*The day that Daytona left for California*

It had been a couple weeks since I saw Daytona properly. After the day at the graffiti park, when I would come home, I would always check in on her, make sure she was okay while she was sleeping.

It felt creepy.

So I stopped. After a couple more days I realized that she was avoiding me.

I shouldn't have tried to kiss her at the park. She had just shot her boyfriend for fucks sake a few months prior. And on top of that, her brother was still haunting her every waking moment.

It was probably best that I gave her her space. Right?

Gah, girls are so complicated sometimes.

I threw my keys on the coffee table as I walked through the front door. 3:47. Day was probably asleep already.

On my way to my room, I stopped outside her door. Maybe I should just check in on her real quick.

Stop you idiot. You're starting to act like a real creep. Leave the poor girl alone. She probably doesn't feel the same way about you anyways.

No.

I should just leave her alone.

In my room, I grabbed some pajamas and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. I reeked of alcohol and desperation.

The truth is, my bar wasn't much better than the one below us. We had the same type of problems, just, a different crowd. The people who frequented the bar I worked at were much more conceited and full of themselves. And the main ones causing problems were the girls.

There were a couple times where I  considered asking Daytona to come and 'help out' like she did around the bar below us, but for some reason I never did.

Pulling back the curtain, I realized that Daytona's shampoo and conditioner were missing.

Huh, maybe she ran out.

I payed no mind to it and showered. As I was letting the warm water run over me, a wave of exhaustion just hit me.

If I was to be honest with myself, worrying about Daytona probably took fifteen years off my life.

But I don't mind.

And I don't think I'll ever mind.

I'd worry for her as long as I breathed.

Getting out of the shower was much harder then getting into it, but I managed somehow.

Once again, I found myself at her door, but I didn't enter.

When I got to bed, I saw that I had a text from Danni.

Danni (co-worker): Hey, you have off tomorrow right? Want to do something?

Me: maybe idk. I've had a couple long nights and I might just want to chill at the house.

Danni (co-worker): I completely get that. If you decide you want to do something, just lemme know :)

I plugged my phone into the charger and starred at the ceiling.

Maybe I should try and get some sleep.

Yeah, I should do that.

After a couple of minutes of trying to force my eyes to stay closed, it started to come easier, and before I knew it. I was asleep.

~~~~🌻~~~~

"Jordan. Wake up."

I bolted up and found Daytona sitting at the edge of the bed.

"Day? What're you doing in here? It's almost 5. Go back to bed." I went to go lay back down but her next words froze me to the core.

"I think Colton is in the apartment." Her eyes were blown wide with fear. It physically hurt me to see her like this.

I silently got out of bed and grabbed her shoulders. "Okay, Day, I need you to hide in my closet and stay quiet okay. Don't come out until I say so."

Grabbing the gun I kept in the closet and making sure Day was out of sight, I quietly made my way into the living room and sure enough, there Colton stood.

"What the fuck do you want! Can't you just leave her alone already?" I switched off the safety and marched towards him, putting the end of the gun right between his eyes.

He just smiled at me.

I pulled the trigger.

Nothing.

I pulled it again and again and again. But nothing happened.

"What?" I looked at the gun in my hands. It was loaded, the safety was off, but nothing was happening.

Colton snapped his fingers and all of a sudden Daytona appeared between us.

"No! Day!" I reached out to grab her, but they were gone.

~~~~🌻~~~~

I woke up in a cold sweat.

The dream felt so surreal. It had for the past two weeks.

At this point, it was more like a routine than anything. I would go to sleep, have the nightmare, wake up, and stay awake.

Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I placed my head in my hands.

Calm down Jordan. She's okay.

I climbed out of bed and shuffled to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

These nights, the dream came sooner. It probably didn't help that I haven't seen Daytona, but I didn't want to bother her.

So I suffered in silence.

Then again, I dont know if you could really call it suffering.

I pushed my hand through my hair and tilted my head back, the dream replaying through my mind.

If I ever saw Colton again, he'd be dead before he even knew what was happening.

I shuffled back to my bedroom and collapsed against the sheets. After awhile, I picked my phone back up and sent a text to Marissa.

Me: I had the dream again.

I really shouldnt have kept in contact with her, but I couldn't leave her behind either.

Shithead<3: Wanna talk about it????

My sister was very understanding when I told her I needed to leave, but it still hurt. Even though we weren't fully related, she was the closest thing to me.

Well, aside from Daytona.

Me: not really tbh.

Shithead<3: ok then. how was work?

Me: work was fine I guess. pretty slow.

Shithead<3: did that one girl flirt with you again?

Shithead<3: what was her name? daphne? delilah?

Me: her name is Danni. and I've told you before, she doesn't like me like that. she's just a friend.

Shithead<3: uhuh. keep telling yourself that bro. anyways, I'm going to bed. try to get some rest okay? ily

Me: ly2

I rolled over to the other side and willed for sleep to come. But like every night, nothing.

I ended up laying in my bed until noon rolled around. When I finally got my ass out of bed, I knocked on Day's door just to see if she was awake.

No answer.

Typical.

By this time, she had already left to do whatever it was that she did. I never bothered to ask, because to be honest, I was scared of the answer.

Knowing her, she'd probably be out somewhere picking a fight trying to sharpen her skills to take on Colton. And that thought scared me.

I took a seat on the couch and switched on Netflix. Nothing looked good, so I just put on Cupcake Wars. I never quite understood why Daytona loved this show. All they did was bake cupcakes.

Hours passed quickly and I found myself actually enjoying the show. I wasn't obsessed with it like Day was, but it was pretty good.

I checked the time. 8:23. It was already eight and Day still hadn't come home.

Weird.

Who knows. Maybe she was at Tony's. 

As much as I was envious of Day's relationship with Tony, I was happy that she actually found a friend who could make her smile and laugh like she did before all of this.

I thought back to the time I took her to the beach after her party. Even though the circumstances weren't that great and after that, she did get kidnapped by Colton when I was right outside. I remember her laughing.

God I could listen to her laugh all day.

Whenever she laughs, her face just lights up the room and makes you want to smile too.

I had always heard about people having contagious smiles, but I never truly experienced it until I met her.

Turning off the TV, I walked back into my room and laid on my bed. It wasn't even nine but I was just tired.

I didn't even have to force my eyes closed tonight. I fell asleep without a problem.

~~~~🌻~~~~

Two hours later, I woke up drenched in sweat.

It was the same dream like always, but this time, something was different. We weren't at home anymore.

We had been in California.

I needed to see Daytona now. To make sure she was okay.

I launched myself out of bed and ran across the hall to her door. I knocked and knocked and knocked.

There was no answer.

"Daytona!"

There was no response throughout the apartment.

I caved and bursted into her room.

She wasn't there.

Instead, I found the sweatshirt and sweatpants she borrowed that day on the beach folded up in the middle of her bed.

Slowly I walked into her room.

On top of the clothes was a note from her.

'Jordan,

Don't come after me.

Love, Day'

Fuck.

How long had she been gone? Is this why I was having these dreams? Because she was in danger this whole time? Or did she just leave recently?

No. She had to have just left. Her shampoo and stuff was there up until yesterday.

I grabbed my keys off the coffee table and ran out the door.

Maybe Tony was working tonight and could tell me where she went. Or maybe the manager could tell me how long she had been gone.

I burst through the bars back door looking crazed. There was no sign of Tony at the bar, but the bartender who was working, I had seen a couple times.

"Hey, is Tony working tonight?" I asked, out of breath.

"Uh, no, sorry dude. He went back home for a family reunion thing a couple days ago. He should be back in tomorrow though. Maybe the day after."

"Is the manager in today?"

The bartender tilted his head towards the managers office.

"Thank you."

I knocked on the door. After a few seconds, he said "Come in."

Opening the door, I took a seat on the velvet couch and started to pick at my hands.

"Jordan, how can I help you?"

"Sir, when was the last time Daytona was here. I havent seen her in two weeks and I thought she was just avoiding me, but today I went to check in on her and shes gone."

He took a look at my hands and sighed.

"I havent seen her in a few days, but I'm pretty sure she went with Tony to his family gathering they were having. I dont think you have to worry about anything. Tony cares for her like a sister, he wouldn't let anything happen to her."

I let out a breath I didn't even realize I had been holding in.

If she was with Tony, she would most likely be fine. She would be back in a couple days and I could yell at her then.

I got up to leave. My hand was on the doorknob when I stopped.

"Sir, one more question."

"Go ahead Jordan."

"Where is Tony from exactly?"

"Well, he's from San Francisco I'm pretty sure."

And with that sentence, my heart dropped to my feet.

I didnt even say anything as I walked out of his office.

She went to San fucking Fransisco and didn't even say anything.

I waited til I got out of the bar before I hauled ass upstairs into our apartment.

Running into my room, I grabbed my phone and dialed Daytona.

The phone rang once.

Then twice.

Then three times.

Then a couple more times after that.

I thought it was going to voicemail, but on the sixth ring, she picked up.

"Jordan?"

I let out a shaky breath. She sounded safe, but she was always the best at acting.

"Where are you?"

Was she going to lie to me? Or was she going to tell me the truth.

"I'm with Tony. Why?"

"Where are you and Tony?"

Silence.

"Because I'm looking at a note that says 'Don't come after me.'"

"About that-"

"Care to tell me why you're back in fucking San Francisco Daytona?" I couldn't tell whether I was angry or terrified. Maybe a bit of both.

Maybe a lot of both.

"Can we not talk about this right now please?" Her voice got quieter, "there's people around that I don't feel like hearing this conversation."

"Like who?" I clenched and unclenched my hands. It felt like fire flowing through my veins.

"Like Tony and his family. He doesn't know that you don't know. And I'd like to keep it that way."

"I'm coming to get you Daytona. I'm hoping on the next plane and-"

"No! I'm leaving here tomorrow. Okay? I'm sorry for not telling you where I was going. That was wrong of me, but theres no need to come out here. You'd just end up missing me."

For some reason, my gut was telling me to go out there anyways. But the bartender downstairs said that Tony would be coming back soon. So why should I doubt her?

"Okay. I'm sorry for over reacting, I just got worried is all. When's your flight?"

She was silent for a couple seconds and then responded, "Thank you for being concerned Jordan. My flight is at 10. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

The line went dead.

My gut told me to jump on the next plane to San Francisco, but I fought it.

She was going to be home tomorrow.

She was going to be okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What?! After 5 months of being inactive, I have put out two chapters in one night?! Could this be???

Yes. It be.

I'm hoping to get at least another chapter out tonight, but I feel as if my luck may run out so dont count on it.

Um I'm really hungry.

And with that, I'm signing out.
~May C. 😘❤