"You doing okay?" I asked Kiema as we got the table cleaned up from dinner.
She turned to me, smiled, nodded. "As well as can be expected, I guess. I'm still reeling from everything with Hellion. I think I'd come around to trusting him at some point over the last couple weeks. To have it all ripped out from underneath me like that?" She shook her head. "How am I supposed to deal with that?"
My heart caught. She'd lived her life knowing exactly who her monsters were. What side of the line everyone stood on. Having the evidence shoved into your face that you didn't know where people stood that could be life-altering. Damaging.
"You realize that the people who truly know you and love you will never do that to you," I said. Grabbing her hand, I gave it a squeeze.
She squeezed mine back. "Thanks, Scarlet. I'll stop whining here after a while. Just got to get it out."