“Good gosh,” Rose whispered under her breath. “He’s gonna get us both grounded for life.”
“Too bad. I quite like episode five. Confuse a cat is... Wait, what am I saying? I’m trying to interrogate you. Stop telling me about Monty Python!” Dad shook his head and turned his focus to me. “Why were you climbing the ladder instead of owning your mistake and coming through the front door?”
I wanted to scream Rose told me to, but that was hardly fair to my sister, who did her best to keep me out of trouble. “I’m not sure. I guess I didn’t want to get into trouble.”
“Well, now look at you. You almost got hurt, and now you’re in bigger trouble than you would’ve been if you’d only told the truth. Accidents happen, Hazel. I’d like to think your mother and I are cool, understanding parents that don’t overreact to mistakes. Next time, just tell me the truth.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, then he turned his attention to Rose.
“And you, young lady, don’t ever lie to us again. Did you know where she was when you told us she went to bed?” he asked.
“No, sir,” Rose responded, hanging her head.
“What if something had happened to her, Rose? We wouldn’t have known until morning, maybe too late.” He glanced at all of us, then asked, “So, what’s the moral of the story here?” When no one answered, Dad said, “I’m waiting for a brilliant response from someone.”
Daniel cleared his throat. “Just be honest,” he said.
“Yes, Daniel. Thank you.” Dad sat on the ottoman across from us with his elbows on his knees. He chewed the inside of his mouth for a few minutes while he pondered our punishment. He decided to leave the ball in our court, giving us a chance to plead our case. “Now, what do I do? What do the three of you think I should do here?”
Daniel looked at me, then back to my father. “M-me, too?” he asked.
“Yeah, you too. Where are your parents right now?” Dad asked.
“Dad, no idea. Mom is with my sister in Florida for a doctor’s appointment,” he admitted.
“Well, then I guess that makes me your warden until she returns, doesn’t it?” Dad asked, sitting up straighter.
“But I’m eighteen, and I can—” I covered Daniel’s mouth with my hand, deciding to save him the trouble of digging his own grave.
“She’s coming back tomorrow afternoon, Dad,” I informed him.
“Perfect, until then... uh...” Dad stammered, looking a little confused. “Until then, I have no idea.”
“I’m not sure, but I think this is the part where you ground Hazel and Rose and let the poor guy who saved Hazel’s life off with a warning,” Daniel said after he pried my hands off his face.
“Is that so?” my father chuckled. “And what kind of punishment do you propose, Daniel?” My father was enjoying every moment of his interaction with my quirky friend. I, on the other hand, feared Daniel would say something insane, and my father would agree to it, like sentencing me to life with no ice cream.
Daniel smirked, realizing it was all one big joke to my father at that point—after all, he’d accomplished what he set out to do. Rose and I felt awful for disappointing him, and we would both be on our best behavior for at least... oh, maybe a week or so.
“Well, sir, it should be painful, you know? Really hit them where it hurts, like say, only letting Hazel hang out with me for the next two weeks,” Daniel said.
“How is that a punishment?” my father asked.
“Have you spent more than five minutes with him? It’s torture!” Rose squawked.
Daniel threw a pillow over me and nailed Rose in the head, making my father laugh. Rose dove over my lap and tackled Daniel to the ground in an act of violence I’d never seen my sister display before. She wailed at my friend with both fists, pummeling his arm and shoulders while he laughed at her maniacally.
“Okay, okay, enough,” Dad said, still laughing. “In all seriousness, in the future, please call your mother or me. Tell the truth, and it’ll be a lot easier on you, okay?”
“Wait... does that mean we’re not grounded?” I asked.
“This time, but if it happens again, you don’t want to know what I’ll do.” He turned his attention to Daniel. “Go get your bike and put it in the garage. No way I’m letting you ride that thing across town at one in the morning.”
“Sir?” Daniel asked.
“Park it, and Hazel will show you the guest room. Or would you rather I call your mother?” Dad asked.
“Nope, I’m good.” Daniel was off the sofa and out the front door to get his bike before my father had a chance to take another breath.
Rose rolled her eyes, then looked at me. “Do me a favor, next time, set the alarm on your phone, Peaches.”
“Don’t call her Peaches!” Daniel yelled from the porch, probably waking our neighbors.
Rose sighed and rolled her eyes again. “Why, Hazel?”
“Why what?” I asked.
“Why, out of all the boys in the world, did you go and fall for the one that annoys me the most?” she teased, then left the room before I had the chance to deny her claim. I heard the rumble of the bike in the garage, and it hit me. Daniel was spending the night at my house. It made my stomach flutter, and my heart did a flippy floppy dance. Rose was right. I didn’t just like Daniel; I fell for him hook, line and sinker. I could deny it or try to hide it all I wanted, but it was true.
He came through the kitchen door, the one that led to the garage, and walked up to me.
“Your Dad’s pretty cool for a Dad, not that I have much to compare him to,” he said.
“Yeah. He’s... he’s great,” I said. “I’ll show you the room.”
We had about five hours before we had to get up for school, and I seriously doubted I would sleep for a single minute. I’d be too busy wondering what Daniel was thinking about in the room next door to mine.
Rose’s door was already closed, probably fast asleep since she didn’t have a confusing boy in her life. Tee was simple, honest, and straightforward. I, on the other hand, was too scared to even admit my feelings to myself, let alone to Daniel.
Daniel settled on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “See you soon, Peaches,” he said, glancing at me.
“Yeah,” I said, turning out the light. “Soon.”
I started to shut the door, but he called my name. “Peaches?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you come here a minute?” he asked, sitting up in the bed. I hesitated, figuring I was already on thin ice with my parents, and getting caught in the room with him after I’d been ordered to go to bed would probably be really bad. “Just a minute, I promise.”
I walked over to the bed in the dark, wondering why I didn’t turn the light on first, then answered my own question immediately when I realized he couldn’t see my face in the dimly lit room. “Yes?” I asked.
“Can I ask you a really random question?”
“All of your questions are really random, so what’s one more?” I teased.
“Very funny, Peaches. Seriously, it’s not gonna make sense, but I need to know. Last year, the secret Valentine thing, did you get anything?” he asked.
“Sure, everyone did,” I responded. He was right, it was a very random question.
“Who was it from?” he asked.
“It was secret, remember?”
“But you must have some idea of who sent it, right?”
“It was a dozen fuchsia-colored peonies. There are only two people in the school who know that’s my absolute favorite flower, my sister and Ronin. It wasn’t Rose, so I assumed it was Ronin. Why do you ask?”
“Is that why you started dating him?”
“No, not really. I mean, we started talking more after that, and eventually, we started dating, but not for a couple of months. What brought all this up, Daniel?” It was all out of place, and a bizarre conversation to be having at one in the morning.
“Just wondering. Night, Peaches,” he said, then slid down in
the bed and kicked his shoes off. He reached for the blankets while I stood there, staring at him in the darkness.
When I could think of nothing to say, I turned around to head to my own room. “Peaches?”
“Yes, Daniel?”
“I didn’t get a good night, hug,” he whined.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that was a thing,” I whispered, sure my parents would come and murder us both.
“It’s not, so I’m making it a thing now.” He sat back up, and I met him at the bed, wrapping my arms around his neck. He slid his around my waist and pulled me tightly against him. “I’m happy we’re friends. You know that, right?”
He was acting so strange—more than the usual amount of Daniel strange. I wanted to question him, but I knew I wouldn’t get any answers, nothing more than, oh, look at the time—his usual response. So, I admitted I would never really, fully understand Daniel and nodded.
“I do, and I’m glad we’re friends, too,” I said. He looked up at me, and in the moonlight, I could make out how dark his eyes were—a deep, almost forest green highlighted with the usual honey-gold. “We should get some sleep.”
He released me quickly, like a scalded cat. “Night again, Peaches.”
“Goodnight, Daniel.”
I made it all the way to the door this time and closed it behind me before he could do anything else that would make me want to stay in there talking to him all night. Once in the comfort of my own bed, I fell asleep much faster than I thought I would, which would prove to be a blessing when morning rolled around.
Chapter Thirteen
“TELL YOUR BEST FRIEND to quit hogging the cereal, Peaches!” Rose shouted over the commotion in the kitchen. Four teenagers, two adults, and one small kitchen made for a rough start to the day.
“Stop calling her Peaches, and I’ll give you the box!” Daniel shouted at Rose while Dizzy tried, and failed, to reach the box he held over their heads.
“Kids, can you not?” my mother asked, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand.
“Gimmie it, giant, tree-sized boy!” Rose yelled again.
“Tree-sized boy? Is that the best you can come up with micro human?” Daniel teased, lowering the box a fraction of an inch, but still just out of reach. Rose and Dizzy both jumped to reach but were no match for the towering boy.
I sighed. “Daniel, would you please?”
He smirked at the two and handed them the box without question.
“Really? You’re not scoring a lot of brownie points with the sister, doofus,” Rose snapped, but I saw her bite back a smile when she turned away.
“You love it, you just don’t know it yet. You’ll get used to it,” he said, handing me a bowl of cereal. I was so sick of eating cereal for breakfast, but anything else required work, and work required getting out of bed long before I felt like it. “I gotta bolt anyway.”
“What? Why?” I asked.
“I’d kinda like to shower and wear different clothes today, Peaches,” Daniel said.
“You’ll be late for school. I’m sure we can find you something to wear today,” Mom said, more a command than an offer. Luckily, Daniel picked up on her tone as well, and responded with a nod and, “Yes ma’am.”
She wandered off in search of something my father wouldn’t miss while the rest of us ate in silence. Noting but clanking spoons and crunching for five minutes, then the kitchen erupted again. The doorbell rang, and Rose yelled, “Come in!”
Tee poked his head in, “Hey, it’s raining.”
“Wow, observant,” Daniel said. “Do you have any other super powers we should know about?”
Rose smacked Daniel’s arm hard. “Shut up, you tree-sized doofus.” I rolled my eyes as the two went back to irritating one another relentlessly. Dizzy joined in the effort, but Daniel took them both on, trading jabs and smart remarks like any proper big brother would.
“Hey, Tee, how’s it going?” I asked.
He shuffled around a little, then said, “Good, just getting ready for playoffs now. Is it always like this first thing in the morning?” He pointed to the three idiots arguing over who was the smartest—little did they know.
“Today is a first, but I have a feeling it will only get worse from here,” I said, laughing at them. Tee chuckled and shook his head. It made me happy to know he wasn’t my friend solely to date my sister, and that he genuinely cared about my feelings through the whole break-up with Ronin and losing my position on the team.
“So, listen, I wanted to tell you I was talking with Ronin last night, and I don’t think he’ll be bothering you anymore,” Tee said.
“You mean attacking me for no reason? How wonderful. How did you manage that?” I asked.
“Let’s just say a few points were made very clear, and he knows he’s been way out of line. I think right now all he wants is to know you’re happy, and one day you might forgive him for being stupid,” he said.
He was acting a little shifty, like someone who knew more than they were letting on but would die before revealing their secrets. “Points were made clear?” I asked.
“It was brought to his attention that he hurt you deeply, and his actions were continuing that pain for no reason. You’re obviously happy with Daniel, so he’s gonna back off and move on. Maybe one day you can be friends again, but he knows that won’t be for a very long time.”
Tee refused to admit that he was the one who’d set Ronin straight, though I couldn’t think of anyone else who’d get through to him so easily. It had to be him. “Thanks, Tee.”
“Sure,” he said, then got Rose’s attention. “Rose, we should go since it’s raining. I don’t want to rush.” I got the feeling he wanted to change topics, and getting his new girlfriend’s attention would do that. Rose gave Daniel one last demonic glare, then followed Tee out the door. My Dad threw a shirt at Daniel, then dragged my mother out the door, leaving Dizzy, Daniel, and me to our own devices.
“Any chance I can catch a ride with you guys? I’m not interested in crashing my bike in this torrential downpour,” Daniel said, rolling up the sleeves of my father’s shirt repeatedly. My father was an inch or so shorter than Daniel, but his arms must have been longer because the sleeves of the shirt kept falling over his hands.
“I have my car, so he’s all yours, Peaches,” Dizzy said, then practically ran out the door before Daniel could make her pay for stealing his nickname for me again. He shouted at her, but she slammed the door in his face. He looked back at me with a frustrated sigh.
“Why is everyone trying to steal Peaches from me?” he asked.
“Oh, stop. No one is going to steal me from you, Daniel,” I said, slipping the straps of my bag over my shoulders. He grinned, the one I loved.
“I meant the nickname, but it’s nice to know you’re all mine,” he said. I felt my cheeks warm. “We better go, or we’ll be late.”
We made a mad dash to my car because I forgot my umbrella and didn’t feel like disarming the home alarm and resetting it just to go in for an umbrella. It turned out okay, though. I quite enjoyed him picking me up and running to the car with me. It was a good thing he wasn’t as clumsy as me, or it would have been a painful run to the car. Once inside, he shook his head like a dog, splattering water all over the inside of my car.
“Daniel!”
“What? It’s water, Peaches. It’ll dry,” he said.
“It’ll stain the upholstery,” I whined.
“Maybe you don’t pay attention in chemistry class, but water is a clear liquid often used in cleaning things that are dirty,” he stared at me, waiting for me to bounce back with some sass of my own, but I wasn’t feeling it. “No banter today?” he asked.
“Maybe later. I’m tired from our late-night antics,” I said.
“Our late-night antics, you say? Pray, tell, what antics do you speak of? The ones where you threw your shoe at me and left this bruise?” He brushed the hair from his forehead to show me my handy work. A yellowish bruise spread acro
ss part of it.
“Oops, sorry,” I said, pulling on to the main road from our neighborhood.
“Or maybe the whole incident where your Dad did that super weird non-grounding thing, then let me spend the night in the same house as his two teenage daughters?”
“Meh, he’d have killed you if you’d tried anything,” I said.
“Or the fact that you snore really loudly and—”
“I do not!” I yelled. “That was Rose, I’ll have you know! And if this is your attempt at getting me to banter with you, then... you got me.” I sighed and turned onto the street our school was on.
“Oh, before I forget, this weekend is a lunar eclipse, and I was wondering if your super-cool, non-weird parents would let you watch it on the beach with me?” he asked. “You’d be out past curfew.”
“I can ask, but probably,” I said, parking the car as close to the front as possible, but not nearly close enough to stay dry. “We’re gonna get soaked. I’m glad I keep a change of clothes in my locker.”
“You keep a change of clothes in your locker? Do you often require changing?” he teased.
“Yes, Daniel. I’m like a doll. I require at least four outfit changes a day, a dream house, and a pink car.” I joked, giving in and giving him the snarky side of me he wanted. I grabbed my things and pushed the door open, slammed it closed, and ran as fast as I could toward the front door. If I was lucky, I’d only get moderately soaked.
Daniel caught up to me and grabbed my hand, stopping me short. “Daniel! It’s pouring!”
“I know, and it’s not an opportunity I want to miss.” He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me up to meet his lips. He ignored the rain and kissed me until I couldn’t breathe, then let me slide to the ground, barely touching it with my toes. I struggled to regain my composure and glanced around to make sure no teachers saw.
“Sorry,” he said. “I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to get in one more good jab.”
I barely registered the rain pelting my face as I looked up at him. “Huh?”
He nodded toward the front of the school, where Ronin stood with Tee. His gaze was sorrowful, but not angry like it used to be. My heart sank, heavy in my chest. I didn’t care what Ronin thought, I only cared that the kiss was all for show—again.
I'm Pretty Sure You're Gonna Miss Me Ronin McKinsey Page 14