Chapter 57

Chapter Fifty-Seven

BEFORE

TOM

As the clock ticks closer to one in the morning, I lie awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering if I'm making a terrible mistake.

I love Daisy, and I want to see her more than anything. I want to explain to her that I would never do anything to hurt her, and that I want to be with her, no matter what her father thinks of me. I want to try to convince her I'm a good guy, even though that might not be the truth.

But the more I think about it, the more uneasy I feel.

Because the truth is I'm not a good guy. I killed somebody. And every time I look at Daisy, I have terrible thoughts. Yes, I want to kiss her, but I also want to do a lot of other things to her. Bad things.

This won't end well for either of us.

But there's another thought that keeps nagging at me.

Slug heard my conversation with Daisy. Which means he heard when and where we are meeting, and that if he doesn't trust me to take care of the situation with Daisy, he might take matters into his own hands.

What if Daisy is in danger?

I sit up straight in bed. I'm getting more worried with each passing minute. Slug has already done some terrible things, and the last task he needs to complete to ensure our freedom is to take care of the "Daisy situation."

I wish I could text her, but it doesn't look like any of my text messages to her have been read. I'm willing to bet her parents confiscated her phone. Or blocked me. I can't risk texting her about our meeting.

I look down at my watch. It's half past midnight. It will take me twenty minutes to walk to the Dairy Queen—fifteen if I sprint there. I could try taking the Chevy, but I'm worried the sound of the engine revving up would wake my mother, and then she'd keep me from leaving. Or worse, involve the police. And my bike has had a flat tire since the fall that I never got around to replacing.

No, it's better to go on foot. If I leave now, I should make it before Daisy arrives. And if Slug is there, I can get rid of him. Or at least make sure he doesn't do anything stupid.

I throw my hoodie sweatshirt back on and stuff my feet into a pair of sneakers. I am moving fast, but I've wasted another several minutes, and I'm definitely going to have to hurry to get there before Daisy does.

I better check Daisy's house first. If she hasn't left yet, I can head her off at the pass. A lot depends on this.

Maybe her life.

I sprint over to Daisy's house as quickly as I can, cutting through a neighbor's yard to save a couple of extra minutes. I'm out of breath by the time I make it back to Daisy's, and I waste no time rounding the side of the house to get to the back door.

The Driscoll house is silent. Daisy's parents are either asleep or her father is in the field. And more importantly, Daisy's window is dark.

Damn. I missed her. This is bad.

Worse, I sacrificed at least five minutes to make the detour to Daisy's house. Five minutes I didn't have to spend. Five minutes when something terrible could be happening.

I better run.

I run as fast as I can all the way to the Dairy Queen. By the halfway point, I am deeply regretting not taking my mother's Chevy. I'm so hot, I rip off the hoodie and wear it around my waist. And the worst part is, I don't think I'm even going to make it by one.

Daisy, please hang in there…

Okay, I shouldn't panic. Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe Slug isn't planning anything. Maybe Daisy is going to be fine.

When I arrive at the Dairy Queen, Daisy's mother's Lincoln Continental is parked in the lot. Apparently, she was smarter than me and grabbed the car. And then my heart sinks when I see the car parked next to hers.

It's Slug's Oldsmobile.

Daisy is here, and so is Slug. And I can't see them anywhere.

My T-shirt is soaked with sweat. I'm breathing hard from my run, but I can't afford to stop, even for a second. I have to make sure Daisy is okay.

I walk around the side of the Dairy Queen, to the back parking lot. My heart is pounding, and it's not entirely from my fifteen-minute run. I'm late, but only by about two minutes. Nothing could possibly have happened in two minutes.

Could it?

As I get closer to the back, I start to get even more nervous. Why is it so quiet back there? If both Daisy and Slug are together, shouldn't I hear some noise? Talking? Shouting? Something?

No, something is wrong. I'm sure of it.

"Daisy?" I call out.

Dead silence.

My panic is mounting. It occurs to me that I should have brought some kind of weapon, although I don't know what. I could have grabbed a knife from the kitchen. Because if Slug is here, he sure as hell brought a weapon. And I might need a weapon of my own to defend her. And if he did anything to hurt her, I'll need it to kill him.

When I finally round the corner of the Dairy Queen, I freeze in my tracks. Way at the other end of the small lot, I see a lump. As I get slightly closer, I realize it's a body. Lying on the ground, not moving. And there's another person standing over the lifeless lump.

I am far too late.

Oh Christ, Daisy…