A friend.Dominic and I werenotfriends.
Silence.
I tried to remember when it had been my first time, and the memory made me smile a little bit. God, I’d been so freaked out. So sure I was going to die. If it hadn’t been for my mom, I probably would have had a heart attack.
“Derek tells me you’re having some lady troubles,” I started, not having any clue what the hell I was even doing. To say it was weird was an understatement, but I kept on going, anyway. What was the worse that could happen, right?
“It’s okay. I’ve been there myself. It definitely is weird.” I laughed a bit, too, but when the girl growled again from under the bed, I pushed myself back against the wall on instinct. So, no laughing. I could do that.
“I was back home when it happened. I was fourteen, I think, and I’d been up on a tree all day with my brothers picking cherries, and then when I got home and went to the bathroom, there was blood on my panties.” I still remembered the feeling. “I thought I’d cut myself on a branch or something. I thought I’d done something to my internal organs somehow, and now I was going to bleed to death. I cried so hard and refused to come out of the bathroom until my mom basically turned the lock with her magic and walked in.”
Silence. No more growling. That was probably a good thing, so I kept on going.
“She tried her best not to laugh when she saw me sobbing, and then she explained to me that what I was experiencing was perfectly normal. Every girl goes through it. And, no—I didn’t cut myself on a branch. It was just my body cleansing itself from within. Isn’t that amazing? How the body knows exactly what it needs and when it needs it?”
More silence.
“Then she brought me some pads, and she showed me how to use them. She tried to talk to me about it for days, but I just ran away whenever she did. It was enough of a shock that I wasn’t going to die. I didn’t want totalkabout my period, too. It’s weird. It still is. It’s just so personal.”
The minutes ticked by, and Agnes didn’t make a single sound. For a moment there, I thought I might have imagined the growling. After the day I’d had, it was very much a possibility.
“Are you there, Agnes? Can I teach you how to use these? Derek emptied the entire store, probably. He got you twelve packs of them.” I bit my lip not to laugh. “It’s safe to say you’ll be fine for maybe a whole year in that department.”
Leaning my head back on the wall, I closed my eyes and I waited. Gave myself a moment, too. What if she didn’t come out? I’d have to get under the bed, too, just to see her. Would she attack me? If she had claws, there was a good chance. And what the hell would I even do, when she was just eleven?
But then…
“My tummy hurts.”
The voice was small, weak. I barely heard it. I opened my eyes again and resisted the urge to move closer. She obviously needed her space if she was hiding under the bed.
“That’s the worst part,” I said, calm still. “But maybe it won’t always hurt. I mean, some months, it hurts so bad I have to take painkillers. My lower back, too. But some months, I barely feel anything. Maybe it’ll be the same for you?”
For some reason, I held my breath. And the sheets moved again. They kept on moving as she dragged herself out from under the bed but still stayed on the other side of it. She raised to her knees and put her hands over the sheets, thick black brows narrowed, and her fingers tipped with claws.
“You look weird. Why are you pink?”
I smiled. “Because I’m a pixie.”
My god, she was so small. Smaller than I thought—her big black eyes and her raven hair fell down her back. The red dress she had on made her skin look even paler, and her lips bright red. She made me think of a miniature version of Snow White.
“What’s a pixie?” she said, wrinkling her small nose.
“A fae, basically. There’s not many of us around here. We prefer to live isolated from the rest of the world. I grew up on an island, far away from humans and other supernaturals.”
Her brows shot up. She was curious. “How old are you?”
“I’m twenty-three.” I moved then, sitting up straighter, and reached for the bag of pads. “What do you say we go to the bathroom together? You’re probably feeling uncomfortable.” She blinked her big eyes at me. “After that, we can make some chamomile tea. It’ll calm down your tummy in no time.” I winked.
Agnes stood up reluctantly. “I have claws,” she mumbled, hiding her hands behind her back.
“That’s perfectly natural, too.”
“Did you get claws, too?”
Oh. “Not really. But I got really pink. I mean,reallypink.”
Her red lips stretched into a small smile. It was more than good enough for me.