Present
The numbness was a feeling I welcomed over the past few weeks. But last week, after sleeping or staring at the walls whenever I didn’t have class, I finally pulled my head out of my butt and decided that Pippa might be right.
So here I was, standing in front of glorious rows of brightly colored ice cream. Maybe that wasn’t helping so much with the numb feeling, being in front of a freezer for a few hours on end, but I enjoyed it. The work was easy and kept me busy. Tim, the owner, was a friendly older man with a slight German accent and a bushy mustache, and he smiled all the time. I’m not even joking, all the time.
It was kind of infectious. And that kind of infection was one I gladly accepted rather than the rolling sickness I still felt within every vein and cell of my body.
I wanted to absorb the bright pink, blue, and white of the parlor, and the black and white striped floor—let it soak into me and eradicate the darkness that refused to leave my body.
“Your hair, it glows like the sun,” Tim said, scooping some chocolate chip ice cream out and dumping it with careful skill on top of another two sitting atop a waffle cone.
It took me a moment to realize he was talking to me and not the brunette he was handing the cone to. He took her money and gave her a voracious goodbye before turning to me. His graying brows rose, and he poked me in the cheek. “You also have one dimple,” he said, grinning as if I didn’t already know this fact. “Who is your boyfriend? I must meet him and tell him to keep a good eye on you.”
Despite only knowing him a few days, I’d quickly learned that Tim could be overly friendly, but not in a way that made me cringe or want to seek legal advice. He was genuinely happy, warm, and affectionate. Nothing like I thought my first boss would be like.
“I don’t have one,” I said, taking the empty tub in my hands to the sink behind us and pulling out the hose to rinse it. He was still standing there when I turned the water off and tipped the tub upside down to dry.
“Why not?” he asked. I shrugged, and he hummed, a finger smoothing one side of his mustache. “I see … you are already spoken for in another way?”
I could feel my eyes spring wide. “What do you mean?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I see many brokenhearted young women walk in here.” He huffed. “Even some men. It’s an ice-cream shop, after all. I know the look.”
“I’m fine.” I fidgeted with my blue apron, feeling uncomfortable. “Really.”
He nodded. “You will be, Daisy.” The way he said my name sounded more like Daizee.
“I have some paperwork waiting. You’ll be all right for a while?”
I was the only other person working until the shop closed at nine. “Sure,” I said. It was quiet, and the register was the only thing I seemed to struggle with, but I was figuring it out.
We had a total of twelve customers over the next hour, and as the clock approached nine, I yawned, wondering if I had time to get a head start on my English lit paper when I got home.
When the next customer left, I started to clean up. After stacking the chairs, I wiped down the tables and swept the floor before Tim came out and told me he’d finish the rest. I gave him a grateful smile, removed my apron, and grabbed my bag after clocking out.
“I’ll see you on Friday,” I called over my shoulder.
“That you will, Daisy.”
My shifts were short, and I was only working two to three of them a week. But it was something to do on my days or afternoons off more than anything, so I wasn’t complaining.
I was still smiling as I stepped outside, then immediately shivered, wishing I’d brought my coat. Fall was fast turning into winter, and the air carried a bite that left a sting on my exposed skin.
“Hey.”
My breath caught at the voice, and I turned to see Alexis leaning against the building next door to the parlor. She straightened. “Sorry. I just, I saw you working in there earlier and knew it closed at nine. I wanted to talk to you.”
“Oh.” My feet shifted on the pavement.
She huffed out a laugh. “God, this is so awkward.”
I didn’t know why she felt awkward. Just the sight of her made me want to stick needles in my eyes, so I turned my gaze away and started walking toward campus. She didn’t take the hint and joined me. Great.
“I’m on the other side. Near the street that leads to the mall, which isn’t good for my savings account.” When I didn’t say anything, she blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, I know it must’ve been a shock to show up and see …” She didn’t elaborate. We crossed the street and walked along the lit garden path toward the girls’ dorms. “I didn’t think you’d come here.”
“I could say the same about you,” I retaliated, immediately feeling wretched. But it was true. She’d always planned big. Ivy League big. Not a small town, cutesy college only known for their football team.
“I know.” She sighed and stopped walking. I did too, though I wish I hadn’t. One look at her sorrow-filled, beautiful face had me wanting to throw her to the grass and tear her stupid, luscious dark hair out while screaming, “Give me my boyfriend back!”
Shocked by the image playing so vividly behind my eyes, I shook my head and cleared my throat. That wasn’t me, but I was frightened by how quickly the urge took root, growing thorns that pierced the backs of my eyes as my gaze slid over her long, lithe body. The full breasts and ass, and eyes that glowed so blue, you could probably see them in the dark.
He probably saw them in the dark. Ugh, shit. “Look, I’m just gonna go.” I moved to walk away, tears invading my eyes.
She grabbed my arm. “Wait.”
I tugged it free, my top lip curling as I hissed, “Don’t touch me.”
Alexis raised her hands. “Okay, sorry. Look, I don’t even know what I wanted to say, really.” A dry laugh slipped past her pouty lips, and she stared at me for a long moment. “I didn’t think I’d see you again. Neither of us did. You believe that, right?”
Sniffing and taking a step away from her as fire filled my blood, I said, “I want to. But I also know you liked him. When he was mine.”
She blinked, something moving over her face. “I love him. It’s serious.”
I could feel myself pale, my whole body probably turned whiter than snow. My vocal cords weren’t working properly, but I croaked out, “Cool, have fun with that.” I walked away, muttering under my breath, “Boyfriend stealing ninja.”
“What?” she asked.
Surprised she heard, but not really caring, I flipped her off with both hands over my head. She just laughed. Like this was all a joke we could have a good giggle over and forget about.
Enraged, I stomped over the grass to my dorm, throwing open the door and marching up the stairs. I could believe she thought she’d never see me again. Hell, I could believe even Quinn thought that, but still, it felt wrong. What they’d done to me felt too big a betrayal to simply accept and move on with a cheery smile and a, “I totally get it. Let’s catch up and have lunch sometime. Hang out like we used to.”
Yeah, no thanks.
Swinging open our door, I tossed my bag on the floor, growling when my stuff fell out of the undone zipper. “Damn it, I really need to remember to zip that stupid thing up.”
“Yep,” Pippa agreed from her perch on her bed, knees up with a textbook open next to her. “Then your dramatic entrances might be a little less dramatic.” Closing her book, she sat up. “What’s up?”
“That … she …” I stabbed my finger toward the window as if Pippa could see Alexis, though she was probably long gone. “Her!”
“Oh, no.” She stood, grabbing my shoulders and making me sit on the bed. Putting some of my stuff back into my bag, she asked, “You saw her? Alexis?”
“Yes.” I took my glasses off, tossing them onto the nightstand.
“You’re not in any of the same classes?”
“No, she’s pre-law. Unless she’s changed her mind about that, too.”
Pippa snorted, and I glared. “Sorry, you’re just kind of funny when you’re mad.”
Sighing, I fell backward on my bed and rubbed my hands over my eyes. Then remembered I actually bothered to put mascara on this morning and cursed. “Jesus,” I groaned.
“She’s in my psychology class.”
“You didn’t tell me that,” I said, dropping my hands.
She put my phone on the nightstand then dumped my bag on the floor at the end of my bed. “You needed to know that I sit three rows behind her and stare death daggers at her shiny hair?”
“Ugh, see. Even you agree she’s beautiful.”
The bed dipped as she sat down. “Dude, she totally is. But you can be the most beautiful person in the world and that doesn’t mean a damn thing if you’re a shitty human.”
My heart. Christ, it still felt as if it was racing way too fast. “Why did she have to do it? Why?”
“Break girl code or confront you about it?”
“Both.”
Pippa laid down next to me. “He must be quite a guy. But then again, I’ve only known you for like, maybe three weeks, and gloomy, depressed moods and all, you’re not so bad to be around.” She took my hand and held it in hers. “She probably feels bad and misses her friend.”
A pitiful sound came out of me. “You say the nicest things sometimes. Will you go out with me?”
“I don’t swing that way, but if I did, it’d be for you.” She laughed, then paused, asking quietly, “What did she say?”
Drawing in a slow breath, I released it through my nose. “That she was sorry. She loves him, and it’s apparently serious.”
“Bitch. So basically, she felt bad but also wanted to stake her claim.”
“Yup,” I agreed.
“What did you say?”
“I think I said to have fun with that.” Pippa burst out laughing, and I dug my finger into my ear. “Shit, burst my eardrum, why don’t you.”
“Sorry,” she wheezed. “Holy hell, you did not say that.”
My face started to heat, and I groaned, rubbing my hands over my cheeks. “I did.”
“It’s official. You’re my favorite person ever. What else happened?”
Twisting my lips, I stared at the ceiling. “Uh, nothing. Well, I may have flipped her off as I walked away.”
“Ohhh, Daisy Daniels has got a bit of steel in her after all.”
I laughed then. “Yeah, maybe. It’s a shame it takes having your heart run over by a Mack truck to find a little.”
Silence reigned over us for a few minutes. The dorms were quieting down for the night, doors closing, TVs and music turning off.
It’s serious.
Wetness ran down my cheeks, and I closed my eyes. “This sucks, Pip. So bad.”
Taking my hand again, she squeezed it. “I know. But you know what?”
“What?”
“I think you’re going to be just fine. Hell, better than fine.”
I was glad she thought so.