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I feel like my body is on overload. I can’t process anything. I stand up and start pacing. Daisy’s eyes track me, as do Chris’. I need some time alone. I think better alone. “Can we pick this up in the morning? I need to sleep.” I can see Daisy is reluctant to leave, but once again I can’t decide if that’s because she’s worried I’ll run and she will have to tell Betty, or because she is genuinely happy to see me after so long and doesn’t want our time together to be cut short.
“I’ll go to my room. Can we have breakfast together, just the two of us?” Why doesn’t she want Chris there? Is breakfast a way to get me alone before Betty’s goons pounce? My ears are buzzing and it’s driving me insane. I will meet her in the morning though. I have to know what she has in store for me. I have some time to come up with an escape plan.
“Okay, breakfast it is. Eight a.m in the hotel’s dining room.” I will explain to Chris later. There’s no way he understood any of that. Daisy’s hands are too fast. She nods and stands. I see her hesitation. She wants to stay. Instead, she steps towards me and hugs me tightly. This is the third time we’ve hugged in an hour. Tears pool in my eyes because she feels so damn good. Like home.
The door clicks behind her as she leaves. My breathing stutters. Chris squeezes my shoulder. He doesn’t know the full extent of my past, but he knows that Daisy was one of the most important people in my life.
“Hey, you okay?” Chris asks.
Laughable question, really. Physically I’m fine but mentally, emotionally I’m a wreck. I just smile and slump back on the sofa. I feel a cold bottle pushed into my hands. Alcohol probably isn’t the sensible option, but damn, I need something to take the edge off.
“I can’t believe she’s here.” Finally, I’ve voiced the phrase that has been circling the fringe of my mind since I saw her staring at me outside of Rosa’s house. Fucking hell, she saw me with Rosa. It shouldn’t be a problem, but it is. I don’t like the thought of Daisy seeing me with another woman. Double fuck, that’s how she found me, isn’t it? Not because of Rosa, but because of the women I banged. Daisy knows I like women, and she knows that I’ve been wandering Europe sleeping with as many as possible.
Never in all the time I’ve been running have I felt bad for my sexual exploits, but now, knowing Daisy made the connection? I feel… guilt? Shame? I don’t even know.Jesus, Callie, get some perspective. Now is not the time. Daisy is here. I have to figure out why! “Chris, I’m going to have breakfast with her tomorrow. I need you to have everything packed and ready to go.”
“Do you think she’s working for your Nan?” I haven’t referred to that woman as my nan in a very long time, so when Chris says it, I feel a sliver of anger roll over me. It’s not his fault. He doesn’t know what that word does to me now.
“I hope not, but I can’t take any chances? If it goes tits up tomorrow, you need to be ready to run.” I take a breath because the reality of our situation is startling. Startling because it’s a “we” situation instead of just an “I” situation. Chris is now smack bang in the middle of my shit.
“We can’t take the car again, not now. She knows about it.” The young man is a quick study. Maybe he just watches too many crime programs. Whatever, I’m grateful he has common sense.
“No, the car stays here. I’ll report it to the rental agency. I’ll tell them it broke down, but we had to leave.” The survivalist in me is taking over. I hope with every part of me that Daisy isn’t a threat but I can’t just take her at face value.
“Okay, so I’ll be ready to go. How do we get out of here?”
“Listen, Chris, you don’t have to stay with me. In fact, it’s probably better if you go. Getting caught up with Betty is not something I want for you—”
“Don’t make me leave, please Callie.” I stare at him. I forgot that he didn’t know my real name. He must have picked it up from my conversation with Daisy. His face reflects the scared boy he was when I first met him. “Please, Callie.” Jesus, I can’t watch the poor lad beg.
“You don’t have to leave, but think about what you’re getting into.” Honestly, the thought of Chris leaving hurts my heart. We hardly know each other, but I have this overwhelming need to protect him. It’s weird.
“I know exactly what I’m in for. Callie, I feel safe with you and, for the first time, accepted. I don’t want to give that up. I know we’re not exactly best friends, but…”
“I know…” And I do, he is feeling the same as me. We need each other.
“Good, that’s settled then. Where do we go if we have to run?”
“Anywhere. We can make a plan when we are out of immediate danger. You just be ready to go and I’ll do the rest.”
Chris goes to bed and starts snoring. I’m wiped but I can’t sleep yet. I need a plan for tomorrow, but there isn’t one forming yet. Usually I’m excellent at planning ahead. Seeing dangers beforehand is my specialty, but Daisy has me all turned around. That’s why Betty sent her to fuck with my head. I’m almost convinced now that breakfast is an ambush and I’m devastated.
* * *
I wake up to sunlight piercing my eyelids. I fell asleep on the balcony. No matter how hard I tried to plan, I have nothing, no escape plan. If it all goes to shit this morning, we won’t have a plan, and that really pisses me off. My phone tells me I have half an hour before meeting Daisy. The shower allows me fifteen minutes to try to calm my mind. I must get in the right headspace.
Daisy is already sitting at one of the dining tables when I enter the room. She is looking out of the window, unaware that I’m watching her. My god she’s a sight for sore eyes. Her long black locks are in a high ponytail, which allows her high cheekbones to be displayed. She’s a magnificent looking woman. Well, she always was. I’m guessing that she bought her clothes at a local tourist shop. The “I Love Malaga” T-shirt doesn’t seem to be something she would keep in her wardrobe. That makes me smile. With my spine straight and my head on a swivel, I sit down opposite her. There is already a coffee waiting. Black, no sugar. She remembered.
“Hi,” she signs. Her smile is so bright and infectious I can’t help but mirror it. This hotel, this part of Spain, would be perfect for a holiday with a loved one. It would be perfect with Daisy. The dining room is bright and open. We’re sitting at this little table overlooking the bluest of seas with the sun shining down. I have to remind myself that I am definitely not here on holiday with Daisy. I am running for my life.
I take a sip of my coffee. It’s liquid energy that I need. A caffeine boost will help if I have to make a quick escape. Daisy is watching me. A small grin forms on her beautiful face. “What?” I ask.
“There is no one else here. I did not bring a gang of Betty’s nephews to kidnap you. I swear on my life, Callie, I’m not here to hurt you.” Her eyes are so sincere I’m finding it hard not to give in. The survivalist in me is still fighting though. She’s not ready to let go just yet.
“I want to believe you, Daisy, so much, but...”
“I knew about Betty before you did, Cal. I figured it out when we were sixteen.” That confession stuns me. She’s known all this time, even before me. How is that possible? Daisy can still read me like a book. She understands what I’m thinking before I do, well, that’s how it seems. “We were kids. I didn’t know how to tell you what I’d found out. I just hoped you would see it sooner rather than later. Then I left for uni and well…”
The day she left was one of the hardest days of my life. My mum dying was the only thing that topped it as the world’s shittiest day in the life of Callie Compton. I wanted more than anything to go with her, but Betty made it clear that I wasn’t going to be leaving any time soon. “You should have told me—”
