Page 11

DAISY

T he next morning passes quickly. Mav helps me down the stairs and gets me something to eat. He even makes me a perfect cup of tea. I didn’t even know he’d paid attention to how I take it.

There are other frat members loitering around, but I realize how fewer there are of them now that pledging has finished. I also notice that everything’s tidier in general.

‘So, who cleans now that the pledges are gone,’ I ask Mav, vaguely recalling one of them mentioning janitors once.

‘We have a housekeeper, and she has a couple of staff members who keep everything ticking over. They started the first Monday of November.’

I take a sip of my tea. ‘Why haven’t I seen them?’

‘Well,’ he glances at me with a wary look, ‘we thought, after everything, you might not want random people in your room, so we asked them to keep away from our floor for the most part. They do the bathroom while we’re at class, but that’s about it.’

‘Oh.’ I frown at his back as he makes some kind of protein smoothie, remembering what Lu said about Travis.

What else have they done for me without my knowledge?

‘Those officers who brought me in on Halloween…’ I begin, trailing off to see what he says.

‘Gone,’ he mutters, glancing back at me.

‘And Travis?’

He nods. ‘The asshole from Bressler dorm, too.’

‘You guys planted drugs in his car, so he’d be kicked out.’

‘Blake did that part, but yes.’

I blink at him. ‘I didn’t think you’d tell me,’ I confess. ‘He’s in jail now, Lu said.’

‘He shouldn’t have… done what he did to you that night.’

I stare at him, not sure what to say.

He looks back when I say nothing more and sighs. ‘I won’t lie to you, Daisy. I can’t speak for the others, but if you ask me the right questions, I’ll tell you the truth.’

My eyes narrow. ‘And if I don’t ask the right questions, will you volunteer information?’

I see him grinning as he spoons a green powder into his smoothie. ‘It depends.’

‘On what?’

He pushes the start button on his fancy blender before he answers, and I cover my ears until he stops it again.

‘Sorry,’ he murmurs, looking more contrite when he notices that the noise affects me.

He sits next to me at the table. ‘It depends on a lot of things. How you feel, how you might react?—’

‘If you can trust me?’ I finish.

His eyes smolder as he looks at me, tracing my jaw with two of his fingers. ‘Oh, I think I can trust you, Tulip.’

I close my eyes focusing on his touch, leaning into it like he’s sunlight and I’m a starving little Daisy. But all too soon, his hand drops, and he lets out a sigh.

I echo the sound.

‘If he trusted you, he’d have told you about Envy,’ an insidious little voice says inside my head.

I push the thought away and finish my tea while he drinks the smoothie that, to me, looks about as appetizing as the salads he likes.

When we’re finished, he walks me to class, handing me the textbook for it that I thought I was going to have to buy.

‘Where’d this come from?’ I ask.

‘Blake borrowed it from one of his buddies for you.’

I smile as I take it and go into class, hoping he’s there to walk me back later as I settle into my seat.

When class is over, Mav is waiting for me. We spend some time in the lab, going over numbers. I’m conscious of Mav watching me, with concern I think, almost the entire time.

‘What is it?’ I finally ask, a little suspicious that Shade might be using him to watch me since he’s barely left me alone all day.

But he just asks me if I’m hungry and hands me one of the salads he buys, muttering something about me getting my five a day. I eye it dubiously because, while I don’t have a problem with vegetables, I don’t like how everything in the container he’s given me is all mixed together.

I eat it even though it’s vile, half because he got it for me, and half, I realize with a sinking feeling, because, in The Heath, if I didn’t eat what was on my plate, I’d lose privileges that day.

I don’t tell him any of this, of course. But when I push the container away, disgusted with myself and the thoughts that my time there has left me with, Mav gives me a questioning look.

‘Don’t like salad?’

‘Not really a fan of lots of flavors jumbled together,’ I murmur.

My eyes drift over a short paragraph in the chemistry textbook I’m reading about drug manufacture. I vaguely hear him say something else a few seconds later, but I don’t really register it, too wrapped up in my thoughts. I need to find some time alone to do more research, but, after reading through all the data Mav accidentally gave me access to, I think I know what the problem is. And how to fix it.

‘Daisy?’

‘Yes?’ I look up, almost afraid he somehow knows what I’m thinking.

‘Did you hear anything I just said?’ he asks.

I blink up at him. ‘Sorry, I was miles away.’

I try to calm my nerves.

Keep it together. Mind reading isn’t a thing. He has no idea. None of them do.

‘Don’t you need to get to your next class?’

‘Oh!’

My heart skips a beat as I look at the clock.

The time!

I slam the book shut and stuff it into my bag, grabbing my crutches while I begin worrying about being late, about having to go into class after it’s begun and everyone staring at me as I do.

But Mav just plucks my bag from my fingers and gives me a relaxed smile.

‘It’s ok. It’ll only take a couple of minutes to get there if I carry your bag. You won’t be late. You don’t need to rush.’

I can’t help the way my lips turn upward, my anxieties practically disappearing in the face of his calm.

‘You’re always so unflappable,’ I say. ‘Do you ever even yell?’

‘Sometimes,’ he replies, his eyes warm. ‘But it usually takes a lot.’

‘It’s probably all the endorphins from being a gym bro,’ I say, and he laughs as he opens the door for me.

After my next class, he brings me home and there’s a large, white shipping box waiting for me on my bed.

‘What’s this?’ I ask.

It’s addressed to me.

Mav shrugs and takes out his phone. ‘Open it.’

‘Do you have some scissors?’

‘Here.’ I jump as Blake strides in and holds some out to me.

Where did he come from? Has he been lying in wait?

I take them and note the way his eyes move over me. He’s frowning a little and I look at him with a bit of concern entering my mind. I can’t help but wonder if he’s going to turn on me again. He made promises, but what if he doesn’t take those as seriously as Shade does? What if he didn’t mean what he said about us getting to know each other and that he’d never act like he did that night toward me ever again? What if he was lying about it?

‘Daisy?’

I realize I’ve been staring at his chest for several moments. Clearing my throat, I carefully cut the packaging tape a little clumsily, since scissor time was limited at The Heath, and open the box. There’s a clear bag inside with something puffy and blue in it.

I glance back at the guys. They’re both watching with anticipation and I frown as I draw the big bag out and rip it open.

Blake steps forward and takes it from me, laying it out on the bed and unzipping it. ‘It’s got a lining,’ he says. ‘And it’s thick, even the hood, so it’s extra warm.’

A coat.

There’s an unexpected lump in my throat and I work hard to swallow it down as I smile wide.

I turn to him.

‘You got me a… a present ?’ I ask, unable to contain my excitement.

I think I jump up and down a little, and I know my fingers are stretching wide, but I don’t care.

He looks uncomfortable. ‘Yeah. It’s just a coat.’

‘But why?’

‘It’s a gift,’ he says quietly, almost shyly. ‘I don’t need a reason. But you said you didn’t have one and it’s going to get a lot colder soon. You’re going to need this.’

He delves into the box and brings out a pair of thick matching gloves, a scarf, and a woolly hat.

He bought these.

For me.

‘Thank you,’ I whisper.

For once, it’s easy to say the right thing at the right time because I feel it so powerfully that I can’t not.

‘You don’t need to thank me,’ he says. ‘Like I said, you need one. It’s not like designer , or something. I hardly spent any money at all.’

I shake my head, not really understanding why he’s still talking.

But my grin might be the widest it’s ever been. I couldn’t make myself frown even if I wanted to.

‘A present,’ I murmur to myself, stroking the coat almost reverently.

‘Try everything on. Make sure it fits. Go look in the mirror.’ Mav urges with a smile on his face.

I nod vigorously. My hands are shaking a little as I put on the thick coat. It’s like wearing a duvet. It goes down to my mid calves. There’s a belt and the indigo color fades from light at the top to dark at the bottom.

Mav gives me a thumbs up, and his eyes travel over me. I follow his gaze and then look back at him, trying to figure out what he’s thinking.

But, as usual, I’ve got nothing.

Then, Mav glances at Blake and I know something is going on, but I don’t understand what it is.

‘Everything okay?’ I ask.

‘Yeah,’ Mav answers, his eyes still on Blake. ‘It’s great, Tulip.’

‘It’s really warm,’ I say, putting on the gloves and the scarf.

I try the hat but take it off almost immediately, shuddering at the feel of the wool on my hair and against my face.

Blake chuckles, finally seeming to relax. ‘I can send the hat back if you don’t like it.’

I nod cautiously and limp across the room without my crutches, opening my closet to look in the full-length mirror that’s on the inside of the door.

I turn this way and that, twirling on the ball of one foot.

‘I haven’t had a coat of my own in years,’ I murmur. ‘At The Heath, there were communal ones that said they were, ‘Property of the Clinic’ in big letters. They were either too big or too small. But this fits perfectly.’

I look in the mirror at them behind me and see Mav whispering. I strain to listen, watching their lips.

‘Buying her stuff?’

‘You don’t think she’s worth it?’ Blake’s eyes narrow at his friend.

‘That’s not what I mean, and you know it. Is this a test? To see if she’s like the others? Like your mom?’

‘Shut the fuck up. Right now,’ Blake hisses, and they both stop talking as soon as they realize I can hear them.

I feel puzzled as I take in the luscious coat. Is this a trick? Is it not really for me? Did I just assume and now Blake has to pretend?

Oh.

No, he said it was for me, didn’t he? I frown at the mirror, as I go over the past few minutes in my head. Yes, he gave me the scissors and he knew what was in the box and they wanted me to try it on.

So, what’s the problem?

I unzip the coat and shrug out of it, looking from one to the other, wishing they’d just say.

Blake frowns. ‘You don’t like it?’

‘I love it.’

‘Then where’d the smile go, gorgeous?’

‘You’re…upset. Why?’

He gives Mav an annoyed look. ‘It’s nothing.’

He approaches me and tries to take the coat from my grasp.

He’s taking it? But he just gave it to me!

I drag it closer, scowling at him. ‘No!’

He looks surprised. ‘You really do like it?’

‘I said I did,’ I practically snarl. ‘You gave it to me and I’m not giving it back. It’s mine! Get your own!’

I see Mav double over in the background, making a weird noise and I stare at him in concern but then realize he’s laughing so hard he’s bent over with it. Blake is too.

‘I don’t understand,’ I say, feeling so lost and confused that tears come to my eyes. ‘Is… Is it not really a present for me? Is it for someone else?’

Blake’s chuckles die as soon as he sees that I’m beginning to get distraught. ‘Oh, sweetheart. No.’

He shakes his head.

‘Of course it’s for you. It’s just,’ he sighs and pulls me to him, holding me tightly.

‘It’s just… I’m so fucked up and weird and I’m sorry. The coat is for you. Of course it is. I wanted to get you something.’

‘But what did Mav mean? A test? A test for what?’

Blake gives Mav a narrow-eyed look. ‘You’ve upset her, you idiot.’

Mav winces. ‘Sorry, Tulip.’

‘Give us a minute,’ Blake murmurs to Mav who gives him another look I don’t get.

He leaves quickly though, closing the door behind him.

‘This wasn’t a test.’ Blake passes a hand over his face. ‘At least, I don’t think it was. And Mav was talking about my mom.’

‘Your mom?’

He sighs. ‘She had expensive tastes. She wanted things my dad couldn’t afford, that she couldn’t afford. Around this town, a lot of people have nice things, you know? She wanted a piece of the pie, I guess. Some of that lifestyle she kept seeing.’ He steps away from me and turns around so I can’t see his face. ‘He tried to make her happy. He got into debt trying to get her all the things he thought would make her happy.’ He laughs mirthlessly. ‘And she still left when I was nine.’

‘I’m…sorry,’ I murmur. ‘Where did she go?’

He shrugs. ‘No clue, but she never came back so maybe she found what she was looking for. Anyway, my dad never really got out of debt after that. He just went deeper and deeper. He’ll never get out.’

I let out a breath, thinking about what Blake has revealed.

‘I’m sorry that happened,’ I say after a minute.

‘Not your fault.’

‘I guess none of us had great teenage years, huh?’

He snorts and says nothing. He’s still turned away from me.

‘So…’ I frown, trying to make sense of what he’s said and how it relates to the coat. ‘I should give you the coat back?’

His jaw sets mulishly. ‘No. It’s not really about the coat, Daisy.’

I move around him so that we’re facing each other and try to hand it to him.

He shakes his head. ‘You love the coat. That’s what I was going for.’

‘I don’t love it,’ I lie.

‘Princess,’ he quirks a brow. ‘You’re literally stroking it with your hand. You love it.’

I look down and see that I am, in fact, stroking my fingers up and down the soft fabric. I stop immediately, scowling at myself in annoyance.

‘Keep the coat, or don’t, but I’m not sending it back,’ he informs me. ‘If you don’t use it, it’ll just sit in my closet collecting dust and I’ll make sure no one ever wears it, so it’ll be a total waste.’

My mouth drops open. ‘But it’s so nice.’

He nods emphatically. ‘So, you might as well keep it and use it.’

‘I’ll pay you back for it,’ I say quietly, wondering how the hell I’m going to do that when I can’t even afford my textbooks. ‘How much is a coat, anyway?’

‘Doesn’t matter. I won’t accept it. The coat was yours as soon as I saw it.’ He steps closer. ‘I knew you’d look good in it, so that can be my payment, seeing you wear it, knowing you aren’t shivering with cold every time you go outside for the next five months.’

‘Okay,’ I whisper, staring up at him. ‘It is a really nice coat. I’ve never had anything like it. Thank you.’

‘There is one other thing you could do for me.’

I nod.

He takes a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and hands it to me. Frowning, I unfold it and gasp, almost dropping it.

It’s a photo of me at his desk one of the first times I was sneaking around.

‘You could tell me the truth.’

‘Where did you get this?’ I ask, feeling a little faint.

‘During a scan of the house security. I found it by accident. Was that the only time you snuck into my room, gorgeous?’

I shrug out of the scarf, suddenly too hot. I drape it and the coat on the bed, putting the gloves with it.

‘No,’ I whisper.

He steps closer, crowding me against the bed and I sit down on it hard.

‘Okay. So, what were you doing and how many times did you mess with the cameras?’

‘I– It’s hard to explain.’

‘Try.’

His voice isn’t angry. In fact, he sounds calm and not upset at all. Somehow that puts me more on edge.

‘How many times?’ he asks.

‘I’m not sure.’ I whisper, staring up at his throat.

He swallows. ‘Make an educated guess.’

‘Between five and eight.’

He paces the room. ‘That’s it?’

I clasp my hands together, sitting straight with my head forward, treating this as an interrogation, the kind I’d be subjected to at The Heath if I or someone else did something wrong. My heart thuds hard and I try not to think about the implications of Blake knowing what I’ve been up to because I’m afraid I’ll freak out.

‘Yes.’

He appears in my vision. ‘You’re sure?’

I glance into his eyes and then away quickly. ‘Yes, I’m sure. It was no more than eight.’

He stalks out of my room, and I hear him in his. I quickly message Lu.

Dear Lu, I’m going to tell Blake. He’s the one I suspect the most. If you don’t hear from me within five minutes, call your cousins, I guess... From, Daisy

I got u, Thelma. (Sorry, i was lying before. i have 2 b Daphne. It’s a thing) 5 mins and im callin my boys. B careful. He might b nuts.

I’m still trying to work out the reference when he comes back in a minute later and throws a pile of papers on the bed next to me. I put my phone on the bed behind me, face down.

‘Then how do you explain these? There are way more than eight discrepancies in the cameras over the past couple of months.’

I stare at the sheets, seeing lines and lines of outages and reboots, of deletions and other activities that don’t make sense.

Shaking my head slowly, I look up at him, my gaze searching his face, his eyes. It can’t be him, surely. Not unless this is a crazy double bluff on his part.

I don’t think it’s him, but all these alerts prove that someone is using the house cameras. Lu was right. We need help.

I slowly stand and limp to the other side of the room to where I know the cameras can’t see. I open the drawer and pull out the notes and the letters, putting them on the desk.

He’s watching me from the other side of the room. He hasn’t moved. I silently beckon him, and he sighs, sauntering over.

‘What is all this, Daisy? What could these pieces of paper possibly say that would make me...’

He trails off and picks one up. The first one I got. He frowns and picks up the next and the next. Then he uncrumples the letter.

‘What the fuck?’ he surveys my face, trying to find something in it, but I don’t know what. ‘Show me the emails.’

‘Keep your voice down,’ I remind him. ‘He...at least, I think it’s a he...watches. Listens, too, I’m pretty sure. Your list of inconsistencies proves it. But he can’t see us here, and he can’t hear if you’re quiet, remember?

Blake’s eyes widen and he looks back at the cameras.

‘I wondered why you moved the desk,’ he whispers.

I don’t know why the tone sends a zing through me, but it does.

Without a word, I open the laptop and bring up my inbox. I open the first one and then the last one, playing the video that was sent of me being hit across the face and falling to the ground in a loop.

‘Who is it?’ he asks. ‘Any ideas at all?’

I sit in my chair. ‘I thought it might be you, or Mav, or Shade. I’ve considered the other members of the frat. I wondered if it might be part of the pledge stuff at one point. But I have no idea. This letter,’ I tap the longer, crumpled one, ‘was a couple days ago. It was left on my desk while I was in the shower. I... checked the cameras from your room, but the timestamp of every single one in the house jumped forward by two minutes. There’s nothing to show who was in here.’

‘Is that why you like Mav sleeping in your bed at night?’

I nod. ‘Partly. I do also like his company.’

‘This is fucked up. Have you been getting these the whole time you’ve been here?’

I nod. ‘The first one was in my welcome envelope. But they’re getting...’

‘Nastier.’

‘Yeah. I thought maybe it was a joke, but it’s getting kind of scary, now.’

‘And they say your mom was murdered?’

I nod.

‘Was she?’