Chapter 4
DAISY
I’m woken at eight in the morning by the Nasty Nurse, as Lu calls her in her messages.
She comes in, ripping the drapes open with a shit-eating grin as I groan and put my head under the covers.
‘Rise and shine, Marguerite! You need to be up and downstairs by nine am!’
‘My class isn’t until ten,’ I say from under the covers.
‘I won’t say it again.’
I grit my teeth and sit up, my eyes finding a tray on the desk that has been brought.
There’s a glass of orange juice on it, which at first seems fine, but on closer inspection, I can see the pulp from here.
The bowl next to it is filled with dry and congealing porridge oatmeal.
There’s also a plate with brown toast covered in crunchy peanut butter.
It’s like John gave this bitch a list of everything I hate and she’s slowly going through it. What I wouldn’t give for one of the triple chocolate muffins Blake sometimes brings me and a nice cup of tea.
I get up and go into the bathroom, swiping the orange juice off the tray as I go. In the bathroom, I pour it down the sink and refill the glass with water, gulping it down.
I take a quick shower, finding that the bar of soap leaves my skin feeling dry and itchy.
I try to channel my inner Daisy, the one from The Heath who could push everything she didn’t like away, disassociate from everything.
But I’m out of practice because I haven’t had to do it with Blake, Shade, and Mav lately.
It makes me remember how they always seemed to anticipate my needs, how quickly they learned my preferences with me rarely having to say anything, and everything in me yearns for them.
I wrap myself in a towel, hoping Nasty Nurse has left, but she hasn’t. She’s laying out one of the gray uniforms on my bed.
Does she actually believe I’m going to wear that to class?
I ignore it in favor of the clothes I came home from the hospital in, though I have to use the massive underwear that bunches up under the clothes, making me shudder.
Changing in front of her feels icky. I know she’s watching me, so I pretend she isn’t there the same way I’d imagine the Blanks weren’t there at The Heath.
I sit down at the desk to force down the oatmeal. It’s cold and there’s nothing in it but a few raisins. I almost gag a couple of times. The only thing that stops me is that she’s watching and I don’t want to give her the satisfaction.
I spent ten years living like this, I tell myself. It’ll take more than some nasty oatmeal to break me.
Samantha comes into my room a few minutes later while I’m chewing a bite of the toast. It’s soggy now, going around and around in my mouth while I try to make myself swallow it.
She doesn’t speak, but she moves around the room deftly, tidying and fixing my curtains.
She moves my pillows and must feel my phone, but she pretends she hasn’t as she makes my bed.
I finally swallow, almost dry heaving as the thick, glue-like paste slides down my throat slowly.
‘I’d like a cup of tea,’ I choke out, hoping Samantha hears and brings me one.
‘No caffeine,’ Nasty Nurse says, and I can almost see her gloating little smile.
‘A caffeine-free one then,’ I answer.
‘No time. The car is waiting.’
I check the clock by the bed and wonder why we need to go so early, but I stand up.
‘I just need to use the bathroom and brush my teeth. I’ll come down when I’m finished,’ I say, going into the bathroom and closing the door.
I wait five minutes exactly and then brush my teeth. Afterward, hoping it’s been enough time for the room to be cleared out, I flush the toilet in case anyone’s listening and go back into my bedroom.
The room is deserted, thankfully, so I grab my phone and turn it on.
There’s a message on our group chat from Shade that says ‘goodnight, xx’ and I smile a little before sending a message that I’ll be on campus soon and will go to Grinder, but need to leave the phone as I don’t have anywhere to stash it.
In case I’m searched, but I don’t put that bit.
I’m not sure how much to tell them about the sad state of my life and severe lack of independence at the moment.
Blake once told me these things are waterproof to like six feet or something, so I turn it off again and put it in the cistern of the toilet, hoping it’ll be okay in there for today. I’ll try to get a plastic bag for it to live in as soon as I can.
I put on my boots and leave my room. Nasty Nurse looks annoyed at the foot of the stairs. She’s tapping her foot impatiently too.
‘I told you, the car is waiting!’
She mumbles something else that I don’t hear but causes Stephens to put his nose in the air. Must’ve been bad for Stephens to react, but I don’t give a shit what this bitch thinks.
We go outside and I shiver. I can’t believe I’ve lost another coat. I mean, why doesn’t the universe want me to have my pretty present coat?
Nasty Nurse walks around the town car and gets in while the driver opens the door for me. I don’t recognize him from yesterday, but he is familiar, and I realize why a second too late. I’m already in the car and the door is closed.
‘Marguerite,’ Joe drawls, his hand landing on my thigh and caressing.
I shudder as I look up at him. ‘Joe.’
Nasty Nurse is on his other side, I notice. She’s looking very not happy when her eyes move over Joe and she notices where his hand is. She clears her throat.
‘Nurse, you’d be more comfortable in the front,’ he says, not even looking at her.
Her mouth drops open and her eyes narrow at me. She’s pissed. But she gets out and slams the door hard. I see her get in the front, but then Joe pushes a button, and the frosted glass divider comes up.
I squirm uncomfortably as he crowds me against the door with his suite-clad body. Everywhere his body touches mine makes my skin erupt in goosebumps. My flesh crawls with them.
‘Now, we’re going to take a ride over to Richmond U and,’ his arms go around me and he hauls me up to straddle him, ignoring his bodyguard who’s sitting on the other seat completely, ‘you and I are going to have a little talk.’
My nostrils flare, but I do nothing. I hold my body stiffly as he grinds against my core. My teeth clench so hard I’m afraid they’ll crack, but he doesn’t seem to notice my discomfort. If he did, he wouldn’t care. I already know that. In fact, it would probably egg him on.
‘I know that you and John made a little deal about you going to school, finishing out the year. I’m willing to honor it. But Nurse Smith is my employee. She’s here to help. I don’t appreciate you arguing with my staff. You need to do as she says, so that you can recover.’
I don’t say anything. I allow his hand to take hold of my face and turn it toward him so that I have to look into his eyes.
‘Remember the black box?’
The one with the Stinger in it.
I nod as a shudder works its way up my spine and I subdue it at once.
‘Well, do as you’re told, and you can go to Richmond U so long as you keep Jacob here with you at all times.
A giant babysitter. Great.
‘But, make no mistake, if you aren’t obedient, I will have Jacob hold you down. I’ll put that Stinger on you, and by the time I’m done with you, you’ll never put a foot wrong again without quaking so hard in those little black boots of yours that you’ll beg me for mercy. Understand me?’
I nod.
‘Words, my dear.’
‘Yes,’ I whisper.
‘Good. I’m glad we’re beginning to understand each other. You will be allowed to go to Richmond U for your classes for the remainder of the school year. But you will not speak to or even look at your stepbrother. You will stay with Jacob always. Do I make myself clear?’
‘Yes, but…’
‘But what?’ His eyes level on mine, hard and suspicious. I think.
‘I need my laptop to do my work. And I work at the coffee shop.’
‘No, you don’t. You don’t go to that little fighting club anymore either. But what’s the problem with the laptop?’
I let the Grinder thing go, resolving to tell Lu that I won’t be able to work with her there anymore, nor go to Dagorhir fights. It makes me sad, but I have more pressing concerns.
‘I was told that I’m not allowed any screens by your nurse. I can’t do my work without a computer.’
He narrows his eyes at me, as if he believes I’m lying. But nothing I’ve said is untruthful.
‘I’ll ensure she allows you to use a laptop for schoolwork, but for nothing else.’
I nod.
‘We’re here.’
He pushes me off of him unceremoniously and my door is opened.
I get out in barely concealed relief that my body is no longer being forced to touch his, finding myself on the sidewalk not far from the Quad.
Jacob gets out with me and I start walking toward Grinder in front of him, wondering how I’m going to see or talk to anyone with the sasquatch watching my every move.
I get to Grinder, but when I reach the door, the giant speaks.
‘You’re to go to class.’
‘I will go to class, but we’re half an hour early,’ I tell him. ‘Blame your boss for his lack of timekeeping skills. I’m getting a latte. Do you want anything?’
Might as well try to make an ally of him.
‘No,’ is all he says.
I open the door and see Lu sitting at a table by herself with a laptop. I frown at her as she lights up.
‘Marguerite!’ she gushes in an odd accent. ‘How lovely to meet you here before our clazz togezer.’
I frown. Is she trying to be Italian, German, French, or a weird amalgamation of ‘Western European?’
‘And who do you bring? This mountain of a maaaan?’ she asks, looking past me.
‘This is Jacob,’ I say, not sure what to make of this. ‘He’s my…uh…bodyguard, I guess.’
She puts her hand out. ‘I am Marcie. Marcie Vandersnatch. From Russia.’
Oh. She’s pretending to be Russian.