by Vicki James
Me: P.S. I think life as I know it might actually be ending tonight.
Twenty minutes later, I heard the front door open before it closed quietly, and the latch was put in place. Footsteps creaked on the stairs, no matter how quiet he tried to be, and I smiled against my pillow, my hands tucked under it as I waited for him to come to me.
Danny pushed the door open and slipped inside, his silhouette making my skin prickle. My eyes had adjusted to the lack of light, but his vision hadn’t yet, and he felt his way along the walls, guiding himself around a room he’d only ever been in once before.
I listened to him undress from the other side of the bed.
I heard him curse under his breath when he stumbled out of his jeans, only managing to correct himself at the last minute.
When the weight of him made the bed dip, I closed my eyes and let myself feel.
Once under the covers, his arm slid around my waist, and his aftershave washed over me, making me want to cry with contentment I hadn’t felt in so long.
He fit, his knees slotting into place behind mine, and my back against his chest. With a deep exhale, his breaths washed over my hair, and Danny moaned with deep satisfaction when he pulled my arse into him.
We were skin on skin, more open and vulnerable than we’d been since his return.
“Not even Heaven can beat this feeling right here,” he whispered against my hair. “I’ve got you, Zee.”
“Yeah,” I whispered back. “You have.”
I’d remember this night forever. The night he came to hold me tight.
Thirty-One
“What is with all the banging?” Danny grumbled sleepily.
“I don’t know,” I said, my eyes still closed.
“Maybe the world really is ending.”
“Let’s stay here if it is. I’m too comfy to move.”
“I’m not going to argue with that.”
He was still wrapped around me, the heat of his naked body pressed up against mine.
The banging started again before my phone rang on the bedside table. With a huff of annoyance, I reached over to see Gina’s name lighting up my screen. It soon rang out, and a text message followed.
Gina: I know you’re in there. Where is the damn key from under the flowerpot?
I’m not leaving until you let me in.
“Oh, shit…”
“What?” Danny groaned, rolling over onto his back, drawing my attention his way.
He was a beautiful sight. All that tanned skin over ripped muscle finished off with tattoos I didn’t even know I’d like on his body. He looked so peaceful, with his arms up and resting on the pillow, his eyes still closed. I gave him ten more seconds of bliss before I shuffled to sit upright, pulling the sheet up to my chest.
“Gina’s here.”
Danny’s eyes popped open, and his head rolled my way. “Oh, shit,” he said, echoing my initial response. “She’s here? Now?”
I nodded and pressed my lips together, just as the banging started at the front door again. Gina’s voice soon poured through the house, and I imagined her mouth pressed against the letterbox.
“Daisy Piper, I know you’re in there. Open this door right now!”
“I have to go.” I climbed out of bed and found my dressing gown hanging on the back of the door. I wrapped it around me before I pulled my hair out of the collar and looked back at Danny.
The guy had a choice to make now—one he’d probably been avoiding since the day he heard the news of his parents dying right alongside Gina’s mum and dad. If she saw him here, she was going to lose her shit for many reasons. Her dislike of him wasn’t only because of me. Their parents had died together, and Gina had carried the weight of all four of them without Danny being around for any of it.
“You can stay up here if you want. She doesn’t have to know you stayed the night.”
Danny swallowed and sat upright in bed, his back falling against the headboard with a thud before he ran his hands through his hair and looked up at me. “I’m not hiding away anymore. I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Let her in before she breaks your door down.”
With a small nod, I turned to leave, only to glance over my shoulder when he called for me.
“Oh, and, Zee? Last night was one of the best nights of my life. Don’t let anybody else ruin that for us.”
“Not possible,” I assured him before I smiled and made my way downstairs. Gina was banging away like a damn lunatic, which gave me a fire in my stomach I was grateful for. It was early—very early—and I didn’t want her waking my neighbours, or worse, half of the damn village.
“What the hell, Gina?” I said, swinging the door open to take her in.
She was standing there with a fight on her face. Her hands rested on her curvy hips, and Gina’s blue halo hair shone above narrowed eyes and a heavy frown.
“He’s in there, isn’t he?”
“What?” I scowled.
“Don’t act innocent, Daisy. I’m talking about Danny. He’s in your house. In your bed. In your life again.”
It was too early, and I hadn’t been awake long enough for my brain to function properly. Her anger may have been irrational, but I understood it because she loved me. This is what Gina was like: fiery and protective, willing to raise a tornado if it meant clearing all the crap in our lives away.
“It’s… not like that,” I lied, and that lie was weak. We both heard it.
“He stayed the night?”
“Well… yeah.” I cleared my throat. “But—”
“You could save yourself a lot of time by admitting what’s going on here. You’re about to get your heart broken again, and it’s your right to do that, but as the person who picked up the pieces that arsehole left behind once already, I deserve to know what’s ahead of us when he fucks off out of here again. As your best friend, who has your best interests at heart, I can’t let you get caught up in this whirlwind. I can’t let you get blindsided by what feels good for a day when it’s going to leave you feeling shit for a year.”
“I love you, and I promise you that I’ll call you later, but now is not the time for—”
Her eyes drifted over my shoulder, her brows rising. “Well… shit. Look at the frog the pussy dragged in.”
I turned to see Danny standing behind me wearing nothing but his jeans. His arms were folded over his defined, tattooed chest, his legs, shoulder-width apart and his hair, a ruffled mess of perfection. He did not look soft or smug the way he had the night before. Danny looked as angry as Gina, his face creased, and his jaw twitching as he ground his teeth together.
“Gina,” he said, his voice deep and smooth. “Please don’t talk to Zee that way.”
“Oh, she’s your Zee again now?”
“She never stopped being.”
“You’ve got some damn nerve.”
“You can think what you like. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Glancing between the two of them, I realised this wasn’t about me anymore. This was about them, even if they were using my name as a toy to fight over. Gina’s stance shifted, her arms folding over her chest to mirror Danny’s defensive pose. She swallowed, and it looked like it hurt, before her nostrils flared and she held his gaze.
“I see you’re as selfish as ever,” she said. “Waltzing back here and taking what you want, when you want it, with no thought of how life will be when you leave again. Just using what you need to make your stay here as pleasant as possible.”
“I’m not using Daisy—”
“I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s not like any of us expected you to have changed in the last few years.”
“Gina, if you’ve got something to say to me…”
“I’ve got plenty to say to you.”
“Then say it when we’re alone. Daisy doesn’t need to be a part of this. It’s not fair.”
“Fair? Since when have you cared about what’s fair?”
“I care now.”
“Right.” Gina scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Now, he wants to play the hero. Give me a break.”
“I don’t want to play anything.”
“Except with Daisy’s life and happiness, right?”
“Her happiness means more to me than my own.”
“You know… you’re good at what you do, I’ll give you that. You almost sound sincere. I guess I can’t blame her for buying into it again.”
My heart was pounding standing there between them. “I am here, you know,” I said, but my voice was too quiet, and neither one of them broke their intense stare-off with one another.
Gina and Danny had been like brother and sister growing up, and in her own way, she’d loved him as much as I had. This wasn’t just about her protecting me, and that was obvious in the slight sheen of moisture that began to coat her eyes.
“Maybe I should leave you two to talk,” I offered.
“No, thanks,” Gina said, resigned as she turned to me. “There’s nothing to say that matters now. I didn’t come over here for that. I came here to make sure you were okay.”
“Gina…”
“And you look okay. I just hope it stays that way.” She exhaled, long and heavy before she stepped to me and wrapped me up in her arms. “Be careful, Dais. Don’t let him break you apart again.”
“I… won’t.”
“We’ll see.” She let me go without another word. Before I could stop her or say anything to put her mind at ease, she turned and walked away, and I watched her marching down the road with anger fuelling every footstep.
I took a step out of the door before Danny’s hand landed on my shoulder, pulling me his way. Green eyes stared down at me, determined. “Don’t. This isn’t your fight. Let me go.”
There was no time to stop him. Danny took off in a gentle jog. The early morning sun shone from every muscle in his back as he made his way to Gina. I swallowed the desire that lit me up inside, and I watched as he reached for Gina’s elbow and spun her around. She shrugged him off instantly and raised a finger in his face. I’d seen her scold Jackson hundreds of times since she’d had to become his parent, but I’d never seen her look so passionate in her tirade.
Danny’s hands went up in surrender, and she pushed forward, making him step back.
I had no idea what passed between them. The only thing I knew with any certainty was that Gina was giving one hundred percent to Danny. There was foot-stamping, and her arms flew in every direction, gesticulating to make her point. Eventually, when it all became too much, Gina’s tears began to fall, and I couldn’t let them carry on like this.
I loved them both too much.
I made it to the end of my pathway before I heard Gina shout out words that couldn’t be missed.
“And you weren’t there!” she cried at the top of her voice. “For them, or for me!”
My hand flew to my chest, and I froze, just as Danny stepped forward and enveloped Gina in his arms, capturing her in a hold she couldn’t fight, even though she tried. Her body writhed in his for only a few seconds before her shoulders sagged, and her head fell onto his shoulder. Her eyes scrunched together, and even though it was obvious she thought she shouldn’t want to do it, eventually, her arms came up against his back, and Gina held onto Danny in return.
I had no idea what he was saying to her as he held her in his arms. All I could see were the tears pouring free from Gina as she clung to him as though her life depended on it, occasionally nodding, while Danny held her head in place, his hand running over her blue hair with love. Danny’s grip on her was unrelenting, and he rocked her from side to side. Time seemed to pass slowly, with me caught up in a movie that was their real life. I couldn’t look away.
Apparently, neither could my neighbour. I hadn’t noticed Mrs Doyle’s head poking out from her front door until it was too late. I’d never once been rude to her in my time living there, but when she did a double-take and caught me staring, I scowled and waved my hand for her to get back inside.
This didn’t concern any of Hope Cove.
It didn’t even concern me.
Danny had hurt so many people when he left, but those people, like me, were only just beginning to realise that the reason it had hurt so much was because there had been so much love between them and him in the first place.
There still was.
It just happened to be buried between five years of dirt and mistakes, and I hoped, for each of our sakes, that we could be strong enough to dig down deep and revive what has once been so alive.
Thirty-Two
“I have a lot of people to say sorry to.”
Danny sat on the edge of my bed, while I was resting up against the headboard, not knowing what to say after he’d returned to my house and led me back upstairs. He’d told me a little about what had passed between Gina and him and how she’d been upset at his lack of contact or help with the funerals after everything had happened. I didn’t want or need to know the finer details. That was their private conversation, and it tore me up inside to get involved. There’d been so much pain stored up over five years, and now it was spilling out from every angle, it was a lot to deal with.
I couldn’t believe it had been less than a week ago since life had been so… stale. I’d been with Ben…. sort of… and Danny had been living his best life with Front Row Frogs. Now, here we were, reopening old wounds and dealing with the fallout.
“I have two days left,” he said, focused on his hands that were twisting together in his lap. Danny glanced at me. “As much as I’d love to spend them curled up in bed beside you, there’s a lot of stuff I need to put right before I go.”
Go.
The thought of him leaving hurt my chest, so I sucked in a breath only to release it slowly with a nod of my head. “I understand. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“There is one thing. I need to deal with Mum and Dad’s house. I have to go back there. Rip off that band-aid. Confront some ghosts I’ve been pretending I didn’t need to deal with yet.”
“Oh…” My eyes widened, not expecting that.
“I’d like you with me—if you think you could manage it—”
“I’ll be there.”
Crawling over the mattress, I fit in place behind him, wrapping my arms around his neck and dropping my cheek to his shoulder. Danny reached up, gripping my wrists and pulling me closer.
“What if I don’t deserve everyone’s forgiveness, Zee?”
“That’s not your choice to make. It’s up to us how we move on. It’s up to us how we go forward. You need to forgive yourself, too.”
“I’m working on that. Can you do something for me, though? Promise me you’ll live your best life, no matter what that means for everyone else. No matter who thinks you’re crazy or not. Promise me you’ll do what makes you happy in the end.”
“Why are you asking that of me?”
“Just promise me, Daisy.”
“Okay.” I scowled, grateful he couldn’t see it before I whispered in return, “I promise.”
There was a goodbye in his request, and I couldn’t ignore the nausea it brought to life inside me.
The only thing I knew I wanted was him, but that didn’t seem like the response he needed to hear, so instead, I squeezed him tighter and held on while I still could.
Despite the heaviness of the morning, the smile on my face was untameable while at the shop that day. Flashbacks of the gig, the limo, and Danny sleeping beside me, made the last few days seem like a nightmare that had slipped into a contented dream.
While I was at work, Danny had agreed to go to Gina’s house for a coffee and to talk to Jackson, who would no doubt be staring back at him with starry eyes, desperate to make his friends jealous of who was sitting at their kitchen island.
Today was Danny’s day to lay some demons to rest without me. It felt like someone had an hourglass set for his departure, and I was more than aware of how much sand was slipping down into th
e bottom. Still, I’d had more than my fair share, and I had to keep reminding myself that Danny didn’t belong to me anymore.
I wasn’t just sharing him with Gina and Jackson; I was sharing him with the world’s population, and that was hard to comprehend when locked away in our little safe haven of Hope Cove.
By the time lunchtime rolled around, I had to lock up the shop for an hour and head out to grab something to eat. My cupboards and fridge were bare at home, and I hadn’t had time to make anything before Danny kissed me goodbye that morning and we went our separate ways.
It was baking hot, and I was grateful for the cool breeze that drifted over my legs and up my loose, ditsy-print tea dress. I’d had to scrape my hair up into a messy knot on top of my head to keep my neck cool, and I tugged the glasses from my head and dropped them to cover my eyes as I walked towards the beach with a feta, spinach, and beetroot sandwich. It was too nice to take it back to eat in my stockroom, and I needed the sound of the ocean waves to get my thoughts in order.
To say we were in the height of summer, the beach was fairly quiet that afternoon, apart from three or four families dotted about. That probably had a lot to do with the street festival happening in neighbouring Salcombe, but I wasn’t grumbling about the lack of noise or crowds.
Walking down towards the sea, I drifted closer to the cliffs and rocks on the left. I slipped off my sandals and let my toes sink into the soft sand before I made it to the water’s edge. I closed my eyes, taking a moment to soak in the sea air, when a little pair of hands wrapped themselves around my leg.
“Day-zee!” the voice cried out, and I looked down to see Corey staring up at me with impossibly big brown eyes, making my smile blossom.
“Corey? What are you doing here?”
“Daisy?”
I looked up to see Julia walking towards me, her smile mirroring my own. She wore a black swimsuit that made her waist look tiny and loose denim shorts that showed off her toned legs. Julia’s wet hair was scraped back, much the same way as Corey’s.