Page 81 of Degradation
Blake smirks. ‘Maybe that was true when she was thirteen, but times have changed, bro. She’s all grown up and she wants me with her. Who am I to tell a beautiful woman ‘no’ when she makes that kind of request?’
My eyes narrow to slits. ‘There’s more going on here,’ I mutter. ‘I’m not an idiot. I will find out what it is.’
Blake looks bored and rolls his eyes back in my direction. ‘The only thinggoing onhere is that you wish you were in my place. But she hasn’t asked you, has she, Shade? Nope, she’d rather have meand Mav.’
He gives me a wink and strolls back into Daisy’s room, shutting the door with a resounding click.
I’m pretty sure I feel my eye twitch.
‘Motherfucker,’ I mutter into the void.
I go back to my room and fall into my bed. That’s what I should have done instead of going to watch Daisy sleep. Blake is right. Itiscreepy.
But after Halloween, it’s like I need to make sure she’s still up here with us, that she’s safe. Especially since I can’t actually get rid of Marcus and the others yet - mostly because their dads are inmydad’s pocket. If anything happens to those fuckers on my watch, John Novelle’s punishment will be swift, and he’ll go right for the jugular. I don’t think he knows that I care about Daisy, but if he has any inkling, she’ll be gone in the blink of an eye.
I turn in my bed, trying to get comfortable. I just need to make sure she’s safe, and I need to do a better job than I did when we were kids.
For the first time in a long time, I think about how it was after April and Daisy moved in.
‘Where is she?’
My father storms into my room, his face red with fury. I already know he’s looking for Daisy. No one pisses him off the way she seems to be able to.
I’m on my feet, standing up straight, hoping he doesn’t realize I’m playing video games when I haven’t done my homework yet. ‘I haven’t seen her, sir.’
He literally snarls, turns on his heel, and leaves my room with a bellow that reverberates through the hall. My door slams closed with a crash that makes plaster fall from the ceiling and I grimace.
I hear him stomp down the corridor and burst into April’s room. He’s shouting about Daisy not being fit for a school with normal kids, about how she needs to start thinking of how her behavior looks. That’s all he cares about. How does it look to people?
I hear April’s calm voice trying to reason with him. She usually gets him to back down once his anger has blown itself out.
‘Jesus, what did you do this time?’
Marguerite pokes her head out from under my bed and looks at me, eyes unblinking.
‘School.’
I let out a sigh, commiserating with her as much as I can. It’s been six months since she came here and it took a while, but one day she just started visiting my room. She plays video games and watches me like she’s trying to work me out. I talk to her a lot even though she doesn’t chat back much. One or two words. That’s all she gives me. But it’s more than anyone besides April gets.
The TV beeps and she copies the sound, pulling herself out from under the bed as she does.
‘Larson again?’
She says nothing, but I see her nose twitch and my eyes narrow on a piece of red skin I see poking out from the shirt she likes to wear.
What the hell...
Before I realize what I’m doing, I’m grabbing her hand and pulling the sleeve up. There are three angry welts on her arm.
‘Did he do this?’ I hiss, but all she does is let out a small noise and steps back, her fingers straightening oddly.
I let go of her immediately. I know what it means, what I did wrong. But I couldn’t help it.
‘I’m sorry,’ I say, putting my hands up so she can see them. ‘But if he did that to you, you have to tell someone.’
She doesn’t look at me or say anything else. She goes and sits on my couch and picks up the second controller.
I sigh, sitting next to her, far away so I’m not touching her, and we start a new game.
