who treat you like shit."

"Kye," I said, ready to say more but not even knowing how to deny it. It was true.

"Daisy."

"You seem to only call me that when you're mad."

"Yeah, well." I heard something drop and him swear before he said anything else. "Why are you calling me if you are with your friends and boyfriend?"

"You are supposed to be my boyfriend."

"No, I'm the fake one, remember? You've been with the real one. Or the ‘maybe' real one? I don't know. This shit is hard to keep track of."

"Is that suddenly a problem?" I asked, trying to figure out why he was mad.

"No, but it is when you are bothering me when you are with him. I need to get back to work. What did you want?"

"Well, I needed a ride, but you're being an ass, so I will just call an Uber."

He was silent, probably deciding how much he didn't like me at this moment.

"Where are you?"

"In the main parking lot at the Emerald Bay beach."

He huffed loud. "And how did you get a ride there, but suddenly don't have one back?"

"Because I came with that friend group, and they decided it would be hilarious to throw me off of the boat even though I am scared of swimming in deep water, and when they pulled me back in the boat, they called me names for having a panic attack. So really, I thought getting back to shore and letting them go back out was a better idea than staying."

The line was quiet before he swore again. "Are you fucking kidding me? How the fuck is that funny?" He yelled something and someone else yelled back before I heard his car start up. "I'm coming to get you under one fucking condition. You are going to promise not to hang out with these people anymore, at least not alone. That isn't funny, Daisy. They are going to get you killed. Do you understand that isn't how friends work?"

"Yeah, that's kind of how it felt. And obviously I understand this isn't how friendships should work, but, besides Dean, these have been my friends for years. It's been hard to wrap my head around the idea that they really don't care about me."

"Well, wrap your head around it quick because I'm not going to be picking you up every time they hurt you, or waiting for them to leave you in the middle of the fucking ocean next time. This isn't funny."

"I know."

"Alright, I'll come quick, but it will still be a while. Do you have somewhere you can wait without them bothering you?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Fuck, Daze. They don't even care if you're upset or scared. Why is it even fun to hang out with them?"

"It's not."

"Then I don't get it."

"It was mainly Dean. He thought it would be funny. The girls tried to tell him to stop, but I think he's just mad at me and thought it would be some kind of revenge."

"The girls I know would kick my fucking ass if I did that to another girl. I wouldn't be walking. Get better friends, Daze."

"Maybe I just stop hanging out anytime he's around."

He huffed again but didn't argue more.

"I'll be there soon. Just stay out of sight of Dean."

Kye made it forty-five minutes later, his car revving loud as he pulled into a parking spot. He didn't see me at first, but he still got out and walked to the front of his car. He leaned back on his hood and pulled out his phone, calling me.

"I'm here," he said, still annoyed.

"I see that."

He looked around but still didn't see me. He looked good, even from this distance. His hat was turned backwards, his glasses hiding any hint of his blue eyes, and I still couldn't get over how hot I found him.

High school me would be laughing at myself that Kye Baker was the one making me lose my damn mind.

"So you called me out here to stalk me?" he asked. Finally, he broke into a small smile.

"Yeah, it's so much easier when the person you're stalking comes to you. It really beats having to track you down."

"Good choice. You couldn't keep up with me even if you tried to stalk me."

"Is that a challenge to try to stalk you? How do you know I couldn't keep up?"

"Because you watch me shift my car like it's another wonder of the world to you. I really doubt you could."

"I guess we will never know," I said, not able to stop the smile that had come over me.

He laughed, the deep sound reverberating through the phone, and I could see him sit back against the hood. "You think I can't get you set up in a car to race me to test that?"

"Like I said, I guess we will never know." I didn't hide my laugh, my entire life feeling so much lighter now.

He laughed again and looked around. "Are you coming out of hiding so we can go? I don't know if I feel like playing a game of hide-and-seek."

"Really? I would have thought you would like that type of thing."

"You think I like children's games?"

"No. You just seem so feral. I would have guessed the hunting someone down was some sort of fantasy or something."

Without missing a beat, his eyes flashed to mine, and I gasped that he found me so easily. "Interesting that you know about those types of fantasies. I wouldn't think a girl like you even knew that was a thing. Projecting your own fantasies onto me, maybe?" he asked.

I stepped out from behind the tree, in full view of him now. "Not projecting, just making educated guesses."

"Educated guesses based on what?" he asked, pushing off the car and facing me. There was easily a hundred feet between us, maybe more, but it felt like too much now.

The thought of Kye stalking over here to kiss me was all-consuming. The heat moved down my spine until my thighs clenched.

Somehow I had spent the day around Dean and the guys, but Kye was the one making me hot and bothered.

And I wasn't even near him yet.

"Guesses based on you being one step away from a wild animal."

"Is this because of the fight the other day?" he asked.

"Yes."

"And that's why we haven't talked at all? Because you think I'm wild."

"Yes."

"And you're scared of me?"

"A little."

"But you called me for a ride?"

"I didn't know of anyone else who would come out here to get me. Besides my dad, at least, but I wasn't about to tell him about this."

"So once again, you're scared of me, but you need my help. Seems like we've been here before."

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"For what?"

"Being scared of you, but still asking for your help. Repeatedly, apparently."

I could see him grin from here, and I struggled not to smile back.

"Can't blame a girl for being smart. Get in the car, Daze."

"Are you sure?"

"Get your ass over here and get in the damn car, Daisy," he said, but it wasn't as angry as I would have expected. If anything, it was full of humor.

Maybe Kye could be vicious, and a little scary, but he came out here to get me. To make sure I was safe and got home tonight.

And as scary as he could be, I knew right then he wasn't going to hurt me.