alcohol. But I didn’t want to see Dash would ruin his life.
When my mom died, my crutch was drinking. I was rebelling and being reckless. Dash and Daisy were different than I was. Dash was still holding a small open wound from his parents’ death. Dart’s death had made that even worse for him. Dart had been his rock. He’d kept Dash sane and didn’t let him go over the edge. Without him here, I knew Dash would lose it, and he had.
I watched him as he inhaled three pieces of pizza. I was happy to see him eat. I was even more ecstatic that he had showered. Before she left, Daisy had suggested he call the coach.
“Do you think you’re off the team?” I hated to ask the question that was hanging in the air, but I knew he was thinking it, too.
“I don’t know. I mean I’ve missed two games, all those practices, plus I haven’t worked out since Dart,” he stopped, dropping the pizza back onto the plate.
“I’m sure that it will work out.” I squeezed his hand. “Marshall isn’t going to kick off their best wide receiver.”
He took my hand and studied it. Dash traced his fingers along the inside of my palm. I didn’t know what he was searching for, but he continued the motion for a full minute.
“Garnet…I…” I could hear all the emotions in his voice.
“I know,” he didn’t have to say thank you to me. I knew he was hurting and hadn’t meant any of it. He lost his brother, his best friend.
“Thank you.”
“Always.”
“Will you stay with me tonight?” I could hear the hope in his voice.
I nodded. “Let me just go and check on Daisy.” I gave him a quick kiss and jogged across the street.
I didn’t see Daisy on the first floor, so I went up to her room. I gently knocked on her door. When there was no answer, I slowly opened it. Daisy was asleep on her bed. Her soft snores brought me some relief. I never thought Daisy would ever hurt herself, but one could never be sure when it came to the loss of a soulmate.
I pulled the blanket up around her neck, when I noticed something under her head. It was her cell phone, and it was blinking. I removed it from her pillow and the display read, ‘My Dart’.
I hit the green dial and Dart’s voice mail picked up.
Hey, this is Dart. You can’t reach me because I am with the love of my life, Daisy. Leave a message.
It was a strange feeling hearing his voice. Almost like a ghost was in the room. I looked down at Daisy and even in her sleep, I could see the pain on her face. I laid the phone back by her head and went back over to Dash’s house.
Dash was standing at the top of the stairs looking into Dart’s room. I wasn’t going to startle him, so I walked up the stairs gingerly.
“You know, when we first moved in here Daisy was trying like hell to decorate.” Dash was still staring into the room. “Of course, I was like hell no, but Dart let her decorate his room. Hard to believe we have been in this house for two years.”
When I reached the top of the stairs, I looked into the room. It was so bare. We had taken out the smashed dresser and desk, making the left side of the room empty.
“Coach called,” his sad eyes turned to me. “He wants to see me tomorrow at his house.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. I rubbed my hand up and down his back, showing him that I was listening.
“Will you go with me?”
“Of course. Why don’t we get some rest?” I guided him to his bedroom. “I see you changed the sheets.” I teased him.
“Yeah, I think I need to clean the room sometime soon.” He gave me a small smirk. It made my heart skip seeing a touch of the old Dash gleaming through his sadness.
“I’ll let it slide this time,” I continued to joke with him.
We crawled into bed, and instantly I curled up into him. His woodsy smell brought comfort to me. I had missed this part of him. Dash clicked the light off; there was a dim glow from the streetlights outside.
Dash’s fingers softly rubbed up and down my arm. My stomach flipped at his tender touch. This was the Dash that I loved.
Loved?
Did I love