Page 106 of Totally Wrecked
“Wow, where’d you find it?”
“Past the pool. Turn left beyond the lychee bush, and there’s an opening. We hadn’t explored it properly, so I went back to be more thorough. I guess sometimes my dad’s voice echoes in my head after all.”
Dad’s voice?
“What do you mean?”
Daisy puts on a gruff voice. “Great results can be achieved with small forces.” Back in her normal voice she explains. “He is a great fan of Sun Tzu, always quoting fromThe Art of War. Dad was actually in the army, briefly, but left after a year. Anyway, he decided me and Brooke were his personal soldiers in the family squad.”
“Why was he discharged?” My curiosity is piqued. I haven’t heard much of Daisy’s background.
“He never told us. I don’t think it was good, though.” Daisy winces. “Dad isn’t an easy person to be around. He doesn’t like to be told what to do; these days, he’s super rude to any military he comes across. It’s awkward.”
“I’d better not introduce him to my dad then, he’s an MP.”
Daisy gives me a puzzled look.
“Military police.”
“Oof, that’s like a double whammy to my dad. Is your father cool?”
I cough out a laugh. “Hardly, he’s a total bastard.” I draw a deep breath. “He got some girl pregnant when he was eighteen. She didn’t want to keep the baby, but waited too long to get an abortion. When Dad found out, he wanted me to be put up for adoption, but Meemaw and Pops said they would raise me. He pays a little attention to my life, but not much. Mostly it’s just criticism and disappointment.”
Daisy puts down her sweet potatoes and picks up my hand. “We can definitely bond about that. My dad was so pleased with Brooke; she was exactly the kind of soldier he wanted, but I was the clumsy, dull-brained kid who was the exact opposite of my sister. It is one of life’s ironies that we are identical; we’re completely different. I think if I had looked different, maybe he would have left me alone, but he always thought I was just being lazy and stupid, and I could change if I just put my mind to it.”
That makes my heart hurt.
“Do you get on with your mom?” she asks me.
“I’ve never met her. She was just some kid. Meemaw and Pops put her up while she was pregnant, but after I was born she took off in the middle of the night. Never heard from her again.”
“Whoa! Did you ever try to find her?”
“Nah. She could find me if she wanted to. But what about you? Does your mom look out for you?” I ask, praying that the answer will be positive.
“Not so much. Mom’s a trooper in Dad’s army. What Dad says, goes.”
Daisy suddenly seems terribly vulnerable. She puts her head in her hands. “All I wanted was for one of my parents to actually like me forme. But they thought Brooke was so great, I was always a disappointment.”
“I had my grandparents, and they loved me unconditionally while I was growing up,” I say quietly. “Did you have anyone?”
Daisy looks up, her eyes strained as she shrugs. “It’s in the past now.”
I squeeze her hand. “You have a family that loves you for you now,” I tell her. “Leander, Killian, Gray—they adore everything about you. Keyara thinks you are the best thing since sliced bread, so maybe you need to reframe your thinking?”
I slide into a terrible Alec Guinness impression: “Many of the truths that we cling to depend on our point of view, young Jedi.”
“Are you quoting aStar Warsmovie at me?” she laughs. “I’m more of a Trekkie.”
She did not just say that!
“Firstly, there is noStar Warsmovie; it’s the name of the franchise. Secondly, you’re a trekkie? Dear god, Daisy,” I shake my head, “you’ve gone to the Dark Side. Maybe we can’t be friends after all.”
“Rex! That’s highly illogical!” She winks at me.
Cheeky minx. Makes me want to give her a good spanking.
“But I guess we can stilltryto be friends,” she says, leaning her head against my shoulder.
