Page 117 of Degradation
‘Commodore is the same,’ he says, looking at his friend.
‘Try the Captain.’
‘But we were told never to.’
‘Just do it, Jay. She looks like she’s about to keel over. I’d rather get in trouble for waking him up from his beauty sleep than let her go out alone like this.’
I frown at them both, opening both my eyes and leveling them with an angry stare. They glance at each other.
‘Blake isn’t answering either. What do you want to do? I have class in ten. I could walk her over there, but then I have to leave.’
‘Naw, it’s okay, bro. I can get her there,’ Greg says, zipping up his jacket. ‘I’m good for an hour. Daisy?’
I sigh, wishing they would listen to me. ‘I don’t need you to walk me there. I know where it is.’
‘Daisy, you can barely stand. The Seamen would not be happy if we just left you like this.’
‘The Seamen?’ I snort. This is the first time I’ve heard the guys referred to as this, and I’ll bet Blake decided on that nickname.
I chuckle a little and then groan, trying to cover my eyes, but my arm is too heavy to lift properly.
‘Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with your hand?’
Even I can hear the horror in his tone.
‘Just a migraine,’ I mutter. ‘Hemiplegic migraine. Out of pills. Need more.’
My left leg shakes a little and I’m afraid for a moment that it’s going to give out.
What am I doing? I’m being ridiculous! I need help!
‘Fine,’ I mutter, swallowing my pride. ‘You can walk with me.’
He lets out a sigh of relief and opens the door. A blast of cold air has me rethinking leaving the warm house, but I need to go, so I steel myself against it, pull up my hood with my good hand, and follow him slowly outside.
The temperature at least seems to wake my brain up a little, though that could be because I’m focusing on the freezing air pummeling my face rather than the pulsating pain radiating through my skull.
Greg walks next to me down the wet driveway and I glance at him.
‘Are you really that scared of them?’
He side-eyes me and nods.
‘Why?’
‘They’re scary.’
I snort. ‘No, they aren’t.’
He looks away. ‘No offense, but if you think that then you have no idea.’
I wrestle a glove onto my bad hand as we walk. ‘Tell me, then.’
‘I shouldn’t.’ He stops and looks at me. ‘But I’m going to.’
‘Why?’
‘Because you should know who you’re living with up there.’
