Page 95 of Winter’s Teeth

I chuckled breathily as I swiveled to take Everly to the couch. “It’s a cute love nest you got here, Corbin.”

“No coffee for you.”

“Aw, come on. I’ll be good.”

“Don’t call it a love nest.”

“Okay, okay.” I deposited my sister with a little huff, then knelt to untie her shoes. Shoes that weren’t hers and didn’t fit properly at all since we made do with what Shira had in her trunk. “How about a love shack?”

“Fox, would you please make her shut up?”

Shira giggled as she plopped down beside Everly. While tying her hair up in a high ponytail, she asked with all the good-natured charm in the world, “Hey, Everly, I’m Shira, and my mom’s a nurse who taught me some stuff, so do you want me to give you a checkup? Make sure you’re all good?”

Everly looked to me for confirmation. After my slight nod, she said reservedly, “Alright. But my sister is the one with the busted knee and ankle. You should take a look at her.”

“Okay. I will after I make sure you’re okay. Sound good?”

Everly bobbed her head.

“Great. Do you mind rolling up your sleeves to start? I want to check your pulse. Just routine stuff first. You can tell me then if anything hurts or if you remember anything happening to you while you were in captivity.”

“I don’t remember much,” Everly admitted. Her lower lip wobbled before she clamped down on her jaw, getting her emotions under control in two seconds flat.

Not wanting to make her more nervous, I slunk away to the kitchen to make sure Corbin was in fact making me a cup of coffee and didn’t try to deny me my hard-earned drink.

Corbin put a fresh cup in Fox’s hand first, but Fox turned and put it in mine instead, earning a withering look from his cousin.

“That’s okay,” Shira said in the living room. I strained my ears to hear her add, “Don’t push yourself, and don’t feel bad about not remembering much. You’re safe now with your sister. Can you tell me if anything hurts? You seemed a little weak getting out of the car, but that could just be fatigue.”

“I feel fine,” Everly replied, soothed by Shira’s clinical approach. “Really. I am. Just tired.”

“That’s good to hear. You seem alright to me, too. Make sure to eat and drink something, then get a good night’s rest.”

“Sure thing, doc.” Everly smiled ever so slightly, a glimpse of her old self peeking through. It made my heart gush with relief. Maybe she forgot all the traumatic shit that happened, and that wasn’t so bad, but maybe she was really going to be okay after all of this. That would be the best outcome.

I sagged wearily against the counter, hands wrapped around a warm mug of steaming coffee, staring across the small space at my sister. Alive, whole, and here. With me.

Fox’s hand slid to the small of my back, laying there comfortably. His warmth soaked into my skin, reminding me I wasn’t alone in any of this. It wasn’t just me and Everly against the world anymore. It was me, Everly, Fox, Corbin, and Shira. All of us against the world and the Winters.

“Okay, Rae. Your turn.” Shira motioned me to join them, and I deposited my mug on the counter to cool before leaving Fox’s touch.

As I sat to begin the arduous process of extracting my swollen foot from my boot, I said through gritted teeth, “We need to talk about Brett soon. I’ve got bad news, Evie.”

“Who?”

My head jerked up, eyes wide. “Brett,” I repeated, thinking she just misheard me. Hoping that was all. “Brett...your jerk fiancé?”

Everly’s head listed sideways, eyes going blank again, fading away to that place in the darkest part of the woods again. “Right... Brett.”

“Right...” I gulped, trying not to read too much into it. Maybe now wasn’t the time to tell her that Brett had never been on her side to begin with. That he’d been playing her the whole way to the altar.

Whatever spiraling thoughts I’d been about to slip down evaporated the second Shira touched my ankle. I hissed, jerking my eyes to the demon with an angel’s face trying to make my foot turn a quarter of a degree. “Easy!”

“I barely touched you, Rae.”

“Yeah, well it hurt, okay!”

“How long has your foot been broken, exactly?” Her eyes roved up and down the patchwork of purple and yellow bruises wrapped around my foot like ribbons.