Chapter 3
3
DAISY
I go upstairs, seeing no one as I make my way along the landing and up the next set of narrower, steeper steps. At the top, there’s a short hallway with five doors. One is open and I can see it’s the bathroom. I consider the others carefully, looking for a tell-tale sign that one of them isn’t as well used as the others, so that I don’t have to peek into anyone else’s space. I had no place that was truly mine at The Heath and the only time I was alone was when I was allowed to go on my daily run. I won’t intrude in any of the others’ rooms unless I’m invited.
Considering my interactions with him so far, I doubt that sitting with Shade and playing videogames like we used to is in my future.
I go to the door at the end of the corridor that’s on the left. There’s a light coating of dust on the brass knob. I turn it, crack it open slowly, and peer inside. There’s a large, unmade bed with some storage boxes on it. The walls are white with two windows set into the pitched roof that looks out over the trees and I can just see the roofs of the campus buildings and houses nearby. A lamp sits on the bedside table and there’s a desk with a comfy-looking chair on the other side of the room.
I step inside and, as I do, I hear footsteps coming up the stairs. I close the door quickly behind me. After the little welcome I received when I got here, I don’t want any more run-ins with the other residents of the house today.
I’m coiled tight. I’m also exhausted to the bone. It must be close to ten at night in the UK. Almost lights out. And yet, I find I have some energy to burn.
I throw my bag on the bed and am happy to find that a cloud of dust doesn’t rise from it. Although this room is disused, it’s clearly cleaned at least semi-regularly. After moving the storage boxes into the corner and making a mental note to ask one of them for some sheets, I open my duffle bag.
It doesn’t take long to find what I’m looking for. My worldly possessions are few. There are some toiletries, a hairbrush, some spare underwear, the golden spiral earrings that my mom gave me for my thirteenth birthday, my tennis shoes ... sneakers, a sports bra, a T-shirt, and my joggers ... running pants . There’s also thirty dollars in cash that I had in my jeans pocket the day Mom and John left me at The Heath. Back then, it was my life savings. I’d brought it so that I could exchange it for pounds and buy a memento in London. Now, nine years later, it’s all the money I have to my name.
I stare down at the contents of the bag, feeling something like resentment curling through me. I’m twenty-two. Shouldn’t my life amount to more than this?
I huff out a breath. It will, I promise myself. I’ll build something outside The Heath; something I can be proud of.
Now feeling very motivated despite my tiredness, I toe off my heels, take off my blazer, and shimmy out of my skirt. I leave everything neatly folded on the bed. I put on my running clothes, the only ones I have besides my funeral outfit. I throw my feet into my sneakers and ignore the pain of the blisters I’ve received from the new, tight heels. I go to the door and then turn back, grabbing the cash and stuffing it into my bra.
No more than three minutes later, I’m sneaking quietly down the stairs, hoping I won’t meet anyone on them. The halls are quiet though, and I get out the front door without any awkward meetings.
As soon as I’m outside, I break into a jog. I don’t bother with stretching or a warm-up. I just run. At the bottom of the driveway, I turn right and go down the street, trying to remember the route Shade brought me in the car.
It’s another few minutes before I begin passing the other frat and sorority houses. Then, I notice a very new and swanky building with a glass front. The Novelle Center. This is the science building John paid for. Slowing as I pass it, I practically salivate at the sparkling chemistry lab I can just make out through the window. Most of the classes I took at The Heath were in science, chemistry, and mathematics, but everything was theoretical. I’ve rarely been in a real laboratory, and that was just the small one at The Heath I used to sneak into. I’d love the chance to go in there just to look around.
I follow the sidewalk around the back of the building and find myself in a throng of people. There are long tables all along the path with sign-up forms for various activities and clubs. There’s also a loud marching band that makes me want to run the other way. There are sights and sounds all around me, people everywhere. I tense as I abruptly slow down to a walk, just stopping myself from covering my ears with my hands.
I appear to have found the mandatory fun that was prophesized on the banners I saw from Shade’s car. The sheer number of students milling around has me second- guessing my little quest. All I want to do is turn around and go back to my quiet room.
I square my shoulders. If I leave now, I might as well ask John to have me taken back to The Heath. Swallowing hard, I enter the shuffling line of college-goers, looking at the desks as I pass them. The tables and clubs all meld together and, although I think I should join something, I can’t quite make myself sign up for anything. When I come across a large sign that has swords and axes on it, I read it with more than a little curiosity. ‘Dagorhir’. I don’t understand what it is, but my interest is piqued.
I move slowly toward the desk and take in the two thin guys that are sitting behind it. They’re engaged in a hot debate about something. I don’t catch the name, but it sounds like a computer strategy game. It strikes me that these two guys are much smaller in body than Mav, Shade, and Blake. Their arms are thin and their muscles not defined. It makes me wonder errantly if my stepbrother and his friends are the exception, or the rule when it comes to physical appearance.
They don’t stop talking when I draw nearer, not even when I’m standing right in front of them.
‘Excuse me,’ I say quietly after they don’t notice me for longer than thirty seconds.
They both turn to stare and fold their arms in front of them. They aren’t smiling and I almost take a step back at their angry-looking expressions and their closed off body language.
Too late to go back now.
‘What is Dagorhir?’ I make myself ask.
Both pairs of eyes are assessing. The shorter one on the left narrows his eyes at me while looking me up and down. I tilt my head, wondering if I’ve offended him. I thought getting students to join these clubs was the point of all this mandatory fun.
‘We dress up and battle each other with foam weapons,’ the slightly taller one on the right mutters, sitting back and somehow looking down his nose at me even though I’m standing over him.
My eyes widen at his words, and excitement bubbles up in my chest despite their manner. ‘That sounds so exciting.’
‘Look, cupcake, you didn’t have to come over here and try to offend us, okay?’
I frown in confusion, not understanding why they think I’m being rude. The usual frustration begins to twist through me. I’ve missed something, but I don’t know what.
I glance around at the other tables in confusion, hoping to notice what I haven’t got right. People are laughing with each other and chatting. They’re tapping their details into the tablets on the tables. It all seems so simple, but of course there’s more to it than what I can see.
Why did I think I could do this? Years of practice and I still struggle like an idiot. At once, tears threaten. Bitter disappointment makes my shoulders slump as I look at the table in front of me instead of the two guys who are now ignoring me once more.
‘Oh, I see,’ I say numbly even though I don’t. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘What the hell did you just say to this girl, Travis, you dick? How many sign ups have you got today?’
I turn toward the voice and see a girl about my height with her long black hair tied up into a high ponytail. She’s wearing some kind of medieval-esque cosplay outfit and she’s carrying a foam shield that’s painted to look like wood and metal.
The taller one, who must be Travis, splutters. ‘A ton, Lu, actually . ’
‘Bullshit,’ the girl mutters. ‘Maybe you two can climb out of each other’s asses for five minutes so you can actually drum up some interest. Or do you want the Battle Royale to suck again? We had twenty people last year, guys! Twenty. The goddamn knitting circle literally has more members than we do.’
She points to a table close by with three girls at it, a couple of guys, and a pile of autumn-colored wool skeins of various shades in the middle. One of the girls facing us stops knitting to give Lu the finger.
‘Yeah, fuck you too, Georgia!’ Lu shouts, returning the gesture.
The question must be on my face when she turns back to me because she shrugs and rolls her eyes very dramatically. ‘We were roommates last year. We got bad blood. There was this blue yarn and I was making this kickass costume ... anyway I borrowed some.’ She huffs. ‘She’s in textiles and it turned out it was for her final project. I mean I replaced it, but how was I supposed to know that a different batch number can mean a totally different color hue? You’d think that shit would be standardized.’
I just nod, even more confused than I was before.
‘Anyway, ignore Travis and Mich. They’re idiots,’ she continues, waving a hand at the two boys in front of me when they sit up and loudly protest her name-calling. ‘Did you want to sign up?’
‘Um ...’ I glance at the two idiots. ‘Yes.’
Mich rolls his eyes. ‘This is bull,’ he mutters. ‘She’s probably here on orders from the sorority she’s pledging with. You know how they get their newbies to do dumb shit. I mean, c’mon, Lu. Look at her.’
‘I’m not,’ I start, but Lu raises a hand to stop me.
‘It’s okay,’ she says. ‘I’ll make sure you get on the list. Now, I want you to be honest with yourself.’ She pauses, I suppose for dramatic affect. ‘Do you want to dress like a warrior and battle like-minded individuals with pretend weapons?’
I grin at her and nod.
‘Okay,’ she says, drawing closer to me. ‘The first rule of Medieval Fight Club is ... you don’t talk about Medieval Flight Club.’
‘Okay! I won’t,’ I say earnestly with shake of my head.
‘The second rule of Medieval Fight Club is ... you don’t talk about Medieval Fight Club!’
I wonder if she’s gotten confused since she said the same thing twice, but she just starts giggling. I give her another smile, not understanding the joke.
‘Okay,’ I say.
I ignore whatever assholerly thing Travis says under his breath as Lu picks up one of the tablets from the table, still laughing a little.
‘God, I crack myself up,’ she mutters to herself. ‘Name?’
‘Marg – Daisy.’
‘Last name?’
Evans. ‘Novelle.’
I glance up from the table when I don’t hear anything else to find all three of them staring at me again.
‘What?’ I ask, wondering what I’ve said or done now.
‘Novelle?’ the guy sitting next to Travis murmurs. ‘Like the Novelles?’
I resist the urge to wince. Of course everyone knows John Novelle. He just paid for a sparkly new building here. Should have just used my late dad’s last name.
‘Yeah,’ I mutter. ‘John Novelle is my stepfather.’
‘So ...’ Lu’s eyes widen, ‘that would make Shade your ...’
‘Stepbrother. Yeah.’
‘Fuck,’ she mutters.
Then she seems to get over her surprise and taps in my last name .
‘Cell?’
I open and close my mouth. I didn’t think this through, I realize.
‘I don’t have one,’ I say.
Lu gives me a puzzled look.
‘I ... uh ... just moved here from England, so I haven’t got one yet.’
‘Oh, sure,’ she smiles. ‘Email?’
I force out a chuckle. ‘Ugh, I can never remember it!’ I shake my head and laugh a little. ‘Why don’t you let me know when your next battle is and I’ll come down and check it out?’
‘Non-members don’t get to know where the battles are gonna be,’ Travis says with a nasty grin. ‘Guess you won’t be joining us after all. Too bad, cupcake. Bu-bye!’ He waggles his fingers at me.
‘Oh, I see.’ I give Lu a small smile, my heart sinking. ‘Well, maybe I’ll catch you guys next time when I have a phone.’
I turn to leave, my cheeks burning with embarrassment.
‘Wait!’ Lu says. ‘I tell you what.’ She flips Travis the bird without looking at him. ‘I actually have the deets of our first one, but they’re on my phone, which is in my bag at work. Wanna come with me? We can swing by and I can let you know where and when?’
I nod, relief coursing through me. ‘Yeah, that would be great. Thanks. That’s very kind of you.’
She waves a hand. ‘It’s no big deal.’
Lu leads me through the crowds. We can’t really speak because she’s in front of me and for that I’m kind of grateful. I need to think, get some talking points together. The weather? Too British. I see that we’re nearing the end of the forced fun zone and lowkey panic.
Think! What do people always talk about here?
Ah! The economy! Gas prices !
I let out a small sigh of relief that I have something prepared if I need it as Lu waits for me.
She gives me a small smile. ‘Don’t worry about those two assholes back at the table.’
She waves a hand through the air in the direction of where we just came from. ‘The misogyny is strong in those two, but don’t worry, you won’t see much of them. They’re usually alone in their dorms playing?—’
‘With their dicks?’ I supply in a burst of inspiration.
I blink at myself. Where did that come from? I’m not usually funny.
Lu freezes midstride and begins to choke. My eyes widen. I’m afraid I’ve upset her, but I realize she’s laughing.
‘Oh, my God, you’re hilarious! I knew I liked you!’
She claps her hands and whirls around again. ‘This way!’
We walk toward the Quad, and I see a small coffee shop on the corner beside the bookshop with a sitting area out front and a hatch that’s closed. The sign outside says ‘Grinder’.
‘Don’t judge it by the name,’ Lu says with an eye-roll. ‘The original owner seemed to think that college kids go get coffee to hook up ... and I don’t think he really understood what the app is about.’
‘Oh,’ I chuckle, but I don’t get it.
She unlocks the door beside the hatch window and goes in. ‘It’s okay,’ she calls from inside. ‘You can come in.’
I step over the threshold and take in the smell of the coffee. The intensity of it surprises me and I take a deep sniff, enjoying it immensely.
‘I know, right? It smells divine in here, doesn’t it?’
I nod. ‘Yeah, but how did you know I?—’
‘You made a very distinctive noise when you sniffed the beans just now.’
I look at the floor, making a mental note to try to keep my superfluous noises to a minimum. Normal people don’t make weird noises. I heard that enough times at The Heath.
But Lu seems to know the direction of my thoughts because she waves a flippant hand at me. ‘Everyone makes that noise when they come in here.’
‘It does smell amazing,’ I agree, relaxing a little.
‘Oh!’ Lu points both her pointer fingers at me. ‘We need to hire someone. I was gonna advertise it tomorrow, but do you want the job?’
I open my mouth and then close it again. ‘A job?’ I ask.
I hadn’t even considered this.
A job.
I glance around at the machines and the extensive menu on the boards above the counter as I roll the idea around in my brain. It’s not abhorrent.
Could I? It smells good.
‘I’ve never worked?—’
She cuts me off. ‘It’s only minimum wage, but it’s actually really easy work. I’ll keep you on slow hours for the first week while I show you the ropes. What do you say?’
I stare at her. I’m being offered a job. I wanted to integrate. This will help.
‘Yes,’ I say, trying not to overthink it. ‘I’d love to work here!’
Lu jumps up and down in place. ‘Great!’
She pulls her phone out from under the counter and flicks through it. ‘Okay. Our first battle is three weeks from now. We’re meeting at six at the edge of the woods next to the football field. Cosplay isn’t mandatory at the beginning, although it does make things more fun. But you will need a medieval weapon. Foam, of course. We aren’t trying to actually kill each other. I don’t suppose you have anything you could use?’
‘Not really,’ I say with an apologetic shrug .
‘It’s okay. It’s okay. You have time to make something, or I have a spare axe I can lend you, I think.’ She purses her lips. ‘Yeah, I’m sure I still have it somewhere.’
‘Thanks,’ I say, looking around the cafe. ‘So, when should I start?’
Lu points at me again and turns her back to me. ‘Let me just take a look at the shifts this week.’
She goes to the till ... register and opens a folder. ‘Tomorrow,’ she says. ‘When are you in class?’
I wince. ‘I don’t know yet. I only just got here today.’
‘Oh, that’s okay. We can just go grab your stuff now. What’s your major?’
‘English Literature.’
‘Great! The building is seriously like two minutes away. Let’s go, and then we can start making a plan.’
I nod and find myself being bustled outside and along the sidewalk.
‘Huh, looks like we’re in for a late summer storm,’ Lu says, peering up at the sky as she herds me in the direction she wants.
I look up and see that the sun is still shining, but there are some large dark clouds rolling in, and I hope I don’t get caught in a downpour, or else half my wardrobe will be out of commission until I can dry them.
‘Here it is.’
Lu stops outside a stone building that looks like it’s seen better days. There’s a crack in one of the front windows, and the whole facade could use a fresh coat of paint.
Is that a small tree growing out of the gutter?
I frown up at it uncertainly. It’s definitely nothing like the science building John paid for.
‘I think this building could use some TLC,’ I murmur.
Lu stares up at it. ‘Jesus, I hope it doesn’t come down around us. They aren’t even pretending they care about the Arts in this damn school anymore.’
I glance at her. ‘What do they care about?’
‘The two S’s, baby! STEM and sports. The Novelles and the other rich folks don’t hardly open the family wallets for anything else around here.’ She suddenly looks at me and winces. ‘Hey, sorry. Shit, that was really tone-deaf, even for me.’
I wave a hand the way I saw her do earlier. ‘No, it’s fine. John Novelle might be my stepfather, but he and I aren’t friends.’
I wonder now if that’s why he decided to put me in English Lit, a program he doesn’t give any rich-person, a-hole funding to, but maybe I’m being paranoid. Why keep me here if I’m supposed to fail? That wouldn’t make sense.
‘What’s your major?’ I ask, belatedly realizing that I hadn’t reciprocated her question in the coffee shop.
The oversight would have got me a demerit in session with Stoke. Five demerits, no popcorn for me on movie night. Ten demerits, no movie night.
‘Uh, Draaama, of course!’ she practically yells, waving her fingers at me. ‘Can’t you tell? I thought everybody could!’
I take a tiny step back at her outburst and cover my slight alarm with a forced smile. ‘You’re right. Totally can. I don’t know what I was thinking,’ I rattle out.
She grins, and I allow myself a moment’s relief. I’m doing all right with this social thing—better than usual. Maybe I just need to relax into it, and things will be more natural .
Lu looks up at the steps and then at her watch. ‘It’s almost six, so we better get in there. Let’s hope the door doesn’t fall off its hinges, huh?’
We go inside and, though there are some ominous creaks, the structure is still standing by the time we get to the long row of cubbies. On the left, there must be over a hundred. On the other side, there are fewer, larger ones around a door that leads into an office where a grey-haired woman is typing at a desk. As we get closer, I see these bigger ones are for the professors.
‘Let’s find your name, Novelle,’ Lu mutters.
They’re in alphabetical order, so we go halfway down and find ‘No’, but my name isn’t there.
‘Are you sure you’re an English major?’ Lu asks, squinting at the wooden boxes that line the wall.
I frown. John was always adamant that I was a Novelle, but unless he and my mom actually legally changed my name ... ‘Try Evans.’
Lu walks back toward the door and stops. ‘Is your name Marguerite?’
‘Yeah, but I’m going by Daisy here.’
‘Okay, Daisy Duke. I think I found you.’
‘Daisy Duke ?’ I ask. ‘No. It’s Evans.’
She gives me a grin. ‘It’s from a TV show, English.’
Oh.
She draws a large envelope from it and holds it out to me. I take it and examine my name.
Marguerite Evans.
I get a small pang low in my chest. I haven’t seen my name as Evans in years. My dad’s name was Mark and I was always a Novelle at The Heath. I cover up the last seven letters of my first name and pretend my finger is just covering a K.
‘Are you okay?’ Lu asks. Her expression is less happy now.
‘Yeah, I’m fine.’
I open the envelope and empty the contents on a nearby bench. My schedule is inside, along with a map of the campus and a small, sealed letter. Lu immediately picks up the schedule and lets out a thoughtful noise as she looks it over .
‘So, it looks like you only have two classes tomorrow. Chaucer at ten and then Nineteenth Century Literature at two.’
She hands it to me and I put everything back in the large envelope to look at later in my room.
‘If you come to Grinder after your first class, I can show you a few things. How does that sound?’
I nod. ‘Yeah, that would work.’
‘Great!’ Lu takes my hand and squeezes it, not seeming to notice how my body tenses at the unexpected contact.
I try not to pull away, smiling through the discomfort and hoping she lets go soon.
‘Oh!’ she exclaims as she looks at her phone and lets go of me. ‘I have to go relieve Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb-fuck at the table. Can you find your way back to the dorms by yourself?’
I hold up the envelope. ‘Got a map.’
‘What dorm are you in?’ she asks.
‘The Kappa Iota Pi house.’
She looks at me oddly. ‘Not at the actual frat house ... right?’
I nod. ‘Novelle money doesn’t just buy science buildings,’ I mutter by way of explanation and she whistles.
‘Fuck me blue.’
‘No.’
She cackles out a laugh. ‘I can’t believe you’re actually staying in the actual Kappa Iota Pi fraternity house. Oh, my God! You have to tell me if the stories are true. You have to invite me to their next party! I’ve heard their parties are the fucking best! Wild and crazy and so much fun!’
I roll my eyes. ‘I doubt Jack will invite me.’
‘Who?’
‘Oh. My stepbrother. Shade .’
‘You live there. You have an invite, babe. Trust me. It’s gonna be nuts. You don’t understand. A bunch of the juniors legit got booted off campus last year after a big one.’
My ears perk up. Shade didn’t tell me much when I asked.
‘What happened?’
She shrugs. ‘They keep their shit real quiet, so no one outside the house and the Dean’s office even know for sure, but they had some huge blowout night and by the time the sun rose the next morning, all the juniors except Shade and those other two guys who are seniors this year were gone.’
‘Gone?’ I murmur.
‘Yeah, like kicked out.’ She gets closer, dropping her voice conspiratorially. ‘And they were like kids from influential families.’
I regard her thoughtfully. ‘And that means something?’
‘Here it does. Rich kids get away with a lot . They must have done something really bad. But no one knows what it was.’
She glances at her phone and grimaces. ‘Okay, I really have to go! Tomorrow. Black pants and a white button down shirt. Kay?’
Shit. Clothes.
‘I don’t have?—’
‘It’s cool. Meet me at Grinder at eight-thirty. I’ll help you get some stuff to wear.’
I open my mouth to ask what she means, but she’s already taking off down the hallway.
The secretary in the small office looks up at me.
‘Are you new?’ she asks.
I nod, and she beckons me. ‘You need an ID card. Name?’
‘Marguerite Evans.’
‘Smile for the camera.’
A sudden flash has me blinking away black dots, and she taps away on her computer for a moment. She puts a blank card into a small machine next to her. It drops out the bottom a few seconds later with my picture and name on it.
‘There,’ she murmurs. ‘Now you won’t have to wait in line at the Quad.’
‘Thanks,’ I say.
She nods and points at the clock. I see that it’s after six. She probably wants to lock up and go home.
I make sure my envelope is closed up and leave the dilapidated English building, but when I get outside, I see that my fears have been realized. It’s pouring. Then I hear the door behind me lock and I turn to see the secretary walking away through the glass window. Her altruism didn’t extend to letting me wait out the storm inside, I guess.
I stand on the stoop for a moment under the overhang, but there’s not much point. It leaks and I’m already drenched. Sighing, I fold my envelope and put it under my shirt to try to keep it at least semi-dry while I run.
I sprint like I’ve done something wrong and the blanks are trying to get close enough to correct me. I pretend they’re on my heels, and I run faster. Just a little game I liked to play when I went jogging in the grounds at The Heath to see how much I could increase my speed. Luckily, the compulsory fun from earlier has been postponed or moved indoors, so instead of the crowds, there’s just some empty tables and sodden papers in the grass. I run down the path and go past the science building.
Everywhere is gloomy and deserted. I turn up the long driveway to the house and run up it to the front door, but when I try it, it’s locked.
Of course, Shade used a keycard. I dig mine out and pass it over the pad like I saw him do earlier. It doesn’t open. I try a few more times and then sigh. Looks like my card doesn’t work here .
I ring the bell and wait a moment before I hear someone talking through the speaker on the doorbell.
‘Party isn’t ’til Saturday, freshman. Come back then.’
I’m not a freshman. I frown. Perhaps not everyone knows who I am yet.
‘I’m Shade’s sister,’ I say. ‘Please open the door.’
‘No can do. No girls allowed except at parties.’
I hear sniggering in the background and purse my lips at the camera.
Ah, they’re playing with me, much like the blanks sometimes would when it was a slow day.
I suppress a shiver. Now that I’m not running, I can feel the bite of the season in the air. It doesn’t help that I’m soaking wet either.
‘Go away, or we’re calling the cops.’
I roll my eyes at the peals of laughter I can hear through the door.
‘You’re acting like children,’ I mutter at the doorbell.
But they aren’t going to open the door and I have no idea how to contact Shade ... even if I was sure he’d treat me any better, which I’m not at all.
I pretend to leave and then sneak around the back of the house, hoping for a way in.
I find a high window ajar near the back door that leads into an enclosed patio and jump up, opening it wide with my fingertips. Then I use the nearby drainpipe to lever myself up as I lunge for it. Catching the window frame, I haul myself through, but my wet hands slip off the plastic. I clench my teeth and fall silently, landing a little haphazardly on a couch with a small ‘oomph’.
Sitting up, I’m thankful that I still have the envelope. I smirk, proud of myself for not being thwarted by the silly boys, and for not getting hurt. I stand up and go into the house, finding myself in a games room. There’s a TV on one wall with some gaming consoles hooked up to it in front of a couch, a foosball table, and a darts corner. The room is all dark carpet and walls with spotlights coming down from the ceiling. Even the drapes covering the tall windows are dark and thick.
I stop short as I see three guys playing pool at the table in my periphery. I start to back up, but it’s already too late. They’ve noticed me.
‘Who the fuck are you?’ one of them asks, advancing on me slowly.
His two companions follow him.
‘Shade’s sister,’ I say, wondering how these guys wouldn’t know me.
Perhaps they weren’t part of the fun little welcome earlier, or maybe this is another game.
‘Bullshit!’ the one on the left sneers. ‘Shade has a brother, not a sister.’ The one on the right shakes his head. ‘These bitches get bolder every year, don’t they?’
The middle one nods. ‘I don’t know how you got in here, but it’s time to go. You’re just gonna have to wait for Saturday like all the other girls who want some senior dick.’ Then, he smirks. ‘Unless you wanna settle for some junior dick now, that is?’
I feel like they’re closing in on me and I hope my voice doesn’t fail me.
‘Take me to Shade,’ I say.
‘He’s not here.’
What were the others’ names?
‘Mav or ... or Blake then.’
‘We told you. No senior dick, baby,’ the one on the left says, and they chuckle.
They’re too close.
‘Look at those nipples. Bet they could cut glass.’
‘You cold, little girl, or are you just feeling excited about what we’re going to do with you?’
Little girl? Excited?
I give myself a mental shake.
I draw myself up and sneer Britishly, the way I used to see Doctor Stoke do sometimes when he was on the phone, or talking down to one of the junior doctors. I try to sound like him as well, imperious and arrogant.
‘Take me to one of the senior members of this frat house. Now , or I promise you, you’ll be sorry when Shade finds out that you disrespected his sister.’
I almost laugh at the idea that Shade would care if I was disrespected by these guys. But they pause and look at each other. The forced tonal inflection must be what does it because I doubt it was the vague threat.
‘Fuck it. Who’s here?’
The dark haired one on the right takes out his phone. ‘According to their schedules, the Captain is at wrestling until later, and the Admiral is in the lab. The Commodore should be here, though. In the gym.’
I half-wonder at the codenames, but I don’t ask.
‘Take her to him, Pete,’ the middle one says. He chuckles. ‘If you’re lying, you’ll be sorry .’
The guys back off and I let myself breathe, though I’m not sure I should be going anywhere with ‘Pete’.
‘Come on,’ Pete, the one who was on his phone, mutters. ‘I don’t have all night.’
‘At least you’ll get to watch the giant kick her out on her ass!’ the third one says and Pete snorts.
I follow him out of the games room and to the main stairs. He takes me up them and to the door at the very end of the second floor corridor.
He knocks and then opens the door, stepping aside and gesturing for me to go in. I eye him suspiciously as I pass him, and I find myself in a large gym complete with free weights, cardio machines, and some mats for stretching. Mirrors line the walls.
I jump, my heart leaping at the loud thump that comes from the corner and my eyes widen as I see Shade’s friend, Mav. He’s shirtless and dripping with sweat. My eyes follow the contours of his muscles, almost mesmerized by how beautiful his form is.
His cough has my eyes finding his face and trying to interpret his expression. But it’s not overt enough for me.
‘What the fuck, Pete? You know this room is off limits when I’m in here.’
‘I know, Commodore, I’m sorry. We found this girl downstairs.’
Mav is Commodore. Shade and Blake must be the Captain and the ? —
But my thought is cut short when, to my horror, Pete grabs me by the back of the neck and thrusts me in front of Mav.
My body locks, and my fingers straighten and widen at my sides involuntarily. I keep it together, but it’s hard and I only just manage it.
‘She gave us some cock and bull story about being a Novelle. Want me to throw her out, or do you want to?’
‘Let her go.’
The hand leaves me at once, and I stare at the mirror in front of me, not looking at either of them as I try to get my breathing under control.
There’s no sound, but something must scare Pete because he’s suddenly backing toward the door. His hands are up in front of him.
‘I’m sorry, Commodore. We didn’t know.’
‘This is Daisy,’ I hear Mav say. ‘She lives here. Make sure all the others know and remind them to keep their mouths shut about it. And if I see anyone touching her, I’ll break his fucking fingers.’
Mav
Pete leaves and I don’t spare the dumbass another thought. The girl in front of me is still standing ramrod straight, chest heaving. Her hands are clenched so tightly her knuckles are white. She doesn’t speak.
‘Are you okay?’ I ask, not sure why I’m not just telling her to get out.
It’s not like she’s freaking out or anything. At least, I don’t think she is. There’s no tantrum the way Shade described her outbursts. She isn’t crying or screaming, and yet, I know she’s not okay.
She blinks at the mirror and her eyes find mine for a few seconds before they move again.
‘Yes,’ she says very quietly.
‘What happened?’
I’m not sure why I care. I’m in the middle of a workout. Usually, I don’t stop, not for anyone or anything. But right now, weirdly, making sure she’s all right is more important.
‘Nothing happened.’
I frown. Why is she lying?
I notice she’s shivering.
‘Can I go to my room, please?’
My frown deepens. ‘You don’t have to ask me if you can go to your room,’ I rumble.
She nods and turns around, walking out as quickly as she can without breaking into a run.
I stick my head out the door and watch her go down the hall and up the next set of stairs. I don’t get her at all , I think as I pick up the bar and restart my set .
After a few minutes, my thoughts are still on Daisy and I’m angry that Pete touched her like that. My feelings surprise me. But it must just be because she’s Shade’s little sister, and he’s one of my best friends. Of course I’d want to keep Daisy safe physically . But I also can’t get the way she looked at me out of my head, how her eyes were wide and unguarded. So different from how Shade talked about her and how she was earlier when we met.
I abandon my workout after a few more minutes, my head not in it anymore.
I leave the gym and go upstairs, but instead of my room, I go into Blake’s. I know he’s not there. He’s probably in the lab or at wrestling.
Grabbing his laptop, I key in his password. We all know each other’s, so it’s not a problem getting in. I pull up the cameras the way Blake showed me, hoping he got them working after some technical glitch that thwarted us earlier.
The picture appears and I see her. She’s moving around her room, taking the boxes we were storing in there and stacking them in the closet. Afterward, she takes the hot little skirt suit she was wearing before and drapes it over the chair by the desk. She empties her duffle bag out on the bare bed and takes out shampoo and conditioner.
She pauses, looking around the room and then her shoulders seem to sink and she sits on the edge of the bed, staring out at nothing. Her arms hug herself and she stays like that.
I wonder where she’s been over the past couple of hours. After a few minutes of watching her, I pull up the other cameras for the past hour. What did Marcus and the other juniors do or say to her? Regardless of what she said, she was clearly upset.
I pull up the feeds from the other rooms and find her in the games room. The guys are close to her and my lip curls when I hear the things they say. I smirk when I hear her response. This girl’s no shrinking violet. Eyes trained on the screen, I rewind, following her moving backwards out of the room. I switch to the camera in the kitchen and my eyes widen as I see her fall in through the window on the edge of the screen near the back door.
What the fuck?
On my phone, I pull the doorbell app and go through the history. I watch as she arrives in the pouring rain and knocks. No one lets her in. I turn up the sound and hear what’s said to her over the intercom, the laughing. I don’t recognize the voices, so they’re likely pledges.
I see as she leaves the front door, shivering with cold and obviously going to try and find another way inside. I go back to the house feeds and find her in the games room again. I watch Pete, Rob, and Marcus approach her.
Her face stays blank, but I notice from her posture that she doesn’t like it when they get close. I see when her body language changes and Pete brings her to me a minute later.
I look back at the live cam in her room. She’s still sitting on the bed. She looks exhausted and she’s still in her wet clothes.
As if she senses me watching, she stands and grabs the small bottles she got out of her bag. I hear her leave the room and go into the bathroom down the hall.
The bed isn’t even made. I frown. If I had a sister, I wouldn’t want her to be wet, cold, and tired, and not have anywhere to sleep. I’ll bet she has no idea where the sheets are, either.
I close the laptop and put it back on Blake’s desk. Then, I go downstairs to the linen closet and find a set of hotel-grade white bedding, a comforter, and a couple of pillows.
Making sure she’s still in the shower, I take everything into her room and I make the bed up for her. While I’m in there, I take a look around, but she hardly has anything. I guess the rest of her stuff is coming later. Shade did say she’s been in the UK, so maybe she couldn’t bring everything with her all at once.
I leave the room, and, unable to help myself, I return to Blake’s and go back into the cams.
I hear her get out of the shower and, a few minutes later, she comes running into the room and shutting the door quickly. My eyes widen. Is that a tiny hand towel she has wrapped around her?
I should look away. But I can’t. My eyes are riveted on the expanse of creamy skin that she’s displaying. Her legs are long and shapely. Her body is a decent mix of athletic and curvy as if she likes exercise but also vegging on the couch with a bucket of popcorn.
But then I realize she’s just standing by the bed and has been for several minutes while I’ve been gawking. She’s clutching the towel to her and staring at nothing again. I watch as she slowly backs up to the bed and sinks down on it. She doesn’t even seem to have noticed that there are sheets on it now.
She stays where she is, her long wet hair dripping water down her body. Her blinks are slow and she’s brushing her thumbnail over her lip again and again. The other hand by her side rubs at her lower left calf, but I can’t see anything there. It’s as if her mind is no longer in the room, it’s elsewhere.
My phone vibrates and I see a message from my brother, Dom, asking me to meet him at the club sometime this week to help train a new guy on the bar. I tap out a quick reply telling him I can be there tomorrow, and then I put it on silent so I can watch her uninterrupted.
But she doesn’t do anything new, just sits there with a vacant expression. Is she broken?
After a while, I go grab some dinner for myself. The others aren’t back yet, and I guess I should fill them in on her activities as well as the problems that have already started with some of the other guys in the house because I’m sure that, despite my threats, not everyone is going to get the ‘no touchy touchy’ memo when it comes to a girl as pretty as her.
When I get back with my sandwich, she’s still in the same spot. It’s dark outside now, and she hasn’t turned on a light. The cam is in night mode so I can see everything she’s doing ... and everything she’s not.
Maybe I should have got her something to eat. I berate myself silently. She might not even know that there’s food in the fridge she can help herself to.
The other side of me who’s callously asking why I give a fuck is quickly silenced. Shade isn’t here to look after her, so the job falls to me until he’s back and I can talk to him. That’s it. That’s all that’s going on here.
‘Fuck this,’ I mutter, finishing one half of my sandwich.
I go across the hall and knock on the door.
At first, I hear nothing and I knock again a little louder. There’s a scuffling noise, and she opens the door a crack a moment later.
I swallow hard. She’s still in just that skimpy little towel. I didn’t think this through.
‘I ... uh ...’
She stares at me. She doesn’t look upset or angry, just dead tired.
‘You know, there’s food downstairs in the kitchen. It’s for everyone, so you can help yourself,’ I say, and then, for some insane reason, I keep talking. ‘Mary-Anne, she’s our housekeeper.’ Shut-up. ‘She usually does our groceries and makes sure the maids keep everything clean ... but you won’t meet her until after Halloween.’ Stop talking . ‘We make the pledges do everything for the first six weeks ... for hazing, you know ...’ I finally stop my babbling .
She doesn’t say a word, just watches me.
‘Do you want half my sandwich?’ I blurt and then wince.
Internally, I close my eyes, swear at myself, and facepalm. What the fuck is wrong with me?
‘What’s in it?’ she asks very quietly.
‘Ham and cheese.’
‘Okay.’
I hand her the plate and she takes it.
‘Thank you,’ she murmurs, not looking at me.
She closes the door in my face.
Taken aback because ... well I guess I’m used to girls making a bigger deal out of me helping them out, I go back to Blake’s room to resume my semi-disturbing spying. Could be worse, I muse. At least I’m not beating myself off while I watch the weird, but very pretty girl eat my sandwich.
She sits on the bed and takes a bite, looks thoughtful and takes another. When she’s finished, she puts the plate on the nightstand and looks at the clock. It’s only eight-fifteen, but she said she was five hours out this afternoon, so it must be past one am for her.
My jaw drops with the tiny towel when, for a split second, I see everything before she climbs into bed and turns out the light.
I do want to make sure Shade’s baby sister is safe, but ... I admit it to myself. I want her.
I close Blake’s laptop and go back to my room where I take out my dick and stroke it to the repeating clip I’ve saved to my phone of her dropping that towel.
Could be worse. At least I’m not in there with her, standing over her bed while she sleeps. I mean, that would be creepy.