Just like her speech, there was a certain manner in which Daisy carried herself. There was always an extra pep in her step, as though there was a tiny generator churning inside of her that gave her just a little more energy than everyone else. If Joseph could have sensed that something was wrong from the way she was speaking – a fact that she was entirely oblivious to – then there was no way that he could have missed the absence of the natural bounce to her movements. There was no fluidity in her and every time she had to take a step or lift a limb, Daisy felt as though it took every ounce of strength that she had. For all her disjointed motions around the kitchen, she was doing remarkably well at keeping up her usual speed. She didn’t even pause when Joseph finally joined her, but continued making dinner as though everything depended on it – and in a way it did. Can’t stop. Can’t look at him. Not yet. That didn’t mean that she didn’t know he was looking at her; his eyes were practically burning her skin. Her hands hovered over the pan where she had been spreading out a layer of cheese when Joseph asked about the church again. She took a deep breath while she brushed her hands off on her pajama bottoms and finally turned around to face him. Well, not exactly – her eyes were more concentrated at the counter-top that remained the only thing separating them. “Everything was going according to plan. I had the box unlocked, money in hand, and then the pastor of the church caught me.” Each word felt like it was driving a knife deeper and deeper into her heart.
Daisy turned back to her cooking as her mind began to replay all the events of earlier today for what had to be the hundredth time. She could pinpoint the moment, down to the second, that she should have turned and ran away. Why… why didn’t I? Tears threatened to form again, and Daisy wasn’t sure that she could hold them back anymore. Without making a sound, she let them fall down her cheeks as she reached for the lasagna noodles. It was a mistake. Once she allowed those first few tears to fall, the flood gates opened and it was all over. She gripped the edge of the counter and let her head drop down. There was a choking sound as the sobs caught in her throat before she released them completely. Daisy stood there, her shoulders rocking for well into a minute before moving to cover her face with her hands. “Everything went so wrong so fast. I don’t understand what happened.” It was hard to get all of the words out between each of her sobs. Considering how hard everything had hit her once she let it bubble back to the surface, it was no surprise that she started to hyper ventilate. Her crying was not something that Joseph was unfamiliar with, but she doubted there had ever been a time that he had seen her this upset. Daisy certainly couldn’t remember a moment in her life before when she felt so emotionally devastated.