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She snorts. “I’m a teacher.I’m not squeamish. We once had a pregnant teengive birthin one of our classes.” She sits on the arm of the sofa, watching as Riv applies a stinging antibiotic cream.
“You need to stay in your lane,” I mutter.
She rolls her eyes. “Oh, for God’s sake. Stop acting like I snitched on you. You’re the one being an idiot here, not me,Teddy.”
Riven sews me back up, and I grit my teeth, trying to ignore the fact that I’m being watched like a bug under a microscope. “There.” He ties off the bandage, giving my uninjured shoulder a squeeze. “Now, as your doctor, I would like to recommend you go to the hospital and get this seen as soon as the snow clears.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“I figured.” He sighs, peeling off his gloves and dropping them in a yellow disposal bag. “Well, I’m done here. I have patients waiting who actuallywantmy advice. Call me if he starts frothing at the mouth.”
Eli gets up, stretching. “I’m gonna go work on the generator some more.”
“It’s not working?” I look around. The lights are still all on.
“We’re using the backup right now. It’s not a big issue; I think the filters just need to be cleaned.”
I nod, and he leaves, his footsteps echoing down the hallway. I lean back against the sofa cushions, finally letting my eyes fall shut. My shoulder burns under the numbing cream. I know I should go clean myself up, but I’m too tired to move.
A small hand touches my arm. I open my eyes. Daisy’s standing over me, her long hair falling around her face.
“Come by the fire,” she says quietly, tugging me up and leading me closer. “You’re still shivering.”
“I’m fine.”
“You look like an extra fromSaw.You’ve got blood all over you. At least let me clean you up.” She points to a roll of paper towels and a bowl of water she’s laid on the rug.
“I can just take a shower.”
“Didn’t you listen to anything Riven said? You can’t get your stitches wet.” She glances at my shirt and sweater, crumpled on the floor. “When I’m done with this, if you give me your clothes, I’ll get the stains out.”
“How do you know how to get blood out of clothes?”
“I do this really odd thing, where I bleed out of my vagina for a week every month? I don’t know why, it’s weird. Nowsit.”
I don’t even have the energy to argue with her. I feel heavy, like all my bones are made of lead. She perches on the sofa arm next to me, dipping a paper towel in the water. She’s so close I can smell her—the sweet scent of peaches and cream that just seems to come off her skin. It’s so intoxicating it makes my head spin.
“Why did it bite you?” She asks, leaning over to press the wad against my throat. It comes away red with blood.
“Someone hurt it,” I grunt. “It thought I was going to hurt it, too.”
Her eyebrows draw together. “What? Why would someone hurt a dog?”
“It was at a tourist attraction near the town. Dog-sledding. Some idiots were having a dog-sled race, and one of them decided to whip his dogs to make them go faster.”
Her mouth falls open.
“The dog fell down and broke his leg,” I continue grimly. “He ran off from the pack, and the injury made him aggressive.” It took me hours to find him, and when I tried to get it into the kennel in the back of the truck, he full-on attacked me. Tackled me right to the ground.
“What happened?”
“I took him to the vet to get his leg fixed.”
“They won’t put him down, will they?”
I shake my head. “No. He’ll just be retired. Will get to be a house-dog, instead of dragging around assholes for the rest of his life.”
Her shoulders relax. “Thank God.” She tears off a new piece of kitchen roll and dips it in the water, reaching for my cheek.
