Page 72 of In the Danger Zone
Leena’s face softened, her head tilting at me. “Daisy, why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s embarrassing.” I looked down at the floor. “I don’t know. That part of m-my life feels so shameful. I’m so used to people laughing at m-me. Sometimes it feels like that secret is something that wouldstillm-make people laugh.”
“But you didn’t do anything wrong! And I’d never laugh at you. I’d never laugh at anyone for something like that,” she said. “You deserved a lot better than that, Daisy. What Asher did isn’t your fault.”
“I know. B-But A-Asher really m-made m-me feel like I deserved it, like there was something wrong with m-me, like m-maybe I deserved to get treated that way. I had b-been dealing with him for so long that I kinda gave up on caring about myself,” I confessed. “A-Asher did a good job at m-making sure I hated everything about m-me.”
Leena placed a soft hand on my shoulder. “Guys like that really think they can get away with everything.”
Finally finding the book that I needed, I turned around to face Leena. “He did something to m-me one day. The worst thing he’s ever done to m-me. He attacked m-me one day. After school. I was all alone. And…” I struggled to get the words out. “I was close to dying that day.”
“Oh, Daisy.” Leena was quick to wrap her arms around me, pulling me into a hug I most definitely needed. “I’m sorry. What happened? Did you tell the police? God, he should be in jail or something.”
“M-My parents m-made us file a police report,” I explained when we pulled away from each other. “And they tried to get some journalists to talk about it too. They sent photos of m-me in hospital to every newspaper in the city. No one wanted to touch them. There was one reporter who tried to get the story out there, but A-Asher’s family shut that down. It ended up b-being pointless. I nearly died, b-but A-Asher was the b-best hockey player in town. Everyone loved him. They still do. He was rich and popular and a good athlete. N-No one was touching him b-because he hurt m-me. I’m n-not that important…”
“Don’t say that,” Leena said sternly. “Your dumb, small town was the problem. Not you.”
“M-My parents said the same thing.” I shrugged. “They tried really hard to m-make sure that he was punished properly.”
“He shouldn’t be allowed to play hockey.” Leena narrowed her eyes. “That’s a privilege. A guy like him should be off the team.”
“Evan said that too. That’s why he didn’t get involved in that fight. I guess he enjoyed having a front row seat.”
“I would have enjoyed it as well. At least Evan’s been helpful with this.”
My heart stopped when she said that. Evan had beenmorethan helpful. “He gave m-me some money the other day,” I whispered.
Leena eyed me carefully. “What do you mean? For what?”
“It’s supposed to b-be for m-my parents. For their b-bakery at home. He gave m-me a check for ten thousand dollars.” It felt weird to say the number out loud. What was even weirder washavingthat much money.
“Jeez,” Leena laughed. “The guy’s really made of money, huh? That’s nothing for him, I guess. Your parents must be happy about that, though. What’d they say?”
I shook my head, feeling the shame rise up in me. When had I become a scheming, little liar? “I haven’t given it to them. That’s too m-much m-money. And…”
“And?”
“And the b-bakery’s closed, anyway,” I confessed, feeling the shame creep up in my heart.
“But I thought…?”
“It’s b-been closed for a little while,” I mumbled out my secret. “That’s why I’m n-not giving m-my parents the check. I haven’t touched it since Evan gave it to m-me the other n-night he came over. There’s n-no b-bakery anymore. It’s embarrassing. M-My whole life is embarrassing. The only reason I’m even here is ‘cause I have a scholarship.”
Leena leaned in close, placing a gentle arm around me. “You gotta tell him, Daisy. And no, your life is not embarrassing.”
“It feels that way, though. A-Asher ruined a lot of things for m-me and m-my family.”
“I’m guessing this whole Asher incident is the reason why your parents’ bakery started having money issues?”
“It was so b-bad. And m-my dad… Some stuff happened with m-my dad. All it took was a ten second v-video of him going v-viral for things to go from b-bad to worse. Ugh, it’s a m-mess.” I buried my face in my hands. “It’s all m-my fault too. Everything. The b-bakery closing, m-me lying to Evan. I don’t want him to see m-me as some desperate, poor girl.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Leena said seriously. “Look, just take this one thing at a time. I’m sure Evan will get why you didn’t tell him everything. He’s a good guy, right? I won’t tell anyone. Even though I don’t think you should hide it since you didn’t evendoanything wrong in the first place… If I were you, I’d print that Asher story on flyers and tell everyone on campus. But my lips are sealed.”
I sent Leena a little smile, still not quite used to the fact that I had a real, living, breathing friend. “Thank you. And thanks for listening to m-me. And b-believing me. It’s so n-nice having someone to trust for a change.”
“You can always trust me. And I still haven’t lost your spare key, so you know I’m extra trustworthy since I loseeverything.”
I laughed softly. “I appreciate you hanging on to it.”
