Daisy’s Secret Crush

***Daisy’s POV.***

“We need to go home. It is getting late.” Theo says.

“But it is my turn now, and I had an interesting one.” I say with a pout.

“No. We are leaving.” Theo says and walks out, “I will wait for you in the car.”

“Okay.” I say.

“Olivia. Are you coming?” Theo asks her, and I look at her to see her entire face is pale.

“You both go ahead. I have something to talk about with Mr. Wright here. Send my car back after he drops you.” Olivia says as she looks at the drink.

“Okay.” Theo says.

“Bye, Toby. The party was grand. Thanks for inviting us and I will see you.” I say and hug him and whisper, “Would you be okay?”

“I would be fine.” He whispers back.

“Okay.” I say and wave at him as I go behind Theo, who looks stoic. Maybe Toby and I shocked them too much.

Toby and I prepared ourselves for this. We knew one of them was going to ask questions like that. But we knew they wouldn’t dig deeper and also they wouldn’t specify something so we could find loopholes.

Like I never kissed a guy other than Theo, but he used to be my friend and also Olivia didn’t mention if it was a kiss on lips or cheeks. Second question that Theo asked didn’t mention just sleeping. Toby and I have not done that, but Toby and Fred are friends and share a tent. So, he slept beside a friend. Also, when I was little, Noah and I were often tired of playing and took a nap beside each other.

“You forgot your bag.” Theo says.

“Oh! I will go get it.” I say.

“Wait, I will get it for you.” Theo says, but I am already on the move.

“No need. You don’t know where it is.” I say and go inside.

I find my bag and move to go outside before anyone notices me, but a loud voice stops me in my tracks.

“Are you rejecting me?” I hear Olivia’s voice. And peek around a door to see her looking at Toby.

“Olivia, that is not what I am saying. And I don’t want to wake up to another humiliation. I cherished every moment with you and would not like it getting tarnished by you just because you are not brave enough to understand yourself.” Toby says, and the hurt is clear in his voice.

“Then why did you sleep with her?” Olivia asks and I see her grabbing his collar and then sobs out, “You can’t leave me. Do you hear that? Stop this little game of yours already.”

“Stop crying. You will get sick otherwise. Come, I will drop you home.” Toby says to calm her down.

“I am not going anywhere until you tell me.” Olivia says after pushing his arms away.

“What?” Toby asks.

“Did you and Ms. Carter sleep together?” She asks, and I can hear a plea in her voice, wanting Toby to deny it.

“I am not a liar, Olivia.” Toby says, then continues, “But I never mentioned her. And sleeping doesn’t always involve sex. Mr. Anderson said that he never slept with a friend and I shared a tent with my friend, Fred.”

“You are… You are…” Olivia says and seems lost for words.

“If you want to stay, stay. I am tired and going to sleep.” Toby says.

“You are a scoundrel for letting me on like that, Tobias Wright.” Olivia says.

“Oh dear, we are not in bed for you to say my name like that.” Toby says and I get moving as I have heard enough.

“Where were you?” Theo asked when I came back.

“Oh, I wanted to use the restroom.” I say the perfect excuse and sit in the back of the car along with Theo.

As the car drives through the silent night, I think back to Olivia and Toby’s conversation. Toby was trying too hard to maintain his composure when Olivia literally broke down in front of him. And about Olivia, she is on the edge. One final push and she would lend right into Toby’s arms without hesitation or fear of getting hurt.

I look at Theo and sigh internally. Sadly, I have to stop my mission halfway only. I somehow know that Olivia was holding herself back because she feared something. Maybe a fear that she would get too close to Toby and it would get painful to live without him if he left one day.

I can understand her better now as I feel that way too. I feel that if I continue on this path, I won’t get anything but the pain and humiliation of getting rejected again and again. But I can only take so much.

In Olivia’s case, Toby at least has feelings for her, genuine feelings which are very close to love. I bet Toby loves Olivia a lot, but fears like me of getting rejected and trying to save the little pride he is left with. But pride has no place in love, only love has.

But I have to stop myself from getting hurt. I have to move on from this stupid crush and start finding my happiness. So what if I can’t have one person who would make me happy the most? I have a lot more other people and things too, which makes me happy. I can live with that.

But I will not leave my friend halfway through the journey. I would play one ultimate game, which would settle things once and for all. The walls around Olivia’s heart would break and she would realise her feelings for Toby and accept it after that.

This ultimate act would work like a charm, as it is a notebook trick for making them realise their love.

When we reach the villa, I run to my room, giving no thought to Theo. I have to maintain my distance as per his previous order. I would finish the last week I have left with him and get back to my regular job. After this week, Theo has to never see me again, nor do I.

But as I think about that and lock my bedroom door, tears start streaming down my cheek and before I realise it, I am on the verge of sobbing. I ran to the bathroom and got into the hot shower, which would muffle my sobbing sound.

“Cry. Just empty your tears now. It is good to just finish up now. I should be grateful to realise before it got any deeper, otherwise, it would have been difficult to even move on.” I say to myself and sob out again.

Next day, I was back to normal like my heart was perfectly fine, which is as if I was not in love with Theo. I pour myself into work and during lunchtime take a break to go out as per my plan. I called Toby to meet me at a restaurant.

“Why did you call me here suddenly?” Toby asks as he joins me in the private booth as I drink some water.

“To end this.” I say.

“End what?” Toby asks.

“I heard Olivia and your conversation, not the whole, just some part. It wasn’t like I meant to, but I forgot my bag.” I say.

“Oh!” He says.

“Hey, Toby. How would you feel if something happened to Olivia?” I ask him directly without wasting time.

“Why? Did something happen to her? But she was fine this morning. She threw a tantrum, then left to go to work.” Toby asks first, worried then confused.

“Just hypothetically asking. Tell me if something were to happen to Olivia, would you be able to live without her?” I ask.

“No.” Toby says without even thinking and his eyes fill up with pain as if he can’t even imagine something like that.

“See, you love her. You don’t want to tell her because of your pride. And she is the same as you. You both are so silly. But if you both were to talk to each other straightforwardly, it would be easier. But then again, it is much harder than it looks, isn’t it?” I ask and Toby looks away.

“It is. I want to tell her how I feel, but I am worried that she would belittle my feelings and it would not only hurt me but her, too. She always behaves like she isn’t bothered, but I know better. I hate when she thinks that feeling something is a weakness and sharing it with someone is the most cowardly thing in the world. If only she would open her eyes and see it is not like that.” Toby says.

“Fine. Then we will open her eyes and make her see. That is the end I was talking about. It will be our final game.” I say.

“But then what about you?” Toby asks as the waitress serves us our order, “And I ordered nothing?”

“I ordered it for you. Eat.” I say and have some chicken noodle soup.

“Thanks. It is my favourite. How did you know I like fried rice with chicken and green vegetables?” He asks and takes a bite. After taking a second bite, he looks pale.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“The thing is, I know everything about my friends.” I say.

“Daisy, I hope you didn’t do what I am thinking you did.” Toby says and looks upset with me.

“It is the only way. Don’t worry, you will be fine after this and thank me later. But for now, I am sorry.” I say.