Pushing Up Daisies Read Online Free PDF Page A

him.
    An intense heat overcame her, and she began to perspire. Daisy bent over, releasing everything she’d consumed. She finally straightened again, shaking her head as she wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “Jay,” she whispered.

    “What happened? Tell me, I have to know,” Daisy broke the quiet.
    Marcus wrapped his arm protectively around her shoulders as she rested her head on his chest. They’d walked for blocks in silence, the early afternoon sun an orange glow in the sky. Daisy dabbed her eyes with a Kleenex. So much had happened. And so quickly. Jasper had kissed her Saturday night, disappeared Sunday, and died early Monday morning.
    Marcus turned Daisy to face him. “Daisy, I know this is hard for you, because it’s difficult for me. But I want you to know that you can call on me whenever you need to. Okay?”
    “How, Marcus? I know he was shot, but why did Jasper die?”
    Marcus closed his eyes, sighing heavily. “Jasper died being Jasper. You know how he loved helping people. He was always coming to someone’s aid, putting others before himself.” Marcus paused, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I miss him, Daisy.”
    “How, Marcus? Please tell me. Just give it to me straight. I have to know.” Daisy blinked hard, trying to hold back the tears.
    “We’d just left the club and were riding down the street, when we thought we heard a baby crying…screaming. It was so intense, Daisy.” Marcus swallowed hard. “I didn’t know what to do. It sounded like a death cry, a painful cry. Jasper was driving and pulled into a parking lot. We both got out and followed the noise. We had to see—” Marcus started crying.
    Daisy rubbed his arm. “It’s okay, Marcus.”
    Marcus wiped his eyes, collecting himself. “We had to see where it was coming from. In the back of the parking lot, we found a man beating a woman. She was screaming, yelling like I’ve never heard before. It was obvious that everything wasn’t all right, but you know Jasper. He asked anyway.” Marcus paused, shaking his head. “But the lady didn’t answer—the man gave Jasper the only excuse he needed to step in—the man hit her, made her body float through the air like wind. Before I knew it, Jasper was inches from them. The lady begged Jasper not to interfere…” Marcus paused. “I told him that you can’t help those who don’t want to be helped.”
    “Jasper didn’t listen, did he?”
    “No. I told him to come on, that the lady obviously didn’t want our help. But he wouldn’t listen, Daisy. He grabbed the man and they began to struggle. There was a loud bang, and Jasper fell. The man had a gun. We didn’t know. Jasper couldn’t have known!”
    “And you…what did you do? The police?”
    “I froze, Daisy! I froze. What kind of friend…no, what kind of man did that make me?”
    Daisy put her hand to her chest, forcing herself to breathe. “The police, Marcus. What about the police?”
    “They came too late. The paramedics came too late. They all came too late.”

    Daisy sat on the sofa, rocking from side to side, trying to decipher the blur in front of her. Too many people. Too much talking. Too many “Are you okay?”’s. She closed her eyes, waiting for the Xanax to kick in, wishing it would all go away. She prayed for Jasper to walk through the door. She needed him. Jay needed him. What would they do without him?
    Poor, innocent Jay. How was she to tell him that his father was dead? There were no correct words. Death couldn’t be sugar-coated.
    “Okay, Daisy?” Gigi patted her back, interrupting her thoughts.
    Daisy stared at her.
    “Okay?”
    “Okay, what?”
    Gigi knelt down in front of her, looking into her eyes. “Jay. Where does his friend stay, Daisy? Where did he spend the night? We’ll go get him and make the funeral arrangements. We have to before my aunt does. She’ll do it her way, not Jasper’s.”
    “Jasper’s mom? They didn’t speak—”
    Gigi sighed loudly. “No one in our