Page 123 of Degradation
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I’m still recovering from last night, my knuckles in a bowl of ice and my ribs aching from where one of Sauvage’s guys got in a lucky strike.
We’d been heading to the club when his goons hadpolitelyasked for us to join him in one of his many homes for a celebration.
Saying no wasn’t an option.
I hadn’t known that our phones were going to be taken before we got there, and I didn’t like it one bit. We were only going to stay out a couple of hours and meant to come back to be with Daisy, but once we were in the compound, the sonofabitch made it obvious that leaving wasn’t an option either, not until the meeting was done and we saw first-hand what happens to people when he doesn’t get what he’s been promised.
He made it clear that we’re out of time and that there will be no more extensions. Then, thefestivitiesbegan and all three of us had to show that we could hold our own. I think even Sauvage was surprised when Mav walked out and beat his best guy in less than a minute. It took me a little longer, but I got him in the end.
The bullshit lasted all night and then we got our phones back and saw all the missed calls from Greg and Jayce about Daisy’s migraine.
Motherfucker.
I hear the door and look up to see Shade walking in. Daisys behind him. She’s walking slowly and her eyes are downcast.
She doesn’t look up once as she heads to the stairs and begins to climb them.
Shade stares after her, his expression grim.
He waits until she’s out of sight before he comes into the kitchen and fills a glass with water. He gulps it down and then looks at it.
He throws it across the room into the bricks casually with a hissed ‘fuck’.
Everyone stops what they’re doing and stares at the shards of glass skittering across the floor.
I stand and wipe my hand with a towel. ‘Someone, clean that up.’
I don’t go to Shade. He can handle his own shit. I follow Daisy instead.
By the time I get upstairs, her door is closed. I try it. Locked.
‘What’s going on?’ Mav asks, coming out of the bathroom.
He looks better than he did and, thankfully, most of his bruises are on his torso, so no one will ask about it in the lab.
‘Is she okay?’
‘I don’t know.’
I grab a paperclip and push it into the hole in the doorknob, pushing the lock button the other side so the door opens.
I’ve been saying we need better locks all year, but I’m glad it’s still this easy to get into Daisy’s room.
I open it and step inside. She’s in bed. She looks asleep and I turn to go, but then I hear a sniffle.
‘Daisy?’
‘Go away, please,’ she whispers.
I should do what she wants, but she doesn’t sound like herself at all, so I go closer and peer at her.
Her eyes are open, and tears are leaking out. She’s not sobbing, but this is almost worse. She’s staring at the wall and at first, I’m not sure if she knows I’m there, but then she closes her eyes.
‘Please go. No more lies for now.’
‘I don’t understand,’ I hear myself murmuring.
