Page 47 of Degradation
‘No, well I saw him and Jolie in the library once…and there were a couple of guys back in England. Residents, like me. They would do it to each other late at night, after lights out when they thought no one would find out. And then, at Halloween…’ I wince, wondering if I shouldn’t say it in case he doesn’t like the rest of my answer.
‘On Halloween,’ he prods.
He’s trying not to show that he’s getting upset, but I can see it in the way his jaw pulses.
I sigh.
‘It was one of the guys that night. He said something about wanting to lay me partly off the pool table so my head was bent back, and he could use my mouth. So, I thought you might like something like that, too.’
Mav curses under his breath and, before I know it, he’s pulled me up his body. He hugs me tightly.
‘Jesus, Daisy,’ he whispers. ‘Some of the stuff you say… Like you’re talking about the weather. It fucking wrecks me.’
‘Sorry,’ I mutter against his chest. ‘It’s not supposed to.’
He holds me like that for a minute or two. ‘More playtime later if you want, okay? I need to get up.’
I nod and he kisses my forehead. ‘Stay in bed. I’ll get Shade to bring you something, okay?’
I nod, watching him move around the room as he grabs his clothes. He picks Shade’s robe up off the floor and puts it on the bed for me.
‘So, I wanted to ask you,’ he says, not looking at me as he pulls up his jeans.
‘About what?’
‘You mentioned some notes. On Halloween. When I was patching you up.’
My heart begins to pound, and I wonder if he can hear it. I’m sureIcan. It’s practically wailing in my ears like a death whistle.
‘Did I?’
How is my voice so steady?
‘Yeah. You said you hoped it wasn’t me.’
I feel myself shrugging. ‘Weird. I don’t remember. Must have been a dream, or something.’
He regards me for a moment, and I cover my nervousness by grabbing the robe and throwing it on. I stand carefully and I hope nonchalantly, stretching in place.
‘Oh, hey, where did these come from?’
‘What?’ I ask, hopping around the bed and feeling inordinately glad that he’s accepted my lies.
He’s holding up a pair of crutches that I hadn’t noticed.
‘Where were those?’
‘By the door.’
‘Who brought them?’
Mav shrugs. ‘Probably Shade. He said he had some things to get yesterday. I’ll bet he brought these for you. Here. Try them. See if you can get down the hall by yourself.’
I nod and he puts them in my hands. It takes me a second to work them out, but once I do, it’s not hard to get around.
Mav leaves, giving me a kiss on the cheek and promising he’ll be back as soon as he can.
I make it to the bathroom by myself for the first time in two days and it’s nice to have a little of my autonomy back. On the way back to my room, I see Blake leaving. He stops short when he sees me, his eyes taking in the crutches that I’m using.
