Read Online Daisy by Josi S. Kilpack - Free Book Online

correct way to make the point, I don’t think it hurts for her to know it’s hard for other people when she screws up. She needs to be accountable.”
    “Yeah,” I said, but I agreed only a little bit. I’d hurt her, and I hated knowing that. Her accountability didn’t take away my own. Stormy’s cat, Munchkin, was curled up on the chair across from us and paused in her cleaning to stare me down. I felt the censure from her too.
    “Give her a few days,” Paul said, standing up and grabbing my hands to pull me up with him. “And then things will be back to normal.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me, long and deep. “In the meantime,” he said, giving me a devilish smile. “We’ve got the house to ourselves. Whatever will we do with ourselves?”

Chapter 9
    “What do you mean she wants to stay?” I said into the phone Saturday afternoon. I’d been reading the Kingsolver novel but wasn’t even halfway through it yet. It was a long book and now lay next to me on the couch, completely forgotten in the wake of Jared’s phone call.
    “Look, she’s embarrassed by what happened at school and with everything you said the other night. She wants to try to make a fresh start out here.”
    I was stunned by this turn of events. Truly and completely stunned. “Jared,” I said, my voice calm only because I was still reeling from shock. “Transferring high schools is a big deal, especially in the middle of the semester of her senior year.”
    “I know, Daisy,” he said, sounding as though he really understood that the decision was a big one. But he couldn’t understand. If he did, he wouldn’t be making this choice. “If she stays here, she can find a new place for herself, and she could still try out for the school play at Beckman. I talked to the school about it yesterday. Auditions are next week. It would be a great way for her to start meeting people right off the bat.”
    I closed my eyes, repeating my new mantra in my head—calmly, calmly, calmly—and raised my free hand to my eyes. I hadn’t felt well all week—like my stomach knew that things weren’t the way they should be—and I was feeling worse than ever right now, but I was trying really hard to ignore my physical issues and stay grounded. “I don’t know that running away from this is the right solution, Jared. And I feel like Stormy and I need to fix what’s between us or it’ll fester.” It was unusual for me to trust him with this much information; it made me feel vulnerable.
    “That’s the other part of this. She was really hurt by what you said, and she said that even before all of this happened that she’d felt like she’s in the way over there.”
    That sliced through me like a razor, but it also cut my defensiveness off at the knees. “If I could take it back, I would.”
    I half expected him to rub it in, but he took the high road, and when he spoke his voice was sympathetic. “What’s important now is that we do what’s best for Stormy. I’d love to have her here. We haven’t had the one-on-one time either of us would like, and maybe that’s part of this whole thing too. I’m certainly willing to take my share of the responsibility.” He paused, then added, “It’s what she wants, D.”
    D. He used to call me that all the time, and I didn’t like the warm reaction I felt to the nickname right now. “Okay,” I heard myself say. How could I make her come back if she didn’t want to? Obviously she and Jared had already planned it out. I’d been swimming against the current to even attempt putting up a fight. “But I need to talk to her. Can I come over, bring her some of her things?”
    “Actually, we thought we’d come out this afternoon and pack her and Munchkin up. I’m sure you and Stormy can talk things out then. How about that?”
    “Okay,” I said again, broken by all of this. I wondered about Jared’s girlfriend and how she might factor in to the situation, but I knew it would be