Rock Chick Reawakening (Rock Chick 0.5)(21)

“All a girl’s got is herself.”

That’s when Marcus Sloan rocked my world.

He did this by declaring, “You’re entirely wrong.”

“I—” I began and I got that one letter out but it didn’t count because he talked right over me saying it.

“A woman like you should have had a momma who loved her. A daddy who adored her. Friends who thought the world of her. She should have grown up every day knowing that straight to her soul, never doubting it, not for a second.”

I felt my eyes narrow for no other reason than to beat back what his words were making me feel.

“You don’t know what kind of girl I am.”

“I know precisely the kind of woman you are, Daisy. And if you don’t understand it, then it’ll be up to me to show it to you.”

Oh Lord.

Time to try another tack.

“Marcus, I’m tellin’ you, you don’t got a pla—”

He put his hand up between us and shook his head, cutting me off saying an impatient, “No.”

I kept trying.

“The food was real good and it was sweet, you bein’ all…” I didn’t know how to express the gorgeousness of it so I used the universal, “whatever with me when M’Lynn lost it at Shelby’s funeral. And I’m not sayin’ I haven’t hit a rough patch. I know I have. I’m not in denial or nothin’. I’m workin’ through it, but doin’ that my way. What I’m sayin’ is, this is sweet and all, but you don’t have a place in that.”

“You’ve made that clear. I just don’t agree.”

Again, I was getting mad.

“Okay then, I’ll explain it this way. I’m not gettin’ used to some fine man showin’ me attention, bringin’ me fancy food and bein’ sweet only to hit that time when I get my gold bracelet and a good-bye.”

He stared down at me, something flitting through his eyes.

Then he murmured, “Ah.”

“Ah, what?” I snapped.

It was then he got closer. Still not threatening, but coming on strong.

I held my breath.

“It’s understandable, in a sense, that you’d say that. You don’t know me. But I’ll tell you and then I’ll show you that I am not a man who would come into a woman’s life, a woman who had what happened to you happen to her, with the intention of doing what I had to do to get what I wanted and then give her my good-bye.” He drew in breath and didn’t release my gaze when he finished, “Although understandable, it’s still insulting as all f*ck.”

I blinked and felt my stomach twist painfully.

He shifted back.

“Goodnight, Daisy.”

And with that, he turned, walked down the hall, and disappeared.





Chapter Five



Prince Charming

Daisy



I woke up in a cold sweat.

And terrified.

I didn’t even think. I couldn’t coordinate my limbs. So when I moved, I fell off my bed, right to the floor. I crawled half the distance to the door to my bedroom before I found my feet.

Once I did, I sprinted to the dinette where I’d left my purse. I snatched out my cell and sprinted back to my room, slamming the door, locking the lock, so lost in my head, when I ran across the room, I thumped into my bed, falling on top of it, but I didn’t hesitate.

I scrambled over it and off the other side, hitting the floor on my hands. The cell digging into my palm, I just kept going. My knees falling off the bed, crashing into the floor, I crawled to the corner? turned, pressed my back in, lifted my knees up protectively in front of me, and fumbled my phone as I brought it to my face.

I flipped it open and saw it tremble in my hand as I searched for the number I’d programmed in no matter I knew it was a fool thing to do.

I was glad I’d done it then.

I hit it, put the phone to my ear, and felt it shaking against the shell.

I heard it ring.

It rang four times, and with each passing one I wanted to scream before I heard a deep man’s voice say, “Yes?”

“M-M-Marcus, I do-don’t…I just had a…” I gulped, “I c-c-can’t—”

“Daisy,” he stated urgently, “is someone there?”

“I, no, I…y-y-es…um, no.”

I was making no sense and didn’t even know it. I was too busy realizing that my teeth were chattering, and worse, I couldn’t do a thing about it.

I sensed vaguely he sounded like he was on the move as he asked, “Where are you?”

“B-b-bedroom.”

“Stay there. In a few minutes, the man I have on your apartment will be in your apartment. His name is Louie. He’ll call out his name so you’ll know he’s there. He won’t approach. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“O-o-kay.”

“As soon as I can, darling. Yes?”

“Y-yeah.”

“I have to let you go now.”

“Yeah.”

“Be right there,” he whispered.

“Yeah,” I repeated, unable to say anything else, trembling so badly I was quaking.

I heard the disconnect like it was far away instead of right at my ear but I didn’t take the phone away. I held it there until my hand floated down, the phone still flipped open, and I stared through the dark at the door.