Free The Withered Series (Book 1): Wither by Amy Miles Page B

you, Eva, huh?
 You need to get some rest.”
    “Yes.”
 She nods and hands him the bunch of carrots.  As he takes
it from her grasp I realize blood stains her palms, her nail beds
painted crimson.  I grit my teeth at the evidence of her
torment. She is young, scared, and practically alone, and I won't
stand by and watch Victoria poking and prodding her.
    “Coddling
won’t fix a lazy child.” Victoria tsks and stirs the
soup.  “Back in my day—”
    “Shut
her up, Alex, or I will!” I wrap my arm around Eva, helping her
make her way across the room, past the Victoria’s pot of murky
water soup.  A chicken based stock, or so Alex claims. It
doesn’t smell like any chicken I’ve ever had before.
    Eva’s
steps are slow and cautious.  I glance back at Alex over my
shoulder.  His posture is rigid, his elbows digging into his
thighs as he leans over and steeples his hands before his mouth,
whispering to Victoria.  He’d better be putting her in her
place.
    Soon
everyone will know that Eva’s in labor.  Then the
screaming will start.  I need to know if Alex is with me on
this.
    What
will happen if he’s not?  Will Devon gag Eva and force her
to endure her child’s birth in silence?  He is already
wound tighter than a spring.  He paces every time he enters the
room, like an animal wild and caged. His own inner demons have begun
to eat at him.  Sooner or later he will snap.  I don’t
want Eva anywhere near him when that happens.
    “Won’t
be long now,” I whisper in her ear as I ease her to the floor.
 I gave her my thin mattress during the night to try to help
ease the ache in her back.  It didn’t help much, but it’s
all I could do.  
    “We
should tell Devon,” Eva says, her head lolling to the side. I
mop her brow with the back of my hand.  Sweat clings to her rosy
cheeks.  Her eyes are glossy, her lips pale.  
    “No.”
I shake my head.  “Let Alex take care of him while I look
after you.”
    A
ghost of a smile touches her lips as she closes her eyes.  “I’m
glad you’re here.”
    My
throat clenches as she closes her eyes.  I clasp her hand in
mine, allowing her to rest for the remaining two minutes she has left
before the pain builds once more.
    All
too soon her breath hitches and her fingers clamp down on my hand. I
ride through the pain with her, drawing inward to ignore the loss of
circulation. I vow, no matter what I will stay by her side as my
mother never did for me.
    “That’s
it,” I whisper as her grip slowly loosens.  A breath of
pain slips past her lips as her body relaxes once more.
    “Laziness,
that’s what it is.”  I look up to see Victoria
pacing nearby.  Her hands flutter before her, as they have been
prone to do of late.  Her gaze seems unfocused, her recent bout
of insomnia starting to take its toll on her.  
    “Do
you ever shut up?” The woman just never stops.
    “Nothing
wrong with stating a fact, dear,” she responds with a syrupy
sweet tone that makes me want to throttle her.  “The truth
never hurt anyone.”
    “It
will when I rearrange your face,” I mutter under my breath,
eliciting a soft chuckle from Eva.  I wink at her and then watch
as Alex frowns and crosses to exit through the door.  I wait to
hear the tell-tale click of the lock but it doesn’t come.  His
preoccupation was the first mistake I’ve seen him make.
    “I’ll
be right back.” I pat Eva’s hand and rise, heading
straight after him.
    “Wait!”
Victoria shouts, bustling up behind me.  “Where are you
going?”
    “In
there.”
    “You
can’t!  You’re not permitted.”  Her hand
feels cold and wet when it lands upon my arm.  The gas burner
isn't wasted on scrubbing water for the vegetables.    
    “Don’t
touch me.”  I shove her off and place my hand on the
doorknob to open it but jump back when Devon appears in the doorway,
his broad frame filling the space.
    “What’s
going on out here?”  His gaze falls on me, standing less
than a