Page 19

I take a step back at her nasty tone and turn away, going to sit on one of the chairs close by so that I don’t miss my name being called .

I close my eyes to avoid the fluorescents, putting my good arm on the armrest of the uncomfortable chair and using it to prop up my heavy head.

I feel someone sit next to me and glance over to see Greg.

‘I haven’t been able to contact them, but I left them messages. Any idea how long you’ll be here?’

I shake my head. ‘I’ll be called.’

‘Want some water?’

‘No, thanks,’ I whisper, closing my eyes again.

I’m not sure how much time passes, but Greg gets up at least three times and quite a few students come and go before another nurse walks through the door and finally says my name.

I stand on shaky legs, waving Greg away when he tries to help. ‘I’m okay.’

I follow the nurse slowly down a hall with a yellowing linoleum floor that reeks of disinfectant, making me nervous and on-edge.

I’m put in a room and told to wait. The clocks says it’s almost ten thirty. I’ve been here for hours.

Luckily, I’m only waiting a few minutes before a man in a white coat comes through the door. I try to temper my sharp intake of breath. I see people in white coats all the time in the lab and they don’t affect me like this. I need to calm down and stop being silly.

‘Okay. Good morning, Miss...Evans. I’m Doctor Stall. What seems to be the problem?’

‘I...get hemiplegic migraines.’ I force the words out, not looking at the balding doctor who’s now sitting at the desk in front of me and not wasting time with pleasantries.

My good hand delves into my pocket, and I pull out the empty blister pack.

‘I had these in the UK, but I’m out. Can you give me the same thing here?’

Doctor Stall takes the packaging from me and frowns at it. ‘I’m sure we can help, Miss Evans. Let me just find the US equivalent and we’ll get you fixed up in no time. For now, I’ll take your temperature, and we’ll get your blood pressure, too, okay?’

I nod, pushing away the revulsion I feel at taking my coat off and being poked and prodded by medical staff.

There’s a knock at the door.

‘Apologies,’ the doctor murmurs and then in a louder voice. ‘Come in.’

The nurse from the front desk enters.

‘Sorry, doctor, but I was just reviewing this patient’s file, and I noticed she needs her guardian present for any medical appointments.’

I frown at her, and I see something in her expression I don’t like, but I don’t understand either. She’s happy but also angry. A Travis face.

‘Where?’

The nurse comes over and clicks on the doctor’s screen.

‘There.’

‘Ah.’ The doctor gives me a look. ‘It does say here that your guardian is to accompany you to all medical appointments, Miss Evans. John Novelle?’

‘Ring a bell?’ the nurse snorts at me. ‘You kids think you can get away with everything.’

‘That’s enough, Nurse. Did you call the number listed here?’

‘Yes, I did, doctor.’

‘And?’ The doctor’s voice is sharper now. Impatient.

‘I spoke to Mister Novelle’s secretary, and she advised that, under her guardian’s wishes, Miss Evans isn’t to be prescribed any medications that may exacerbate her ongoing medical conditions.’

‘I don’t have any ongoing medical conditions,’ I try to say, but it comes out quiet and half-garbled.

My words are ignored, but the nurse glances at me with a false smile. ‘Your dad said he’ll speak with you about it on Friday at dinner, sweetie.’

My good hand clenches into a hard fist.

He’s not my dad and he shouldn’t be my guardian either!

The doctor continues clicking away at his screen, ignoring me completely while he reads.

‘It doesn’t say anything here about medical conditions, but you did say that you were prescribed this in the UK. It could be we don’t have your full records. I’m sorry, Miss Evans, but I have to follow your guardian’s wishes. I’m sure he has your best interests at heart.’

I sit in the chair for a moment, staring at the floor and trying to think of something. If I tell them that this is John being an asshole because that’s how he is and always has been, they won’t believe me and if I have any credibility in here at all, I’ll lose it.

They’re both staring at me.

‘I’ve been on this medicine for seven years,’ I say quietly, my voice so weak I cringe on the inside.

God, I’m pathetic.

‘Be that as it may, I only have your word on that. This is a powerful drug. I can’t give you it if your guardian doesn’t approve. I’m sorry. I’d try some over the counter pain medications until you can speak with Mister Novelle. They’re available at the pharmacy by the Quad, but that’s the best I can do without your guardian’s say-so.’

‘But I’m twenty-three years ol?—’

‘No, you can’t go in there! Doctor Stall is with a patient!’ I hear a young male voice practically yelling.

There’s a commotion in the hall and the door busts open.

I jump involuntarily, my eyes locking onto a familiar face.

Shade.

I don’t know whether I’m glad or the opposite after Greg’s revelations about last night.

Doctor Stall stands up. ‘I’m with a patient! You can’t just?—’

His eyes find me, and he looks suddenly relieved. ‘I tried to call you. I got messages from Greg and Jayce saying you were here. Are you okay?’

‘I forgot my phone.’ I close my eyes, wishing my sniffles weren’t so telltale.

Pull it together!

‘Who are you?’ The doctor demands.

‘Jack Novelle.’ He looks down his nose at the doctor.

‘Well, you can’t be in here when we’re with?—’

‘My father gave me the authorization to act as his representative in these matters.’

‘You aren’t on the paperwork,’ the nurse sneers. ‘Only her guardian can authorize treatment of this...of Miss Evans. If you aren’t John Novelle, you don’t have the authority to?—’

‘Are you the nurse who called my father?’ Shade interrupts.

‘Yes, I spoke with Mister Novelle’s secretary, who informed me?—’

‘Why did you wait two hours to contact him?’

‘I...Excuse me?’

He gestures loosely in my direction. ‘Miss Evans was here by eight-thirty this morning. But you didn’t call him until after ten-thirty. Why did you wait?’

‘I didn’t see that she needed her guardian present.’

‘You’re lying.’

The nurse gasps, but before she can say another word, Shade steps forward, eyes narrow.

‘The student who escorted her here heard you when you said to that other nurse that you were making this one ‘wait out her hangover’ and that you weren’t going to bother to call anyone until she’d learned a lesson.’

‘I... That isn’t...’ The nurse glances at the doctor.

‘The truth is, Miss Evans has a migraine. She couldn’t even walk here by herself, but you made her sit in that bright, loud waiting room for over two hours because you felt like it.’

‘Is this true?’ Doctor Stall asks the nurse.

She sputters something unintelligible.

The doctor stands and pulls the nurse aside. ‘Wait for me in the other room, Bernice. I’ll deal with you later, but this is the last straw,’ he mutters.

The nurse leaves the room, staring at me as if I’m the one to blame for her being in trouble.

The doctor sighs, waiting until she leaves before he speaks. ‘My sincerest apologies, Miss Evans. Mister Novelle. I’ll ensure that?—’

Shade raises a hand and the doctor peters off.

‘Just prescribe her what she needs, and we’ll leave.’

‘I can’t.’ Stall throws his hands in the air. ‘I’m sorry, but my hands are tied. Her guardian has denied his permission, and you can’t stand in for him. I could lose my license to practice.’

Shade looks like he’s going to start arguing, but I already know it’s no use.

I stand up carefully, pushing through the dizziness and lurching toward the door. I open it and stagger down the corridor back to the waiting room, not waiting to see if he’s following.

There are more people than there were before sitting in the seats, but Greg isn’t among them. Guess he left when the Admiral got here.

‘Daisy? What can I do?’ Shade asks from just behind me.

‘Take me back please,’ I say quietly.

I start walking slowly and he falls into step next to me.

‘I have the car.’

I nod and, seeing it by the curb, walk slowly toward it.

Shade opens the door for me, and I sink gratefully down into the low seat, closing my eyes as I fumble for the seatbelt.

‘You need medicine.’

I nod. ‘Only sent here with four,’ I sigh. ‘But they won’t give me anything without John. He’ll say yes if I behave at dinner on Friday. That’s his modus operandi.’

‘Will you be okay until then?’

I lean my head against the window. ‘It won’t go away by itself, if that’s what you’re asking. First time it happened at The Heath it was four days before they realized I wasn’t faking.’

He’s silent for a beat.

‘I’ll figure something out,’ he promises.

I breathe in. He smells of smoke and alcohol.

‘Where were you?’

‘What do you mean?’ His tone is careful.

‘Last night. This morning. You guys said it was a thing with Applegate, but you smell like cigarettes and beer.’

I can’t help my accusatory tone.

‘It wasn’t a thing with Applegate,’ he says after a moment. ‘We had to go to the club. There was a party. We had to be there. Business stuff.’

‘Right.’

I don’t say anything else. My head is all muddled up and I just need to lay down.

My vision goes blurry again.

The car stops and I open the door, struggling to get out because my left side is all tingly again.

I feel a hand reach down and I take it because otherwise I won’t be getting out, but when Shade tries to do more, I shy away.

‘I can walk.’

I follow him without a word.

Fucking Novelles. How did John get appointed to be my guardian, anyway? I’m an adult! Surely mom wouldn’t have wanted this.

I get inside the house and make for the stairs slowly. I can barely see them, but I know where they are.

‘Can I help?’ Shade asks.

My fist clenches and anger courses through me at the injustice of all this.

‘No.’

BLAKE

I’m still recovering from last night, my knuckles in a bowl of ice and my ribs aching from where one of Sauvage’s guys got in a lucky strike.

We’d been heading to the club when his goons had politely asked for us to join him in one of his many homes for a celebration.

Saying no wasn’t an option.

I hadn’t known that our phones were going to be taken before we got there, and I didn’t like it one bit. We were only going to stay out a couple of hours and meant to come back to be with Daisy, but once we were in the compound, the sonofabitch made it obvious that leaving wasn’t an option either, not until the meeting was done and we saw first-hand what happens to people when he doesn’t get what he’s been promised.

He made it clear that we’re out of time and that there will be no more extensions. Then, the festivities began and all three of us had to show that we could hold our own. I think even Sauvage was surprised when Mav walked out and beat his best guy in less than a minute. It took me a little longer, but I got him in the end.

The bullshit lasted all night and then we got our phones back and saw all the missed calls from Greg and Jayce about Daisy’s migraine.

Motherfucker.

I hear the door and look up to see Shade walking in. Daisys behind him. She’s walking slowly and her eyes are downcast.

She doesn’t look up once as she heads to the stairs and begins to climb them.

Shade stares after her, his expression grim.

He waits until she’s out of sight before he comes into the kitchen and fills a glass with water. He gulps it down and then looks at it.

He throws it across the room into the bricks casually with a hissed ‘fuck’.

Everyone stops what they’re doing and stares at the shards of glass skittering across the floor.

I stand and wipe my hand with a towel. ‘Someone, clean that up.’

I don’t go to Shade. He can handle his own shit. I follow Daisy instead.

By the time I get upstairs, her door is closed. I try it. Locked.

‘What’s going on?’ Mav asks, coming out of the bathroom.

He looks better than he did and, thankfully, most of his bruises are on his torso, so no one will ask about it in the lab.

‘Is she okay?’

‘I don’t know.’

I grab a paperclip and push it into the hole in the doorknob, pushing the lock button the other side so the door opens.

I’ve been saying we need better locks all year, but I’m glad it’s still this easy to get into Daisy’s room.

I open it and step inside. She’s in bed. She looks asleep and I turn to go, but then I hear a sniffle.

‘Daisy?’

‘Go away, please,’ she whispers.

I should do what she wants, but she doesn’t sound like herself at all, so I go closer and peer at her.

Her eyes are open, and tears are leaking out. She’s not sobbing, but this is almost worse. She’s staring at the wall and at first, I’m not sure if she knows I’m there, but then she closes her eyes.

‘Please go. No more lies for now.’

‘I don’t understand,’ I hear myself murmuring.

More confused than ever, I begin to ask what she’s talking about when Shade steps into the room. Mav’s here too, I realize.

‘They wouldn’t help her at the medical center,’ he says quietly. ‘My father has made it so that she needs him to be at any and all appointments.’

‘I lied to you, too, anyway,’ she mutters as if she’s having a completely different conversation to the one we’re having.

Mav sits on the bed. ‘What do you mean, Daisy?’

I step closer to her, my heart lurching in my chest uncomfortably. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘What have you lied about?’ Shade grinds out.

‘Greg told me you were out clubbing all night and you all smell of smoke and alcohol… and probably perfume. I just want you to know that you aren’t the only ones who can lie.’

She thinks we were with other girls last night?

I give Shade a narrow-eyed look and see Mav do the same.

I tap a quick message.

We need to tell her something closer to the truth.

We can’t let her believe we were out getting wasted and fucking sorority girls like we used to.

Shade looks at his phone.

She’ll be in danger if she knows anything about Sauvage.

‘Daisy,’ Shade murmurs, coming closer. ‘I’m sorry we said it was a thing we had to go to with Applegate. That’s my fault. I thought you might want to come with us, and it was a business thing. We were trying to protect you. We didn’t mean to be gone all night. It was…unavoidable.’

‘I understand.’ But her breathing hitches and she buries her face in the pillow.

‘I have something for the migraine,’ I say to her, touching her shoulder.

‘I doubt it,’ she whispers. ‘Painkillers won’t touch it.’

She jerks away from my hand and the action makes something hurt inside my chest. Was this how she felt when I did the same?

I curse our dumb lie as I go into my room to the back of my closet and grab the box that’s there. It’s stuff from my dad’s house that I cleaned out last year when he went to jail.

He gets migraines, so we might get lucky. I rifle past a couple of old photos of me and him and my mom that I can’t bring myself to look at. At the bottom are the orange pill bottles from his medicine cabinet. I find the one I was thinking of and read it over, keying in the name into my browser for the specifics.

I take it back to her room and find the other two pretty much in the same places as I left them. Both look as upset as I feel.

Is this all over with Daisy before it even really began? A wave of hopelessness I haven’t felt in a long time crashes over me.

I hope not.

‘I found some that are still in date, and I think are safe for you to try. Mav?’

I throw him the bottle and he catches it, reading it over and nodding. ‘Yeah, that’s what they’d have given her. Half a pill, though.’

I grab it back off him and approach the bed, opening the top and grabbing two of the pills out.