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Thirty-one million, five hundred and sixty-two thousand seconds.
Five hundred and twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes.
Eight thousand, seven hundred and sixty hours.
Three hundred and sixty-five days.
One year. And in that year, Daisy had spent twenty-four million, three hundred and sixty-four thousand, eight hundred seconds away.
Four hundred and six thousand, eighty minutes.
Six thousand, seven hundred and sixty-eight hours.
Two hundred and eighty-two days away at school. And Robbie had spent that same amount of time missing her. Because while she was off at school with all the smart kids, studying away to get her degree, he was back home working day and night at Canelo’s.
And now, June Fourteenth, he was counting down meer hours until she came home.
“Something got you distracted, Reyes?” One of his friends called, pulling him from his thoughts. “Or someone?” He rolled his eyes, chuckling. He was right, of course. Someone was consuming his every thought.
“You have no idea…” He mumbled under his breath, continuing to work on the car in front of him.
~~~~
The airport was busy, filled with families on their way to start their summer vacations, business people on the phone, preoccupied with their busy schedules and dozens of phone calls, and other students like Daisy who were heading home for the summer. And she sat surrounded by them, earbuds in her ears and coffee in her hand as she scrolled through her phone and waited for her flight to arrive.
She couldn’t wait to get home. She missed her friends there, she missed her parents, and she missed the warm California breezes and the LA views.
She was ready to be carefree and rewind this summer after a stressful year.
She was ready to let go and let loose.
She texted Jemma, reminding her that she would be landing in a few hours, and received what must have been at least thirty confetti emojis, followed by another message that made her roll her eyes.
Robbie’s counting down the hours, from what Mack’s told me.
She sometimes forgot that they worked at the same auto garage, but that made her laugh, and maybe a little flustered, that Robbie was waiting for her.
Okay, maybe she was a little more than a little flustered. There were butterflies in her stomach, for fuck’s sake.
He is not, Daisy replied. He’s not the type of person.
When it comes to you, he is. He’s distracted because of youuu
She rolled her eyes again at her best friend’s romantic ideas. She was the worst person when it came to anything romance. Before she could respond, however, they called her flight number, and she pocketed her phone, standing up and grabbing her backpack and suitcase. She stopped at the desk and showed her ticket, then proceeded onto the plane. Once she sat down, she considered responding to Jemma, but then decided she was better off just putting her phone into airplane mode.
She closed her eyes, burrowing farther into her seat and taking a deep breath. In three hours, she would step foot in LA. Home.
Three hours until she saw his face.
He wasn’t the only one counting the hours.
~~~~
She stepped out of the airport, onto the sidewalk, and took a deep breath. The breeze was as warm as she remembered, and she felt relaxed and destressed. This was her home.
She looked around, searching for her ride. It didn’t take long, as Robbie’s car was at least 40 years older than the rest of the cars parked along the street. He was leaning against the driver’s side door, facing away from her, and she laughed, running over and hugging him, taking him by surprise.
He hugged back, wrapping his arms tightly around her and burying his face in her hair.
“You’ve been gone too long.” He whispered to her. “The holidays didn’t feel the same without you. Especially because there was no arguing between you and Gabe about video games at three am on Christmas Eve.”
She giggled, stepping back. “I missed you too. And Gabe. How’s he doing?”
“Stressed, like you. He’s decided he wants to be an engineer like tío. You know, minus the crazy bosses and the jail time.”
She rolled her eyes. “Obviously.” She agreed. “How much longer does Eli have left?”
“Three years.” He shrugged. “Less, if he can stay clean. He’s been doing good with that so far, which is great. Then, maybe I won’t have to work as much as I am now. I won’t be the only one making money in the house.”
“That’s good. What you’re doing now is too much for anyone.”
“Yeah, well.” He was quiet for a moment, then, “Well, your parents are excited to see you, so we should probably get you home. Want me to help you with your suitcase?”
She shrugged. “If you want.” He took her suitcase from her and put it in the trunk while she slid into the passenger seat, setting her backpack on the floor and resting her feet on the dashboard. He joined her a few minutes later, sitting in the driver’s seat and taking notice of her feet on the dash. She smirked. “Problem?”
“How many times do I have to remind you that your feet don’t belong on my dashboard, Johnson?” He teased.
“It doesn’t belong up your ass either, yet it will be if you continue to act like an old man when I put my feet on your dashboard.” She quipped, making him glare playfully at her. He had missed her sarcasm and witty remarks, and the cheeky smile that she always gave him when she knew he thought she was funny.
“Come on, you love this car. Don’t wanna see her messy, do you?” Daisy choked on air, laughing.
“PLEASE, think about what you just said.”
His ears went red, which made her laugh more, to the point where she was wheezing. “You’re the most dirty-minded person I’ve ever met in my entire life, and I’ve heard Elena and Mack say some pretty disgusting things in Spanish.”
“Oh, I’m sure you have,” She agreed. “I heard some pretty disgusting things in English when my room was next to his for twelve years.”
“It’s always worse when she comes to visit him during work hours.” He gagged. “The things I’ve heard… it’s awful.” He stated dramatically, which made her giggle. “What, you think this is funny?” He glared jokingly at her, and she twirled her hair around her finger, smirking.
“Well, of course not.” She assured him. He gave her another look, and she laughed. “You’re being dramatic.” She told him as the car pulled up to her parents' townhome. She opened her car door and stepped out, then stuck her head back into the car. “Remember, I lived next to him for twelve years.” Then she grabbed her backpack and closed the door.
He got out of the car and opened the trunk, grabbing her suitcase. “And that must have been an awful experience.” He agreed solemnly
“Well, if it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t know all the dirty words and phrases in Spanish, as well as Russian, thanks to Bobbi, and Chinese, thanks to my mom.” She laughed. “I knew how to say all of them by the time I was eight.”
He rolled his eyes. “That is not a good thing.”
“Sure it is. It makes for lovely conversation.” She reminded him. “And my brain can make a bad joke out of pretty much anything now.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He gestured for her to shoo. “Walk.” She rolled her eyes but made her way up the brick steps to the front door. She knocked, then looked down the steps to him. He shrugged. “They’re probably busy. And before you say it, no, not that kind of busy.”
She pouted. “How did you know?”
“Because I’ve known you since First Grade.” He reminded her. “I know that your brain would go to that kind of thought.”
“Well, it’s still not fair.” Before he could argue with her, the door opened, and Melinda May stood in the doorway. Daisy smiled, rushing to hug her. “Mom!”
May smiled. “Hey, Daisy.” She replied, hugging back. “It’s good to have you home. How’s school going…” Their voices grew fainter as May dragged her into the house, and Robbie chuckled under his breath, bringing her bag inside.
Dios, he missed this.
~~~~
The next evening, Daisy found herself getting ready for a night out. As soon as Elena got word that she was back in town, her friend decided that they needed to do a girls' night. So, she had sent a joint text to her, Bobbi, Jemma, and Piper, inviting them to hang out. Of course, none of them could decline it.
Daisy felt weird, looking at her straightened hair. She barely ever straightened it, and it was strange to see what she looked like with it. After staring for a few seconds, she did her make-up, got dressed, then checked her phone. There were several new messages on their group chat.
Elena: FYI, the boys are meeting us tonight.
Bobbi: that means hunter -_-
Jemma: Come on, you know you love him.
Piper: imagine liking men
Elena: Jokes on you, you still have Davis to deal with
Piper: fuck
Daisy rolled her eyes at her friends. She loved them to death, but they were all absolute idiots sometimes.
Bobbi: that also means that daisy better dress to impress tonight
Elena: oooooh sí
watch yourselves. I’m supposed to be driving tonight.
Elena: we all know you won’t
Jemma: I will
Elena: speaking of rides, I’m outside your house, Dais
She got up and grabbed her purse, then headed outside to Elena’s car, getting in the passenger’s seat. “Ready to unwind?” Elena asked her. “Robbie tell me you seemed, uh, stressed, huh?”
She nodded. “Lots of work and stuff.” She admitted as Elena pulled onto the main street. “It’s nice to be home though. I missed the weather. And you guys. Even my idiot brothers. I couldn’t wait to just come back and relax.”
She smiled. “Well, we’re glad you’re back. Town wasn’t the same without you.”
Daisy smiled back, then looked out the window, thinking about how this town had hardly changed. She was always told that people who left the town never said away, and she could now attest to that. Even though she had been excited to leave, that excitement didn’t stay. She missed her family and friends and this stupid little rundown town that looked like it didn’t belong next to LA.
It was home.
Her home.
~~~~
Her friends were drunk by midnight, which was no surprise to her.
They always were when they went out, so she wasn’t surprised. Still, she opted for sitting at a slight distance from her friends. She fidgeted with her glass, watching the way the lights shined on it and made patterns on the countertop.
Someone sat down beside her and she ignored them at first. She knew she should stop drinking. She already felt slightly drunk, and she wasn’t trying to make it worse. She took another sip of her drink anyway.
“Bored?” The person beside her asked.
“My friends are drunk, and-” She paused, realizing the voice sounded familiar, and looked up.
“Hey,” Robbie greeted her.
“Hey,” she replied. “Elena told me you were coming.” She glanced at her friends, then looked back at him. “Are yours drunk too?” He nodded. “That’s no surprise.”
He chuckled. “When have they ever gone out for the night and not gotten drunk?” He asked her, which made her laugh. “What? I’m serious! Do you remember our first time going to a party? They were drunk within the first hour!”
“I had to call Kora to pick us all up.” She agreed, laughing.
“Those were the days.” He met her eyes.
“Yeah.” She agreed, looking back into his eyes. “Sometimes I miss it. I wish I could go back and just… live in those moments again.”
He lifted his hand to her cheek, brushing his thumb along the underneath of her eye. “We were a good pair in high school.” She nodded, shivering slightly at the soft touch. His hand fell to his side, then he reached for her hand and his head dropped to rest his forehead against hers.
She bit her lower lip, unsure what was going to happen next, but desperately wanting to know. “We left a lot of things unsaid when I left.” She mumbled, and he nodded. “We were eighteen and… I was scared. Maybe I still am. I don’t know.
“I know.” He whispered. “I know. And it’s okay if you’re scared. It’s okay if you want to step away right now.”
To his surprise, however, she didn’t.
“I want to figure this out.” She admitted quietly. “I’ll be home all summer.”
“And I’ll be around. Always.” He agreed. “If you’re willing to try.”
~~~~
“Daisy, hurry up!” She heard a voice yell outside her window. “Darse prisa! Andale! The show’s starting soon and everyone’s waiting!” Daisy rolled her eyes and stuck her head out the window, looking down at Elena.
“I’m hurrying as fast as I can!” She yelled back. “Can’t exactly make the dryer dry my clothes any faster!” Elena rolled her eyes and Daisy flipped her off before heading back inside. After fifteen minutes, she met her friend outside. “See? I’m ready!”
“Podrías haber sido más rápida!” Elena argued as they walked to her car. “Next time, I leave you.”
Daisy shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
~~~~
“Ahí estás!” Robbie wrapped an arm around Daisy, grinning. “And here I thought you left me early.” He teased as they walked.
“Leave early?” She laughed. “I’m home, babe. All summer.”
He kissed her as the fireworks started, and as cheesy as it was, she didn’t care.
She loved it.
~~~~
Then you, you're back in town
You hold me down
You are my wandering star
Come through, I'm not alone
Thank you for showing me home
Is where you are, so