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Bree gave a slight nod, and it bolstered Sloane’s confidence that they were at least heading in the right direction, so she continued. “But, I promise it’s all really normal, even if it’s kind of scary. Getting your period is actually your body’s way of agreeing with you when you say you’re not a kid anymore.”
Bree lifted her head. “It doesn’t feel normal.”
“It takes a little getting used to,” Sloane agreed.
“But it kind of hurts. And it’s gross.”
Sloane clamped down on the urge to smack her own forehead. Of course the poor kid was probably uncomfortable. “I guess we should get you, um, situated first, and then we can talk about it. Okay?”
Sloane explained the basics of feminine hygiene and gave Bree some supplies and privacy to adjust. A few minutes later, Sloane ushered her from the hallway to her room, where two mugs of tea sat cooling on the nightstand.
“Oh, perfect,” she murmured, pulling back the covers so Bree could crawl gingerly back beneath them. An odd sensation rippled through her like a whisper, but Sloane shook it off in favor of getting Bree settled. She handed over one of the mugs and sat on the edge of the bed.
“You’ll probably feel pretty crummy for a day or so while your body gets used to things,” Sloane said, taking a sip of honeyed chamomile.
“Like right here?” Bree laid a palm below her belly button and grimaced, but Sloane simply nodded.
“Yup. Totally normal. It might move around to your back, too. Sometimes a hot bath helps.”
“I can still do that? I mean, like…this?” Her gaze flicked to her abdomen with disdain.
Sloane pressed a smile between her lips. “Sure. It won’t hurt you.” She unearthed a bottle of pain reliever from the depths of the backpack and put it in Bree’s free hand. “This and the tea will make you feel a little better tonight.”
Bree squinted at it with a look of confusion. “Isn’t this stuff for headaches?”
“It works on cramps too. Think of it as a multi-tasker.”
“Oh.” Bree paused, fiddling with the lid. “Sorry. You probably think I’m pretty dumb for not knowing that.”
“I don’t think you’re dumb at all.” A thought careened into Sloane, slicing through her in a wide path of panic, and she looked at Bree carefully. “So, um, I guess I should ask how much you already know about…why female bodies change…”
Bree flushed. “We did Life Studies back in Philadelphia. I know all about where babies come from and stuff.”
Sloane exhaled, her relief audible. “Okay. That’s good.”
“They just—” Bree broke off, scrunching down against her headboard. “They told us what would happen, but no one ever said what it would belike.”
Sloane paused. She’d had two older sisters to pave the way with information, plus Carly and a handful of other neighborhood girlfriends who all went through puberty right alongside her. Although they butted heads on a regular basis now, Sloane could even remember her own mother drawing hot baths for her when her body adjusted to those first scary cycles.
All the women in her life had been a given. The only female Bree had, right in this moment, was Sloane.
She swallowed hard, but her voice was unwavering. “I can help you with that.”
Thirty minutes, both mugs of tea and countless questions later, Bree’s eyelids drooped so heavily that Sloane had no choice but to pull the quilt up around the girl’s shoulders and turn off the light. She hooked her index finger through the ceramic loops of both empty mugs, nearly dropping both as she stepped into the darkened hallway to meet the unyielding wall of Gavin’s chest.
“Oh!” Sloane clapped her empty palm over her mouth at the same time Gavin’s hands flew to her shoulders to steady her.
“Sorry.” He dropped his voice to a whisper, and his palms felt hot on her arms even through her cotton sleeves. “I didn’t hear you coming.”
Her brain spun, quickly putting everything together. She whispered, “How long have you been standing here?”
Even in the dark of the hallway, the guilt that flashed over his features was obvious. He dropped her shoulders to pull Bree’s door quietly shut before answering. “A couple of minutes. I wanted to make sure she was okay, but then I heard you talking and didn’t want to interrupt.”
Sloane tilted her head. “So, you were eavesdropping?”
“A little. Yeah.”
The admission startled her, and she couldn’t rein in the empathetic smile it brought to her lips. “So, you know she’s going to be okay, then?”
