Mina’s mom helped her clean up, and she didn’t protest Emme’s presence when her sister came back a bit later with a mug of tea. “No, thanks,” she whispered, her voice hoarse, though she hadn’t been able to shout or scream as Shane had beaten her. Maybe all the internal screaming she’d done had rendered her throat raw. The tea might be soothing, but she felt too nauseated to keep it down.
Emme smiled. “You really need to drink it, sweetie.” She knelt on the floor by Mina’s bed, pushing hair off her face. “It has some herbs in it that will help prevent pregnancy.”
Mina’s eyes widened, and she couldn’t help remembering the dark glee in Shane’s voice when he’d mentioned getting her pregnant. The thought of ever having his child made her want to curl up and die. Her hands shook, and Emme helped steady the cup while she drank it as quickly as she could. It wasn’t too unpleasant, though she could definitely taste the bitterness inadequately masked by the honey.
“Good girl. You’ll need to have a cup each day until your next cycle, to make sure nothing implants. Okay?” Mina nodded, and her sister said, “I made a big batch. It’s in that old pig cookie jar downstairs. One level scoop, steeped as long as you can and as strong as you can drink it.”
“Do you want to tell us what happened?” asked Janie, sitting beside Mina and holding her hand.
Mina shook her head. She couldn’t tell them. The idea of trying to share all those details, or even just a few, made her queasier than ever. It hurt even more to know she couldn’t tell them who had attacked her. Part of her thought maybe he was still a bully, just trying to intimidate her, but she couldn’t be sure. If he was being honest, and he had seemed chillingly sincere, she couldn’t risk her family’s lives by telling them the truth. That thought also made her want to curl up and die.
“You get some rest, sweetie.” Janie was stroking her brow. “I’ll be right here with you.”
She felt safe, for the moment, and closed her eyes. Her body ached from head to toe, especially her swollen wrist. She opened her eyes again when she felt Emme probing it. “Is it broken?” she rasped.
Emme nodded. “Yeah, I think so. All I can do is wrap it securely, and you’ll have to keep it immobilized the best you can for at least two to four weeks.”
Janie frowned. “You’re sure you know how to do that, Emme?”
Her sister sighed loudly, obviously irritated by another reminder of her parents’ lack of confidence in her chosen career path. “Mom, I’m a trained naturopath. I took biology and anatomy courses, same as doctors of western medicine.”
“No offense, but I wish you were an anesthesiologist right now,” said Mina. “You could knock me out and take away the pain.” The physical pain, anyway. She knew the emotional fallout would be haunting her long after the bruises had faded.