Chasing Daisy

that I can’t believe he’s not going to stop. Oh. He has stopped.
    ‘What the hell did you think was going to happen?’ He looks across at me angrily.
    I give him a wary look. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
    ‘With Will. Do you really think he was going to leave Laura?’
    ‘Luis, seriously, shut the fuck up.’ Fury bubbles up inside me. ‘Anyway! Why does it even matter anymore?’
    ‘It DOES matter!’
    ‘WHY?’
    ‘It just does!’
    We glare at each other for a moment before I finally calm down enough to speak. ‘Are we going to drive anywhere or am I going to get out and walk?’
    ‘We’re going to feed the fucking swans!’ he snaps.
    ‘Well, let’s go and feed the fucking swans, then!’
    ‘Okay! We fucking well will!’
    I start to laugh. Seconds later, he does, too.
    ‘You drive me nuts,’ he says, pulling away from the kerb. ‘Jesus, I think Will had a lucky escape.’
    My face instantly falls and my heart feels like someone is crushing it. ‘That’s not even funny,’ I manage to say.
    ‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ he quickly tells me, looking worried.
    But suddenly Will is everywhere. My head is filled with him and I can’t push him out. He’s leading me up the stairs to his bedroom, he’s kissing me up against the hotel room door in China, he’s pushing his hair off his face in Bahrain, he’s rubbing my arm and giving me goosebumps on my nonna’s terrace . . . A lump forms in my throat and I can feel sobs building up in the centre of my chest. I don’t want to cry again. I feel like I’ve done enough crying. I try to swallow the lump, but it won’t go away.
    ‘Are you okay?’ Luis asks, concerned.
    I shake my head quickly.
    ‘I was only joking,’ he says.
    But I can’t speak. He falls silent for a moment, then glances across at me before saying tentatively, ‘Do you remember back in Bahrain when I told you it was me who asked for you to be our on-hand girl?’
    My brow furrows. I nod, confused as to why he’s bringing this up now.
    ‘I lied.’
    My head shoots across to look at him. ‘You lied?’
    ‘I was just winding you up. It was Will,’ he explains.
    ‘And you’re telling me this now ?’ I ask bitterly, as tears fill my eyes.
    ‘I thought it would make you feel better,’ he says, confused.
    ‘Well, it doesn’t,’ I bite back, as a wave of anger pulses through me.
    ‘We’ll be there soon,’ he comments, oblivious to my encroaching rage.
    ‘I don’t want to go,’ I reply through clenched teeth. ‘I want you to take me back to Holly’s.’
    ‘Daisy—’
    ‘NOW!’ I interrupt.
    ‘Come on, we’ll have a nice ti—’
    ‘Take me back to my fucking friend’s house, right now,’ I warn menacingly.
    And so he does, and I swivel in my seat and face away from him for the rest of the journey, feeling like I’m drowning in a haze of loss and regret.

 
Chapter 26
     
    ‘It was damn out of order! He shouldn’t have said it!’
    ‘He obviously didn’t mean it. Honestly, Daisy, you need to give that guy a break.’
    For the last week, Holly has been giving me stick about my behaviour with Luis. We’re on our way to Singapore for the only night race on the calendar. I went to the first-ever Singapore Grand Prix last year. On the Thursday night before everything kicked off, we went out in the city and got wasted on Singapore Slings, ate a plate full of chicken and beef satays at a hawker centre and then got a lift back to the hotel on a rickshaw. We almost fell off, we were laughing so hard. I have a feeling this time around the atmosphere won’t be quite so joyous.
    Because Singapore is a night race, the first practice session on Friday doesn’t kick off until the evening, and the second doesn’t even finish until after eleven o’clock, so Holly and I aren’t needed at the track until late afternoon. I’m at the serving table preparing the evening’s meal when Main Money Man Norm Gelltron shouts out to me.
    ‘Hey! Daisy!’
    He remembers me?
    ‘Hello, sir!’ I chirp. ‘Can I get you anything?’
    ‘No, I just want to know how your drive went the other week?’
    ‘Er, it was fast. Very fast.’
    ‘I bet it was. And have you managed to keep his beard at bay?’
    I’m about to answer that I don’t know, but a clean-shaven Luis walks in through the door behind him.
    ‘See for yourself.’ Phew. Lucky escape.
    ‘Luis!’ he shouts. ‘I see Daisy’s done another great job of keeping up your