Hothouse Flower

< 30 >

RYKE MEADOWS

“What the fuck is Rose hiding?” I snap at Lily on the phone. I decided to call her while I wait for Daisy to finish sorting through her belongings.

Daisy looks up at me with a plastic baggy in her hand and then points to a cashier’s window, standing in the line.

I nod to her and listen to Lily’s response. I’m not expecting much.

“Like I told Lo, I’ve made this pact with Rose not to talk about it, like a Ya-Ya Sisterhood thing, and I can’t go back on my word. And just so you know, Rose is scary. She took out a knife and was saying something about blood oaths, and before I knew it, she slit my palm.” Her voice lowers, almost comically that it’s hard to take her serious. But she is. “And this comes from a girl who cannot walk on the hardwood without shoes. You don’t have to say anything, it surprised me too.”

I roll my eyes. “Lily,” I say forcefully. “If it’s something serious, you need to tell my brother.”

“The pact,” Lily hisses. “What if Rose put a curse on me? I can’t say anything.”

“You can’t be that fucking superstitious.”

“Rose might as well be a supernatural force when she’s upset. You haven’t seen her truly angry, so you can’t say anything.”

“I’ve seen her so fucking pissed that she almost tased my brother, how’s that?”

“This is a different kind of upset,” Lily says. “We’re handling this, okay? I think it’s good that Lo is with you, and I’m here with Rose for a little bit.”

I frown, never thinking I’d hear Lily say that. She’s usually glued to my brother’s side and vice versa. “You’re really okay without him?”

Silence stretches before she says, “I mean, I miss him a lot more than I can articulate. It hurts without him here. But I’m better than I was when he first left for rehab. I’m at a better place.”

“I know you are,” I tell her. Back then, she was almost in tears every time I called her. It was kind of fucking pathetic, but I didn’t understand their relationship. I didn’t understand that kind of unconditional love. And then Daisy left, and I felt out of my fucking mind for three days. I yelled at Lily for bitching after only seven days without Lo, so who’s the hypocrite now?

“We’re meeting you in two weeks right?” Lily asks. “It won’t be too long.”

“You sure you want to keep it a fucking surprise from Daisy?” I ask. Rose has been calling me non-fucking-stop, trying to find ways to see Daisy without upsetting her. I told them that they should just meet us on the road, but to wait until her face heals a little. They agreed.

“She likes surprises,” Lily says. “Otherwise, we would have told her.”

She’s right about that. “Just don’t come early. I can’t spend thirty days in a car with all of you. Eighteen is already too fucking much.”

“Weren’t you the one who wanted to start the road trip in New York?”

I groan in agitation. “You’re annoying me, Calloway.”

“All I’m saying is that you could have picked a closer place to California, and then we wouldn’t have to be in a car for so long.”

“That defeats the fucking point of a road trip. If it was up to you and Rose, we would have started in California.”

She pauses and then says, “Now that sounds like a good idea.”

I roll my eyes again. I let out a deep sigh. “Can you promise me something?” I ask her.

“That depends. Does it involve breaking a promise to my sister that will unleash her diabolical wrath?”

“Promise me that whatever it is, you’ll be fucking safe. And be careful on your way out to us. My brother can’t live without you. I’m expendable, you aren’t.”

“You can’t honestly think that about yourself,” she says softly.

“Just promise me, Lily.”

“I promise, but Ryke—he needs you. You’re his brother.”

I shake my head. To Lo, I’m equal to Connor. We met Lo at nearly the same fucking time. In fact, Connor has some months on me. For fuck’s sake, Lo made us flip a coin to determine who would be his best man at his wedding. I didn’t get it by fucking default because I’m related to him. In less than a year, I’ll be standing by his side as he’s about to get married, all because of luck.

A flip of a coin.

He can so easily push me out of his life, and the only reason I’m still here is because I refuse to go, no matter how hard he shoves.

But Daisy…I know in my heart she’s something that can drive me away from him. I’m going to fight against the moment, but I also mentally prepare for it. “Sure,” I tell her. “Listen, do whatever Yada Sisterhood thing—”

“Ya-Ya,” she corrects me.

“Whatever,” I say. “Just don’t let Rose fucking cut you. Stick up for yourself.”

“Is that what you’ve been telling my little sister?” she asks, flipping the switch.

“I tell her a lot of fucking things,” I say. “And yeah, that’s one of them.”

“Good,” Lily says. I can practically see her nod with resoluteness, in this goofy fucking way.

“Are you wearing an animal on your fucking head?” I ask her.

“You know what it’s called.”

“No I don’t.”

“It’s a Wampa cap.”

“That Star Trek shit?” I say, knowing that it’s Star Wars. I like to give her a hard time.

“Star Wars. Lo would kick you for that.”

“Good thing he’s not fucking around.” My brother, a fucking comic book geek with looks that could murder and simultaneously melt women. It’s so fucking weird. Who would have thought? Nine years ago, not me.

There’s a long pause before she asks, “How is she doing?”

I glance at Daisy who rocks on her feet, antsy as she stands in one place for so long. Her bandaged cheek is on the other side. The only marks visible are the bruises beneath her eyes. I remember her smile as she came, her laugh and the genuine happiness that blanketed over her. I wish this bad fucking thing didn’t have to happen for her to make these hard decisions about modeling, but I am glad she’s finally made them.

“She’s going to be okay,” I tell Lily. “She looks good.” She looks fucking beautiful.

“Thank you, for what you did,” Lily says. “We all appreciate it, you know.”

I don’t pick my words that carefully. I just fucking say them. “I’d do anything for her.”

“Is it different this time?” she asks me.

“What do you mean?”

“In Cancun a couple years ago, you kind of saved Daisy back then too. I just wondered if you feel differently now.” What is she getting at?

“Say it fucking bluntly or don’t say it at all.”

She sighs. “Why do you have to be so mean?”

“I didn’t think I was,” I snap.

“Do you like her more now than you did then?” she says straight out.

“She was only sixteen back then,” I tell her. “I didn’t hang out with her that much.” The truth is way more complicated than that.

“Just say it bluntly or don’t say it at all,” Lily rebuts, with ten times less force than me.

I almost smile. “She means a fucking lot to me, Calloway.” It’s still not much better but it seems to appease Lily.

“Have you told this to Lo?” she asks.

“What would it fucking matter? He sees what he wants to see.” I’m the intruder, the fucking guy he opened his arms to, the guy he let in his life. If I stick my cock anywhere near Daisy, he will be affronted as though I fucked with his family, his friends, his world.

“He sees what you give him,” Lily says softly, “and you’re not giving him a lot to work with, Ryke.”

I run my hand through my hair and sigh. I’m so fucking scared to open up about my history with my own brother. That’s the fucking truth. I did wrong by him for so long, and if I start talking about it, I feel like I’ll just push him away more. I’ll give him no reason to be close to me. I have years of hate underneath my belt, no fucking love.

So why express that? What fucking good will that do?

I just want to forget it all and move on.

Daisy reaches the front of the line.

“I have to go,” I tell Lily.

“Was she happy that she’s able to go with you guys to California?” she asks before we hang up.

“Yeah,” I say, my chest rising with the fucking fact. “I’ll keep her safe.”

“You be safe,” Lily emphasizes. “You’re the one climbing. I’m packing a first-aid kit, just in case you fall, so you know.”

“Your fucking Band-Aid isn’t going to save me.”

“Wolverine is printed on the front. He can save anyone.”

I roll my eyes for the fifth time it feels like. “Let’s just hope we all make it there in one piece.”

Daisy starts walking over to me.

“Gotta go.”

“Bye.” We hang up, and I slide my arm over Daisy’s shoulder and carry her duffel. Mikey is going to stay in France for another two weeks as vacation, hopefully distracting the paparazzi and leading them off our trail. For the first time in a while, we should be free of the media.

“You ready for a fucking adventure, sweetheart?” I ask her.

She hugs me close and says, “Does this adventure contain cupcakes, Ryke Meadows and motorcycles?”

“Substitute the last one for a fucking rental car.”

She smiles. “I’m ready for this awfully big adventure then.” She pauses and adds, “With you.”

I kiss her temple.

30 days until Yosemite.

The fucking countdown begins.