Page 185 of Fangs
“I saw some wild plantain outside the other day, so I’m gonna harvest it.”
He frowned but released me. They followed me outside like ducklings as I wandered around the clinic collecting the broad leaves. They were strangely quiet, just watching me, and eventually, I couldn’t take it any longer.
“So who’s fucked who?” I asked, gesturing to all of them.
“Ember!” Wolf barked as the others let out surprised bursts of laughter.
“What?” I grinned as my brother’s face reddened. “I’m just curious.”
“Wow,” Tuck said dryly, raising his flask toward Wolf before taking a sip, “you are fucked, my friend.”
That made me start giggling again, and Wolf ran a hand through his hair with a groan. I tripped on a stick, and Scar caught my arm, steadying me. Impulsively, I threw my arms around her and hugged her. She let out a startled laugh and hugged me back.
“I thought we weren’t talkin’ about exes,” Lee chimed in.
I made a face. “Oh, right.” I paused, staring into the distance. “Do you ever get scared that something’s gonna bite your dick when you’re peeing in the woods in the dark?”
Lee and Tuck laughed so hard they folded in half.
“Em, what the fuck?” Wolf sounded horrified.
“Not somethin’ I have to worry about,” Scar answered, and we smirked at each other.
“I never didbefore,” Kai muttered. “I’m gonna think about it every time now, though.”
“Drink more water,” Wolf ordered, handing me the water cup he was carrying around.
I rolled my eyes, but I took a drink, watching over the rim of my cup as they kept staring at me. “Why are you all lookin’ at me like that?” I finally snapped.
“Like what?” Lee asked.
“Like you’ve never seen me before.”
“Well, we’ve never seen you this… uh… smiley,” Kai said.
“Well, maybe you should try bein’ less of a dick,” I shot back, making Lee snort.
“Kai did scrub all the blood out of your quilt,” Wolf reminded me.
That sobered me slightly. I wrinkled my nose and looked back at Kai. “Okay, yeah. Thank you for doin’ that.”
His eyebrows raised, but he simply replied, “You’re welcome.”
“How come that quilt is so special?” Tuck asked.
“It was Trey’s,” I answered, my voice wobbling.
Tuck’s eyes softened. “Ah.”
“You want to tell us about him?” Wolf murmured.
“Nope,” I answered quick, dropping to pick some more plantain.
“Em—” Wolf started gently, but I could not do this, right now.
“Please, Wolf, I just… I just want to benotsad foroneday.”
Wolf stared at me, his throat working. When he spoke, his voice came out rough, “Okay.”
