“An alarm, I think. Maybe it will stop.”

We waited, but the beeping didn’t stop, and I finally gave in, grabbing it to silence it.

“Shit,” I said, seeing the notifications popping up. “It is the diner’s alarm.”

“What about it?”

“Carly gave me the login to take care of the alarm stuff until after the baby comes, but Mia, the other waitress, can never seem to set it right, so it goes off constantly lately.”

“Do you need to go down there?”

I grabbed my phone, calling Mia twice before I realized she wasn’t going to pick up. “Yeah, it should only take me a few minutes to reset the alarm. The place should already be shut down.”

He was grabbing another set of keys and already heading to the door.

“Um.” I stopped, pointing at the car he had been working on. “Based on the dark liquid pouring out of that car, I think you need to stay here.”

“Shit,” he said, heading over to grab something to catch it in. “Are you sure you’re okay to go? I can get this stopped and come.”

“No, it’s alright. I’ll be right back,” I said.

“Alright. Here, take my car, the running one, and call me if you need anything.” He leaned down, kissing me hard. “And hurry up, I wasn’t even close to done with you.”

I headed out, turning back to watch for one second as he leaned back over the engine. His muscles strained as he fought with a bolt.

I was going to hurry. I was going to drive as fast as I ever had, if it meant getting back to that view sooner.

The diner was dark when I pulled in, letting me know that I was right. Mia had thought she was setting the alarm, but didn’t. Hopefully, she at least cleaned the place up. I hadn’t wanted to talk to Carly about her since Carly was a little busy with other things, but I think it was getting to the point I would have to.

I headed up, trying the front door, happy that it was locked at least. I tried the side door next, but it was locked, too. The alarm went off again, telling me it still wasn’t locked up right.

A flash of white caught my eye, and I peered in the window more. At first, I couldn’t understand. The blonde hair, the skirt and bare legs, the white of her shirt. 

A girl was laid out on the floor, unmoving, with her face down. I couldn’t see who it was and the blonde hair wasn’t helping. Mia and Amber were both brunettes. I was already digging through my purse, trying to find my keys and my phone.

My hands shook as I pulled them both out, shoving the key into the lock and unlocking my phone.

The call connected just as I got inside.

“I need help,” I said, trying to breathe as I turned the girl over. 

It was Mia.

The rush of confusion made me stutter through the next few questions. Who was I, where was I, what was happening.

“I think she’s dead,” I said, the words echoing as I looked at Mia’s face. I knew she was, but I could bring myself to confirm it.

“Okay, Daisy. They are coming. Don’t worry.” The woman kept talking, giving me directions until she finally told me to stand outside and wait.

I stumbled until I reached the cold brick wall outside, leaning against it as cars pulled up. My dad came up first, trying to pull me up, but I didn’t move. He yelled out questions, and I tried to answer them, but I couldn’t focus.

“Mark,” he yelled. “Help her.”

Mark crouched down in front of me, but I shook my head. “No, don’t touch me. Go. She needs help, not me.”

He stared for a few more seconds before getting up.

I didn’t want my dad or Mark trying to help me. I didn’t want anyone but Kye.

FIFTY-TWOKYE

A half hour went by before I really started to worry. I’d called her five times already, and thirty minutes to go reset an alarm felt like a good enough amount of time that I wasn’t being an overbearing boyfriend.

I was already heading out to the dirtbike I had brought down earlier when Carly texted.

Carly

Get down to the diner. Now.

My heart stopped, and as bad as I wanted to take off, I texted her back

Kye

Daisy?

Carly

I don’t know. We are heading there now. Just meet us there asap.

I hit the gas, the bike screaming as I cut through a field and made it back onto the road.

My heart hammered in my chest at the possibilities. There were only so many things Carly would text me like that about, and it didn’t matter what happened exactly, it meant Daisy was involved.

I should have gone with her. I should have taken care of it, and not let her go out at night to check a fucking alarm alone. What was I thinking?

Was I really going to get Daisy back and then immediately let her walk into a situation that could get her hurt?

I hit another gear, pushing the bike as fast as it would go down the road that led to the diner.

The diner came into view, and I was almost expecting flames pouring out of it, but there were none. Nothing except red lights flashing on the brick building as the fire trucks, ambulance, and cop cars surrounded it.

My eyes scanned the entire place before I finally saw her blonde hair slumped against the wall, and for a moment, I wondered if she wasn’t going to move. If she really was hurt, or worse.

My stomach churned as I got closer, until her head finally snapped up to look at me. I made it halfway into the parking lot, but she was already up and heading towards me. The bike fell as I got off and wrapped her in my arms, pulling her as tight as I could against me.

“What happened? Are you okay?” I pushed her back, looking over any part of her that I could see. “Are you hurt?”