“Daisy, look at me.” He snaps his fingers near her eyes.
I can’t tell if she’s meeting his gaze or not.
“Some…fucking party, huh?” Her whole body shakes.
“Yeah,” Ryke nods, his eyes flitting over her arms and legs, noticing her trembles. “Some fucking party.”
“That…was…rhetorical.” Her body lurches, gagging. Ryke quickly moves out of the way and she vomits onto the pavement. He grimaces, and people start chanting outside.
“10…9…”
We’re too far away to see the glittering ball drop, but the crowds scream in unison, filling the world in a jubilant chorus.
This has to be one of the worst and scariest New Year’s ever. Right behind the time I kissed a frog as a dare. Though that wasn’t so much scary as it was gross.
“7…”
And this will be the first time I don’t have a New Year’s kiss.
“5…”
Even when I was a kid, Lo would put his hands on my cheeks and kiss me really quickly, and we’d burst into laughter afterwards. He’d end up chasing me through the fancy parties that our parents brought us to, trying to steal another.
I’d always let him catch me.
“2…1.”
“HAPPY NEW YEAR!!”
JANUARY
Daisy sits back up as the crowds roar in excitement, people pulling their loved ones for their first kiss of the new year.
Ryke scrutinizes her for a long second. “You okay?”
“Amazing.” She wipes the side of her mouth with her hand. “Can…you just take me home?”
He shakes his head. “You’re going to the hospital.”
She closes her eyes for a long time, and when she opens them, I can see her glare. “No.”
“Yes,” he states. “This isn’t a fucking democracy. My car, my rules.”
“My body, my decisions,” she snaps back. “…honestly, I’m just nauseous now.” And as she says it, she shakes like she has the chills.
He puts his hand to her forehead, and she slaps it down. “Don’t touch me.”
He glowers. “You’re an ice cube. You’ve been drugged, Daisy. If you go to sleep and fall into a coma, that’s on us.”
“He’s right,” I tell her. Wow those words taste gross in my mouth. “You’re going to the hospital. Rose would have flown in a helicopter by now, so you’re lucky we’re just driving you and not making a bigger scene.”
Daisy inhales a slow breath. She pulls her limbs back into the car and settles against my chest. Ryke slams the door closed and walks around to the driver’s side.
“I’m sorry,” Daisy whispers to me. “Tonight…was supposed to be fun…” She trembles. “I…was supposed to take your mind off Lo…”
I smile and nudge her hip. “You did. And you know what? Despite what happened at the end, I had a really good time.” That’s not a lie. I think I learned more about my sister today than I have in the past seven years.
“Really?” She closes her eyes, sinking back into a better place. I still check her pulse. Just to be safe.
“Really, really.”
Ryke climbs in and shuts the door. He stares out the front windshield for a long time. “I just have to ask you one question, Lily.” He glances at me. “Are all you Calloway girls this crazy?”
I choke on a laugh, about to deny it but I really can’t. “Poppy’s pretty normal.”
He nods repeatedly, letting this sink in.
The traffic begins to break up, and we’re finally able to drive. I take a deep breath, happy to be heading in a good direction.
{2}
The hospital was a fiasco. Even a week later, I cringe at how Daisy lied to the nurse. She asked for her name, and Daisy spurted out, “Lily Calloway.”
I didn’t correct her because I understood her motives. She didn’t want the hospital to call our mother and have her involved in the situation. So I handed the white-scrubbed nurse my I.D., which could pass for Daisy because my sixteen-year-old picture is nearly obscured. I was even surprised the DMV didn’t force me to retake it. In the photo, my hair nearly shields my whole face, and I tilted my head down, trying to end the photo-taking process as quickly as possible. Afterwards, Lo made fun of me for the picture, but his wasn’t much better. He smiled sarcastically, looking like a supreme sixteen-year-old asshole.
Thinking about Lo does not help my mind tonight. I roll in my bed, clenching the sheets and pressing my face to my pillow. Some nights are worse than others. This one has been brutal.