Through The Dark

by Jae

  “You do not amuse me.” Taylor responds, rolling her eyes and walking away to help a customer while the rest of us just keep laughing.

  “You don’t have to bring us flowers,” Zoie says, patting Liam on his shoulder. “But that request you mentioned would be appreciated.”

  “Got it!” Liam nods while Zoie walks away to help another customer.

  “So what can we do for you?” Ella asks Liam in a professional sounding voice, making me giggle.

  “Well, I stopped by to give my girlfriend those flowers and was wondering if she would like to go out to lunch?”

  “She would love to!” Ella exclaims, dropping the ‘professional’ act.

  After Ella takes the flowers from me, burying her nose in them, I walk out from behind the counter. I lace my fingers with Liam’s and tell Zoie and Taylor I’ll be back in a little bit. We walk down the street to a soup and sandwich shop and slide into a booth next to the front windows. Liam and I talk about how his practice went this morning and how excited he is for his game tomorrow while we wait for our food.

  “We completely destroy this team every year!” Liam exclaims as I glance out the window next to us and I swear I see a guy Liam got in a fight with, but when I completely focus my eyes he’s gone.

  “Hey Liam,” I say, taking my eyes away from the window and putting my attention back on him. “What’s the name of the guy you got into that fight with at the dinner a couple weeks ago; the one you played basketball against?”

  “Colin Anderson.” He answers, giving me a weird look. “Why?”

  “No reason.” I tell him after I pick up my spoon and begin to stir my soup. “I was just wondering.”

  Which is true, I am only wondering. Though this isn’t the first time I’ve thought I’d seen Colin. Every day this week at work, I’ve thought I’d seen him walk past the front windows. I haven’t said anything to anyone though because I don’t know if I’m actually seeing him or if I just have a guilty conscious over him and Liam fighting. I’m drawn out of my thoughts when I hear my phone start ringing.

  “Hello?” I answer, instantly pulling the phone away from my ear when I hear my cousin Mallory, the one getting married on Saturday, start shouting.

  “Mallory! Mallory!” I say, raising my voice a little to get her attention and Liam to give me an amused look. “Take a few deep breaths and try to calm down.”

  “Okay. Okay.” I hear her mutter as she loudly takes in and lets out a few deeps breaths. “Okay.”

  “Are you alright now?” I question after a few more moments.

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Okay.” I sigh, picking up my spoon again and spinning it around in my soup. “Now, what were you saying?”

  “The photographer for our – Oh my God, I can’t do this!” She starts to explain before beginning to hyperventilate again. “This wedding is turning into a complete disaster!”

  “Mallory,” I say calmly, trying not to get her even more worked up. “Is Jake there? Can you put him on the phone?”

  “Yeah, sure.” She responds with a hiccupped cry and then a few seconds later Jake is on the phone.

  “Hey, Daisy, I’m really sorry about that. She’s completely lost it.” Jake apologizes with an exhausted chuckle.

  “I can tell!” I chuckle with him. “So what’s going on? Mallory started to say something about a photographer?”

  “Oh, right!” Jake responds and I can just picture him nodding his head while rubbing his eyes, something I’ve seen him do often in stressful situations. “The photographer for our wedding and his assistant were in a car accident this morning and can’t do our wedding now.”

  “Oh my God!” I exclaim, my eyes growing wide. “That’s horrible! Are they going to be okay?”

  “Yeah, they’re going to be fine; just a few bumps and bruises and possibly some broken bones. I don’t really remember the details.” Jake rambles, making me smile. “But the reason why Mallory called is because her Mom mentioned that you’re a really good photographer?”

  “I guess so.” I somewhat confirm, not wanting to toot my own horn.

  This makes Jake laugh. “You don’t have to be modest, Daisy. Anyway, we were wondering if you would be willing to be our photographer. We know it’s really short notice, but we don’t really have any other options at this point.”

  “Oh, I would love to do it!” I exclaim, a big smile spreading across my face.

  “Thank you so much, Daisy! This really means a lot to us!” Jake gushes. “Mallory is going to be so happy!”

  “It’s not a problem at all. I’ll see you guys Saturday, okay?”

  “Yes, see you then!” Jake exclaims before ending the phone call.

  I stare at my phone for a moment before putting it away, trying to fully comprehend what just happened.

  “What was that all about?” Liam asks, pulling me out of my little world.

  “My cousin’s photographer for her wedding and his assistant were in a car accident this morning and won’t be able to take the pictures anymore, so Mallory and Jake asked me if I would do it!”

  “Oh, wow, Daisy!” Liam smiles and gives me a high-five. “That’s so awesome!”

  “Yeah, it really is!” I agree, my smile growing even wider.

  “I can’t wait for the wedding!” Ella squeals while we walk her miniature Maltese puppy named Snow around our neighborhood later the same day. “It’s going to be so much fun!”

  “I know!” I squeal with her. “I can’t believe I’m going to be the photographer; it’s so crazy!”

  “Oh my God, I know! We just have to make sure we get a picture of us and the boys.”

  “Tony is coming then?”

  “Yeah, he was able to reschedule whatever it was he was going to do.”

  “That’s good. Did you guys get a room at the hotel?”

  “Yeah, my parents had already gotten two rooms and said Tony could stay with me.”

  “My parents did the same thing. I’m also really excited for brunch on Sunday. I can already smell my Grandma’s cinnamon rolls.”

  “Oh man, don’t tease me like that!” Ella says and we both laugh. “This weekend is going to amazing.”

  The next day, I’m walking back from a drink run when I see someone who looks exactly like Colin standing directly across the street from Red. I stop dead in my tracks when I see him raise his hand up to his throat and drag his finger across it, like he’s cutting it open with a knife. My eyes grow wide as a large truck drives between us and when it’s passed he’s gone. So I was right, I really have been seeing Colin. I walk back into Red and hand the girls their drinks. My hands don’t stop shaking for the rest of my shift.

  “Hey, are you alright?” Ella asks, nudging me with her hip.

  “I’m fine.” I tell her when I see Liam walk onto the court, causing my body to instantly relax.

  I’m on my feet the entire game because I can’t stop my legs from bouncing when I’m sitting down. When the game is over, we walk down to the court and I pace around while the girl shoot some hoops. I’m trying to decide if I should tell Liam I’ve been seeing Colin lurking around. But if I do that, I know Liam will hunt him down and beat the living hell out of him. I don’t want that to happen. So far Liam has kept his promise not to fight anymore and I want it to stay that way. And technically Collin hasn’t tried to do anything to harm me.

  My head shoots up when I hear the gym door open and I’m confused when Liam doesn’t walk in with Tony, Connor, and Jack. I’m just about to voice this when Tony smiles at me.

  “Coach just wanted to talk to Liam really quick.”

  I nod my head in understanding, walking towards the doors and pushing them open.

  “Little Miss Daisy!” I hear Liam say from down the hall as soon as I exit the gym and I immediately turn to look at him.

  I wait for him to get a little closer to me before I can’t handle it anymore and I run towards him. I hear his bag hit the ground with a thud when I jump o
n him, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. I let out a relieved sigh when I feel him wrap one of his arms around my back while his other hand slides under my thigh, holding me to him.

  “I missed you.” I say after a few seconds of us just standing there holding onto each other.

  “I missed you too.” Liam responds as I lean my head back to look into his eyes. “Is everything okay, Daisy?”

  As soon as he as the question leaves his lips I make my decision about the Colin situation.

  “Everything’s fine.” I smile, sliding my hands to either side of his jaw and pressing my lips against his.

  I feel Liam’s arm move away from my back and down to under my other thigh when he presses me against a wall, deepening the kiss. I lose track of time as we work our lips together, savoring every moment. Eventually Liam ends the kiss, both of us breathing heavily, and leans his forehead against mine.

  “If this is the reaction I’m going to get, I think I’m going to start making you miss me more often.” Liam jokes, making us both laugh.

  “I wouldn’t mind that.” I tell him as the gym doors open and our friends walk out.

  “Let’s go love birds! We’re going to miss the movie!” Zoie shouts, causing Liam to reluctantly lower me back down to the ground.

  “I’m really glad we’re together, Liam.” I tell him after I lace his fingers with mine.

  “I am too, Daisy.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Time to wake up, Daisy.” Mom coos after she sits on the edge of my bed and begins to brush my hair away from my face.

  “What time is it?” I ask her after slowly opening my eyes.

  “It’s nine o’clock. We need to leave in an hour.”

  I mumble an okay as she leaves my room. I count to ten before I get up and walk into my bathroom. I take a quick shower and then get dressed in a floral pattern muscle tee with a large distressed cross on the front, dark blue jean shorts, and a pair of black flip-flops. I leave my hair down in its natural waves and don’t bother to put on any makeup since I would have to take it off and redo it later anyway. I slide on my black Wayfarer Ray Ban sunglasses and walk downstairs, finding my Mom standing at the kitchen counter. She’s wearing a nude color swoop neck t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and a pair of black flip-flops. Her hair is down in its natural waves like mine and she has very little makeup on.

  “Where’s Dad?” I ask after sitting on a stool in front of her.

  “He’s golfing with Jake and his groomsmen, your Uncle Chris, Jake’s Dad, Doug, Liam, and Tony.” She tells me after closing the fashion magazine she was looking at.

  “Liam and Tony are with them?” I asked, slightly confused as to why they would go.

  “Yeah, I guess Liam and Tony were telling your Dad and Doug that they both like to golf and your Dad said something to your Uncle Chris about it and he asked if they would want to tag along.”

  I nod my head in understanding.

  “Didn’t Liam tell you?”

  “No, it must’ve slipped his mind.”

  “Oh, it was pretty last minute anyway. I’m sure they’re all enjoying themselves though.”

  “Who’s enjoying themselves?” Lydia asks as she and Ella walk into the kitchen.

  “Oh, I was just telling Daisy how all of the guys are out golfing.”

  Lydia and Ella nod their heads before we all decide we’re ready to go and head out to my Mom’s red Compass Jeep. Ella and I sit in the back and talk about how we’re going to do our hair and makeup, while our Mom’s chat about the idea of going on another cruise next summer.

  We first go eat at my favorite sushi restaurant and then we go get our fingernails and toenails done. My Mom and Lydia choose to get their usual acrylic French tips filled in and have their toenails painted with white tips also, whereas Ella and I choose to be a little more creative. Ella gets her fingernails painted a nude color and has them outlined in black and her toenails painted black. I decide to get my fingernails painted black with glitter on my ring and middle fingers and my toenails also painted black. We walk around the outdoor mall for a little while, going into a few shops here and there, before we decide to call it a day and head back home so we can start getting ready for the wedding.

  “Are you sure I should wear my hair up?” Ella asks me while inspecting her hair in the handheld and full length mirrors at every possible angle she can.

  “Yes, definitely!” I tell her for the third time.

  Ella nods her head and then continues to get ready. I let out a smile when my Mom comes walking into my closet, already dressed and ready to go. She’s wearing a navy colored Georgette dress with a spiked round neckline and cap sleeves and a pair of sheer mesh platform booties with a peep toe. Her hair is in soft waves and her makeup consists of a light gray smoky eye.

  “You look so beautiful, Mom.” I tell her as she sits down on the plush chair in the corner of my closet.

  “Thank you.” She smiles before her eyes grow wide. “Is that a belly button ring?”

  “Oh, yeah!” Ella and I laugh as we both walk over to her. “All of us girls got them done.”

  “I’m kind of shocked right now, but they’re really cute.” My Mom smiles while shooing us away to finish getting ready.

  Ella is wearing a light pink Georgette one-shoulder dress with a rosette trim and beige leather Mary Janes with a peep toe and buckled strap. Her hair is up in a sock bun and her makeup consists of a light brown smoky eye.

  “You look amazing!” I gush to Ella.

  “So do you!” Ella responds and I do a little runway spin that makes my Mom laugh. I’m wearing a strapless dress with a black rose lace bustier and a light nude skirt and a pair of black suede wedge sandals. My hair is in loose beachy waves with my bangs braided back and my makeup consists of a winged eye.

  “Lori,” I hear Dad sigh as he walks into my room and then appears in the doorway of my closet. “Can you help me with this tie? I can’t seem to get it right.”

  I smile while I watch my Mom stand up and walk closer to my Dad. He’s wearing a white dress shirt that’s rolled up to his elbows and tucked into navy blue dress pants with a navy blue tie, and a pair of black dress shoes. They look flawless and match perfectly.

  “You look very handsome, Dad.” I compliment after my Mom finishes fixing his tie.

  “Thank you, Daisy Lynn.” He smiles, placing a kiss to my forehead. “You look very beautiful too. Actually, all of you ladies look quite beautiful.”

  We sing-song our thank you to him while he and my Mom walk out of my closet. Ella and I finish getting ready just in time for her to scurry back home before Liam and Tony get to our houses. Eventually I make my way into the kitchen to find my Dad sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper.

  “Did you have fun golfing today?” I ask after I grab a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and then sit at the table with him.

  “Yeah, it was really nice.” He responds, looking up at me. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to hit the course.”

  “Mom said Liam and Tony went too?”

  “Oh, yeah, they did. Both of them are very good golfers.”

  I nod my head in understanding and my Dad goes back to reading the paper.

  “Did you pack your bag, Daisy?” My Mom asks as she comes walking into the kitchen, her hands on her hips.

  “Yeah, it’s sitting on my bed. I can go get it if you want?”

  “No, that’s fine. Your Dad can get it.” She says before taking a sip from my water. “He has to get our bags out of our room anyway.”

  Just then the doorbell rings and my heart suddenly begins to race. I tell my parents I’ll get it as I quickly stand up and rush to the front door. When I open it, my eyes grow wide at the sight of Liam. He’s wearing a black dress shirt that’s buttoned up all the way and tucked into black dress pants that rest the slightest bit low on his hips, and a pair of allblack Canvas 106 Vulcanized Vans shoes. His curly hair is swept across hi
s forehead, but it’s not quite as messy as usual. When I finally meet his eyes, I realize he has that heart stopping dimpled smile that I love on his face.

  “You look amazing.” Liam compliments after I finally figure out how to function again and let him inside.

  “So do you.” I grin as he slides his hands to either side of my jaw and kisses my lips.

  “You’re so beautiful, Daisy.” He says softly when we pull away from each other. Before I can respond though, my parents walk in.

  “Oh, Liam!” My Mom exclaims, pulling him into a hug. “You look fantastic!”

  “Thank you.” He responds “You look beautiful also.”

  My Mom smiles at his compliment while my Dad recruits him to help bring our bags downstairs and out to the car. I walk into the kitchen and check over my camera equipment one more time before zipping it up and carrying it out to the car.

  “You guys look great!” I hear Doug say as him, Lydia, Ella, and Tony come walking up the driveway.

  “Oh, thank you!” My Mom chuckles while we all greet each other with hugs and handshakes.

  “You look great, Daisy.” Tony tells me when he finally makes his way over to greet me.

  “Thanks, so do you.” I respond, taking in his outfit. He’s wearing a white dress shirt that’s buttoned up all the way and tucked into dark gray dress pants, and a pair of all white Canvas Authentic Vans shoes.

  “We need to take pictures!” Ella exclaims and I nod my head in agreement, pulling my camera out.

  I take a few pictures of Ella with her parents before I make Tony get in with them. Next I take pictures of just Doug and Lynn and then just Ella and Tony.

  “Mom and Dad, you’re next.” I declare.

  When they’re ready, I take their pictures, smiling the entire time at how happy they look. Once I’m finished with those, I hand my camera to Ella and she takes pictures of me with my parents before I pull Liam in with us. Then she takes pictures of just Liam and me. After that, she hands my Mom the camera and she takes group pictures of Ella, Tony, Liam, and I before she hands the camera back to me and I take group pictures of our parents. Once we’re all done, I sit on the edge of the trunk and go through all the pictures while everyone else chats about other things. I slow down when I get to the pictures of Liam and me, beaming at how perfectly they turned out.