#plrg

The moment she’d left, stepped into the warm summer night air, the hum of the crowd echoing, her knees had buckled and she’d only escaped falling by catching herself on a large statue of a stallion that the Bowdens had in their front yard. She had to count to ten, then count down, then back up again, trying to steady her breathing and trying to steady her head and trying to steady her legs and she almost missed the Uber, but thankfully the driver called her and she was able to sit in the back of the car, forehead pressed to the glass.

She felt stupid.

That’s all she could feel as she walked up the stairs to her flat, as she took of her shoes, stretching out her toes, as she stepped into the shower and hugged her naked body, mascara running down her cheeks.

Stupid, stupid, little fool.

Sleep eluded her for hours, though it was late, though she was tired, though her body ached, she tossed and she turned and she kept replaying every moment in her head—Alana Triton’s triumphant smirk, Lou pulling away from her, her own dash out of the house away from it all—

Come morning, she knew she could not be alone. Not know

And she looked at her phone and looked at all the names of the people she once held close and who were now away, either physically or emotionally, and she felt so alone.

But she had Annette, oh thank God she had Annette, out of this whole world, at least she still had Annette and Daisy did not want to ruin what had to have been a lovely evening for Annette, but there was no one else right now.

So she sent a text asking if Annette could come over and telling her that she had messed something up last night and adding It’s probably all over the gossip right now, because she had seen that nasty Veronica girl eyeing her as she dashed out of the house.

And then Daisy made a latte and she drank some water and nursed her headache and she changed from her pajamas to some loose pants and a tank top and she sat on her couch and checked the gossip and sure enough, it was all there. And she waited for the doorbell to ring.

It did in a little while and Daisy got up, her heart pitter-pattering like a little mouse and she wanted nothing more than for it to stop, wanted it to feel like a butterfly again, not like she was about to retch. She peered out the peephole and then she smiled—for even though she felt awful, it was still Annette and she loved Annette so and seeing her always made her smile.