Liam
Roselle Thorne is an exceptional liar.
She has the capability of looking someone in the eyes and giving a bright smile while a lie slips right through her teeth. It's something she had to practice. Saying she's okay when she's clearly not. And she got good at it.
But I saw right through it.
There was nothing that would've been able to put me back to sleep after what had happened last night. I saw the mark on her arm and I had freaked out and started asking too many questions. Then I sent her into a panic attack.
Not my best move but at that moment, my priority was finding out who the hell put their hands on her.
Charles Thorne, that's who.
Letting out a sigh through my nose, I slipped my phone into my pocket before leaving my room. I walked down the hall to the guest bedroom where she was staying and I contemplated opening the door to check on her.
Letting out a long sigh and shaking my head , I backed away from the door and made my way downstairs.
Mom was in the kitchen, her tablet in front of her.
"Wow, you're up early." She raised an eyebrow before sipping her coffee.
I walked over and placed a kiss on top of her head and she smiled up at me.
"I have to take care of something." I told her and she raised an eyebrow at me.
"Where?" She asked and I shook my head to dismiss her but she raised and eyebrow at me and I froze.
"I'm not sure if you know this, but your father and I pay for your car insurance and your gas. So, try again."
Right.
"Lucy needs that weird, fresh dog treat. The bakery only makes them in the morning. I have to grab some for her before they run out." I told her and she rolled her eyes. It's not an entire lie. I did need to those treats for Lucy, I just have to make a quick stop first.
"You spoil that dog."
I gave her a half smile before grabbing a water bottle from the refrigerator.
"I'll be back." I leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Alright, be safe." She dismissed as I grabbed my keys.
I turned around to face her. "Would you object if I took Daisy to breakfast?" I asked and she frowned.
"That way I can just take her home after?" I asked and she smiled.
"I would not object at all." She said and I nodded.
"Alright, I'll see you in a bit."
I made it to his house without a hitch and like I had predicted, his car was in the driveway. Daisy had said that he was out of town to my parents. But I had heard her on her phone conversation with whom was supposed to be her dad.
He was home.
Getting out of the car, I made my way to the front door and knocked.
Multiple knocked and a few cursed words later, the door swung open and Mr. Thorne looked at me in confusion.
He looked like shit.
He is shit.
"Liam," he tried to compose himself. But he was wearing a stained and wrinkled shirt that looked like he's had it on for a few days. His hair was a mess and there was sleep marks on his face.
He was a fucking mess.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
"I came to see you." I nodded.
"Is it about your case? Because I don't discuss my work in my home."
"It's not about my case." I shook my head and he frowned at me before running his hands down his face.
"Then, you need to come back at a later time. Preferably when the sun is up." He started closing the door and I held my hand out and stopped him.
Fuck that. He was going to listen to me and I don't care if he looked like he was battling a hangover from hell.
"I should call the police." I said before stepping forward causing him to step back.
"What are you talking about?" He asked and I let out a breath through my nose.
"Look at her arm." I told him and he frowned at me.
"What?"
"The kind of grip you have to have on someone's arm to cause a bruise is ridiculously strong. Look at her arm." I repeated and he took a step back from me.
"Who's arm?" He asked in confusion and I wanted punch him in the face.
"She's your daughter. You're supposed to love her unconditionally and protect her from harm. You're not supposed to imprison her and leave bruises on her." I told him as my fists clenched at my side.
"She's supposed to feel safe around her dad. But instead she wears jackets in eighty degree weather to try and hide her bruise. A bruise she received from you." I glared at him. His eyebrows pulled down in confusion and I took a step back from him.
I'm going to punch him in the face if he continues to act like he doesn't know what I'm talking about.
"When I get home, I'm going to talk to my parents." I told him and he opened his mouth to speak but I beat him to it.
"I'm going to tell them what I saw. I'm going to tell them of the fear that was in her eyes when I found out. And then I'm going to ask them to always have a room ready for her if she needs it." I informed him.
"But I know she won't need it because that is the last fucking time you're going to lay a hand on her. It's the last time she's going to have a bruise on her from you and it is the last time she's going to show up to school in a sweater in this heat." I told him.
Again, he moved to speak but I took a daring step towards him and he stopped.
"Because if it isn't, I will be here before the police and I will beat the shit out of you." I warned. "I don't care that you can have me rot in jail forever, I will kill you before your daughter gets a new bruise from you."
I didn't wait for him to say anything, I turned on my heels and walked away. I got in my car and shifted into drive and we drove away as my heart slammed against my chest in fear for Daisy Thorne.
[0]
"Ah, you're back." Mom announced when I stepped into the kitchen.
I forgot the dog treats.
"Where are Lucy's treats?"
"In the car, where's Daisy?"
"Still upstairs, I just checked up on her and she's awake." She explained and dad walked into the kitchen.
"Morning," he greeted before kissing mom and she stood up and grabbed him a cup of coffee.
"Morning," I nodded and I looked at the two of them.
"Can I talk to you two when I get back?" I asked and they gave me their full attention.
"Yeah, is everything okay?" Mom asked with a small frown.
I'm not quite sure.
"It's about Daisy.," I explained an their frowns deepened.
"What about her?" Mom took a step towards me and I shook my head no. If we start talking, we won't stop for a while.
"We have to talk after breakfast. You'll be here after breakfast?"
They nodded.
"Okay," I nodded before heading upstairs.
"Well bye," he shouted after me as I took the stairs by two.
I reached Daisy's door and knocked twice before hearing a small 'come in'. I opened the door a bit and she was sitting at the edge of the bed, braiding her hair.
"Good morning," she said softly.
"Morning," I smiled as I leaned on the doorpost.
"Would you like to get breakfast with me?" I asked and she tied a hair tie around the end of her braid.
"Uhm, sure. Are your parents not here?" She frowned before standing up.
"They are, but I thought we could just grab something out and then I could take you home after." I told her and she nodded before slipping on her shoes.
"Oh, okay."
"I'll wait for you downstairs?" I asked and she nodded.
She didn't take long, maybe a few minutes before I heard her footsteps come down the stairs.
And after a few hugs and a lot of thank yous to my parents and an unexplainable ammount of medicinal instructions from my mom, we were out the door and into her car.
"How are you going to get home?" She asked as I adjusted the seats.
"I will call Marcus once we leave breakfast and he will drive to your house and pick me up." I explained and she nodded.
The car ride was quiet. That's really to be expected with Daisy but I knew it was because neither of us knew what to say about what happen last night.
"What is your mom's favorite fruit?" She broke the silence and I glanced at her with a frown.
"Well, I wanted to get her a fruit basket so I was wondering if you knew." She shrugged and I nodded in understanding.
"Why are you getting her a fruit basket?"
"Because I was literally the worst house guest ever." She explained and I opened my mouth to protest.
"I don't want to hear it." She shook her head and I let out a sigh.
"You weren't a bad house guest. It was just an eventful night." I offered and she shook her head.
"An eventful night." She repeated quietly.
She was worried. There's no doubt about it, I could hear it in her voice. She was scared of what I would do with the new found information I had on her. To be honest, I didn't know what to do with it either. I had gone to her dad and I had threatened him. But what now?
Because I didn't know the answer to that question, I turned on her radio and a chorus of classical music filled the car and we rode to breakfast in silence.
"Really?" Daisy asked in disbelief as I pulled into the parking lot of IHOP.
She glanced over at me with her eyebrows raised and I gave her a smile.
"Pancakes are better than waffles." I explained and her mouth twitched with a smile but she didn't give in to it.
I was determined to make her smile. Even if it took me all of breakfast to do so.
"Pancakes soak up the syrup, but waffles have convenient little holes for syrup. Waffles, equals better." She explained as we got out of the car and I shook my head.
"Your words make sense but I just can't find it in myself to agree with you, pancakes are better." I grinned as I held the door open for her and she shook her head at me before stepping inside.
We were seated at a table and we received our menus before a waitress came towards us.
"Good morning," she smiled. "What can I get you to drink?"
"Water please," Daisy replied.
"Same." I nodded and she wrote it down before walking away.
"So, what pancakes are you eating today?" I asked with a smile as I picked up my menu.
"I am going to have some waffles." She replied and I scoffed.
"At IHOP? It's the international house of pancakes, that's just wrong Daisy." I shook my head and she rolled her eyes at me before looking down at her menu.
"Maybe it's because you've never had IHOP pancakes. Your opinion is clouded because you've only eaten crappy pancakes all your life."
I honestly couldn't care less that she prefers waffles over pancake. But teasing her like this is the only way I usually get her to smile.
"You're ridiculous." She glanced up at me before shaking her head. "I'm going to have an omelet instead."
"Shame," I shook my head before returning to my menu.
The waitress came back with our drink orders and placed them down before opening her order book.
"Are y'all ready to order?" She asked and I glanced at Daisy who nodded.
"Can I please have the bacon temptation omelet?"
The waitress nodded and scribbled down on her notebook. "And your side?"
"Hash browns please."
"She's kidding she'll have three buttermilk pancakes." I intervened without taking my eyes off Daisy.
"I will not." She shook her head. "I will have hash browns."
I kept my eyes on her and she raised a daring eyebrow at me and I grinned.
"Please?" I mouthed and she shook her head at me. There was amusement in her eyes but she wasn't smiling. I'm going to get her to smile.
"And for you?" The waitress asked me.
I smiled up at her before glancing at Daisy and back.
"I want five of your fluffiest and most delicious buttermilk pancakes with extra whip cream." I told her.
The little bubble of laughter that escaped Daisy was unexpected and I grinned at her.
"It's not that deep." She shook her head and I glance back at the waitress.
"I will be back with your order." The waitress nodded with her on small smile before walking away.
"Tell me a happy story," I instructed and Daisy's eyebrows pulled down in a frown.
"Just a happy story, it can even be a memory." I told her and her frown deepened and her smile disappeared.
Shit.
"I'll have to think about it for a minute." She confessed, a frown still etched on her face. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked down at the table.
This was supposed to be easy. A person is supposed to have happy stories and memories ready to be shared. It wasn't supposed to make her sad.
"Why don't you go first?" She looked up at before taking a sip of her water.
"My little sister loved putting makeup on me when I sleep." I told and a smile took over my face.
"She'd steal my mom reddest lipstick and bluest eyeshadow and made sure I woke up looking like a clown." I told her and she offered me a small smile.
"Why is that a happy memory?" She asked and my smile widened.
"Because then I'd chase her around the house, threatening to cut off all of her hair." I laughed and her eyes widened.
The sound of Jo's laughter ringing in my ear as I chased her is the reason they're good memories.
"Oh my goodness, that's evil." Daisy gasped and I shook my head.
"Safety scissors, Daisy. I'm not that insane." I teased and she shook her head at me.
"I loved mud puddles." She said after a stretch of silence.
"In my house in California, there's a little dip on the road in in front of the house. Perfect for puddles." She smiled and I leaned in and rested my elbows on the table.
"Every time it's supposed to rain, I would make sure there's dirt in the spot so I could have the perfect mud puddle." She said before looking down again.
A bright grin took over her face before she looked up at me again.
"I would throw an absolute fit if both of my parents didn't join me outside in my mud puddle." She laughed and I smiled at the sound.
I like the sound of her laugh. I wanted to hear it more often. Everyone should hear it more often.
She launched into a story about a day where she had the best mud puddle of all time. A time where both of her parents put on their rain boots and they jumped around for hours in mud.
Her eyes were bright and happy as she spoke and a few moments out of her story, I got to listen to her laugh.
It was a carefree side of her I'd never seen before.
"That is one of the happiest memories I have." She finished.
"I'm glad you shared it with me." I smiled at her and she blinked at me before nodding.
Her smile faltered and a small frown appeared on her face as our waitress approached us with our food.
Daisy waited until our food was in front of us and the waitress was out of earshot before looking up at me again.
"What are you going to do?" She asked quietly and I frowned at her.
"What do you mean?" I asked. But I already knew what she was talking about.
"About what you saw last night... my bruise." She whispered and I gave her a small smile.
"Nothing else needs to be done." I told her and she frowned.
"Else?" She asked and I nodded.
"I talked to your dad this morning."
Her body went rigid and she took in a deep breath.
"What do you mean you talked to my dad?" She asked and I cleared my throat.
"This morning, before you woke up. I went to see him."
A soft gasp escaped her and she covered her mouth with her hands.
"Oh my God," she breathed out. She took in a deep breath before looking around frantically. Like she didn't know what to do with herself.
"Why would you do that?" She asked before sliding out of her chair.
"I need to go home." She said, her voice tight and she nodded.
"Daisy, we can finish breakfast."
"I need to go home." She snapped and I blinked at her in surprise. "Take me home, please."
I stood up and place a fifty dollar bill on the table and I followed her as she practically ran out of the restaurant.
"We didn't even touch our breakfast." I told her as we reached her car. Her body did a one eighty and she shoved me.
"Why did you go see him? Do you have any idea the trouble I'm going to get into?" She asked before shoving me again.
Any passerby would assume that she was angry. That she was shoving me away because she was mad. But the only emotion that I saw in her face was fear.
"Daisy,"
"No, Liam. I don't want to hear it." She shook her head. "I just want you to take me home."
"I just had to talk to him." I tried to explain and she shook her head before looking down at her feet.
"Why?" She asked quietly and I took a step towards her.
"Because I wanted to make sure that you were okay. That you were as fine as you wanted me to believe." I explained.
"Why?" She asked again, her voice was thicker and I knew that she was fighting back tears.
"Why did you care so much?" She shook her head and a small whimper escaped her as she wrapped her arms around herself.
"People never care enough." She confessed and the tears she was trying so hard to hold in, escaped. I took a step towards her and wrapped my arms around her and she let out a cry on my chest.
"Teachers, friends, they never cared enough and you, you," she stopped and sniffled.
"You weren't supposed to care enough." She cried against me and I tightened my arms around her.
"I'm sorry," I replied. Not because I cared enough, but because other people knew about this and they turned away.
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Okay, I've been battling this serious illness known as Writer's Block and I am still down. Everything I've written has left me unsatisfied. But I think I might be coming out of my slump because this chapter came out better than I expected. We'll see.
But anyways,
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