Page 65 of Distortion
She gives me a weird look. ‘Nothing’s coming.’
‘You left it all there?’ I snort.
I heard Daisy’s mom somehow manipulated Novelle senior into marrying her, I guess for money because ... what else is there? I didn’t peg Daisy as a gold-digger but maybe the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
‘What, did you just figure the Novelles were gonna buy you all new clothes and everything? That’s a little presumptuous, isn’t it?’
She frowns at me. ‘Uh ... yeah. I guess,’ she murmurs, going to her door.
Then she stops and looks back. ‘Thanks for these,’ she says like it’s an afterthought, raising the fist with the pain killers in it.
I go back to my room and, despite the Death Metal, put on some noise-cancelling earphones and get some work done for my classes this week. I resist the urge to look at thecameras anymore ... mostly. I check them every few minutes to make sure she’s where I left her. I almost hope she falls asleep. I even turn the music down, but she doesn’t. She just takes the pills and goes back to her desk with the comforter around her again and reads.
I hear my phone receive a message and sigh when I see who it is. I don’t have time to do any jobs right now but saying I can’t do it isn’t an option. I message back for the details, hoping it’ll be something simple.
When Shade gets back from his hot shower at the gym, he turns his own music up as loud as it’ll go and I watch her cover her ears and scrunch up her face. Mav isn’t back yet, but we’re going to need to revisit this plan. I don’t like it.
I get another message and scan it briefly before I grab my duffle bag, so it just looks like I’m going out to take my own hot shower at the gym to anyone who sees me. I am going to the gym, but I have an errand first. Luckily, I know where I’ll find the guy I need and this won’t take long. I’ll still have time to grab a shower and talk to the guys when I get back.
I make sure my nine is loaded and still in the bottom of the bag. I know I probably won’t need it, but it’s always best to be prepared in case my threats and fists don’t cut it.
I sigh as I leave the house. Get rid of Daisy. Get the project back on track. Get John Novelle out of our lives. It’s a short list to finally be able to leave all this shit behind, but it feels like I’m trying to climb Everest.
8
DAISY
I’ve been trying to read the same page for an hour. I wish I could blame the noise that’s coming from all the other rooms, but the truth is I can’t do this.
Maybe it’s the day I’ve had. Maybe it’s the emotional whiplash, the exhaustion, the fact that I’ve been on the verge of tears for hours and all I want to do is curl up in the dark and the quiet and I can’t.
I open the desk drawer and find the card from my mom that I put in there earlier. It’s damaged, but I can still make out some of the words, and they comfort me. Mom did care. I flatten it out and put it by the heating vent in the corner of the room to dry.
Then, I sit back in the chair with a long sigh when I look at the Chaucer book in front of me again.
I can’t do English Lit. I literally can’t wrap my head around these dumb texts that are hundreds of years old no matter how hard I try.
Maybe they do win. Maybe I need to leave. Strike out on my own where John can’t find me to send me back to The Heath.
I rub my eyes.
‘With what?’ I mutter to myself.
I have no money. No skills except maybe preliminary barista. And, let’s be honest, I’ve only done a few shifts at Grinder. It’s a stretch to call myself a barista.
I shut the book and put my head in my hands. The music through the house pumps. The walls and floors are practically vibrating. I snuggle deeper into the comforter. I’m still chilled to the bone, but at least I’m not shivering anymore.
The shower was awful even though I washed everything as quickly as I could. I shiver at the memory. My tummy rumbles again and I try to ignore it. Going back downstairs after earlier isn’t something I want to repeat today. I’m done.
I glance at my bed, wondering if I could sleep through this.
But, in the end, I do what I’ve been wanting to since I got back. I go to the dark closet and open it, glad more than ever that I have so few clothes. It’s practically empty except for the boxes piled in the corner. There’s enough room for me.
My heart thumps hard as I go into the darkness and shut the door quietly. I can still hear the thumping, but it seems muted in here. I close my eyes and, for the first time today, I sigh in utter relief. The headache is still lingering, but I don’t want to take what’s available. The Heath didn’t send me with more than four of the pills I was prescribed for my migraines. Maybe they figured John would sort me out with some, or I’d be back so soon I wouldn’t need any. Regardless, I don’t want to waste the last two I have on aregularheadache.
I bask in the darkness and semi-silence. The Heath didn’t allow this. I’d have had outside privileges taken away for a week at the very least if they found me relaxing in a closet. I was afraid I’d feel that horrible panic when I told Blake no to sitting on his knee earlier, but I never did this at TheHeath, I suppose. Or, if I did it was a rarity and I was never caught.
I feel my eyelids start to droop and I let the bliss of sleep take me, vaguely hoping that no one comes looking for me until the weekend is over.
