Page 32 of Where Daisies Breathe (Star Meadows #2)

AVA

I ’m lying on the floor—I think. The room is spinning so wildly that I’m not exactly sure where I am or how I got here. The carpet is rough against my skin to the point where all I want to do is scratch my flesh off. But I can’t move my arms.

Numb.

Dead.

Am I dead?

The darkness around me swims like thick ink, bleeding into my vision and making it impossible to see anything. I reach out blindly and croak, “Help.”

“Shh…” someone whispers. “It’ll be okay. Just close your eyes and it’ll be over soon.”

I don’t want to close my eyes. I want to be able to see again.

Moaning comes from beside me. Whoever they are sounds in pain.

I peel my eyes open and blink several times until a drop of light pierces through the darkness. My pupils sting, but I refuse to close them as I tilt my head toward the moaning.

A girl with blond hair and pale skin is lying beside me on the shaggy orange carpet. Her arm is extended in my direction, and a guy is looming over her.

“Clover?” I whisper hoarsely.

She turns her head and meets my gaze. “Help me.”

I want to reach for her, but I can’t move my arm. I’m forced to watch helplessly as a guy crouches beside her and strokes her hair. Brown hair, eyes like shadows, a ghost of a smirk playing on his lips.

I squint harder to see his face ? —”

A hand touches my shoulder. “Ava.”

I startle, whirling around with my fist clenched, ready to punch whoever touched me.

Ellis hurries and puts his hands up. “It’s just me.”

I quickly lower my hand. I’m still standing in the doorway of the apartment. “Sorry… I just…”

What was that memory? Did I get drugged with Clover at some point? The sad part is that it could’ve happened, and I didn’t know.

It’s tragically depressing, but it’s not entirely what I’m focused on right now.

Why did that guy look so familiar?

Ellis gently places a hand on my arm and guides me aside as the paramedics rush by me and into the apartment where the girls are.

“Are they dead?” I whisper as the paramedics begin working on the girls.

Ellis remains silent for a beat, listening to the paramedics talk, then he shakes his head.

“No, they’re all alive. They’re just drugged.” He settles a hand on the small of my back and steers me down the hallway. “Let’s go outside where we’re out of the way, okay?”

Nodding, I allow him to lead me out of the apartment. Once we’re outside, he has me sit down on the curb and wait while he checks on things. He’ll probably have to ask me questions since I’m the one who found this horrifying scene.

Because I thought Clover led me here.

I know that can’t be real. Clover is dead. And dead people can’t walk around, leading me to places where I can save girls.

What if I’m going crazy? What if I’m hallucinating her?

“Help me, my daisy friend.”

“I’m trying,” I whisper as I sit on the curb with red and blue flashing lights all around me.

More cop cars drive up, and then the coroner van. My back stiffens. Ellis said they weren’t dead, so why would that be here? I rise to my feet, watching as the van parks close to the door. Then a man gets out of it.

Not just any man.

My fucking uncle is here.

Why is he driving the coroner’s van, though? The fact that he is makes me think Ellis is right about him being involved in altering the report on Clover, and maybe even others.

He’s wearing a button-down shirt and slacks.

He steals a glance around before closing the van door.

The flashing lights reflect across his face as he strides toward a police vehicle where an older man is standing.

They exchange a few words, then my uncle nods and turns to head into the apartment, but as he does, his gaze catches mine, and he grinds to a halt.

The worry in his eyes can’t be missed against the reflection of the lights.

He moves to take a step toward me, but then must think better of it, and instead rushes inside the apartment.

I desperately want to go inside, but too many eyes are on me.

If I try to go in there, it’ll look suspicious, and that’s the last thing I need at the moment.

So all I can do is wait and put my trust in Ellis.

About five minutes later, he exits the building with agitation rolling off him. He strides toward me and mutters, “Let’s go.”

My brows pull together. “Don’t they need to question me?”

The muscle in his jaw ticks. “Nope. They’re not ruling it as a crime.”

“What?” I hiss, gaping at him.

Voices rise over our conversation, and with a tense glance at the building, he signals for me to follow him. “Let’s talk about this after we get into the car.” He sneaks another look over his shoulder.

I track the direction of his gaze to my uncle, who’s positioned in front of the entrance doors with a few officers around him. And he’s glaring at Ellis.

I keep quiet as I follow Ellis away from the building to the back parking lot, where we climb inside his vehicle.

The moment he closes the door, he loosens his tie and then lowers his head onto the steering wheel.

“I’ve always had my suspicions about police corruption in Star Meadows, but now I’m completely convinced most of the police here don’t give a shit about justice.”

I shut my door. “Because they’re not labeling this as a crime?”

He bobs his head up and down. “And they kicked me out of the building. Said I had no jurisdiction here, which technically I don’t, but I made the arrest. The protocol requires them to get more information from me, but they didn’t want to hear any of it.

I told them they needed to at least get a witness report from you since you found that girl, but then your uncle showed up and told a bunch of lies about you. ”

I swallow the rage searing my throat. “What did he say?”

“Just a bunch of bullshit.” He raises his head and rakes his fingers through his hair. “Well, except for the fact that you were arrested today.”

“Fuck.” I feel like I screwed up badly.

I never should’ve gotten in the car with Camilla. But if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have discovered the darkness in my family. But now I can’t vouch for those girls that were wheeled out of the apartment.

“Why is my uncle even here?” I ask. “If none of the girls died.”

He slumps back in the chair. “That’s what I want to know.

” He mulls over something before pushing the button to turn the ignition on.

“How do you feel about doing a stakeout for a bit? I know we have other things we need to be doing, but I’d like to keep an eye on this scene for a bit and see if we can figure out what in the hell the Star Meadows’ police department is up to. ”

Once Ellis and I decide to keep an eye on the police, he pulls over and parks in a laundry mat parking lot that’s adjacent to the apartment.

We’ve been sitting in the car for about thirty minutes, watching officers wandering in and out of the building.

All of the girls have to be wheeled out on stretchers and loaded up into ambulances.

I chew on my thumbnail, worry trickling through me. “What if one of them doesn’t make it?” I ask. “What if one of them dies?”

“From what I saw, they should be okay. They’ll probably have to spend a night or two in the hospital to be monitored.” He pauses, watching the apartment carefully. “And they’ll probably face charges for drug use.”

“ What ?” I ask sharply. “Why?”

He sighs, glancing at me. “Because that’s what the police are writing this off as—a party gone wrong.”

“That girl in the hallway was drugged,” I stress. “I know what that looks like.” Tears fall from my eyes—I wasn’t even aware I was crying until now. “I feel like I failed them.”

“You didn’t. You helped them.” He reaches out and brushes a few tears from my cheeks. “We’re going to solve this. I promise we will. We have more leads than I have in the past, and that’s because of you. Don’t blame yourself for any of this, Aves.”

“If this has to do with my family, then it is partly my fault,” I whisper.

His gaze sears into mine. “No, it isn’t.

You’re not responsible for what your family does and what they did and didn’t do.

Trust me, I spent a lot of time blaming myself for my parents' anger toward my sister’s death.

I blamed myself for her death as well. But I’m starting to realize that this,” he gestures at the apartment.

“This is what the problem is. No one is getting held accountable for anything in this goddamn town, whether it be murder or sexual assault, and god knows what else. But you and I will change that.”

I hope he’s right, but I can’t help thinking about how many seasons have drifted by since my time in the woods and that if any secrets remain there, they’re hidden under a blanket of flourishing flowers and leaves that will eventually wilt and fade away, only for the snow to bury them once more.

If Clover did bury something out there, would it even exist anymore, or would the weather have destroyed it?

Silence stretches between us for a while before Ellis speaks again.

“You said you thought you saw Clover?” he asks cautiously.

I hesitate, unsure how I want to respond.. “This woman looked so similar that I followed her, even though deep down, I knew it couldn’t be Clover.”

“Maybe,” he mutters with his thinking face on.

I assess him with confusion. “You don’t believe it was actually her, do you?”

He shakes his head. “No, but I wonder if someone wanted you to believe that it was.”

“How would someone do that? It’s not like we were at that bar for a while. And we didn’t tell anyone we were going there. Speaking of which, did the bartender tell you anything?”

“No and yes,” he replies vaguely as he taps his fingers on top of the steering wheel. “He was lying to me, so I know he’s hiding something.”

I shift in the seat. “What did he lie about?”

He hesitates. “You.”

My stomach weaves with thorns. “What did he say?”

He flits a glance at me. “He said that night you were drinking, being rowdy, and hitting on everyone. He said you almost got into a fight, so he kicked you and your friend out.”

“How do you know that’s a lie?” I question with a sigh. “I can’t remember anything about that night, so it could be true.”

“I’ve seen you wasted before, Aves,” he reminds me. “And never once were you rowdy and obnoxious. You were mostly quiet, pensive, and sweet. And you usually only talk to me and Clover.”

That’s how he sees me?

“You were quiet and pensive, too,” I point out.

“Not sweet, though, huh?” he attempts to tease. “Did you finally get over that?”

I roll my eyes. “No, you were.” I fiddle with the band on my watch. “You were and still are the sweetest guy I’ve ever met.”

He starts to smile, but it falters as the coroner’s van backs away from the curb to turn around so that the rear end is facing the apartment.

“What the hell is going on?” Ellis mumbles, slanting forward.

A police SUV blocks the view of the back end of the van so we can’t see what my uncle is doing. But eventually, he gets into the driver’s seat again and pulls away from the complex.

“What the hell did he just put in that van?” I mumble then add, “We should follow him.”

Ellis nods in agreement. Then he reaches for his seatbelt, and I do the same.

Once we’re buckled in, he steers out of the back entrance and pulls around onto the road my uncle turned on.

For the next few minutes, we remain quiet as we tail my uncle.

He stays on the main road for a few miles before turning into the back section behind the hospital that’s attached to the doctor’s office Ellis and I were at earlier.

Ellis makes sure to keep some distance and parks in the parking lot of the hotel that’s to the side of the hospital.

Then we watch as my uncle hops out, opens the back door, and pushes a stretcher with a bag on it out.

The back exit door to the doctor’s office opens, and Trystan steps out along with Jason.

Jason scans the area while Trystan and his father exchange what appears to be a heated conversation.

“Is that your ex-husband?” Ellis asks, but it’s a rhetorical question. “And Trystan?”

“Yep,” I answer anyway. Every fiber, muscle, beat of my heart is screaming for me to sprint over and rip open that bag.

The impulse is so strong that I actually crack open the door.

But Ellis stops me by placing his hand on my arm. “If you go over there, all of our work will be compromised. I know it’s hard not to—trust me. But we have to play it smart.” He directs his attention back to Trystan, my uncle, and Jason.

I move my hand away from the door handle.

My uncle says something to Jason, then spins around and holds the door to the hospital open while Trystan wheels the stretcher in. My uncle returns to his van, pulls it away from the back door, and into a nearby parking space.

Jason waits for him to get out and enter the building before stepping inside himself. But right before he closes the door, he looks around the parking lot one final time. His gaze lands on Ellis' SUV, and his head cocks to the side.

“Shit,” Ellis curses. “Get down.

We both hunker down and wait it out. Jason saw me get into the SUV earlier, but it’s a relatively generic vehicle.

I hold my breath. I hold perfectly still.

“Hold still, Ava. The more you fight this, the worse it’ll get,” my father tells me before he smacks me across the face.

I scream as pain sears my face.

He slaps me again. “Stop screaming!” he shouts, his face red.

A sob wrenches from my chest, but I bite down on my lip to smother the noise. Blood fills my mouth, but I don’t move. Breathe. I’m so still it’s like I don’t even exist.

“Good,” he tells me. “Stay like this until I get back.”

And I do.

I hold perfectly still, listening to the quietness of the empty house.

Even when I hear voices.

Voices of my father and a woman. She sounds familiar, but I can’t remember why.

She also sounds frightened.

She’s pleading with my dad…

I’m not sure about what.

Then she screams.

I still don’t move…

Time and time again, I obeyed. Complied. Turned myself into a ghost.

Don’t be seen. Don’t be heard. That’s the only way to survive.

I carried that mentality into my marriage. I became nothing but a quiet existence in the shadows of our home.

But I’m tired of not existing. I need to find my voice so I can speak for all of the girls’ ghosts screaming soundlessly from their graves.