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Her brow furrowed and a slice of despair trickled in.
“But now you feel sad,” Daisy pointed out and cocked her head. “Why?”
Elena shrugged. “I’m sad because of my brother.”
Axel cursed in Portuguese and kicked the machine. Seeing them look his way, he smiled sheepishly and waved at them. “Don’t worry, I’ll get it sorted.”
Elena laughed quietly. The despair was still there. It confused Daisy.
“I don’t understand your emotions,” she said.
“My brother is a never-ending source of positivity for me. But I’m not the same for him. I’m sad because he soiled his pure heart to help me. He did things he’ll regret for the rest of his life and that’s not what I want for him. Our parents didn’t come to this country for him to get caught up with bad people.” Her lips curved and a wistful look filled her eyes as she rested them on Daisy. “But I’m over the moon those bad things brought him to you.”
“Me?” Daisy jerked back. “Why?”
She was the worst thing Axel could find.
“Because he won’t be alone after I’m gone. I see the way you look at him. You like him. Admit it.”
“I…” Heat seared Daisy’s cheeks. She forced her emotions down and clenched her jaw. She wasn’t even sure she had what it took to like someone. “I’m not good for him.”
“Because you did bad things too?”
“How did you…?” She glanced again at Axel. He’d removed his scarf and pushed up his sleeves. Somehow, the effort and focus he put into fixing that machine made Daisy see him as someone whose loyalty would never waiver. It was the strangest notion, yet it fit.
“He told me how he found you,” Elena murmured. “Plus, I’m a bit of a Deadly Seven junkie. I read all the articles. I pieced together a lot. It’s given me something to fixate on when I felt so shitty, you know? I’m sorry you were treated poorly by the person who was supposed to care for you.” Her eyes watered and her next words came out a little choked but full of gusto. “You have to know that Axel will never do something like that to you. Ever.”
“We’ve only just met,” Daisy said, trying to dismiss the gravity of the moment.
“Somehow,” she replied. “I don’t think that’s a factor. Axel has his eye on you. He’s hard to deny.”
A baseball shot out of the machine and flew at their faces.
Daisy caught it before it hit Elena who squeaked and jerked back. “Oh my God. That almost got me.”
“I won’t let you get hurt.” Daisy dropped the ball.
“Machine’s working,” Axel said, brow crinkling like he thought he would get in trouble.
Elena wrapped her arms around Daisy in a tight embrace.
“What are you doing?” Daisy asked.
“I’m hugging you.” Her voice was muffled against Daisy’s front.
Elena’s honeyed hope was a warm bath on Daisy’s nerves. Hugging was once Daisy’s most preferred method of communication. She’d almost forgotten about this part—the surge of dopamine that came with it. Hugging and singing. When Elena pulled away with a sheepish smile, Daisy felt cold and it made her scowl. She rubbed her arms and glanced at Axel watching them intently. He shot a hesitant smile her way, and then popped another ball in the machine.
“Less huggy huggy, more batty batty,” he announced.
“All right, brother,” Elena warned. “Let’s see what you got.”
The ball fired. Elena swung. Crack! Her bat connected. She shielded her eyes, pretending for a moment she’d hit it out of the field.
“And it’s outa here!”
Axel clapped his hands. The hit of warm hope Daisy had felt earlier bloomed to defrost her entire body. She smiled and stood to the side to watch. She even clapped a few times and shouted encouragement when Elena missed a ball. A few rounds later, Elena was swinging and missing more than she was hitting. She was tired. Daisy edged closer, just in case, but found Elena didn’t need help. She knew her limits and handed Daisy the bat before saying breathlessly, “Your turn.”
“Oh, I don’t—” Daisy shook her head.
