Page 37 of Degradation
‘Sure.’
I go back to my room and grab the bottle, noticing as I return that Blake is still standing in his room, staring at Daisy’s and looking deep in thought.
‘Are you okay?’ I ask him in a low voice.
He gives himself a shake and nods. ‘Is she?’
‘Yeah. Bad dream.’
Blake’s lips thin. ‘Her ankle?’ he asks, eyes falling on the bottle in my hand.
I nod. ‘It’ll probably hurt pretty bad for a week or so. She should stay off it as much as possible.’
His jaw tightens almost imperceptibly.
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’
He snorts and shrugs. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’
I frown. ‘No reason.’
I go back into Daisy’s room, finding her staring into space the way she does, and Shade hovering by the end of the bed. I watch her carefully. There’s something wrong. More than the ankle. I don’t know how I know that, but I do.
She isn’t looking at Shade. She isn’t looking at anything, really.
‘Go get some sleep,’ I say to him. ‘I’ll stay with her for a while.’
He nods, albeit a little reluctantly. ‘Yeah. Sure. I’ll see you in the morning.’
He leaves, closing Daisy’s door softly.
‘Here,’ I say with a smile, putting two pills into her palm and grabbing the glass of water that’s in arm’s reach.
She drinks them down and mutters a ‘thank you’ but seems like she’s on autopilot for lack of a better word.
‘What is it?’
She looks at me properly for the first time.
‘I don’t know,’ she mutters, laying back and staring at the ceiling.
‘What were you dreaming about?’
She shrugs. ‘Don’t remember.’
I watch her closely, sure she’s lying. But why?
Maybe she’s embarrassed because she woke us. Maybe it was about what happened in the games room.
I sit on the bed, suddenly needing to be closer to her, to remind myself that she’s okay and that she’s here.
I’ll never forget how she looked when I walked into that room just as Rob hit her, the cry of pain she made, the way she thudded to the floor. I could have killed that sonofabitch. I pummeled the shit out of him, but even when he was unconscious on the floor and some of the other members pulled me off him, it wasn’t enough. I wanted that fucker dead.
And she just stood there frozen, her eyes far away like they are now. What’s she thinking about? What puts that look on her face?
I need to know. No matter what it takes, I need to find out.
‘Do you want me to stay for a little while?’ I ask her, remembering how she didn’t want to be alone earlier tonight.
