Four Walls (Book One) ✔️

Chapter Forty-Two

The following weeks fly by. It's the start of a new year, and the start of a new semester at Starkton High.

I spent Christmas with Margo. She didn't fulfill my childhood dream of having a tree, but she did help me make sugar cookies with red and green sprinkles. We even exchanged presents. I got her a photobook with pictures of me as a child, as well as ones I'd taken of the two of us since she moved in.

"I know you feel guilty that you weren't around when I was a kid. I thought this might help," I said when I passed my poorly wrapped gift to her.

She cried when she opened it.

Her gift wasn't homemade or heartfelt, but she did give me a large sum of money to add to my savings account—or as I call it, my "Get Out of Starkton" fund.

Hank spent Jesus' birthday on the couch, a glass of whiskey in one hand and the television remote in the other. He fell asleep around six p.m. and didn't wake up until late the following morning. Margo was appalled. I was unsurprised.

"I'm used to it," I assured my grandmother as we finished off the rest of the cookies. "Honestly, though, this has been the best Christmas I've ever had, so thank you."

Most of my holiday break was spent with Zane. With Jessica's assistance, I was able to get on birth control pills, so he and I can now partake in our favorite activity without fear of an unplanned pregnancy.

After growing up with Hank, I don't think I ever want children.

A part of me feels dirty for sleeping with Zane, someone who is not my boyfriend and has no desire to be, but another part of me feels liberated, like I'm finally in control of my body and my sexuality. Damian disapproves—shocker, right?—but Jessica regularly reminds him that it's neither his body nor his business.

In between rounds of our favorite bedroom game, we managed to scour the entirety of the Bishop mansion. We checked inside every drawer and under every bed. Nothing. I even used my limited computer knowledge to hack into Taisley's laptop. With the exception of over three-hundred webcam selfies and several papers for English, there was nothing. I have no idea what Taisley—and possibly her father—are planning.

And unless we weren't as thorough as we thought, the blood vials aren't in the house. She must be storing them somewhere else.

"That doesn't make sense. Blood needs to be refrigerated, right?" Damian asks as we walk to our lockers for the first time after winter break.

"For medical purposes, but I don't think she's planning to give anyone a transfusion," I reply, twisting the dial on the combination lock.

"Then what the hell is she doing?"

"I don't know, Damian, but I'm trying to figure it out."

"Trying to figure what out?" Jessica appears beside us, happy and bubbly as ever.

"How I'm going to survive another five months of this literal hellhole," I tell her. It's disturbing how easily I can hand out half-truths lately.

She rolls her hazel eyes. "We'll be fine. We always are."

"That's right." Damian weaves his fingers through his girlfriend's before placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. "May I walk you to class?"

"Of course, babe," she replies, blushing.

They wave goodbye to me and then fade into the ocean of teenagers.

The next few days pass by uneventfully. It doesn't take long for us to get back into our old routine of school and homework.