Betrayed

left.
    "Do you need one of us to stay while you take a shower?" Shaunee asked.
    "No, I'm fine.”
    "Okay. Well ..." Shaunee looked like she was going to cry again.
    "We'll be right back." Erin took Shaunee's hand and they left the room, closing it with a soft, final click.
    I moved carefully, like someone had switched me "on," but had set my speed at slow. I took off my dress, bra, and panties and put them in the plastic-lined wastepaper basket that sat in the corner of our—I mean my—room. I closed up the plastic bag and put it by the door. I knew one of the Twins would throw it away for me. I went into the bathroom and meant to get straight into the shower, but my reflection caught me, and I stopped, staring. I had turned into a familiar stranger again. I looked horrible. I was pale, but I had bruised-looking circles under my eyes. The tattoos on my face, back, and shoulders stood out in stark, sapphire contrast to the white of my skin and the rust-colored smears of blood that covered my body. My eyes looked huge and unusually dark. I hadn't taken off my Dark Daughters necklace. The silver of the chain and the copper of the garnets caught the light and gleamed.
    "Why?" I whispered. "Why did you let Stevie Rae die?”
    I didn't really expect an answer, and none came. So I got in the shower and stood there for a very long time, letting my tears mix with the water and the blood and wash down the drain.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

    When I came out of the bathroom Shaunee and Erin were sitting on Stevie Rae's bed. They had a tray between them that held a bowl of soup, some crackers, and a can of brown pop, nondiet. They had been talking in low voices, but as soon as I entered the room they stopped.
    I sighed and sat on my bed. "If you guys start acting all abnormal around me I'm not going to be able to handle it.”
    "Sorry," they muttered together, looking sheepishly at each other. Then Shaunee handed me the tray. I looked at the food like I couldn't remember what to do with it.
    "You need to eat so that you can take the stuff Neferet gave us to give you," Erin said.
    "Plus, it might make you feel better," Shaunee said.
    "I don't think I'll ever feel better.”
    Erin's eyes filled with tears that spilled over and dripped down her cheeks. "Don't say that, Zoey. If you never feel better that means none of us will, either.”
    "You have to try, Zoey. Stevie Rae would be pissed if you didn't," Shaunee said, sniffing through her tears.
    "You're right. She would be." I picked up the spoon and started sipping at the soup. It was chicken noodle, and it made a familiar, warm path down my throat, expanding into my body and chasing away some of the terrible chill I'd been feeling.
    "And when she got pissed that accent of hers went out of control," Shaunee said.
    That made Erin and me smile.
    "Y'all be niiice," Erin twanged, repeating the words Stevie Rae had said to the Twins a gazillion times.
    We smiled at that, and the soup began to seem easier to swallow. About halfway through the bowl, I had a sudden thought. "They're not going to have a funeral or anything like that for her, are they?”
    The Twins shook their heads. "Nope," Shaunee said. "They never do," Erin said.
    "Well, Twin, I think some of the kids' parents do, but that'd be back in their hometown.”
    "True, Twin," Erin said. "But I don't think anyone from here is going to travel to ..." she trailed off, thinking. "What was the name of that little bumpkin town Stevie Rae was from?”
    "Henrietta," I said. "Home of the Fighting Hens.”
    "Fighting Hens?" the Twins said together.
    I nodded. "It drove Stevie Rae crazy. Even in her bumpkinness she wasn't okay with being a Fighting Hen.”
    "Hens fight?" Shaunee asked.
    Erin shrugged. "How should I know, Twin?”
    "I thought only cocks fought," I said. We all looked at each other and said, "Cocks!" and then burst out into laughter, which pretty soon was mixed with tears. "Stevie Rae would have thought that was hilarious," I said when I could catch my breath again.
    "Is it really going to be okay, Zoey?" Shaunee asked.
    "Is it?" Erin echoed.
    "I think so," I said.
    "How?" Shaunee asked.
    "I don't really know. I think all we can do is take one day at a time.”
    Surprisingly, I'd finished all my soup. I did feel better—warmer, more normal. I was also unbelievably tired. The Twins must have noticed my eyelids getting heavy, because Erin took my tray. Shaunee handed me a little vial of milky liquid.
    "Neferet said you should