Here to Stay

Chapter 17

Stephen woke up to Daisy's pretty face resting on his lap. He had slept while sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. Daisy's face made him think of Gwen. His life had come back to where it had been. Gwen had taken away with her, all hopes of a new life for him. Maybe, he could just forget Gwen... But how could he forgive himself for not taking care of her like he should have?

Gwen, where are you?

Stephen shook all thoughts of Gwen from his head and got up. He checked the time: 4:00 a.m. He could just go for a run outside to freshen himself up. He picked Daisy up and took her to her room where he rested her on the bed. He kissed her forehead and said, “Never leave me, princess.” As soon as he closed the door behind him, Daisy opened her eyes and smiled. Maybe, he had not forgotten her after all.

She got up and began doing some homework that she had missed last night when the telephone began ringing. Daisy picked it up to hear her mother's honey-coated voice.

“Hello, Daisy, sweety, is that you?”

“Yes, Mom. What is it that you want?”

“Sweety, why would you think I'd want something?”

“Because that's how it has always worked for you. I have learnt a lot from my past, Mom.”

“Very well, then. Tell me, what game is Stephen playing with me?”

“I don't know.”

“You must know, Daisy.”

“I don't know.”

“Where is Gwen?”

“I don't know.”

“Daisy? Do you want to come live with me? Do you want your parents?”

Tears edged her eyes. “Yes.”

“You can come live with us, sweety.”

“Really?!” she gasped.

“But there's one thing you'll have to do: find Gwen and kill her.”

“I knew it was too good to be true,” Daisy slammed the receiver down. Gwen had given her hope... That maybe, maybe, her life could be better now... That she would have someone to share her secrets with. She went to her room and took out a small sharpener. She broke it by smashing it on the floor and took out the small blade. She rolled her sleeve up and let the cold blade sear through her skin. She gritted her teeth and looked down at the blood oozing out of her cut. This was the first time she had cut herself.

***

Tristan got home to where Alex was playing video games and he went up to his own room. What was happening to him? His life was changing from bad to worse... He needed a break. There was no adventure, no fun at all. He smashed his head in the wall.

Shit. That hurt.

He felt angered at everything around him. He smashed everything in his sight. But it only angered him more. Shower... He needed a hot shower. However, when he came out of the bathroom, he was no better... And the bathroom mirror was cracked.

Tears brimmed his eyes. He needed Caramel... Yes, she could soothe him now. He called her on her cellular phone, but the call got diverted to voice mail: Hey, Caramel. I kinda need you right now... I'm emotionally unstable and I don't know what to do. I'm going to the forest right now; please get there whenever you hear this. I'll probably spend the night there, too. Please.

With that, he made his way to the forest and propped himself by the lake. He looked at the glass bottle dug in the sand and he thought about how beautiful Caramel was. She was beautiful and she didn't know it. She was strong and cared about all the others around her. Her voice was so sweet; he had heard his mother use that voice with his father so many times before, but that was all fake. Caramel was genuinely sweet. He wondered what she would look like in real life... She would be beautiful, of course, but even if she wasn't, he would always love the person she was.