DAISY

THREE months had gone by since I'd given birth, and life could not have gotten any more perfect. I had everything I needed and wanted, and my heart was utterly whole. Other than coping with assignments, exams and a baby, it was truly good. I couldn't complain and I would forever be grateful for the way my life turned out to be.

After two weeks of seeing the man who I thought was my father outside of Sweet Kisses, I finally decided to get over who I saw. It was a lost cause. Ace had no other leads on who the man was, and thinking about it I realized how ridiculous I was being. Many people looked like eachother in the world, why would this man be any different? My father, Elijah McKenway, had passed away seven years ago, along with my mother, Ruth McKenway. It was all over the news, the names and faces of the casualties in the high-way accident. A truck had driven out of course, it's load then tumbled out of its container, and cars began crashing into it. My parents were a part of the crossfire.

As much I missed them, and as much as I wished they were still alive so that they could see how my siblings and I were doing, I was happy without them. My memory of them grew more vague and less vivid as the years went by, and I was afraid that in due time I would forget them completely.

Currently, I was stood in front of my body length mirror while analyzing my body from head to toe. I was a bit taller with my four-inch wedge heels on, and my legs looked a bit longer in the body fitting green dress.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked again, biting my lip in thought. "I don't want to leave him."

"Sweetie, you've been attached to baby Adrian for three months now. You need to go out, have fun, live your life. You're nineteen for goodness sake." Alexis scoffed, making wild hand gestures to prove her point.

"Adrian is my life. As well as Jason, and you. I think you get my point. I don't need to leave the house to have a life." I stated. I turned my head towards where Adrian's little body lied in his cot. He was dressed in his fluffy green onesie due to the cold-ish weather, and his baby cap was on his head with little bunny ears attached to it. He looked so adorable.

"We're not having this argument again, misus." Alexis grimaced. "Here, try this on." She picked up a mid-thigh length, black dress from the many dresses and clothing items messily layered on my bed.

I groaned and peeled the green dress off of my body. I unzipped the black one before slipping into it. "Zip me up, please?"

Alexis came up behind me before pulling the zip up the dress. She looked at me through the mirror. "Hmm, yes. Gorgeous! That's the one."

I stared at myself in the mirror. "Jason will kill me if I wore this without leggings or something. It's too short." I pointed out, turning sideways and analyzing the dress at every inch.

"He can't dictate your clothes." She laughed, rummaging through the items on my bed.

"I'm serious. He slapped pants on me once at the mall when he thought my skirt was too short. He literally bought these random, ugly pair of pants from some store and demanded I put them on right away. I looked hideous afterwards." I grumbled.

She laughed obnoxiously.

"But for real though, please take good care of him while Jason and I are out. He's a sweet baby and cries a little, but when he starts to nag give him his bottle. I told you how to make the bottle right?" I asked, feeling worried. I've only ever left Adrian with his nanny or someone else I trusted when I needed to go to class. Other than that, the last three months has been spent mostly by his side. Jason tried to be with us most of the time too. I adored the way he was putting so much effort into all of it. He even swore less around the apartment, and instead of going out with Ace and someone other gang members over the weekends, he would spend all his free time with us.

He and Adrian was just too adorable. And I was so glad that Adrian's eyes were slowly transforming into the same forest green colour as Jason's. I could stare into both of their eyes all day long.

"Daisy, calm the hell out. I've heard this from you so many times." She sent me a look.

"Okay, fine. I get it." I held my hands up.

"I'm serious though, nothing will happen to your baby." She smiled gently. "Aunty Alexis will take just good care of him."

I breathed out a sigh. "Okay, I believe you." I hugged her tightly before pulling away.

"Daisy?" I heard Jason's voice yell from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah?" I asked back, walking towards the railing and looking down at him.

"Babe, are we still even going? I wanna know if I must dress me." He wondered. He was lounging around the whole day with Ace, as it was a Saturday, and still wore his shorts and muscle tank. I didn't bother with him, given he dressed in five minutes and was done again, when I took a half an hour just with my hair and a light coat of makeup. I only ever wore lipstick and mascara, even though I had all sorts of products.

"Yes, I'll be done in an hour so you can relax so long." I answered.

He only nodded and walked away.

"Time for you hair!" Alexis squealed, holding up my flat iron and a comb.

I sighed.

When I was completely done, I looked in the mirror and smiled in approval. We decided to ditch the black dress that sticked to my body like glue, and I wore a red loose dress instead, also swapping the wedge heels with a pair of four-inch, peep-toe and ankle strap platform heels in the colour black. It was my favourite high heels to wear as it wasn't too uncomfortable. Ever since giving birth, my tummy became flatter and my hips wider. My stretch marks were still a bit present, but I was grateful to say I resumed my normal appearance after my pregnancy, since many women struggled with weight problems after giving birth. My chestnut hair was curled in big waves and my lips painted red. I looked beautiful, all thanks to Alexis.

Since a year and three months ago, I hadn't cut my hair once, so it ended above my butt and I personally loved it.

"Girl, you're so fine." Alexis whistled. "Let's go down. Jason's eyes are going to pop out of it sockets."

I giggled in agreement. "That's true."

While ascending the stairs, I grew a little nervous. I hadn't dressed up for so long, it has been months. I was afraid that Jason wouldn't like it. I knew it was stupid, given we've been together for so long and already had a baby together, but I still liked to have his approval. My heels clicked as I walked down the stairs, catching Jason's attention from the couch. I couldn't spot Ace and was relieved he wasn't present.

My eyes met Jason's, and I smiled. "Your turn to get dressed." I said. "Just be sure not to make a noise, Adrian is sleeping."

"Holy shit, baby. You're looking fine as hell." He was half-drooling causing me to giggle.

When I reached the bottom of the steps, I spun around for exaggerated effect, nearly tripping in my heels. My cheeks flushed red when they both laughed.

"Why, thank you." I made a courtesy. "Where's Ace?"

"He left to the store for something but he'll be back. We'll probably be gone before he gets here." Jason answered. He checked his watch. "I better go dress. Where exactly are we even going?"

"I don't know. You're the man, aren't you supposed to surprise me?"

"Oh please, that's old news." He chuckled. When he passed me on the way, he placed a savouring kiss on my lips and groaned when he pulled away. "Okay, I'll see you in ten."

I nodded with a grin and watched as he jogged up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. I looked towards Alexis who was grinning in our direction, her eyes sparkling.

"What's with you?" I asked.

"You guys are so cute," she gushed, then lowered her tone to a whisper. "One day, the two of you are going to get married and if you don't ask me to be your bridesmaid, I'll butcher you."

I laughed hesitantly, the thought of marriage suddenly crossing my mind. I coughed subtly and pursed my lips, walking towards the TV stand where my purse was. I lifted the bag up and swung it over my shoulder. It's been more than a year that Jason and I were together, and we had a baby, but not once did I mention the word marriage to him. Knowing him so long, and being with him in all of that time, I still didn't know why he was so against marriage. I remembered Alexis once telling me that I would change his mind on the topic, and I've yet to find out if that was true.

"Marriage is for the far future." I laughed lightly, as if I wasn't completely and utterly into the idea of marriage. I'd always wanted to get married when I grew older, have three kids, and live happily with my family. Life didn't go as planned, obviously, but being with Jason now and having Adrian with us made the plan not so far-fetched.

"Daisy, I can see by the way you're acting right now that you like the idea of marriage." Alexis said gently. "It's okay to want that. I want it too, but I haven't found the right person yet. You have."

"What, so you're saying Jason and I should get married?" I chuckled.

"No now obviously, but sometime in the future. When you graduate from college, or even later than that. Marriage doesn't have a time stamp on it."

"Since when did you become the expert?" I wondered.

"Daisy, you're deflecting." She pointed out, taking a seat on the couch.

I sighed. "Fine, maybe I am deflecting. But I'm pretty sure that if Jason listens closely enough, he will hear our conversation and I do not need that kind of tension on our date." I whispered near the end.

"Alright, fine. Suit yourself. Atleast I know that you definitely want to marry my brother." She smirked, crossing her legs.

"Obviously I want to marry him, Lexy." I whispered out the obvious. "We have a baby together and I love him more than anything, more than myself, but I just don't want to talk about it now. Especially before our date." I almost pleaded.

"No, I get you. It's okay." She nodded. A moment passed, before she let out a squeal. "But just imagine you in a wedding dress! Can you imagine that, Daisy? Uh, you're going to look so darn gorgeous."

"Okay, you're hyping me up now." I giggled, moving forward and showing her backwards onto the couch. It only caused her to laugh.

We chatted in quiet whispers about a wedding. For some reason, my heart was beating with excitement, and it was not only for my date with Jason. It suddenly became excitement for the future and its possibilities. Anything could happen, and I didn't want to get my hopes up, but by the way things have been going lately, my hopes were high and well-rounded.

Jason came down after ten minutes like he said. He was so handsomely dressed in dark black jeans and a black shirt, with his jacket in hands.

"I threw on anything I could find. Do I look okay?" He asked.

"You look perfectly good. Thanks for making so much effort for our date." I smiled sarcastically.

"Sweetheart, I don't have to do my hair or makeup. I did put effort into it. I walked up and back down the stairs." He teased, while shrugging his jacket on. Grabbing his car keys off the coffee table, he passed me and placed a kiss on my forehead. "Lexy, you better take care of Adrian properly. I will personally throw you off the balcony if he so much as sneezes when we get back." Jason warned playfully, although sounding as serious as ever.

"Alright, geez. I'm not that bad of a babysitter." She grumbled.

I smiled and gave her a hug. "Eat anything you can find in the fridge and pantree. You can make whatever you want and don't bother to wash the dishes, it's Jason's turn to clean them."

"Excuse me?" I heard Jason say from behind me.

"I'm gonna say goodbye to Adrian quickly."

I speed walked towards the stairs and took the steps quickly. When I got there I headed towards Adrian's cot. He was still deeply sleeping and I smiled, my heart blooming with joy. Every single time I saw him, it was like the first time. I bent down and placed a lingering kiss on his cheek. I rested my head against his and closed my eyes slowly.

"I'll see you later, Sweetheart." I murmured. I would have taken him down to Alexis, but I was afraid I would slip with my heels on.

JASON and I were on the road in no time. I was seated shotgun while he drove. As much as I wanted my own car, Jason told me that I had to wait till Adrian was a bit older to drive with him alone.

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked, playing attention to the road through the windshield. Cars passed us on the busy roads.

"I actually don't know."

"Jason." I said in a whiny voice. "Atleast choose some place now already."

"Where do you want to go?" He asked, glancing at me for a second.

"I haven't been to a restaurant in like forever. We've never been out to a fancy restaurant since the beginning stages of my pregnancy. I don't know any places." I said.

"Well, is there anything particular you feel like eating? Indian food? Chinese food? Arabic?" He asked.

"Sushi?" I suggested.

"Ew, you know that I hate that shit."

I sighed. "That's true." I forced him to eat a salmon sushi piece once and he spat the thing out right onto the floor.

"How about seafood?" I wondered, knowing how much he hated it.

"Gross. You know I don't eat seafood." He made a grimace. I reached over and poked him in the jaw with a giggle.

"I know that you don't, but it was fun to watch you gag the last time we got seafood." I recalled the memory and smiled. It occured in my first month of pregnancy when I was craving seafood. I could honestly eat anything anywhere, you name it. I was not a very picky eater. Jason on the other hand, acted like a four year old when it came to deciding our dinner. He was most annoying when he was being picky.

"You just love to see me miserable, don't you?" He asked rhetorically.

"Mhmm, maybe. Why don't we go to an old-fashioned steak house? That way you won't be picky." I pointed.

"Alright, that's a good idea."

"I'm full of good ideas." I smiled cheekily.

WE ended up sitting in a full house and fancy steak restaurant, right at the edge of the docks near a beautiful lake. Since we came early, we got good seats near a big window where we overlooked the lake and the night sky. I loved the atmosphere in the restaurant. It had a woody, homy and comfortable feel to it, and couples of all ages were seated around us.

After having eaten an entire steak, mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus, I was stuffed. Jason and I liked to order the same thing whenever we went out to get dinner. It was completely mutual and not something we argued over, and I liked that.

"We should leave now." Jason said, setting his napkin down and proceeding to stand up.

I reached over the table and placed a hand on his wrist. "Wait, what's the hurry?" I asked, noticing how a woman's eyes turned to us at Jason's sudden movement.

"It's just that," he eyes move away from me and I was confused as to where he was looking, when he slowly relaxed back into his seat again. "We're done eat and I'm worried about Adrian."

I retracted my hand and pulled my phone from my bag. "Look, Alexis just sent me a picture of him. She's happy to look after him and they're watching a cartoon together. She said to take out time." I assured. I understood why he was anxious. Being without Adrian too long felt weird, and we only ever did that when we left him with our trusted nanny while we were at campus.

He released a deep breath. "Fine, we can stay." He decided.

"Good, because we haven't really had much quality time to ourselves, given Adrian's crying at night and all the work we're constantly doing." I said, sighing afterwards. Life was overally hectic, despite how good it was going in the long run.

"You don't call me fucking you in the shower last night quality time?" He asked bluntly, a smirk playing at his lips.

"Shhh." I shooshed him. "That was great and all but there wasn't much talking."

"Daisy, you love when we fuck in the shower. We don't need to talk all the time to show that we love eachother." He shrugged.

"You mean make love." I said with a grimace. "It would still be nice to have a quality conversation once in a while though."

Reaching over, Jason took my hands in his. I relaxed when his warm hands engulfed mine. "We can talk anytime you want, Daisy. If I'm being too cut-off in the week then tell me." He said softly, bringing my hands up to his lips to kiss.

"Okay." I nodded, relaxing instantly in my seat.

"Ew," he suddenly said, his head turning to look in a different direction.

"What?" I asked, following his eyesight.

"Look at that couple over there, they're basically a hundred already and they're out on a date." He grimaced.

"What?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "How does that elicit an 'ew'?" I asked in confusion.

"Imagine how they must look while fucking." He laughed.

"Jason, that's rude." I grabbed my hands from his and slapped his arm harshly. He winced. "I can't believe you're judging an old married couple who is clearly in love. You don't always have to get physical for love to still exist? You do know that right?"

"Of course. They still gross me out though."

I rolled my eyes. "One day when we are old and saggy, I will remind you about this day."

He scoffed. "Atleast we won't be an old and married. The combination is just gross."

I scrunched my face up in confusion. "I don't understand you at all. What's so wrong with being married?" I asked.

"Nothing. I just don't see myself as married, that's all." He said lightly.

"Why not?" I nearly demanded.

"Because my parents were married and my mother died. That marriage ended in shit. He's still heartbroken as of today. I've just never desired to get married. Not once."

"So what? Your father remarried and he's happier now. You're saying that if I died now, you wouldn't be heartbroken just because we're not married?"

"That's not what I'm saying." He sighed. "Daisy, end of discussion."

"Then what exactly are you saying Jason? I don't get what you mean." I said, feeling frustrated. This was supposed to be a nice evening to relax, not one to start yet another argument.

Instead of replying I thought he would, he swore under his breath, his head turned to the direction of the exit. "Daisy, do not argue with me right now. When I get up from here we're going to leave. I want you to slowly grab your things and follow me. No talking along the way."

"What?" I asked in confusion. I looked towards where he was looking, and three guys stood at the exit, entering through by the door. They came inside and scanned the room. Jason's eyes immediately fell upon me.

"Don't ask questions." He nearly growled, his eyes clouded over with panic and tension. He was being completely serious and I knew it had something to do with the men that just entered. They didn't look that much threatening, only one of them was huge while the others were average.

"Okay." I nodded in agreement, and grabbed my purse. I shrugged my jacket on and slung my purse over my shoulder. Jason put on his jacket and placed a few dollar pills on the table, before standing up and grabbing my hand.

He walked towards the door in careful steps and I followed after him. We reached the exit in a matter of seconds. When we excited I released a breath I didn't know I was holding in.

"Who were those-"

"No. Questions." He said through clenched teeth.

I nodded even though he couldn't see me. We were in the deserted parking lot and nearly reached our car, when suddenly the doors to the restaurant opened and out came running the three men.

"Daisy, run!" Jason yelled. He pressed the button on his keys to the car and the doors beeped open. My heart was racing and my eyes wide when I reached the car.

I pulled the door open hastily and got inside. I expected Jason to do the same, but when I looked back he was being shoved into another random car by two of the men. I screamed in panic and was about to open to the car door when an idea pooped into my head.

Jason had a registered gun somewhere hidden in the car. I searched the console hastily before opening random compartments and looking for it. I came up unluckily and nearly growled in frustration. I turned to look back at Jason and the biggest man landed a punch to his stomach.

"Ah!" I yelled in frustration. I let my hands search the underside of the car seat, and I felt the cold metal of the gun my heart jumped in joy. I grabbed it out of its hidden place and turned the safety off instantly. Thank god Jason taught me how to use this thing.

I stepped out for the car and banged the door close again. Then, I aimed the gun straight at the man who punched Jason in the stomach.

"Get your filthy fucking hands off of him, right now!" I demanded, my hands shaking.

They turned around slowly, as I've clearly gained their attention. This gave Jason the opportunity to clock the huge guy straight in the gut. When the man crumbled over he didn't hesitate to slam his foot into the smaller guys junk.

"Owww!" The man yelled, crouching over and holding his junk.

I watched in amazement as Jason beat them all to the ground in a matter of minutes. My heart was racing so fast I thought it would leap out of my chest.

With one last kick to one of the guys head's, Jason hastily headed over to me and opened up the passanger seat of the car. He gently shoved me inside before rounding the car and getting into the drivers seat. Locking the car doors, he revved up the engine and pulled out of the parking lot hastily.

"Jason, we need to call the cops!" I said frantically.

"No, we can't. Those men were part of an old gang that used to rival my own before I even met you. Calling the cops on them would be jeopardizing myself." He said in frustration.

"I don't understand," My voice broke. "I thought we were done with gangs."

Suddenly, his hand slammed down onto the staring wheel causing me to jump in fright.

"I'm gonna go back there, and I swear, Daisy, I will fucking murder them." He growled.

"No! Leave them to the police. I'll call the restaurant anonymously and tell them that I saw those men attacking a couple."

"No, Daisy. We can't do that. They will investigate the situation further and it will reflect back on us. On me. Remember all the bad things I've done in the past? Do you remember those? Because the police certainly do."

"What do we do then?" I asked helplessly.

"We let them be."

"But that's wrong an unfair. Who's to say they won't attack another innocent couple."

"Innocent isn't a term I would use to refer myself as, Daisy. Those bastards were clearly taking orders from Timothy Andrews, their leader."

I blinked repeatedly, trying to calm my racing heart.

"We'll leave them. But for now, get Ace on the fucking phone."

What just happened?

***

Phew.

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