I pressed her away. “It’s been twodays?”
“Sí, twodays!”
“I’ve been sleeping for twodays?”
“Yes!”
Whoa.
“Your bruises, they’ve been going away…quickly…but—”
Abruptly, I stood. My legs felt wooden, but at least they held me up as I shuffled toward my closet. I pulled open the door to get a full view of myself in the built-in mirror. I lifted the hem of my tank and pivoted. The backs of my thighs and spine were tinged a yellowish-green. Could’ve been worse. Could’ve been black. The worst part of me was actually my hair, which was crusty and tangled and matted in God only knew what. My nails were in pretty dire shape, too—ragged likepinecones.
Evelyn appeared in the mirror behind me, her face ghostly-pale compared to my tanned one. At least rock-climbingand slumbering for forty-eight hours had given me a healthy complexion. Mom was always on my case about finding silver linings. She used to say that was how she’d made it through life.Here’s to you,Mom.
I turned away from the mirror and closed thedoor.
“I soaped your body, but I did not dare wash your hair. You had a big gash here.” Evelyn pressed lightly on a spot on the back of my head that felt incredibly tender. I half expected her fingers to come away wet with blood. Theydidn’t.
“Even though it is still hard for me—what you are”—she gave a small shrug—“I think that if you were not…I think you would not have lived.” She wiped her red-rimmedeyes.
I gathered both her hands in mine. “I’m not goinganywhere.”
No more death expeditions on my agenda in the near or far future. But there would be an expedition. I was going to have to leave town now. Jeb would have to release me back into the world—minor and all. I didn’t broach the subject with Evelyn. She’d had her fair share of stress for theday.
Instead, I said, “I loveyou.”
Her crying started again, and even though it felt like I was being quartered, I huggedher.
* * *
After she left,which took much prodding on my part—Evelyn needed rest—I took a blisteringly hot bath. As I steeped, I thought. Which made me anxious because most of my thoughts revolved around how many people had seen me naked after therun.
I slid beneath the bathwater, wishing soap could cleanse my brain of its petty anxiety. After all, I’d almost died.Died!And here I was worried about nudity. My priorities were massivelyskewed.
After washing my hair, a task that felt tougher than racing down a hill chased by boulders, I stepped out of the bath, towel-dried my body, and patted lotion over every inch of skin, as though moisturizing my sore muscles could somehow soften them. It didn’t, but at least I smelled good—like toastedcoconut.
I was about to pull on PJs when there was a knock on my door. In my bathrobe, I pattered toward the door. I imagined it was Everest. Evelyn must’ve told him I was consciousagain.
Note to self: stop assumingthings.
It was not mycousin.
Chapter Twenty
“Amanda?”Iyelped.
“You’re alive.” She tucked a long curl behind her ear and shot me a cheerysmile.
Why was she smiling at me? Was she playing a trick on me? I checked the hallway for a raised phone but found only a couple leaving their bedroom hand inhand.
“Why are you here?” I finallyasked.
“One, to check if you were doing better. When I stopped by yesterday, your grandma said you were still recovering. And two, to thankyou.”
“Thankme?”
“For helpingMatt.”
