Page 59 of Electric Kiss

Nate put the coffee mug on the counter and was across the room in a flash.

He wrapped his muscular arms around Daisy and held her tightly. She clung to him, burying her face in his chest and letting out gut-wrenching sobs. Nate stroked her hair, whispering soothing words in her ear, and waited for her to calm down.

When she finally pulled away, her eyes were red and puffy. She looked up at Nate, her gaze full of gratitude and vulnerability.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I am so over crying.”

“You cry all you want, sweetheart.”

Nate brushed her hair away from her face and cupped her cheek. He leaned in, his lips brushing hers in a tender, hesitant kiss. Daisy responded eagerly, her arms winding around his neck as they deepened the kiss for a beat.

“You drink the coffee, and I’ll take a shower,” he said and kissed her forehead.

While he walked away, she walked to the counter and took a sip of the coffee. She wanted sugar in it. Looking around the countertop, there was none to be seen. Looking in the cupboards, she couldn’t find any there either. There was a door she hadn’t noticed the previous night, and she headed that way. When she opened the door, she saw it wasa walk-in store cupboard with dry goods. She stepped in to rummage for some sugar. As she got to the shelves, it grew darker and then completely dark.

The door clicked shut.

Daisy froze.

She stumbled to where she thought the light switch was, only to knock over tins. Daisy tried the other side and felt along the wall but no light. She was starting to panic. Flashes of when she was a kid came to the forefront of her mind. She was a little girl hammering on the door to be let out, screaming at the top of her lungs. Her brothers were with their dad on a boating trip, and Maggie was supposed to be looking after her, but she got sick, and Cynthia looked after her instead.

Daisy slumped to the floor with her head in her hands. She calmed down enough not to zone out and tried the handle, but it didn’t move. Daisy hammered on the door with the flat of her hand every other second. She couldn’t hear the shower in the cupboard, so she kept going until he came for her. It was five minutes until that happened. Light burst into the room, and she looked up at Nate’s handsome face.

“What happened in here?” he asked, bringing her to her feet..

“I got locked in and then had another episode.”

“Oh God, I’m so sorry.”

Daisy’s eyes watered, and she sniffled, but tears didn’t spill over.

She was done crying.

“It’s okay, Nate. I know why I’m having them now. It was Cynthia. She locked me in my playroom when I was eight, and the boys were away with our dad. She fed me boiled onions. I’ve never liked onions, and now I know why.”

“Jesus, Daisy. That woman is mad. It’s a wonder any of you escaped unscathed.”

She smelled the sharp, fresh smell of the soap he used in the shower as she took a deep, cleansing breath.

“I don’t think any of us escaped without some mental issues, but we seem to be finding a support system. Even though they’ve abandoned me. No one hangs around very long.”

“I will. I will hang around forever, Daisy. Just like Erica with Archer, Heidi with Jason and Freya with Luke. I will be at your side.”

Daisy’s hands were cold from the cupboard. She slipped them under his t-shirt and got a gasp from Nate.

“If you do that when we’re in bed, I’m buying you mittens,” Nate said.

Daisy laughed. “I’m not usually this cold, only after an episode. Hopefully, they’ll go away now that I’ve understood what I’d buried.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I don’t know. I think she threatened me with splitting me up with my brothers or something like that. I don’t remember that bit, and I don’t think it’s important.”

“Let’s get you to the cottage. Can I stay with you tonight?”

“Looking to cash in a bath token?”

“Maybe…”

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