Series: Lee Savino
Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 66414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
I can’t believe I’m getting off so easily. Normally, Daisy pokes into every boring detail of my life. She even arranged my prom date. “I’ll be fine.”
“That’s my girl. I’m making tortilla soup for dinner. I even got avocados to have on the side. You just rest up.” She shuts the door behind her, leaving me alone.
I dig into my backpack and notice a brown bag that wasn’t there before. Inside is a bottle of prescription pills–birth control and pain pills. The instructions on how to take them are written in Dr. Hunk’s strong script.
Stop calling him Dr. Hunk!
The birth control pills will help even out your cycle. The pain pills are for when you’re in pain.
I take one immediately with a gulp from my water bottle.
My bag holds my journal and my phone. I have a few texts from Missy, but there’s another text from a contact I’ve never seen before. It reads only “Matthias.”
What? Oh...oh wow.
Butterflies fill my belly. He entered his number into my phone. And he texted me:
* * *
You have an appointment with Nancy tomorrow at ten am. I told Daisy you’re to take the day off and rest. The painkillers will help, and Nancy will update your chart with your symptoms. PCOS is manageable with birth control.
Set an alarm on your phone to remind yourself to take the pill at the same time every day, so you don’t miss a day.
Rest now. I mean it.
* * *
I can hear his deep voice giving me the command. My pussy clenches. Goosebumps spread all over me. God, that’s hot.
Good girl, he said. And I almost came right then and there.
While I hold the phone, it starts ringing with an unknown number.
It’s my dad, blowing up my phone. I made the mistake of answering him and had to listen to his drunken ramble for fifteen minutes before I finally gave up and hung up on him.
My phone buzzes with a voicemail. I shouldn’t listen to it, but I press play.
“Flower girl,” my dad slurs. “I miss you. I want to see you. How ‘bout you come visit me for your birthday? I’ll buy you a ticket, and we can hang. It’ll be like old times…” The message rambles on and on. He sounds like a loving father, except he’s probably drunk. My birthday is on Valentine’s day, and I wanted it to be special. I don’t want to spend days traveling by bus, only to have him take me to a dingy, smoke filled casino, talk me into buying him drinks, and forget about me as soon as he’s had a few.
I need to set a boundary with him, but the little girl inside me who’d do anything for her father’s attention just wants to call him back, apologize, and promise to visit him. I wish I could just cut ties with him.
I don’t have the energy to even think about this right now.
Baby steps.
I’ll figure it out later when I’m feeling better.
I pull out my New Year’s resolution list and cross off the second item. See the doctor about PCOS. I did it, and it feels good.
You did a brave thing coming in today, Dr. Stark said. Almost as if he knew I needed the praise.
It might be my imagination, but the bag handle holds the scent of his subtle cologne. I inhale it and imagine him saying Good girl, and it gives me the strength to do what I need to do next.
I pull out my phone and change his name to Dr. Stark. Then I text him,
* * *
Thank you.
* * *
I use punctuation and everything. I don’t gush over him or ghost him; I just send one text. Like a normal person.
Then, I collapse back on my frilly bedspread with my hands over my face.
I’ve got to get my crush under control.
Chapter Three
Maisy
“They said it couldn’t be done. They said we’d be under six inches of snow. But look at us now!” my grandma crows.
“Uh, Daisy?” I look up from my clipboard and look around. “We are under six inches of snow.”
There’s nothing Bad Bear Mountain loves like a festival. But this is the first annual Winterfest–a two-week event meant to bring the community together, and I’m not sure if the turnout is what we’d like.
But the cold isn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. I’m in a cute GoddessWear snow outfit, cornflower blue with a faux fur hood. Daisy is in a similar ski outfit that’s canary yellow. She even has her signature faux daisy fixed to her snow hat. The bright color actually looks great against her white hair.
“Nonsense. It’s only three. And I told everyone to bundle up!” She bends down, scoops up a bit of snow, and packs it into a tiny snow pellet she then launches at Old Man Luther’s back. “Bullseye, yeah!”