the art of loving ; lord tewksbury

five

"I'm clumsy girl. You've seen that side of me already, so why can't you believe it?"

Chapter Five

  "Daisy? You're going to flood the whole house if you don't turn that tap off."

Grant's sudden words pulled Daisy out of her daydream and she snapped back to reality, realising that a puddle of water had appeared beneath her feet. The kitchen sink had started to overflow, submerging the dirty plates Daisy had been scrubbing in foamy water. She quickly reached over to turn the faucet off and stared at the mess before her.

"You seem to be in a bit of a trance lately," Grant said.

"I'm fine," Daisy mumbled. "Been doing a lot of thinking, that's all. Nothing to worry about." She began to push past her brother to grab a dry cloth from the bathroom, but he caught her arm and stopped her in her tracks. Grant inspected his sister's face, a frown forming on his lips.

"Goodness, Daisy," he said. "You look terrible. Have you been sleeping at all lately?"

Daisy tilted her head downwards so that he couldn't look at her anymore. Frankly, she hadn't been getting much sleep the past two days. It was a struggle to shut her eyes and fall asleep, for intrusive thoughts never failed to invade her mind whenever she did so. Even when she did manage to score some rest, it only lasted for two hours at most. The remainder of the night would be spent tossing and turning in her bed, thinking about the far-fetched plan that Tewksbury had proposed.

Her time to make a decision was almost up. She would be meeting with him again in a few hours, this time, to have lunch with his family. With the added stress of having to act properly in front of them as to not give away their plan, Daisy felt as though she was going insane.

"I told you, I'm fine," the girl said a little too harshly. She yanked her arm away from her brother's grip and stalked off to the bathroom, wanting to clean the mess she created before her father came downstairs.

"Something's bothering you. I can tell. And you never keep secrets from me, Daisy," Grant said.

"It's just stupid wedding stuff. It doesn't concern you, so please stop asking me anymore questions," Daisy answered as she wiped the wet floor.

"It does concern me. If I'm going to help you, I should at least know what you're feeling. Don't you think so?" Grant prodded.

"Well, maybe I don't want your help," Daisy snapped. "Maybe you should just let it be. Leave me alone to deal with my own problems, would you?"

A baffled expression crossed Grant's face as he stared at his sister after her sudden outburst. "What is going on with you, Daisy? I'm just trying to—"

"I'm not an incompetent girl who needs saving!" the young girl shouted, frustration clearly getting to her. "I can deal with this situation on my own, and I don't need you breathing down my neck every second, worrying about what's going on in my mind! Please just let me be."

"But Dais—"

"If you want to stick your nose in someone's business, that isn't my problem. But I suggest you stay away from mine because I don't need your help!"