Growing Pains

Chapter 18 - I was going to have the worst night of my life

Z O E Y

I leaned back against the car seat, and sighed, "Are you still mad at me?"

"Where are you?" Daisy asked instead of answering.

"I'm parked in front of that kid's playground we used to go to when we were little."

"Doing what?" She knew exactly what I was doing. She was just making things harder than they had to be.

I took a deep breath, "Waiting for Tristan and Caitlyn."

"Then yes," she said, as a matter of fact. "I'm still mad at you."

"Daisy, come on, don't do this. You know I can't stand us being mad at each other."

"Well, what about me? How do you think I feel knowing you're probably about to have the worst night of your life so I can join the fucking glee club?"

"It's gonna be fine," I said. I wanted desperately to convince both of us. "I might even have fun."

"They're probably taking you to one of those shows where they do mob pits and –"

"Daisy, just stop it. I'm just driving them there. I'm not going in with them."

I heard her take a deep breath, "Promise me you'll stay in the car."

I didn't even have to think about it, "I promise."

"And lock the doors."

"I will."

"Right," she said. "And what do you say to drugs?"

"Immediately no."

"Good."

"You sound like my mom."

"Shut up," she said right before "I love you."

"I love you too. Now go get ready for your big moment. I'm gonna fine. I brought pepper spray and a book."

"When has pepper spray ever helped anyone?" she asked. She was laughing. I smiled.

"Pretty sure I've seen someone fight a vampire with it in a movie."

"Wow, just wow."

"I'm serious."

"Right, I gotta go. I love you. Don't die. I'll kill you if you do."

"That's the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me," I said, and she hung up.

The next thing I knew someone was smashing their face on my window. A pair of crazy eyes shone in the dark, a white smile too, and two hands full of rings plastered next to it. My phone fell to my feet. I grabbed the pepper spray where I had left it in a bag on the passenger's seat but almost dropped it too.

Caitlyn was laughing outside, bent over herself, trying to breathe. I couldn't really hear her over the sound of the music.

"What is this shit you're listening to?" Tristan asked, as if on cue. He was crawling inside from the passenger side and turning off the music.

"It's –"

"Fuck, were you gonna pepper spray us?" he asked instead when he saw the can in my hand. I wanted to say I hadn't known it was them, but he snatched it from my hand and pointed it at Caitlyn on the other side of my window. "She was gonna pepper spray us!"

Then he clicked the button and spray shot out towards my window, right next to my face. I felt it in my eyes almost immediately, a terrible burn all over them, all over my nose too, my mouth, my throat.