“Alive and kicking,” Storm answered.
“She doesn’t look like she’s still beat up from last night?”
“Are you worried about her?” Storm practically accused me.
“No. I just want to know if she’s weak—you know, to take advantage.”
“Ahhh, I got ya. She looks pretty normal to me. You might want to get a plan. Then get a back-up plan.”
“Right. I’m working on it.” I agreed; then we both hung up. I pulled the phone away from my ear and saved his number to my contacts in case I needed it again. Vaguely I wondered where he kept a phone if he didn’t have any pockets… or a body to put pants on. Then I wondered how he even dialed the phone. Too many questions this early in the morning.
I tossed the phone off to the side and collapsed back onto the pillows. My mind drifted back to the little card with the picture of the beach and the way it looked tucked into the frame of her mirror. It seemed important to her. She put it out where she’d see it every day.
And then there were the flowers.
She bought him—me—flowers and sat them near the card as her own personal memorial. I never once thought anyone would miss me if I died. I kind of liked that someone did. It meant I was more than a drifter, more than just another bum on the street. It meant someone out there thought I was worth caring about.
Really, I wasn’t.
I told myself if she knew the real me, the me that was trying to murder her, she’d throw away those flowers and that picture real fast. But she didn’t know. And she still had the picture and the daisies.
But I was still me.
Chapter Twenty
“1-800-FLOWERS—Elegant flowers for any occasion.”
Piper
It wasn’t often that I had a day off. Going in anaphylactic shock wasn’t really a good way to get a day to myself, but hey, I’d take my good fortune where I could. I didn’t feel as bad as I thought, but my muscles did protest when I finally crawled out of bed. Breathing came easily, but I knew better than to push myself. I knew I’d be able to get a doctor’s excuse for missing classes so after a brief debate, I decided to skip.
Between recovering from the reaction and the early morning phone call, I really did just want some time to myself. After I called Frankie and invited her to dinner (Hey, if I was going to call off school and work, the least I could do was have some girl time), I took a long, hot shower and then spent some time blow-drying and curling the ends of my hair into loose waves. (I never had time to curl my hair.) I pulled on a pair of black leggings, an oversized purple sweater, and a pair of furry slipper boots before I went into the kitchen for some hot tea.
A brief cloud passed by the small kitchen window, but when I turned to look, the sun was back out. After pouring my tea I wandered into the bedroom and put the daisy Dex had given me into a small glass of water. Back in the living room, I sat it on the coffee table and studied it while I drank my tea.
The rational part of me said I was being silly for getting so melty over a flower—a flower that technically he hadn’t really given me because I bought it, yet the gesture behind it got to me. No one had ever given me flowers before.
I picked up a magazine, determined I wouldn’t sit here and stare at a flower for hours, and began to read. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and when I answered I was greeted by a man in a fleece coat holding a huge bouquet of white daisies. The exact same kind I bought, except there were more and they were in a sculpted glass vase with a purple satin ribbon tied in a big bow.
I gasped a little, wanting to reach out and take them, but I stopped myself, thinking maybe the man was at the wrong door.
“Piper McCall?” he asked.
“That’s me,”
“Delivery for you,” he said and then the vase full of cheerful flowers was in my arms.
“Wow, they’re…” My voice trailed away when the man smiled. “Oh, let me get you something,” I said, turning to go into the room.
He held up his hand. “It’s already been taken care of. Have a nice day.”
And then he was gone.
I kicked the door closed and went over to the couch, sitting down, still holding onto the vase. I took a deep breath of the light floral scent and then carefully set the vase down on the table in front of me. The sheer size and volume completely hid the single flower I’d been staring at moments before.
There was a simple white card stuck amongst the stems and I plucked it out carefully.
Because you shouldn’t have to share. Dex
