Page 17

DAISY

T he next day, I start exercising again. Shade insists on coming with me, so we jog side-by-side for a few miles around the campus early while everyone’s still asleep. My ankle twinges a little at first, but that’s it and I’m glad there doesn’t seem to be any lasting damage. Not being able to calm my mind over the past couple of weeks has been difficult. Nothing else really has the same effect on me as running as fast as I can for an hour or so.

We spend the rest of the day watching movies and studying together. It’s nice and I feel a sense of contentment when we’re all together. I wonder what Lu is going to say when I tell her what’s been going on with Blake, Mav, and Shade. I think she’s going to be surprised to say the least.

Monday rolls around quickly. I wake up early with a headache, squashed and overheating between both Blake and Mav and tell them angrily and in no uncertain terms for the third time that they need to take turns because the bed is not big enough for three grown people and I will start sleeping elsewhere.

Blake just smirks and tells Mav he’ll play Rock, Paper, Scissors with him for my room every night before bed.

I roll my eyes and go to the bathroom, letting them sort it out amongst themselves. On the way back, I see Shade leaving his room and can’t help the smile that overtakes my face. It feels like I have my best friend back after a decade. A wound in me that I didn’t know was even there has been healed and I’m happy. Actually happy. I value our friendship even more than the sex.

But, of course, that was really nice . Pleasurable for the most part. I think they’re good at it. I mean, as far as I can tell considering I have no prior experience with sex. That’s another reason I want to speak with Lu. I don’t think that all of my information should come from one source, and I’ll bet she knows lots of things about it.

When Shade sees me, he smiles back. ‘Want to come to my room and play video games later?’ he asks.

I laugh. ‘Sure, but I’ll probably be a little rusty.’

Blake opens my door and sticks his head out. He beckons us and disappears back inside.

‘Do you think he and Mav have trashed my bed, so I have to get another, larger one with all that money that’s building up in that allowance account?’ I ask hopefully.

Shade chuckles. ‘You can buy whatever you want with it. It’s yours.’

But Novelle money isn’t mine. The only thing I want from John is my education. That’s what he owes me and that’s all I’ll accept. I haven’t spent a dime of the astronomical sum that has started appearing in my account except to buy the rest of my textbooks, and I won’t.

Shade boops my nose. ‘You can always go and sleep in one of their beds or even join me in mine if they’re bothering you, or, you know, just lock your door.’

‘No.’ I wrinkle my nose at him. ‘I like it when someone’s with me,’ I say sulkily. ‘It’s just that I’ll have to do something if they can’t share.’

I rub my temples as I enter my room.

There’s a red box on the bed with a black ribbon around it.

‘What’s this?’ I ask, glancing at Blake first because the last box was from him.

‘Not me,’ he says, putting his hands up. ‘But I did help choose.’

‘The hell you did,’ Mav snorts and pushes the box toward me. ‘Open it.’

I untie the black ribbon and pull up the shiny cardboard lid, peering in. Inside are colorful scraps of satin and lace.

‘Oh!’ I exclaim.

Shade looks over my shoulder. ‘Lingerie?’

‘We noticed that you didn’t really have any,’ Mav explains, running a hand through his hair.

I pick up one of the floss-like scraps and cock a brow. ‘Do I now ?’

Blake sniggers. ‘Just try them on. They’re all-natural fibers so they should be pretty comfortable. That was my idea.’

Mav rolls his eyes at Blake and then smiles at me. ‘We can get you something else if you don’t like these, Tulip. We want you to be comfortable.’

‘Comfy first. Sexy second,’ Blake mutters with a wink.

I pull out a red pair of panties and a matching bra.

‘How did you even know my size?’ I ask, pulling up Mav’s shirt that I’ve taken to wearing around since Shade stole his robe back.

It takes me a second to realize no one has answered and when I look up, their eyes are all roaming hungrily around my body.

‘I’m good...with...sizes,’ Blake finally says, his eyes not moving as I put on the bra and step into the tiny undies.

‘Well?’ I ask, going to the closet to look in the mirror.

‘Perfect,’ Shade breathes.

I glance at my reflection and do a doubletake.

‘Wow,’ I say softly. ‘I mean, aesthetically… I look...’

‘Amazing,’ Blake murmurs, coming up behind me. ‘Just like we knew you would. How do they feel?’

I move around in front of the mirror to test, jiggling everything a little.

I think one of them swears, but I don’t understand why so I ignore it.

‘I think so.’ My eyes meet Mav’s in the mirror. ‘Thank you. I’ll wear them today.’

Mav grins. ‘I can’t wait to have a longer look at you in them later. Maybe you can show me the other colors, too.’

I blush a little, looking away, and I hear his low chuckle.

‘Shade and I gotta get going, Tulip,’ he murmurs, adjusting my twisted bra strap and kissing me on the shoulder.

They all share one of those looks that I’m on the outside of, but before I can ask them what it means, both Shade and Mav are gone.

It’s just Blake. He hasn’t taken his eyes off me once.

He comes up behind me.

‘You look gorgeous. Perfect,’ he whispers.

I shiver a little, my tummy fluttering at his words as I close my eyes.

I feel his hands snake over my shoulders and caress my encased breasts boldly before moving one hand between my legs and cupping me.

‘Are you still sore?’ he asks.

‘Not really,’ I reply.

‘The cream helped?’

I nod.

‘Good because Rock, Paper, Scissors is my game. I will win every time, so you’re going to have me in your bed every single night until Mav wises up and makes us choose another way.’

I look at him, wondering if he thinks we know each other well enough to have sex. I don’t think we do. He must see something in my face because he winces.

‘No, not that. Not yet. I told you there are a ton of other things I want to do with you. If you’re up for it.’

I nod a little hesitantly.

‘You’ll have your safe words. But I don’t think you’ll need them. You’ll love every depraved thing I do to you, my gorgeous little slut.’

My breathing hitches.

‘I love that you like it when I talk to you like that.’

‘I don’t understand why I do,’ I confess, looking away. ‘It’s... I feel... What does it say about me?’

‘Nothing,’ he murmurs, holding me closer from behind. ‘It says nothing about you, gorgeous, nothing bad anyway. It’s just something you like. And you’ll find other things you like too, and some things you don’t at all. Everyone’s different and so long as you’re not hurting anyone, so long as you’re having fun, what does it matter what you like?’

His words make sense and the uncertainty I feel recedes a little. I think it’ll take some time before I’m completely comfortable with it and I tell him so.

‘I’ll temper my humiliating words with sweet ones whenever you need me to.’

I let out a sigh.

‘Now, get dressed.’ He gives me a tap on the rump. ‘Don’t want to be late for class.’

He leaves me alone and I grab a pair of my most comfy jeans to offset the underwear if they do end up being a problem as the day wears on. I throw them on with a shirt over top and a sweater. Shoving on my boots and putting my hair up in a high ponytail.

My blue coat goes on last as I stare out the window at the frost on the grass below. Blake’s present has quickly become my very favorite item of clothing and it’s so warm. I’ve realized that I’ve actually been cold outside for weeks. I didn’t notice. I didn’t have a coat, I couldn’t buy a coat, so I was just soldiering on without one and not allowing myself to think about it.

I grab my bag and make sure my secret project papers are out of sight. I’m close. A few more simulations in the lab and I think I’ll have the fixed formula for Envy, and my Plan B, my future, will be assured. There’s just a couple of kinks I can’t quite work out yet.

Arriving at class early, I sit in the back with my head down. I’ve already finished the work that I need to do this semester for this one anyway, so I pay attention with half an ear so that I can answer questions correctly if I get called on.

Lu messages me asking me to visit her while she’s working so I swing by Grinder afterward. I wave when I see her behind the counter and she grins, waving back with her customary bounciness. She brings a latte to my table when she has a minute and sits down with me.

‘Are you okay?’ I ask. ‘I didn’t hear from you all weekend.’

‘Yeah,’ she shrugs. ‘Family stuff. Nothing major, just took up my time. So, first. Mich was asking about you. You know he’s rooming on his own now.’

She waggles her eyebrows, and I frown, shaking my head in confusion.

‘In case you wanted to jump his bones,’ she says with a roll of her eyes. ‘You were saying before Halloween that you wanted to get a little experience. Remember? Mich is such a nice guy. He’d be a safe lay, if you know what I mean.’ She looks away. ‘You know after what happened... In case you were scared of...’

‘Oh! No. I jumped Shade’s bones.’

It bursts out of me before I can stop it and I gasp, slapping my hands over my mouth, my eyes wide.

She’s completely silent for about five long seconds.

‘You did what in a who now ?’

‘Shade. I wanted to talk to you about it actually.’

Lu’s mouth opens and closes, then opens and closes again. She’s full-on speechless. I haven’t seen her like this ever .

‘We aren’t really related,’ I murmur, wondering if she’s forgotten he isn’t my actual brother.

‘That’s not it,’ she murmurs. ‘I’m just surprised after...everything that happened. Are you sure it’s what you want? He’s not, like, coercing you, is he?’

I shake my head. ‘No. It’s not like that. Me and him, and Blake and Mav... We’ve put all that behind us. They’ve been...different.’

Lu stares at me. ‘You and Shade... and Mav... and Blake?’

‘Sort of,’ I say very quietly, trying to glean what I can from her face as hard as I can, so I know what’s coming.

Is she going to be upset? Angry? It didn’t even cross my mind that she’d react negatively, but I suppose it’s kind of unconventional.

She sits back in the chair, her face blank, or at least with an expression I can’t interpret.

‘Well, fuck,’ she mutters. ‘Here I was thinking I was going to have to intervene, stage a literal intervention to get you on one dick. And you’re on three .’

I wait with bated breath, almost afraid she’s going to storm off.

But then she raises her hand for a high five and I realize the look in her eyes is pride.

‘Fuck, yeah. You go, girl! You get those frat boy dicks! Collect ’em like motherfucking baseball cards!’

I laugh loudly and don’t leave her hanging, though the hard slap of our palms makes my skin sting.

‘Am I on the schedule this week?’ I ask.

She nods. ‘I put it up if you want to check it. Need cash?’

I nod. ‘I got all my textbooks, which is a load off my mind, but they keep buying me things. I want to buy my own things . ’

She leans forward. ‘What have they bought you?’

‘Clothes. My phone was from Shade. This,’ I touch the coat reverently, ‘Blake. And Mav got me…underwear.’

I blush as she squeals.

‘Oh, my freaking GOD, they’re buying you gifts.’

I frown. ‘That’s…a good thing? I wasn’t sure. I want to buy my own things.’

‘I get it,’ she nods. ‘Of course you want to stand on your own two feet, but, yeah, I think that’s good sign when it comes to those three. They’re buying you stuff you need. It’s a sign of affection so long as they’re not love bombing you, or something. And I saw how worried about you they were on Halloween, so I don’t think they’re doing that.’

I let out a confused sigh. ‘What’s is that? How will I know if they’re doing it?’

She gives me a double thumbs up. ‘Don’t worry. I’m in your corner, Daisy-bear. I won’t steer you wrong.’ She gives me a sly grin. ‘It just means you’re gonna need to tell me every sordid detail of what happens in that house.’

I let out a chuckle. ‘You just want all the tea.’

‘Yes.’ She winks. ‘But later. Not right now,’ she straightens and her expression changes drastically in seconds from exuberant to somber. ‘We have business to talk about.’

‘Business?’ I ask, quirking a brow.

‘Yeah, serious business. This is my game face.’ She leans closer but doesn’t say anything.

Drama is definitely this girl’s calling.

‘What serious business?’ I ask dutifully.

‘Shannon. She came through.’

‘Your cousin?’ I lean forward, almost upsetting my latte. ‘She found something?’

Lu shifts on her seat like she's so excited she can't contain herself.

‘Remember how she couldn’t get into the locked part of the office where they keep the police records? Well, last week the police receptionist, Carol, was off sick and they asked her to find some documents for them, so they unlocked the whole place for her. While she was in their paper files, she found your mom’s accident report. She got it for me, since the copy I requested hasn’t come yet.’

My heart skips a beat. ‘Where is it?’

Her eyes scan left and right to make sure no one’s paying attention to us as she pulls an envelope out of her bag and hands it to me.

I open it and scan it, taking in my mom’s name and the date of the accident. Has it really been over two months? I read all the other superfluous information and turn the page. There’s a diagram of the road, the bend, and where the car stopped. There are notes by the first officer on the scene, detailing where my mother's body was found, what she looked like.

‘Is there anything weird about it?’ I ask, continuing to stare, trying to see if something jumps out at me.

‘Nope.’

I look up at Lu. ‘Then why bother sending it?’

‘Because,’ Lu says quietly, pulling out an identical folder from the drawer, ‘my sister from another mister, what’s weird is that there are two and they. Aren’t. The. Same. This one was in the folder behind it. Unmarked except for a note from the Chief asking Carol to shred it. Shannon found it by accident. She said Carol is as scatterbrained as they come. She probably threw it in with the filing and forgot about it.’

She hands me the second report.

‘Why would there be two?’ I mutter, scanning the second one.

Everything’s identical until I get to the diagram. My mom’s car is in the same place, but her body is closer to the road and it’s on the other side of the car. The passenger side. There was a partial footprint found in the mud nearby. The picture shows tire marks on the road that don’t correspond to my mom’s car and the officer’s notes say that another vehicle may have been present. I turn the page. It details footage from a convenience store down the highway that shows two cars passing together just before the crash. My mom’s car and a black sedan.

‘Where is this officer?’ I ask. ‘We need to speak to him.’

Lu’s brows rise. ‘We can’t. He doesn’t work for Richmond PD anymore and Shannon says he moved out of town just after this happened.’

‘Someone made him leave,’ I mutter.

Lu nods. ‘Or they paid him to. Whoever’s writing those notes sure knows a lot.’

‘This proves that my mom really was murdered,’ I whisper.

‘And someone is trying to cover it up.’

‘John.’ I murmur half to myself. ‘But the Chief’s note to Carol asked for this to be destroyed, so he must be in on it too.’

‘Looks like it.’ Lu sighs. ‘But how does your stalker fit in? How do they know anything about this? And why do they want you playing detective? What’s the point?’

I sigh. ‘Now we have even more questions with no answers.’

‘I’m sorry about your mom, Daisy.’

‘Thanks,’ I nod absently.

I look up at my friend. ‘This doesn’t change anything though,’ I say. ‘Not really. Dead is dead. It doesn’t matter how.’

Lu sits back in her seat and shrugs. ‘Yeah, but there’s an accident and there’s murder. If it was him , don’t you want him to pay for what he did?’

She has a point.

‘Yes.’

‘We should get out there and take a look at the site ourselves now that we have this,’ Lu says, sitting next to me. ‘Visuals are important.’

‘When?’

‘Are you free later today?’ she asks.

‘Bennet and I have to meet for a project. Here, actually. But I can after that.’

She makes a face. ‘The lowlife hipster scumbag? Ew.’

I shrug. ‘He’s okay. Kinda funny, actually.’

‘I’ll take your word for it,’ she says with a grimace. ‘Let me know what time you’ll be done, and I’ll borrow a car.’

‘Okay,’ I say. ‘I have to go to my stepfather's this week for dinner, too. I might be able to find out more while I’m there.’

Lu nods. ‘Staff always know stuff in the rich people houses, even if they don’t want to. Do you think any of them will talk to you?’

‘Stevens, the butler, maybe. If anyone knows something, it’ll be him.’

‘Will he tell you anything?’

‘I don’t know. He liked my mom, though. I’m sure of it and he would let me hide in the kitchen when things were too much with John when I was a kid. He’s a decent guy.’

I let out a long breath and I put my head in my hands, trying to make sense of it all.

‘But why would my stepfather do it? They were together for years. Why would he suddenly want to get rid of her? I just don't get it.’

‘I don’t know, but, if there's a cover up, it has Novelle’s stench all over it. He definitely has something to do with her death. You need to be careful. If he was willing to kill his wife, he won’t have a problem doing the same thing to you. Maybe it’s time to tell someone else about this. Not the cops obviously, but… I don’t know. Someone .’

‘Blake knows.’

Lu makes a sound of derision. ‘Yeah, but what has the big, bad enforcer done since he found out?’

‘The what?’ I ask, frowning at her.

She looks away. ‘Nothing,’ she says quickly. ‘Just an expression.’

‘Oh. I haven’t heard that one,’ I murmur, shaking off my confusion. ‘He said he was going to look over all the information from the diagnostics data that the camera system spit out, but there was a ton. I think he’s still working through it.’

‘I think you should show him this. Maybe you should show all of them.’

I nod. ‘Maybe so.’

But Lu doesn’t know about Envy. I haven’t told her about my plan, or the fact that I might well make enemies of Mav, Shade, and Blake when they find out I’ve been going behind their backs for weeks.

She looks at the clock and stands up. ‘My break’s over. Do you want me to keep the files?’

I shake my head and stand up, too. ‘I want to look over them again.’

I lurch forward without warning, and give Lu an abrupt, awkward hug. She looks surprised.

‘What was that for?’ she asks.

‘Being you.’

She smiles and gives me a wink. ‘I am awesome. When are you meeting the bohemian knockoff?’

‘A few minutes,’ I chuckle.

She snorts. ‘I’ll talk to you later.’

I finish my coffee slowly while I’m waiting for Bennet to show up. I message the guys on the chat that Shade added me to and showed me how to use, telling them where I am.

While they haven’t specifically asked me to let them know that stuff, I’ve noticed that they all give me a general run-down of their plans so that I know where they are. It seems fair to do the same back, and I don’t mind them knowing. I keep the field trip to my mom’s death spot vague, though, only mentioning that I’ll be hanging out with Lu. I don’t want questions I’m not sure I can answer just yet.

I’m just getting my notes out in preparation for Bennet when I hear a commotion, and multiple shrieks. Water begins spraying from the ceiling, all over the counter and some of the tables close by.

‘Everyone out!’ Lu yells. ‘We’re closed! Fucking Bill . I told him it was leaking last week. He said it was fixed.’

‘What do we do?’ Janet, one of the other employees shrieks as she tries to catch the water in two cups.

‘Turn off the damn water, Janet!’

‘Where?’

‘Find the red twisty thing and TURN IT, genius!’ Lu screams, trying to keep the water away from the electronics with multiple dish towels.

I know where that is!

I see it in the bathroom every time I’m in there. I jump up, making sure my coat is safe , and run to the back, sliding in the puddles of water already collecting on the floor. I find the ‘red twisty thing’, and turn it to the right, hoping it’s the same in the USA as it is in England.

‘Righty tighty, lefty loosy,’ Douglas at The Heath used to say.

I hear the rushing of the water start to ease and poke my head out. ‘Is it stopping?’

‘Yeah,’ Lu calls, sounding relieved. ‘Daisy Duke to the rescue. Shit, Janet, could you be more of a dumbass? What did you think the cups were gonna do?’

‘Hey!’ the other girl puts her hands on her hips, staring at Lu. ‘It’s not my fault I didn’t know where the twisty thing was!’

‘Okay, I know. I’m sorry.’ She pats Janet’s sopping wet hair. ‘It’s not your fault you’re incompetent.’

I take a towel from the back and dry myself off. I’m not actually too wet as most of the water was spraying over the front where the hatch is.

‘Well, no shifts for a while,’ Lu tells me, wringing out her dark hair with a sigh. ‘Bill’s gonna have to get that pipe fixed and get this place dried out before we can reopen.’

Guess that means no more work for me this week. Bad luck.

‘Do you still want to go this afternoon?’ I ask. ‘We can do it another day.’

‘No, we have plans. We’re going. Bill can get his ass down here for once. I’m not waiting around all day for the contractor.’

‘Okay.’ I give Lu a mock salute and leave the cafe, but realize I’ll have to stay and wait for Bennet since I don’t have his number.

I stand outside for about twenty minutes before he appears with his token horn-rimmed glasses and polished, black, lace-up boots.

‘Hey,’ he greets, putting his arm around me. ‘Ready to get into it?’

Into what?

I shrug his arm off and point to Grinder. ‘They had a leak, so we won’t be able to work in there.’

‘Aw, man! And I just came from the library. All the tables are taken.’

‘Oh,’ I frown. ‘What about your dorm?’

‘No can do, peach. My roommate is a beast. Death metal from now until like eight.’ He shrugs. ‘But what can you do? Can we go to your place?’

Can we?

‘I suppose that would be all right. The kitchen has a big table...’

‘Great!’ he says enthusiastically. ‘Lead the way!’

I take him across the Quad and down to the Novelle Center, leading him toward the KIP house.

‘So, how’s it been for you since you started?’ he asks casually.

‘Fine,’ I murmur, glancing at him. ‘Why wouldn’t it be?’

‘Well, you said you did English Lit before, so I wondered if it was a big shock, with the workload for Chem.’

‘At the beginning,’ I admit. ‘I had to play catch up and with both Chem and Physics, it took a few weeks, but I’m all caught up now.’

I grin at him.

He seems to splutter a little. ‘Chem and Physics ?’

‘Yeah, I’m doing a double major.’

‘Right.’ He’s quiet for a few more steps. ‘How do you like Applegate?’

‘He’s great!’ I say with a genuine smile. ‘Really helpful and definitely knows his stuff.’

‘Sure he does.’

Isn’t that what I just said?

Confused, I give Bennet a questioning look, but he doesn’t say anything else until the KIP house comes into view.