Hina's breath hitched. Her eyes flicked to me, wide, panicked, like a deer caught in a snare. She bit her lip, shaking her head, lost for words.
I sighed, leaning back on my hands, casual, like I wasn't about to throw her to the wolves. "Oh. It's my fault."
Hina's breath caught. Her fingers dug into her skirt, her knuckles white.
Ada blinked, surprised. "Your fault?"
I nodded, shrugging like it was nothing. "Yeah. Last night, when Aunt Hina was helping me arrange those herbs…"
I paused, letting the words hang, letting them imagine exactly what kind of "arranging" we'd been doing. "Her legs bumped into the bed. That's why she's hurting."
Ruth's eyes narrowed, but there was no shame in her voice, no hesitation. "Dexter… you should've applied those herbs on her legs, like you did to me…" She glanced at Vera, then back at me, her tone dry. "When my pussy was hurting."
