Page 66 of In the Danger Zone
It was the perfect opportunity to tell Evan about the bakery: that it had closed, that it was long gone. But would he get it? He didn’t even know that the only reason I couldaffordcollege was because of my scholarship. My lips trembled, doing my best to push myself and just tell him.Just say it, just say it, just say it. But the shame wouldn’t leave me.
Evan huffed, pulling at his hair. “How is that prick not in fucking jail? Why the fuck is he playing hockey?”
“He was their b-best player and he was rich and his parents were powerful, especially his dad. N-No one saw him attack m-me that day. There were n-no witnesses. Just a woman who found m-me, half-dead,” I explained with a defeated shrug. “When I finally woke up in the hospital, I still remembered who was responsible. M-My parents m-made m-me tell the cops. I’m sure they all b-believed that he did it. They just didn’t care. M-My m-mom and dad tried so hard to get it on the n-news. You know, m-maybe a journalist or something would wanna cover the story. They took a hundred photos of m-me in b-bed, hooked up to those machines. They tried to send them to every newspaper and station in the city. N-No one accepted them except for one journalist. That story got shut down quick, though. It was n-never gonna get published. Everyone loves A-Asher Callaway b-back home.”
“Daisy,fuck,” Evan groaned loudly. “That’s so… That’s so fucked! That’s so unfair! I had no idea he was fucking like that. Fuck, if I had known… It’s not fucking fair that he gets to walk around without getting punished!”
“I know. Eventually his lawyer threatened us with defamation. We couldn’t handle another b-blow to the b-bakery. There were already so many rumors spreading. That I liked A-Asher, that he rejected me and I wanted to get b-back at him. It was too m-much. We had n-next to n-no customers. When his lawyers threatened us with defamation, we just… We just gave up. It was easier that way. Then m-my parents pulled m-me out of school. They homeschooled m-me. It was b-better than b-being around A-Asher,” I mumbled, staring down at the ground. “I wanted him to suffer too. We tried talking to his coach. That was useless. They weren’t gonna take him off the team. He didn’t deserve to play hockey. B-But nothing was gonna work. I just gave up. I think m-my parents did too. It’s n-not easy for them, Evan. B-Barely anyone will look them in the eye b-back home…”
“Do they need money?” Evan asked suddenly.
My brows furrowed. “What do you m-mean?”
“I can give ‘em money, Daisy,” he said with a shrug. “If they’re not getting any customers thanks to Asher’s bullshit, I can help.”
“E-Evan, n-no.” My eyes closed.Tell him. It was my fault for starting the lie and not stopping it. “That’s so generous of you. B-But… n-no, it’s okay.”
Evan stepped closer to me, his hands on my hips. “Let me do it. Let me help. I wanna help. How much is rent? I’ll write ‘em a check for a month’s worth. I can do it next month too.”
“You’re b-being so, so generous,” I sighed loudly. “B-But… I can’t take that m-money from you. Keep it. It’s okay.”
“Let me help.”
“N-No.”
“Please.”
“N-No.”
“I’m gonna write the check anyway.”
“Well, I’m n-not gonna cash it, so it’s a waste of time.”
“It’s not a waste of time if I can help you and your family.”
My eyes were big as I looked at Evan. He was being too damn nice. I should have just said it: that my parents were out of work and I was poor and they were poor and I had to get funding to even step through the doors of UWO. That was my life. Evan’s was very, very different.
There were parts of the story I had purposefully left out. I hated keeping secrets, but I didn’t know how to explain to Evan that the video of my dad hurting Asher was one of the reasons for the bakery’s downfall. Evan still didn’t even know about that and I knew just how bad it looked.
“I can’t let you do that,” I whispered.
“You can, and you’ll let me help you, because I’m your boyfriend and that’s what boyfriends are supposed to do,” Evan murmured.
I pressed a hand to Evan’s chest. “You’re a really good b-boyfriend, Evan.”
“Yeah, but I still wanna kill him,” Evan said simply. “I wanna rip his fucking head off, Daisy.”
But then Evan pulled his arms around me, moving me so that I was back up against his chest. He held a heavy hand to the back of my head, keeping me close to him. I could hear his heart. It was racing, it was beating wildly. His rage had yet to disappear. It would eventually. Hopefully. I didn’t want to be the reason for more violence.
“You deserved so much better than that,” murmured Evan. “I never would have let him touch you if I was there, Daisy. I swear to God, I would have made sure you were okay. And if I wasn’t there… I would have believed you. I promise you that I would have been on your side.”
With wet eyes, I nodded against his chest.
I believed him.
Chapter 30
EVAN
