All rights reserved...@brightlights101
November 26, 2017
You know what Jackson, surprises aren't all that bad. But I suggest you get used to it because I come with a lot of surprises and like you always said, I was stuck with you. So here I am with gorilla glue, you ready?
By the time the sun rose that Sunday morning, Daisy woke up to the sound of Seb's meows. He was pleading to be let out to take a quick wazz. She shrugs on a coat and puts on slippers, walking outback with Seb. She takes a seat on the steps of the back porch and takes in her surroundings. This was it, the day she goes back home and leaves this fantasy.
The screen door squeaks behind her. Daisy expects it to be Jackson, but instead it was Caroline. She handed Daisy a cup of hot chocolate.
"Seb taking his daily dumper?"
Daisy nods.
"Will you come back and visit?"
"Of course," Daisy hums.
They sit in comfortable silence. The sun slowly rising and the sound of Caroline's wind chimes play off in the nearby distance.
"Daisy, can I say something?"
"Sure." Her hands wrap tightly around her brewing cup. The sensation always recognizable and comforting.
"You don't have a family do you?" The question was blunt and out of nowhere. Her body stills and her breathing stops.
"What-um, makes you-uh"
"What makes me think that?" She asks. "Well, the topic of your family always stiffens you. And you always become nervous and fidgety and you also stumble over your words. Just like now. And when my family tries to probe you, you shut down. And I know it's none of my business, but I can't help but think there is more to you than you let on."
Daisy remains silent. When she takes in an uneasy breath, she looks at Caroline with red eyes. And that was all Caroline needed to know before she wrapped Daisy in her arms.
"It's okay, Daisy. Your secret is safe with me."
Someone knew. Someone finally knew.
After a good minute of being held in motherly arms, Caroline confesses something to Daisy that no one knows about.
"There's something I haven't told my family about Devin."
"Continue." Daisy encourages, placing a hand on Caroline's own hand.
Caroline sucks in an uneasy breath. "About three months ago, Devin suffered from a stroke." The confession lifted a small weight off her chest. Finally being able to tell someone was a relief in itself.
"He was in the hospital for a month. He was on oxygen and had no mobility in his left side. He's been through two months of gruesome physical therapy. He still has a tremble in his hand but his speech has improved and the droop in his face is transparent. But it has been the hardest three months of our lives."
"Caroline, I'm so sorry this happened."
"He doesn't drink like he used to. Once he found out he had flatlined once, it was like he came back as a changed man. He'll have a beer here and there, but not every thirty minutes like he used to. And when he got his strength back, he promised me he'd start looking for work. And now look, he got a job working on houses. A construction job. And I am so proud of him."
"That's good."
"And now he's trying to make amends with his kids and I can only hope that they will take their father back as the new man he is. I know no amount of apologizing will erase what happened in the past but they can't hold it against him forever. It's what Devin does today and from now that will hold him accountable. Because what if something like that happens again and the boys never make up and Devin dies. I can't let Devin's last moments be the memory of his boys hating him."
"Caroline," Daisy says softly. "Trust me, your boys may be difficult but I have seen improvement, right?"
Caroline nods in agreement with a small smile.
"Don't give up hope. They'll find their way back together."
"Please don't tell them, at least not yet." Caroline pleads.
"But-"
"Devin wants to be the one who tells them. And he's not ready. Just not yet."
Thinking about how this was such a huge deal, Daisy knew it was none of her business to share someone else's personal life.
"Your secret is safe with me."
Little did they know, Jackson was sat outside in the hallway listening through the screen door. He had no idea this happened and guilt was the only feeling he could decipher.
After a few minutes, Seb was ready to go inside and so was Daisy and Caroline.
Daisy went back upstairs with Seb right on her tail. When she got back into the room, Jackson was rolled over on his side facing away from her. She thought he was still asleep.
Quietly getting in beside him, Seb jumped up and laid on her stomach.
She chuckles, "my two big boys."
"I'm not big," Jackson's voice startles her.
"You're awake," she smiles. He slowly rolls over to face her. His face grim. "I didn't wake you did I?"
"No, I've been up awhile," he says. "Where were you?" He plays dumb.
"Took Seb outside. I swear," she chuckles. "His bladder is the size of a peanut."
"Was anyone else up?"
Daisy takes a second to respond. "No, not that I know of." She lied. And it made him think, has she lied to him before?
As he studies her quizzically, Daisy stutters for words. "I mean, I think I might've seen your mom. But I didn't look close enough before I made my way up here." He hums before closing his eyes.
A small, but noticeable amount of weight falls on Jackson's arm. "Is someone grumpy? Is someone acting like a grumpy pants," Daisy uses Seb as the source of the sound. To his demise, Seb takes it like the good boy he is as his mother uses him to tease her boy crush.
When that didn't get his attention Daisy puts Seb down and announces, "big spoon time!" This grabs his attention and before she could bear hug him from behind, he flips over and cradles her instead.
She knew no matter how he was feeling, she would never get the chance to be big spoon. Never.
Jackson put the last of their bags in his car, with Seb crying in the backseat. They met back up with Devin and Caroline who smiled sadly at the three of them as they approached for goodbye hugs.
Daisy hugs Caroline, taking in her scent of cinnamon and apples. "Thank you for allowing me over for Thanksgiving. I had so much fun."
"You're welcomed over anytime," Caroline smiles as they pull away, engulfing Liam.
Daisy nervously steps towards Devin and opens her arms. He gives her crossed arms and a stone face. Daisy goes to retract her arms when a smile explodes on his face and he gives a big bear hug.
Devin whispers into her hair, "thank you for making this Thanksgiving memorable with my sons."
"Of course, Devin," she smiles into his chest.
By the time it got to Jackson saying goodbye to his dad, no one expected him to do anything but nod his way and leave. But to everyone's surprise, and to even Devin's, Jackson brings his dad in for a hug. And it wasn't a short one either. It took Devin a while to comprehend what was happening before he hugged Jackson back with vigor.
By the time they pulled away, Jackson put his wall back up and waved them off as they got into the car. When the car pulled out onto the street, Daisy looked back and Caroline was consoling to what looked like a crying Devin. Daisy smiled knowing that the hug he shared with his son meant more to him than anything else.
It was mid afternoon by the time they all got back to New York. They dropped off Liam first at the rehabilitation center and made their trip to Daisy's. Daisy had offered to make him dinner but instead he had wanted to be alone and go home and rest. She completely understood and knew that when he was ready to talk he'll let her know.
So giving him the space he needed, she watched him leave from her window inside her apartment. She couldn't help but wonder what had him in such a funk. She only hoped he'd contact her soon.
When the clock struck eleven that night, Daisy never heard a single peep from Jackson. It concerned her. It was a good solid nine hours of no Jackson.
Daisy knew she should give him space but then she thought to herself about all the times he bothered her when she refused his presence. So, her only logical reasoning was to do the same to him the way he does to her.
She drove the distance across town to his place and noticed that his lights were on. That was a good sign. She wasn't going to wake him up.
Getting out of her car, she gets to his door and knocks several times until he answered the door. When he finally did, his face was displeased and irritated. But once he saw who it was, his expression softened.
"Daisy," he goes to speak.
"No, we're not doing this. I'm not going to have you mope around. You will now experience what it feels like to be bothered when you don't want to be. So, here I am. Bothering."
He leans against the frame of his door with his arms crossed ready to hear what she had to say.
"Whatever has gotten you down, I'm here to possibly turn that around," he raises an eyebrow. "Go put on some clothes and meet me out in my car," his mouth opens. "And before you protest, I'd like to say that this will be an unforgettable night for the both of us. Trust me, this is a surprise for me too. But I'm ready, I'm done waiting."
She turns around and leaves him to think, hoping that her wording would give him a hint to what she was talking about it.
After a couple of minutes, Jackson slid into the passenger seat of her car and they were off on the road. You could tell Daisy was nervous but excited at the same time by the slight bounce in her seat.
"You know I don't like surprises," he announced.
"Trust me, this is a good surprise. Just watch, you'll see."
For the next fifteen minutes, they sat in silence, with Khalid's Young Dumb & Broke playing in the background when they pulled into a storage unit complex. Jackson looked around in perplexity.
They past several rows of units before reaching a storage locker. Daisy left her car running as they exited out of her car.
She reaches in her bag for the storage unit key when Jackson asked, "this isn't where you lure me to my death is it?"
She giggles, "don't be so dramatic. I thought that was my job."
Daisy unlocks the unit and pushes the large door up. You couldn't see anything inside. She walks into the darkness as Jackson stays back per her instructions to do so.
When she reached up to pull the switch to turn on the light, it took awhile before Jackson to really see what was inside. He almost had to do a double take when he saw the cherry red mustang.
"Ta da!" Daisy screeches with jazz hands. "Surprise!"
"Wha-what is this?"
"It's your car," she tosses him the keys to the mustang. He looks down at the key and is still in disbelief.
"My car?" He repeats. She nods.
"I-I don't understand."
She walks over to him and stands directly in front of him and explains. "When I went to Wickers farm, a friend of theirs was selling the car and I knew I had to take the opportunity considering you love these kind of cars. Don't you like it?"
"Like it? I love it!" He exclaimed. "But I can't take it."
"Of course you can," she said with a smile. "I got it for you."
"Daisy," he looks at her with more admiration then ever at her kindness and generosity. "I don't know what to say. Thank you."
He engulfs her in a huge hug, kissing her forehead.
"You're welcome," she snuggles into his chest. "But wait," she says. "There's more."
"More?"
Taking a safe step back, Daisy takes in a big breath and shoots her shot.
"Jackson Daniel, would you do me the honor of being my boyfriend?"
The question was nothing Jackson had ever expected her to ask. He was completely shocked.
But his answer was nothing she expected either.
"No."
Immediately Daisy's heart sank deep within her chest. Completely devastated, Daisy was ready to runaway when he says, "no, because I'm supposed to be the one asking you if you'd do the honor of becoming my girlfriend."
Her 'sweaty' eyes beamed up at him with a smile.
"But I asked you first," she sniffles.
"No," he says. "I technically asked you first, but you turned me down, remember?"
Her cheeks blush red and she nods curtly.
"How about this," he suggests. "We both say our answers at the same time."
Daisy agrees.
"One...two...three-"
"Yes," they both exclaim. Immediately they engulf each other.
With Daisy in his arms, Jackson looks down at her and says, "Daisy Levingston, you've made me the happiest man on Earth."
"Does this mean we can do face masks together now?"
"No," he says with a stern face which makes her frown but instantly laugh at. "But that won't stop you, will it?"
She shakes her head from side to side.
A malicious smile appears on Jackson's face and before Daisy could ask, Jackson takes her lips in a heated and passionate kiss that left her out of breath and with curled toes. When he pulls away, he answers what she's already thinking.
"Because now I can kiss you any god damn time I want."
Jackson ended up driving the car back to his place with Daisy following behind him. When he got it placed in his garage, he surprised her with a proposition.
"I'll make a copy of the key and it will be our car, okay?"
Knowing he wouldn't put up with a protest she agreed.
Then Jackson became nervous, which was a rare sight to see.
"Jackson?"
"This is going to sound really stupid, but...would you like to stay the night?"
When he didn't get the answer right away he was quick to add, "of course you can bring Seb."
Daisy's heart swells at his consideration of her cat and says, "I think he'll be okay by himself for one night."
Jackson's smile grew wide and childlike, and this time it lasted longer than five seconds. A personal record Daisy kept to herself.
Jackson leads Daisy into his place for a night she promised would be unforgettable and she was right.
You know what Jackson, surprises aren't all that bad. But Daisy suggests you get used to it because she comes with a lot of surprises and like you always said, she was stuck with you. So here she is with gorilla glue, you ready?
A/N: Hi my lovely daisies! Sorry the update wasn't within that one to two week span. Ended up becoming really busy. Surprisingly.
I want to say thank you to all of you for congratulating me on my acceptance into my social work program. It meant a lot to me. I am so excited to start this new chapter of my life and hope it works out.
As you all may know the Wattys is looking a little different this year. So, it seems that in order to participate I would need to complete this book. And since I am still trying to work on my mental health, I'm hoping it doesn't interrupt my attempts at trying to complete this book to submit into the contest because I would really like to.
Even though I don't like to ask, would you guys be kind enough to support me for the Wattys cause I've been on this platform for several years, longer than I have had this account. And I have not won a single award. I am very proud of this book and would love to see some recognition by this platform. So please, if you can help me achieve something like this, I would be forever grateful.
Thank you for supporting me. I can't explain it within a enough words as to how it means to me to know you are by my side. Thank you.
Since I am determined to enter, expect there to be more updates within the next two months. And hopefully a conclusion to this book.
Vote. Comment. Smile.