Page 34 of In the Danger Zone
“Daisy, what do you mean?” Evan shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
My eyes closed. “You’re being n-nice to m-me and guys like you aren’t n-nice to girls like m-me. God, m-most guys aren’t n-nice to m-me, so you can understand why I find all of this incredibly suspicious. Why I findyoususpicious.”
“You don’t trust me? Still?” It sounded like there was pain in Evan’s voice. “Really?”
“You don’t know what I’ve been through. What people have done to m-me. Pulling some kind of prank where you pretend to like m-me wouldn’t b-be the worst thing that A-Asher has ever done to m-me.” My eyes finally opened, and now I couldn’t just hear the hurt in Evan voice, but I could see it right there on his face.
Evan hopped down off the car, standing in front of me. “This is about Asher? Did that asshole say something? I told him to stay away from you.”
“It’s n-not that. He hasn’t said anything. It’s just… I don’t know if I can trust you, Evan.”
“Daisy, please,” Evan whispered. “What do I have to do to prove to you that I’m a good guy? That I’m not some stuck up, jock asshole? I’m more than just a hockey player. I swear you can trust me.”
“You have to understand that guys like you were always the ones giving m-me a hard time at school. That’s n-not something a lot of people understand. Especially someone like you…” I couldfeelthe memories. I didn’t have a single friend in high school, and almost everyone seemed to take joy in my pain. The ones who enjoyed it the most were guys like Evan. The cool, popular guys who always had everything handed to them.
“And by someone like me, you mean…?”
My fingers rubbed at my forehead. “Where did you go to school?”
Evan shrugged. “I’m from Minnesota.”
“N-No, b-butwhichschool?”
“Deighton Academy,” Evan said with a casual shrug of the shoulders. “Why?”
“Academy? So, like, a private school?” The look on his face told me that he didn’t quite get it. Not yet. Privileged people never did.
“Yeah, I mean, my whole family went to that school. My brother. My parents. That’s where they met. Even my—” Evan suddenly frowned. “Wait, you think I’m a rich asshole along with being a jock asshole now?”
A soft, barely there sigh fell from my lips. “Were you ever b-bullied at school?”
“No…”
“So, you’ve lived a pretty privileged, humiliation free life then?” I asked. “I’m n-not holding that against you. It’s just… It m-makes sense why you wouldn’t get it. M-My life has been the opposite. The b-bullying. The harassment. The shame.” I looked down at my lap, the memories of my past still very much haunting me. “It’s so hard for me to b-believe people. I’m n-not used to people b-being n-nice to me, Evan.”
Evan placed a gentle finger on my chin, lifting my head so I was looking at him. “What the hell did Asher do to you?”
“I told you; he didn’t say anything.”
“No, I mean…Beforethis.” Evan narrowed his eyes. “Before college. Back in school. What did he do to you?”
What didn’t he do? He nearly killed me one day. And before that he spent almost every other day making sure that I hated myself. My heart hurt just thinking about it all. Him making fun of my stutter. Him teasing me about the way I looked. Him throwing every mean word my way. Ugly, bitch, cunt.
“He just u-used to give m-me a really hard time b-back in school,” I told Evan. It wasn’t like I was lying. But that wasn’t thewholestory. “A lot of people did.”
“No, it can’t just be that,” insisted Evan. “It’s gotta be more than that. If he did something to you, Daisy, then you can tell me. You can trust me. Ipromiseyou can trust me. I’m not a bad guy. I’m sorry if I ever made you think that I was. I don’t want you to think you can’t believe me or that I won’t believe you.”
There it was again. That tone in his voice that screamed sincerity. Evan’s big hands landed on my waist, the feeling quickly gaining my attention. He pressed his forehead to mine, his skin all warm. He sounded like he was being truthful. Maybe I could trust him. Maybe he wasn’t the person I thought he was, because every interaction with Evan showed me he was sweet and caring.
“He was just really awful to m-me,” I said. “M-My stutter… He always loved picking on m-me for m-my stutter. And then everyone else did. He n-never liked m-me. Ever. And he m-made sure everyone else at school felt the same way. I had n-no friends ‘cause of him. I was so alone b-back then. And scared too. I didn’t have a single friend and A-Asher loved reminding m-me of that fact. Every day I went to school wondering what he’d say to m-me n-next. It’s n-not easy living like that…”
The tears started before I could stop them. It was a risk telling Evan about my past. Still, it wasn’t even the whole story. I purposefully failed to mention that Asher nearly killed me. That was a part of my life that I couldn’t trust with just anyone.
“I’m gonna kill him,” Evan said with gritted teeth, his head slowly shaking. “I swear to God.”
“Evan, don’t.” I rested my hands on his broad shoulders. “Please, you don’t have to do anything. I didn’t tell you this so that you’d do something to A-Asher.”
“He shouldn’t have fucking done that shit to you,” he snapped. “Who the fuck does he think he is?”
