Page 3 of Please Don’t Go (The Midnight Strike #1)

DANIEL

“The fuck?”

Angel’s voice comes from behind me, but I don’t move or angle my head in his direction. I keep it straight ahead, afraid if I look away, I’ll miss Josefine in case she decides to show up.

“What the fuck, man?” he groans loudly, standing next to me. “I thought you jumped off the goddamn cliff. Scared the shit out of me!”

“Why would you think that?” I absently ask, gaze still on the spot where I first saw her.

“Danny!” Angel punches my shoulder, pulling me out of my internal turmoil.

I jerk my head back, peering up at my best friend. “What was that for?” I rub my shoulder, wincing.

He shoves his phone in my face, the bright light blinding me momentarily before my eyes adjust. I read my name at the top, centering my vision on the blue dot that apparently shows I’m in the middle of the ocean.

“You piece of shit!” He punches me again and snatches the bottle from my hand and takes a long drag from it. “Almost gave me fucking heart attack!” he shouts and chugs the rest of my beer.

“Jesus—”

“Yeah, I thought you were meeting him right now!” Angel exhales a harsh breath, shaking his head as he tosses the empty bottle on my lap. He then aggressively moves his fingers on his screen, probably sending out a message.

“You need a new phone,” I state, picking up the bottle and dropping it in the small cooler I brought with me.

He sits on the ground next to me, but he doesn’t speak. That shocks me because there is never a time Angel isn’t talking, but as the seconds tick by, so does his silence. It draws out, painfully slow.

“Your mom called my mom, asking if we’d seen you because she hadn’t seen or heard from you since Christmas Eve,” he finally speaks up, bursting the suffocating bubble we were enclosed in. “I saw your location, and I thought…I panicked.”

Angel and I’ve known each other since we were about eleven. Funnily, we didn’t like each other when we first met, but once our moms did, they became inseparable.

We had no other choice but to hang out because either his mom was at our house or vice versa. Though it didn’t take long to get along because we both came to realize how much we love baseball.

We also came to realize that our dialect is different because he’s Puerto Rican and I’m Mexican. Because we were young and hella immature, we taught each other all the bad words. Good times.

I huff a chuckle. “Yeah, I see that. I’m probably going to have a bruise tomorrow.”

“I didn’t hit you that hard.” I can’t see him due to how dark it is, but I’m sure he’s rolling his eyes. “So, what are you doing here?”

I smile but as quick as it comes, it fades.

It’s been seven days since I stumbled upon Josefine.

“I thought you had…” I hear him swallow hard. “Jumped.”

Grabbing two bottles from the cooler, I pop the lids off and hand him one and take a swig of my own. The cool liquid bitterly glides down my throat, sitting uncomfortably in my stomach.

I deeply inhale, and flashbacks of that night flicker in my head. Salty air, stars, and the sound of waves will never be the same.

“You’re stupid. I’d never kill myself.” I force a laugh. “You should seriously invest in a new phone.”

“I know. I keep forgetting to.” He takes a pull of his beer. “So why are you here on New Year’s Eve? You know there’s a party at our house, right? Oh, and Amanda was looking for you.”

I take a long swig and then another. “I wish she’d move on.”

Amanda and I dated for a year and a half. I actually broke up with her exactly a year ago when I found out she was cheating on me. Funny how she always accused me of being unfaithful when it was the other way around.

“I told you not to date, but you just couldn’t stop staring at her ass,” he snickers, shaking his head.

“She has a great ass, but that’s not the reason why I dated her.” That’s a half lie. Her ass was part of the reason why I dated her, so fucking sue me. She’s hot and anyone with eyes would agree.

“Well, why did you?” he asks expectantly.

“Her confidence,” I reply as he muffles a snicker. “And fine, okay, her ass. But she was really confident, smart, and great in bed.” I roll my eyes at that. Because she wasn’t only great in bed with me.

“I told you being single is the way to go. You’re young, Danny. Don’t tie yourself down to anyone. Let me teach you all the ways, young grasshopper. You have so much to learn from the master.”

“You’re a dumbass. We’re the same age. And I don’t need to learn anything from you. Haven’t you heard? I’m a slut.”

He dramatically gasps as if he hadn’t heard that rumor going around campus. “Who slut-shamed you? I’ll fight them.”

“Unless you’re willing to go to jail for hitting a girl, I suggest you not do that.”

“These hands aren’t rated E for everyone. But I don’t think you’re a slut, Danny boy. A whore maybe, but not a slut.”

A real laugh, the first one in days, rumbles out of my chest.

“Yeah, I saw you sneaking in those two girls in your room the other day.” I hear the smirk in his voice.

“That wasn’t the other day; that was a few weeks ago.”

He shrugs. “Same difference. Didn’t know you were into that kind of thing.”

There’s no judgment in his voice, but rather pride that I did it.

It wasn’t planned or something I’ve ever done, but I’d never been opposed to it. So when a girl approached me and asked if I was down for her friend joining us, I wasn’t going to turn that down.

Plus, I wasn’t in a relationship, so I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but Amanda acted like I did when she found out eleven months after I broke up with her. I don’t know what’s wrong with that when she’d been doing it when we were dating.

I’m not sure what she thought she was going to achieve, but I couldn’t care less. I’m over her and have been for a while, but she can’t seem to let go.

“It was hot.”

“Told you it would be.” He elbows my arm. “But I’m glad you came to your senses. You wasted a year and half on one girl. Glad you’re finally enjoying yourself.”

It didn’t seem like a waste at the time. I genuinely liked Amanda, but I should’ve known we weren’t going to last when I couldn’t see a future with her. Because isn’t that what you’re supposed to feel when you’re dating someone?

“Yeah…” I trail off. I guess I’m enjoying myself, but if I’m being honest, afterwards I felt…empty. “I am.”

“So again, why are you here?”

Right, I never answered. Taking a swig, I swallow and tell him how I stumbled upon Josefine.

“Damn,” he says before he’s taking a pull of his beer.

I heave out a breath, staring at the spot she’d been standing at. “It’s New Year’s Eve and I just thought…”

“That she’d show up since everyone will be busy partying,” he finishes off for me.

I struggle to let out the words that cling to the tip of my tongue before I manage to force them out. “Yeah, I’m afraid she’ll end it.”

“Have you been coming here every night?” he asks but doesn’t wait for me to answer before asking another. “Don’t you think it’s something you should leave to the police?”

“I called and they said they’d keep an eye out, but they didn’t sound too worried. Even said it was something that just happens…” I grind my teeth, my hand tightening around the bottle.

“What do you plan to do? Come here every night? Do you not know how many cliffs there are in this city? If she wants to end it, she’ll just find another cliff or use another method.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” I lash out, my voice raising. “I fucking know that, Angel!”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but I…” He sighs. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that. I know you and I know you’re going to feel guilty, but this isn’t your responsibility.”

I wish I could think like that. I want to because the thought of her jumping is fucking with my head, but I feel and think too much. So many have called me empathetic, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I’ve been screwed over by it.

“I know.” I wipe my palm down my face. “I just…”

“We’ll wait until three.”

I turn to look at him even though I really can’t see him because of how dark it is. “You don’t have to?—”

“You’re out of your goddamn mind if you think I’m going to leave you alone.

I don’t understand why you feel the need to be here, but I know it’s going to bother you if I make you leave,” Angel says.

“But if she doesn’t show up, you’re going to have to let it go because it’s not healthy.

Call the police as many times as you want, but don’t keep coming because it’s only going to fuck with your head.

” There’s a poignant sound in his voice but then he clears his throat and says, “Are we clear?”

I don’t want to agree, but I know he’s not wrong. It’s already fucked with my sleep because of the same dream I keep having.

She’s always standing on the cliff, and just when I’m about to reach out to grab her, she jumps.

“Yeah.” I nod. “Thanks, man. You don’t have to be here with me, but I really appreciate it. And?—”

He lifts a hand to stop me from talking. “Please don’t get sappy. We’re bad boys for life, okay? I’m always going to be here for you.”

I cringe but laugh. “Please stop saying that, but know I’m always going to be here for you too.”

“Okay, enough. We’re doing too much.” I’m sure he’s grimacing and I’m proven right when he pulls his phone out, lighting up his face, and I see the disgust in his expression.

My lips twitch, but I don’t smile. However, my jaw does drop when I see a picture of a naked girl on his screen. I look away as another pops up.

“Don’t get shy on me now. Don’t act like you don’t receive them.”

“Well, yeah, but I’m not sharing them or showing them to other people.”

“She doesn’t care if you see.” He chuckles as he replies to her.

“Sydney?” I ask because she also sends me pictures even though I’ve asked her not to. She, in fact, doesn’t care who sees.

“Yeah, I didn’t ask for them, but I’m not going to deny them. You know, people are paying hundreds for stuff like this on OnlyFans and I’m getting them for free. I’m not going to be ungrateful.”

I can’t argue with that logic.

We spend the rest of the night talking about stupid shit and the upcoming season. After he replied to Sydney, he never got on his phone again, but we knew the New Year was here because of the fireworks going off in the distance and our phones constantly buzzing in our pockets.

Eventually the bright showers of sparkling lights died and so did my hope of ever seeing Josefine. I had a gut feeling she wouldn’t show up, but I held on to hope, and now I realize holding on to it had been pointless.

For all I know, she could be…gone. There’s a voice in my head, like the smallest flame of light illuminating the darkest part in my head, that screams to keep the hope alive that she’s okay. But as I sit here, it doesn’t feel like it. That is until Angel speaks up.

“I’m sure she felt it.” I’m confused until he proceeds to explain, “Josefine. I’m sure she felt your care. Whether she’s here or…not, at least she knew someone cared enough to stop her. You could have walked away, but you didn’t. You stayed, and I’m sure that meant a lot to her.”

I want to agree, but this time I can’t.

I’ve never felt so hopeless.