•・•✿•・•

Ａｆｔｅｒ parking the car at the curb, Bryson picked up the bouquet and a box of cupcakes on the passenger's seat and his duffle bag at the back seat before padding to the front door of his house.

He pressed the doorbell and after a minute or so, someone opens it up.

His mom's surprised face welcomed his followed by forming unshed tears in her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hands while looking at him like he was Jesus Christ that rose from the dead.

Bryson's mom was an emotional and sweet person, something that he misses about her after being away for a long time.

"My son. Oh my god. You're here. I miss you so much." With trembling hands, she touched both of his cheeks and caressed them like she usually did when he was still a kid.

"Hi mom, I miss you too." Bryson's smiled at her before embracing her in a tight hug.

He never mentioned to any of his family members about his arrival since he should still have a month to finish his training, but since classes would be now starting, his dad decided to dismiss him early.

He wants to surprise her which obviously evident on her face now. That didn't disappoint him.

She ushered him inside the house after giving her the flower which she wholeheartedly took with a kissed on his cheeks as thanks.

The aroma of a home-cooked meal engulfed him once he stepped inside their hallway. Bryson forgot that it was almost lunchtime and his mom was most likely done with her cooking, but he never expected the four unfamiliar faces that greeted him in their living room.

"Honey you didn't inform me that you're coming back, I should have prepared your favourite meal." His mom said while wiping the remnant of her tears.

Bryson just stood there awkwardly in front of their guests that were now looking at him like he had grown two heads. It was kind of unnerving but since he doesn't want to be rude, he just gave them a polite nod instead.

"Ohh silly me. I forgot to introduce you to our guests. Everyone this is my eldest son, Bryson. Honey that is Mr. Roberts and his wife Mrs. Michelle." She gestured her right hand to an old couple sitting on the love seat. They both have a gentle smile on their faces which he just returned with my tight-lipped one.

"And over there is Mr. Anderson and his wife Mrs. Grace. They are all my
colleagues at work."

The couple that was sitting on the leather couch also smiled at him. Bryson's mom works at the Mayor's office as a secretary that's why from time to time she had guests visiting their house, but this was his first time seeing these people, and they presumably don't know him also because of the puzzled look on their faces considering his reputation before.

"Is that the one that attended the military training camp? He looked like his father but more attractive." Mr. Roberts winked playfully at him that gained a hearty laughed from his mom.

"Yes and don't be ridiculous Michael, of course, my son is more attractive if not for a couple of girls he dated in the past."

Everyone laughed because of that comment, but Bryson just cringed mentally. To be honest, he was not proud of his previous hooks up. He had never brought a girl into their home and was introduced to neither of his parents as all of those were not considered as a serious relationship.

It was most likely a one-night stand and just a fling. Well, except this time he wants them to meet a certain someone. Preferably a petite girl with a kind smile and innocent demeanour. He was sure they'll love her.

His mom just assumed that he was in a relationship because his younger brother never failed to report his whereabouts to her, including those that should be left unknown.

How did that asshole know? I don't have a fucking idea. His brother, Elijah was way better than a private investigator.

"Oh by the way we are about to eat our lunch. Join us, honey. I know you're starving."

All of them went to the dining room and Bryson reluctantly followed behind.

Yes, he was starving but the last thing that he wanted to do at the moment was to listen to whatever they need to discuss or talk about.

"Mom I bought your favourite cupcakes, do you want me to store them in the fridge?"

His mom stared at him while holding a bowl of salad and gave him an ear-splitting smile while wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. He just rolled his eyes before opening the fridge and putting the cupcakes inside.

"Thanks, hun. When did you become such a sweetheart huh?" She asked with a teasing tone and nudged his shoulder.

"Just driving aimlessly around the town and happened to saw the shop. That's all." She just narrowed her eyes at him but didn't comment.

"By the way, dad said he had been calling you but you were not picking up. Call him back mom, I'm sure he's worried sick."

"Oh! I'm sorry honey I didn't know. We've been busy discussing some important matters. I charged my phone in our room. Don't worry I'll call your father after lunch 'kay?" He nodded his head understandably and help her fixed the table.

"By the way mom, where is Elijah?"

Elijah is his younger brother by two years, they both have similarities when it comes to physical attributes, but they were quite opposite in terms of behaviour and personality. He always followed Bryson around that sometimes it irritated him but at the end of the day, they are still brothers and it was normal for them to depends on each other. But, Elijah still annoys him.

"He's staying at Luigi's place for lunch. You know those two, like two peas in a pod. But he'll be back before dinner time."

Bryson ate his food silently with gusto and fast as he could because he doesn't want to stay any longer in their dining room and spend his entire day with these people who talked about whatever it was their business much as they munched their foods.

His mom was enjoying their company though and from time to time he could feel their gazes at him which he deliberately ignored to avoid being included in their conversation.

It wasn't like he wanted to participate anyway since his mind was somewhere else, specifically from what just happened at the flower shop.

Daisy. That name was stuck in his head that he couldn't help but gazed at the flower he bought a while ago. It was placed and arranged in one of his mom's porcelain vases.

What is she doing right now? Has she eaten already?

I should get a hold of myself or I might go insane.

Shaking his head, he gobbled all the foods on his plate and put the dishes on the sink.

"Mom I'm going in my room now. I've to unpack my things, I'll catch up with you later okay? Just call me if you need anything." He pecked both her cheeks and just gave another stiff nod to their guests before getting his duffle bag on the entryway and went upstairs.

After a quick shower and changing to his sweatpants, he didn't bother to put a shirt on since it was hot anyway. Bryson lay his back on the mattress while looking at the ceiling.

He should be happy that he could finally sleep comfortably in his bed that was soft compared to the hard surface of the makeshift bed at the training camp that didn't help to ease the muscle cramps in his body after a long day of their drill.

So why does he feels empty? Maybe because he didn't get the chance to talk to Daisy. It isn't like they could have a vocal conversation, but he could think about another way to communicate with her.

She can write her responses on a piece of paper or just typed them on her phone, any possible method just to have a penny of her thought.

Bryson instead closed his eyes and succumbed to the darkness with just one wistful thought.

I want to fucking see her.

•・•✿•・•

The shrilling sound of his phone woke him up abruptly. He forgot to turn off the silent mode after talking to his dad earlier. Feeling grumpy and groggy, Bryson picked up his phone on the nightstand and answered the call without looking at the caller ID.

He was more than pissed at someone who dares to disturb his sleep.

"What the fuck do you want?" Bryson asked the person on the other line with obvious irritation in his voice.

"Woah. Woke up at the wrong side of the bed?"

The fucker laughed like a hyena which irritates him even more. It belongs to the one and only person that annoys him at any given chance. If he can grab him through his phone, Bryson has done it in a heartbeat.

"What do you want Elijah?" Rubbing his free hand on his face, he stood up from his bed and went to the closet to grab a shirt.

"What? Where's my, I miss you brother or I've been dying to see you? I'm hurt, man." Elijah fake- softened his voice that just further made his mood crankier.

"Fuck off! I'm hanging up."

"Wait! Wait! I'm sorry man. I'm just kidding. Geez, is that what you've learned in the camp? You sound like dad." Elijah teasingly said. Bryson grumbled under his breath and just wait whatever his brother has to say.

"Could you pick me up at Gi's house? He can't drop me off since his dad use their car."

Bryson just rolled his eyes at his brother's antics. He had done picking him up before because he usually spent his time at his best friend's house more than in theirs so, he knows the way out to Luigi's residence.

"Fine. This will be the last time that I'm picking your ass off."

"Thanks, man."

After putting his shirt on and grabbing his car key on the nightstand, he descended the stairs and leaned his body on the door frame of their kitchen. His mom was cooking their dinner while humming a soft melody of an 80's song.

"Mom, I'm gonna pick up Ej."

"Hmm. . . I thought Luigi's going to drop him off." The lady answered while still stirring the content in the pot.

"His dad use their car. I'm going now."

•・•✿•・•

The moment he parked the car on the sidewalk of Mr. Samiento's residence, his idiot of a brother came jogging at the passenger's side after fist-bumping his best friend that was sitting on a bench on their porch.

Elijah's opened the door and buckled up the seatbelt. Bryson started the engine and honked his car before driving off.

"Sup man. Thanks again for picking me up." Ej said while giving him a smile that says 'I'm still has a favour for you'.

Bryson wanted to groan so bad, but held himself back and just nodded his head while all along silently praying that his brother had no other plan for the night.

He was still sleepy and tired so the only thing that he wanted to end his eventful day was to bond with his bed.

"Yea yea. We're going home now. Mom's probably done with dinner."

Bryson stepped on the accelerator and maneuvered the car to make a U-turn that would lead them to the long highway through the center of the town.

He just focused his attention on the road ahead and just keep on driving, but even if he wasn't paying attention to his brother, he could still feel Elijah fidgeting on his seat like he was about to blow up any second.

It's bothering him.

"For fucks sake Ej. Stop squirming like an abused animal in a cage."

Elijah heaved a long sigh and stop his fidgeting, after a minute of awkward silence he spoke again.

"Bry bro could you please stop by at the diner where dad usually brought us. Just. . . got something to do." And here we go again.

"What is it?"

"Just personal business."

"You have to tell me what business that is if you want me to bring you there and how the fuck did you even knew I'm at home?" Bryson's asked in a nonchalant voice.

He already anticipated that kind of request from his brother because he had done that countless favours in the past.

Some were even labelled as bullshit and even though Elijah was considered as one of those 'smart-ass', sometimes his brother's brain was in the gutter and couldn't seem to function very well so, like a good brother that he was, he had to fasten his loose screw.

"Well, dad called me during lunch. And hmm. . . there is this girl that I just recently started going out with and I promised to pick her up after her shift. Ya know to make a good impression." Elijah answered. His voice lowered at the last sentence it was almost like a whisper, but still managed to infiltrate Bryson's ears.

Hmm. . . Impression. Well, fuck that!

If he wanted to impress some bimbo, he better drives her home by himself not asked him to be their designated driver or he shouldn't promise anything that he couldn't even comply with.

Bryson chewed the inside of his jaw to reprimand himself by scolding his brother.

He tried to control and steady his breathing to calm himself down.

"Fine. This will be the last time Elijah 'cause I'm done with your shit. If you want to impress some girl you better true and man up to your words." Elijah didn't say anything and just keep his mouth shut throughout the ride.

Good, 'cause Bryson wants some peace and silence.

He stopped the car once they were in front of the diner. The exterior was still the same since the last time he went there and nothing much changed.

Elijah immediately opened the passenger's door and stepped outside. He approached the two girls who were standing under the lamp post in front of the restaurant. They exchanged some brief greetings before the girl with black-rimmed glasses and dressed in a white sweater and jeans waved her hand to the other one, since the other girl's back was facing him, Bryson couldn't see her face well, but her build was quite familiar.

Her small body was covered with a pink sweater and black jeans and the curls that cascaded on her back were a colour of strawberry blonde.

Is that Daisy?

He averted his attention when he heard the door in the backseat open and Ej's girl went inside, after a while, Elijah slid into the passenger's side.

"Thank you for picking me up and I'm sorry for the trouble. Oh, by the way, I'm Summer. Nice to meet you." The girl said timidly.

Bryson was a little surprised upon seeing the girl because as far as he knew, his brother's taste wasn't like that.

Like the nerdy kind and too nice for her good. The last time he checked he mostly dated some girl who the life of the party and hooked up with every guy they seemed to find attractive.

I guess both our tastes changed.

"Bryson and it's no problem." He was about to start the engine when his eyes caught the girl again that was still standing beside the lamp post.

There was an unsettling feeling in his chest that was bothering him like it was trying to reminds him of something very important.

"Is that your friend standing over there?" He asked looking at the rearview mirror. Summer nodded her head while also peeking at the backseat window.

"She's waiting for her service. I think the driver will be late."

Elijah threw him a confused look, silently asking why he suddenly became interested in Summer's friend whom he doesn't even know of.

Bryson intentionally ignored the accusing stares.

"I told her to just wait inside since it's kind of chilly outside and dangerous on top of it but Daisy insists on waiting there."

Summer keeps on rambling about her friend, but the moment he heard the name Daisy, his head snapped in her direction he was afraid he gave himself whiplash.

"Daisy?"

"Yes. Do you know her? She worked at the flower shop." Summer asked, a bit excited about the newfound information just based on the tone of her voice.

He tensed on his seat and tighten the grip on the steering wheel.

"Sort of." He replied shortly.

Upon gazing back again at Daisy, she seemed kind of lost while looking down on her shoes and kicking the pavement with them.

It was cute actually, but Bryson doesn't have the time to think about that because he couldn't decipher the thought that the girl who keeps on running inside his head and making his heartbeat erratic was just a step away from him.

Just a while ago and up until now, he was thinking when he would be seeing her beautiful face again and fate might have heard his thoughts and granted his wishful thought because here he was now, just a few feet away from her.

What a lucky day indeed, this time might be his chance to take her home and ask for her number afterwards.

Bryson immediately opened the driver's door and dig his phone out in his jeans pocket. Daisy must have sensed his approaching footsteps as she looked up from her shoes and scrunched her little nose that 'cause his heart into a somersault.

She was so fucking cute.

He slowly and carefully approached her as to not frightened her and once she saw his face that was being illuminated by the light of the lamp post, Daisy's expression brightened up like a kid in the candy store.

She probably recognized him because of their earlier encounters at the shop. If not for his heart that was beating rapidly before, Bryson thinks it did tenfold because of the cheery smile on her face.

She waved her dainty hands and made a sign language which he didn't understand as per usual.

I should probably learn sign language.

Bryson immediately typed something on his phone and hand it over to hers. Daisy's eyes scanned the text whilst he just stared at her face that his eyes couldn't seem to avoid looking at.

Everything about her mesmerized him and his sour mood earlier just magically evaporates just by being near her.

She typed something on his phone then gave it back to him.

"You can speak because I can still hear you. I'll just type my reply on your phone since I can't talk."

After reading her reply, his mind drifted off again to the topic of her inability to speak. Daisy said she can't speak, but she can still hear. It means she was not born lacking a sense of hearing so there must be something that happened in her life which resulted in losing her voice, perhaps an accident or something worst.

Bryson just hopes none of that was the reason because he doesn't know what to do if someone inflicted some pain to this angel-face.

She was like a gem you could only find in the deepest and dangerous part of the cave, no one was deserving such a valuable and rare piece of treasure. So, it was kind of hard to believe that someone like her experience such a traumatic event.

A tagged on his shirt brought him back to reality. He was thinking too much again.

Daisy was looking at him with her doe chestnut eyes, her head tilted to the side and her hand was still holding the bottom of my shirt.

She's so fucking adorable.

She was like a true angel that was sent from heaven to cast away and clean the dark side of this world. Bryson has this primal urge, a desire to claim her as his, it was very unusual for him— like all of a sudden he wanted to be territorial or some shit.

He runs his hand through his hair and held her hand that was still tagging his shirt. Bryson felt a shiver on her body when their skin made contact as her face morphed into something surprised because of his sudden action. It made his lips pulled up into a curved.

Her hand was like all of her features; small, soft, smooth, and was like expensive chinaware that would probably break if you wouldn't handle it with so much care. It was also cold compared to his big, callous, and warm one.

"Is it okay if I drive you to your place? It's pretty chilly outside and it's kind of dangerous to be staying here at this time. Your friend Summer is in my car now with my brother. Don't worry I'm not a bad person." He gave her a reassuring smile to ease her worries or doubt.

She looked down while biting her kissable and pouty lower lip. Seeming to have a second thought of his offer. Regardless if she rejects it or not, he was still going to insist on bringing her safe to her home.

After a minute or two, she looked at him again with hooded eyes full of trust he doesn't even deserve because of his unpleasant thoughts about her.

Nodding her head as an answer, he breathes a sigh of relief.

Still holding her hand, Bryson escorted her to his car and opened the backseat door. Summer scooted to the far side to give her some space.

He gave her a questioning looked that silently asking her if she was comfortable enough before squeezing her hands which she returned with a gentle smile and sign language again for thank you.

Even if it was against his will, he hesitantly let go of her hand and closed the door.

Elijah's eyed him like he was some kind of a weirdo, but his mood was too good that he will not let anyone ruin it. His brother can ask whatever he wants once he feels like answering it but for now, he refuses to entertain whatever feeds his curiosity. And like an observant brother that he was, he just kept his thought to himself.

Every once in a while, Bryson glanced on the rearview mirror just to get a glimpse of Daisy's face. She was looking out on the window and every time the light on the streetlamp bounced off on her small face, it takes his breath away.

He has to do the breathing exercise that he had learned in the military just to keep his system at bay. Being in a confined space with her was something that overwhelmed him to no end.

She was like an enigma to him that he wants to discover every crook and cranny especially because she affects him in every way that he didn't experience before.

Bryson just hopes that when the right time comes, she would let him be part of her life and won't hesitate to share her story, but whether that wishful thought came to light, there was only one decision he was sure of.

I will not let this girl go.

•・•✿•・•