Page 63 of Pushing Daisy
Daisy
Daisy sits, her legs crisscrossed, hands in her lap, holding her phone in her hand, repeatedly reading those three little words Sloan sent her hours ago.
Sloan
I miss you.
There was no follow-up message. No explanation. No little joke—like saying she meant that she missed throwing rocks at Daisy’s head. Nothing. Those three words hold so much meaning and have created a maelstrom of confusion.
Does she mean she missed hanging out tonight?
Does she mean she missed having fantastic sex?
Does she actually miss me, the person?
All these thoughts circle her brain, repeatedly pecking away at the wall she’s created like a raven going at a mouse, breaking her apart one morsel at a time. It’s torment. Yet, she finds herself unable to respond. Afraid to fully acknowledge the possibility that Sloan meant that seriously.
She unlocks her phone, opening it back to the message. Three simple words. She groans, frustrated that she’s been immobilized by three tiny words and can’t find the courage to say something back. She’s tried. A few times. She’s typed out a response but deleted it every time, unable to form what she thinks is an appropriate reply. What could she say to that?
Thank you.
That’s nice.
I miss you too.
It all seems so trivial.
She unlocks her phone again, finally noticing the time: one a.m. Still not knowing how to respond and worried about saying the wrong thing, she turns off all the lights in the living room and heads upstairs to bed. She plugs in her phone, climbs into her bed, and closes her eyes, hoping that saying nothing is the right choice.
“Good morning!” calls a bright voice from the hall, waking her up from her sordid dreams.
“Gromd erning,” Daisy grumbles into her pillow.
“Nice to see you too, westie,” Petra says, roughly sitting on the edge of her bed. “Here,” she continues, holding a to-go coffee from Taster’s Delight.
Daisy groans, rolling over to face Petra. She pushes herself upright, thrusts a hand out to accept the caffeinated beverage, then brings it to her lips and takes a long sip. She tilts her head back, closes her eyes, and smiles.
“Thanks.”
“Anytime, Grumpelstiltskin.”
Daisy cracks an eye open and glares at Petra. “Really?” she says before closing it again and savoring another sip.
Petra laughs.
“What brings you here?” Daisy asks, taking another sip.
“Wanted to check in and see how you’re doing. Lachlan said you were off today, so I thought maybe we could go shopping. Have a little girl time, you know.”
Daisy lifts her head and finally opens her eyes to look at Petra. How is she practically glowing so early in the morning? “Sure. Give me ten minutes to shower and get dressed.”
“I’ll meet you downstairs,” Petra says as she exits the room.
A little while later, as Petra drives them to their favorite open-air mall, she asks, “So, how has everything been going with Sloan?”
“It was a little bumpy at first, but we seem to have come to an agreement that is working for us both,” Daisy replies. It’s not a lie; they did have issues for the first bit and have come to an agreement—it just so happens that the agreement doesn’t have anything to do with the event they are planning.
“I’m honestly surprised. I figured one of you would have hexed the other by now. Like, multiple times.”
