Page 101 of In the Danger Zone
“I’ll… I’ll get out of your way now,” mumbled Evan.
I watched as Evan looked at me closely before simply walking away. I had a feeling he wanted to say something else. And I had a stupid urge to know what that was. But I let him walk away. His back looked stiff as he moved, still looking like the rage had not quite left his body yet.
I wanted to go after him. I still missed him so badly, especially after hearing the kind words he said about me to Brie – even if they had been said in the midst of an argument.
Instead I just watched him until I could no longer see him. It felt easier that way.
Chapter 44
DAISY
I should have been calling my parents and telling them about every bit of the absolute mess I was in. But as I stared down at my phone, all I could think about was how eager I was to get a hold of Sam.
Sitting down on my bed, I stared at the empty spot on my desk where that card had been.Who the hell keeps a card from when they were in hospital? Brie’s words replayed in my head. I had been clinging on to that small piece of pink cardboard for a while.
Sighing, I dialled Sam’s number. I still remembered every digit. It was one in the afternoon and I was hoping to catch her on her break. My foot tapped against the floor, suddenly excited to hear the sound of her kind voice. It had been a while since we talked.
“Hello?” she answered.
My eyes shut at the familiar, kind tone. “Hi Sam,” I said softly. “I hope I’m n-not disturbing you.”
“… Daisy?” she Sasped. “Hey. Oh my gosh. When’s the last time I talked to you? I guess you got a new number. I don’t have you saved on my phone.”
“Yeah, I got a n-new one. Fresh start and all that,” I said with an uncomfortable laugh. “I hope you’re n-not too b-busy or anything. I can call you later if that’s b-better for you.”
“I’m on lunch, hun. I’ve always got time for you, anyway. How are you? What have you been up to? I haven’t really seen you around town.”
“I’m n-not in Great Falls anymore.” I fiddled with the hem of my skirt. “I’m studying art history in Oregon.”
“Daisy, that’s amazing!” The smile in her voice was obvious. “You said you wanted to study that. I’m so glad things have worked out for you.”
I let out a shaky sigh. “Well, things have b-been kinda… n-not so great lately.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Do you remember Patrick? You worked with him at the paper.”
Sam let out a disgusted scoff. “Istillwork with that little scumbag. He’s hard to forget when my desk is right next to his. He just left the office for lunch thankfully. Wait, why are you bringing him up?”
“I think he… I think he m-might have done something.” The words came out all unsure, because I still wasn’t quite certain how he was involved in my current disaster. “You said his desk is n-next to yours?”
“Yeah…”
“Have you ever seen him… I don’t know, going through your computer or something? I don’t know if you still have those… photos. You know, from whenthathappened,” I said, my foot still tapping against the carpet.
The sound of a mouse being clicked hit my ears. “I keep everything, Daisy. I’ve got stuff from ten years ago on this thing. You gotta tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s a long and complicated story. B-But if you want the short version: those photos were sent to someone here at m-my college. You were the only journalist who accepted them, Sam. I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt m-me. B-But this whole thing has caused a huge m-mess. M-My b-boyfriend… Ex, actually … He thought I lied about everything that happened. Did I tell you that A-Asher is here on campus with m-me?”
Sam stayed silent for a long moment. “You have to be kidding me.”
“I wish I was,” I mumbled. “He’s obviously n-not a huge fan of m-me still.”
“That’s so…” Sam let out a hiss. “I’m sorry. That’s not fair at all. Your parents must be terrified.”
“They don’t know,” I quickly said. “I don’t want them to know. They’ll m-make me come home ASAP, and I just wanna study, Sam. And I wassomewhatdealing with A-Asher until this whole stupid thing with the photos. I don’t know how Patrick got a hold of them. If he went through your stuff or if you… I know you wouldn’t give them to him.”
“I would never do that to you, Daisy. You have my trust,” she said, her voice comfortingly soft. “Let me go through my stuff. That loser sits right next to me and he’s always looking over my shoulder.” I heard some more clicking and what sounded like Sam typing away at her keyboard. “Maybe he… Ugh. What the hell is this?”
