Perigee [bxb] | Bad Moon Book II

25; {Tisper}: blue brindle

an; I have one more for you guys for now. I've been really looking forward to this chapter so enjoy!

ps. please make sure you read the last two chapters. Wattpad really sucks about notifications lately.

Tisper sat at the rim of a clawfoot bathtub, stationed in the center of a large bathroom with nothing but a curtain for comfort. Combing back through Sadie's hair with a soft-bristle brush, she minded every bit of matted blood, dipping the brush beneath water once in a while to rinse the bristles. Sadie sat there with her knees hugged to her chest, the water around her a coppery-brown.

It'd been quiet. A soft moment between them, while Tisper dipped a cup beneath water and rinsed the shampoo from Sadie's hair. Then suddenly Sadie asked, "Do you think it's real?"

Tisper watched a drop of water fall from Sadie's lashes. "Do I think what's real?"

"This," Sadie said, gesturing to herself. "All this witch stuff. Do you think it's real, or am I putting all of my eggs in one basket?"

"Pull the plug," said Tisper. "The water's getting filthy again."

Sadie did, and while the water drained away, Tisper added a fresh squirt of shampoo to her hair.

"Qamar heard you, didn't she? You communicated to her somehow, right? It has to be real. Jaylin heard you too. Whatever you were trying to tell him, he heard you and knew you were okay."

"I was trying to tell you guys to run."

"Well, it worked," said Tisper.

"Does it even really matter?" Sadie asked. The water was sucked down into the drain and once the last inch had drained, she set the plug back into place and started up the faucet again. Her purple toenails wiggled beneath the water. "Back there at the hotel, I was completely helpless. There was nothing I could do but sit there, frozen, with my eyes shut and my hands on my ears, trying to block out the gunshots. I didn't feel much like a witch. I didn't do anything to help anyone."

"Neither did I," Tisper said, lathering Sadie's hair between her fingers. "A lot of us could have done something, Sadie. But people still would have died."

"Yeah," Sadie whispered. "I guess."

"No guessing. Let this fill and rinse off," Tisper told her. "I think we've washed away the worst of it."

She stood and reached for the curtains to leave, but Sadie caught her by the hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you, Tis. Thanks."

She stepped out after that, tossing a towel over the curtain rod to save Sadie the discomfort of a naked walk halfway across the enormous expanse of empty bathroom space. Then she stepped out of the heat and steam and took a deep, uncertain breath. The air still tasted of hot blood, but it wasn't from Sadie.

It was from the bath that had been given to Jaylin before her. He'd been brought in around midnight, slung over Leo's shoulder. Izzy and Yui ushered the brawny man to the bathroom, bundles of towels in their arms. They'd scrubbed Jaylin clean and he'd walked out on his own two feet, their gentle hands secure on his arms, might he tip over from the loss of blood. He'd been fed and treated with herbal capsules and some kind of liquid medicine, but Izzy didn't lead him up to the rooms where the others slept. She thought he'd rather be closer to Quentin, so she laid down a heap of blankets on the living-room floor and Jaylin had been sprawled out beneath them, sleeping ever since.

There weren't many wolves awake now, but the ones that were tiptoed tediously over him. Tisper wanted to talk to him—she hadn't had the chance since he'd been back. But the lines beneath his eyes were darker than usual—his hair tinted a shade of strawberry from the stain of blood.