Pushing Up Daisies Read Online Free Page B

to do, Daisy smiled as she saw Marcus getting out from the driver’s side of the Escalade.
    “Hey, Marcus,” she said, shaking her head. “What happened? Jasper too tired to drive again? I don’t know why he does it to you.”
    Gigi tapped Daisy’s shoulder and pointed toward Jasper’s SUV, which had no other visible passengers. “Marcus, where’s—”
    Marcus held up his hand, silencing her. He stood two feet from Daisy, his gaze traveling up and down her body before coming to rest on her partially exposed breasts.
    Daisy cleared her throat, then grabbed him under the chin, forcing him to look in her eyes. “Up here, Marcus. My face is up here! ”
    “You better act like you know, Marcus,” Gigi said. “Trifling bastard,” she muttered.
    Marcus stood still. Rain was running down his face, drenching his clothes, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was breathing heavily, his eyes blank as they moved over the lawn to the tree. “What happened? I know you didn’t—”
    “Where’s Jasper?” Daisy snapped.
    “Yeah, Marcus,” Gigi intervened. “Where’s Jasper?”
    Marcus wiped a hand over his face and cleared his throat. His eyes were misty, and Daisy suddenly wasn’t sure that it was because of the rain. “Listen, Daisy. I need to talk to you. Jasper—”
    “Jasper, who? You mean the bastard who doesn’t come home and sends you to clean up his mess? That Jasper? What about him?” But then Daisy realized that it was tears in Marcus’s eyes. They were now running down his face.
    “Jasper’s dead,” he choked.

2
    D aisy gasped, and Jasper’s clothes fell from her grip. But as she stared down at the pile by her feet, she had a revelation. She looked up knowingly at Gigi, then Marcus, and a slight smile came to her face. Jasper wasn’t dead, just trying to wiggle out of a tight situation.
    “Oh, Marcus, stop it. Of all the lies and excuses you and Jasper could’ve made up. I went to the hospital, so I know he wasn’t there—”
    “You went to University Hospital?” he asked, his eyes focused on the ground. “ Staten Island University Hospital?”
    Daisy nodded, although she knew he wouldn’t see her. She wanted him to look at her, needed to see that his eyes were lying.
    “We were at the University Hospital in New Jersey —Newark.”
    “Yeah, right.” Daisy grinned victoriously. She knew she’d beaten them at their game, and she waited for Marcus’s expression to confirm it. But it didn’t.
    Marcus just closed his eyes, and Daisy’s smile faded. She wanted to speak, even scream, but nothing came out. “No,” she finally managed to whisper. “Please, God, noooo…” She sank to the ground.
    Gigi pulled her up and tried to hug her, but Daisy pushed away. Her heart drummed in her ears, and everything started to fade.
    Marcus grabbed Daisy, shook her, and held her face in his hands. “Look at me, Daisy. Please look at me.”
    Daisy mustered her strength and opened her eyes. Her heart had never beaten so fast. It raced and pulsed, yet she had no energy. Anxiety was no longer a word or a description for what she had. It was her, they were synonymous. Her hands shook uncontrollably as she grasped for hope and grabbed nothing but air. Jasper’s spirit.
    “Jasper loved you, Daisy. He told me to tell you that he loves you and he’s sorry…those were his last words.”
    Daisy stared at him blindly. “How did he die?”
    “He was shot…”
    Daisy held her breath, trying to suffocate the ache that blistered through her and caused her soul to twist into knots. She formed her mouth to question how and why Jasper was shot, but couldn’t. Not yet. She had to accept the death first, then deal with the cause. “I’ve lost the biggest part of me,” she whispered as a terrifying loneliness filled her. She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to forget what she’d said about Jasper, but the words haunted her. If I don’t ever see that muthafucka again, it’ll be too soon…I’d kill