Ghost Flowers

19. It's Everywhere

-Present Day-

The following day at Cully's house, Savana was the last to wake up. Michael and Maureen had already left for work, and Troy was sitting on the couch. He pretended to watch the news as Savana slept next to him.

She sat up and looked up at him. "Were you watching me sleep?" Her smile spread across her face.

"Uh. No." Troy, embarrassed, stumbled with his crutches to his room again.

Cully laughed as she and Faye left the kitchen. "You know that every time you're here and he goes into his room, he's jerking off right?"

"Oh god, Cully!" Savana was shocked that Cully would say that about her brother. She threw a pillow at Cully. "That's sick! I just woke up." Savana shivered. Faye and Cully laughed.

Savana checked her phone and saw the text from an unknown number. She barely remembered seeing it come through last night. After blinking at her screen for a few seconds, she opened the text and read it.

Hey, it's Damon. Just checking to see if you're alright from the other day with your dad. I hope it's okay that I asked Ezra for your number.

Savana couldn't control the enormous grin on her face. She had never had a guy text her like that before. Even with how close she and Haden used to be.

"Hey, what's that look for?" Cully looked over Savana's shoulder.

She knew it was the same look she and Faye had on their faces last night when texting Ezra. Cully was even more suspicious of Faye liking him too.

Savana's smile disappeared as she put her phone down. "Oh, Damon texted me last night." She felt confused.

"Ooh!" Cully looked over at Faye. "You were right!"

Faye smiled. She looked over at Savana and saw the confusion on her face. Maybe not.

"No guys. Nothing like that. He's just friendly. Seeing if I'm okay after all that happened the other day." Savana got up and sat on the couch.

"Hmm. I don't know. He seems to be interested in you." Cully sat down next to her.

"If Savana doesn't like him like that it's fine." Faye sat on the loveseat.

Savana gave Faye a thankful look, then stuck her tongue out at Cully. "You know my true feelings are for your dad."

Savana and Faye laughed. Cully rolled her eyes and remembered she wanted to ask Troy something. "I'll be right back." She walked up to Troy's door and knocked. "Hey! Open up!"

Troy hopped to his door to unlock it. He opened it slightly and glared at Cully. "What?"

"Stop fooling around and let me in. I got to ask you something." Cully demanded.

"Fine." Troy scoffed and rolled his eyes.

He sat back on his bed. The room was dark. He never opened his curtains; the only light came from his big computer screen. There were empty soda cans on his desk and dirty clothes on the floor. He had several posters on his wall: mostly bands and half-naked models.

"Jesus Troy, did something die in here?" Cully scrunched her nose.

"Oh my God! What do you want?" Troy was annoyed.

"Were you up when Mom left for work yesterday?" Cully looked around his room, wondering where the gross smell came from.

"I don't know. I was still at Nick's house. I got home right before you did. She wasn't here." He said as he hopped over to his desk.

Cully was thinking. "Well, was she home when you went over to Nick's the night before? Do mom and dad even know you were over there?"

"Yes, they knew. And no, when Nick's mom picked me up, Mom wasn't home from work yet. And Dad already left." Troy explained as he opened his browser and watched a music video.

"I don't think mom came home last night." Cully looked to see what he was watching.

"What do you mean? Where else would she be?" Troy threw his hands up.

"I don't know. But it didn't sound like mom knew he wasn't home all night." Cully turned Troy's computer chair around to face him.

"I don't know Cully. Maybe she just stopped by to see Simone. She's like obsessed with the baby." Troy spun his chair back around to face his computer. Under his breath, he said, "She cares about it more than me."

Cully sighed and returned to the kitchen. The other two had started making pancakes. After the girls ate, they walked to Faye's house. Savana and Cully offered to help with the dogs for a bit. Every day that week, there were twenty-two dogs versus the average of fifteen.

Many families who traveled on vacation couldn't bring their dogs along. Summer was always busy for them. This was one of the main reasons Nicole opened the dog daycare in Unity. She knew the demographics.

Nicole has two full-time employees. Some part-time employees were high school and college students. She needed more help in the summer. They planned on Faye becoming a business partner after graduating from high school. Nicole also offered to pay Savana and Cully for helping out. But the girls said it was voluntary work.

Cully was interested in fashion and design. But a part of her also wanted to help people. She thought she could be a nurse but didn't like dealing with blood or other bodily fluids. Savana pictured herself in various careers, from a teacher to a lawyer to a marine biologist. It was difficult for her to decide on one thing to concentrate on.

Faye's driveway split in two, and one path led behind their house to a small parking lot. Next was an in-ground pool on the other side of the wired fence. All the dogs loved it.

Savana paused in the parking lot when she saw a black truck drive by. She glanced at the driver's window but couldn't see who it was. There were so many black trucks around. She had a hard time telling them apart. It seemed everywhere she went, she saw the same truck.

After the black truck drove further down the street, Savana started walking faster when they opened the gate to the outdoor area. She was excited to see her favorite client. A two-year-old yellow lab with a pink nose named Bandit. He was there almost every day of the week. Years ago, her family had a dog, Eddie, that looked and acted very similar. He died when Savana was thirteen. Now, they only had their black cat, Hannibal.

Once the back door of the daycare opened, a flash of yellow sprinted for Savana. "Bandit!" She shouted and bent down to greet him. He jumped up and licked her face until Nicole walked up to them.

Nicole raised her voice. "Bandit down!" She sighed. "Really, Savana, I wish you didn't encourage him like that. We're trying to get him to stop jumping on everyone. "He sat on the grass, his tail wagging and tongue sticking out.

Savana shrugged and patted his head. "Well, I like him jumping on me. It means he missed me."

Nicole watched as the rest of the dogs came running to greet the girls. The other employees ran after them. One being Haden. He smiled when he saw Faye. She didn't notice him as she bent down to pet the dogs. Savana tried to avoid him. Their friendship has changed since she told him her feelings for him. She still felt awkward around him despite no longer having those feelings.

Cully waved at Haden and said hello. Even though he sometimes hung out with Ivy and Quintin's group, he was always kind to her. She always liked him as a friend.

Faye looked up at her mom and the employees as the girls gave every dog attention. They all looked exhausted. "You guys should take a break. We got them for a bit."

Nicole smiled at the girls. They worked well together with the dogs. She and the employees stepped inside. None of the dogs noticed. They were excited to play with the girls again. The girls laughed as they watched the dogs run around.