Page 174 of Hide and Keep

The first word she says to me and it’s my name. It could be worse.

“Yeah?”

“No, him.” She jiggles the stuffed animal. “He’s Crue.”

It’s worse.

“His name’s not Crue.”

“Yes, it is. I named him Crue 2.0 because he’s better than you. He didn’t mind one bit that I didn’t maintain eye contact.”

It takes me several minutes to figure out what that means.

“You fucked the bear’s face in?”

“I guess it’s a good thing you stopped when you did, or the same thing might’ve happened to yours.” Meeting my eyes for the first time since we left the gym yesterday, she pops her eyebrows in challenge.

A challenge I would love to call her bluff on.Fucking try it, little bat.I’m not made of terry cloth and stuffing. My face, and every other part of me, can handle a violent ride. In fact, I welcome one.

I rip the bear from her grasp and toss it in the back without looking away from her. Fuck that no-named bear.

Ever only rolls her eyes, equally unimpressed and unbothered, before nibbling at her egg and sausage bite, no yogurt in sight.

No idea what to say next, I begin the drive to Littoral. Halfway there, I have to break the silence.

“I looked up douche, by the way.”

Because the Sapphire’s electric and hardly makes any noise, I hear her mutter, “When you looked in the mirror.”

I choose to ignore that.

Bitch.

I knew douche was an insult toward guys, but I didn’t know it was an actual tool…thing for girls.

“And douching isn’t all that good for you. It messes with your levels.”

“Levels? Levels of what?”

“Your bacteria.”

Ever’s quiet for a bit, then says, “Okay,” like she’s not sure why I’m telling her this but she’s the one that threatened to use one.

“So…I hope you didn’t actually douche.”

“You spend a lot of time concerned about my vagina.”

Way too much time. More now that I’ve felt it and tasted it. It’s become a hobby of mine, thinking about that cunt.

“Someone has to. If you’re fucking a teddy—”

“Oh my Goddess. Every girl humps a stuffed animal at least once in her life. It’s like a part of growing up.”

“You’re nineteen.”

“Well, I’ve never had one to try it on. I thought I’d see what all the hype was about.”

“Because your other ones were too expensive to disfigure or…”

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