Page 15 of Degradation
My eyes leave the screen just long enough for me to scowl at the back of his head even though I know he’s right.
Blake speeds everything up for a few seconds and slows it again when we see Daisy burst into my room. She’s looking around for me, needing me, I realize with a pang in my chest. But I’m not there. Instead of looking for her like I should have been when she never came back from the bathroom, I was downstairs putting business first just like my father always did.
I listen to Laurie’s grating voice coming through the speakers of Blake’s computer.
‘Are you coming back to bed, baby? I’ve been such a naughty girl. I think I need another spanking, don’t you?’
My lips twist in disgust.
‘Oh! This is awkward.’She sits up and grips the sheet to her chest in practiced embarrassment.
‘You know, you shouldn’t just barge into your brother’s room. It’s kinda weird. Families should have boundaries, you know? There’s going to be some new rules around here, kid killer.’
I watch her smirk as she takes in Daisy’s shocked expression.
‘Even if he did tell everyone downstairs earlier that you’re too stupid to learn them.’
‘Jesus,’ I breathe.
Both my friends turn to look at me, their expressions so horrified it’s almost funny.Almost.
‘None of that happened,’ I say, putting my hands up. ‘None of it is true. I haven’t even done anything with her since the end of last year. Fuck!’
I run my hands through my hair. ‘That psychotic bitch.’
I glance out at the hallway, wondering how I’m going to fix things with Daisy, if I even can after everything that’s happened.
We let her down.
Ilet her down. And Ikeepletting her down.
‘She runs after that,’ Blake says quietly. ‘And she was gone for almost five hours. Where the fuck was she?’
‘The campus cops picked her up in Bressler, where Lu lives. They got a call. Find out who it was. I want to know who saw her.’
Blake nods and some things happen on the screen that I don’t understand, but I don’t worry about what he’s doing or how; it’s not my skillset. It doesn’t take him long to come up with a name.
‘Travis Carrigan. He’s got a room in that dorm with a guy named Michael Corner. Let me see what else I can get on him from his socials first. That’s quickest.’
He sucks in a sudden breath a moment later. ‘That sonofabitch.’
‘What?’
I look over his shoulder to see a photo of Daisy on a bed from tonight. She’s staring blankly in front of her, looking lost and alone. Her makeup is smeared, there’s blood on her lip, and her legs are grazed. Her cheek is red. Her dress is ripped.
I feel my fingernails digging into my palms. My list is getting longer.
‘The fucker put a pic of her online.’
Blake lets out a snarl. ‘#daddyslittlegirlisawhore #somebitchesdeserveit.’
‘Who is that motherfucker?’ Mav spits.
Blake types away for a few seconds before he replies. ‘A nobody. Economics major. No one special. On a bunch of forums for dudes who never get laid.’
I stare at the smirking face of his school ID. ‘I want that photo scrubbed and him expelled by Monday. What about the roommate?’
‘Can’t find anything bad. Let’s see what Daisy says about him and take it from there. I could get them both easily with the stash the rent-a-cops are going to get a tipoff about. I’ll have a little talk with him regardless, make sure he stays away from her.’
