I look pointedly at Gavin as well, so he gets the hint. He rolls his eyes and guides me further into the front room. Camilla is sitting on the long couch with Kassy's fawn-colored head of hair sprawled across her lap.
Kassy is snoring softly from her Cami pillow. I smile at the scene, feeling grateful that my best friend is so comfortable with these people. Gavin helps me sit next to his mom so I can receive her soft hug.
"Thank you for taking care of Kassy while I was away." I whisper to her, trying not to wake my friend.
Camilla shakes her head at me. "She was the one running around here wanting to take care of us. She can surely keep herself busy when she is stressed."
I nod, knowing exactly what she is talking about. Kassy has always been a busy body, especially when she has a lot on her mind.
Camilla touches my hurt cheek softly. "We need to get Gram in here to look you over, sweetie."
Gavin releases me completely and stands up. "I'll go get her. You guys should probably wake Kassy. She'll want to know Aella is back safe." He smiles warmly at me before leaving the room.
76
I reach down and brush Kassy's hair away from her face as I whisper to her. "Wake up, little bear. Your snoring is shaking the whole house," I tease.
Kassy swipes my hand away and groans. "I don't snore, jerk," she growls at me as she turns over and blinks a few times against the soft light of the room.
She watches me for a long moment as I lean over her before she suddenly bolts to her feet. "Oh my gosh, El!" She crawls around Camilla and pulls me into a surprisingly gentle hug.
"You're really here."
I can feel her body racking slightly from her soft cries. I can't help but shed a few tears of my own and just enjoy being with my best friend. A day ago, I was sure I'd never see her again and that we would both be taken by the same monster.
"I'm here and I'm alive," I say against her unruly hair.
She leans away from me, giving me a once over. "El, you look like crap," she says.
I snort and wipe my tears away with the back of my hand. "I'm sure I do. I haven't showered in like four days and I've been trouncing all over the forest."
Kassy's eyes are sad as she continues to peruse me. "You are all beat up too." She sniffles again at me. "That demon hurt you bad, didn't he?" she asks.
I nod and try to hold back the next round of tears. "But he's gone now. We are both safe from him forever."
She nods along with me. "Good, because I was about ready to go kick some demon butt, Buffy style." Her face is so serious that I can't help but giggle at her. She never fails to lighten the mood.
"I would've liked to see that." I say and relax against the comfortable couch, finally feeling at home.
Gavin returns with his grandma in tow. She is carrying bowls of brown mush like the stuff she put on me last time I was hurt, and my pain eases just from the knowledge of what that
“Cole Cream” is capable of. Gavin sits next to me on the comfortable couch and takes my hand in his.
"All right, dear. Why don't you point out some spots that you were hurt, and I'll start working on healing them?" Gram says from her seat on the coffee table in front of me.
I nod and point to my sore cheek. "My face feels pretty bad. I'm sure it looks awful." I run my fingers along my swollen eyelid.
“It actually has healed quite a bit since I found you,” Gavin says next to me.
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Gram dips her fingers in the goop and starts to apply the paste to my cheek and neck along the one side. "How did this happen, if you don't mind me asking?" she says as she works.
"I guess Thrane wasn't one for back talk. He got upset when I called him pathetic," I say, not caring that everyone is listening. I'm done being shy and afraid. Thrane is gone and can't hurt me anymore. “There was an ego on that one.”
A small smile forms on Gram's face. She looks almost amused by my words. "Well, he must not have known what he was getting into with you, then." She chuckles lightly. "I'm sure you took him off guard. He was probably used to people cowering before him."
I shrug. "It could have been much worse. If Gavin hadn't have found me when he did, who knows where I’d be."
Gavin rubs a hand up and down my back, soothing me.
"Honestly, sweetie. I think you would've made it back to us even if Gavin hadn't found you. You have surprised everyone here,” Camilla says from her spot next to me.
I turn just enough to see her proud eyes, not wanting to move too much and mess up Gram's work.
Gram finishes up applying her medicine to my neck and holds her messy hands up.
"Where else, hun? Is that all?" she asks, looking me over.
Before I can speak, Gavin bends forward and grabs my leg. He lifts it up so that my wrapped ankle is resting on his Grandmother's lap. "Her ankle is pretty busted up. I don't think your medicine is going to help the bone heal but I'm sure it will help with the pain."
Gram gently unwraps the makeshift cast and studies my broken ankle. Her face is grim.
"This is really awful, El. How in the world did you hurt it so badly?”
I avoid eye contact with everyone and stare at my foot on her lap. "Well, Thrane didn't want me to try to escape when he had to leave for a while. He broke my ankle so that I'd stay
