Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison

Author:Rachel Harrison [Harrison, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2022-10-04T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

—

The drive to the hospital is torture. There are so many things that could be wrong, that could go wrong. And no one even bothered to call me.

When I walk into the emergency room, my memory flares. I get snippets of the last time I was here, when they discovered what they thought was minimal damage.

Looking at me, you’d never know what prowls beneath my skin.

I can smell blood. There’s so much blood here. It blurs my vision. Makes me weak.

I call my mother, keeping the phone away from my ear to spare my cartilage from the shattered screen. She picks up right away.

“I’m here,” I say. “Where are you?”

“Miss.” A nurse behind reception calls to me. “Miss?”

“We’re in the maternity ward. She’s okay.”

“She’s okay?”

“It’s the . . . I actually don’t know where we are,” she says. “I’m sure if you ask someone—”

“She’s okay?”

“Yes. Her and baby, both fine.”

The relief is euphoric. I release my shoulders from under my ears.

“I’ll find you.”

I hang up and wander the halls. Good to know security is tight. I follow signs for maternity. It’s not a big hospital, but it’s a labyrinth. I get in the elevator and go up to the third floor. When the doors open, the first person I see is Matty.

He paces the hall. He’s on his phone. He wears a leather jacket and black jeans and combat boots. His dark hair is up in a half bun. He plays with his necklace, a long chain with a pendant etched with the letter S. He’s worn it for years, ever since they first got together. He also has a tattoo of my sister’s name on his right pec.

I was always certain that he loved her. Had I ever thought there was a chance he’d fuck her over so royally, I would have never let him near her. I would have . . .

He sees me. He hangs up the phone.

“Hey, Rory,” he says, reaching out to me for a hug.

“Do not fucking touch me, you piece of shit.” I take one hand and shove him back.

He screams.

He hits the wall behind him. Hard. He grabs his shoulder. His arm hangs limp from it, and I can tell even through his jacket that I’ve done real damage. I think I dislocated his shoulder.

Good.

“How dare you show up here?”

I’m in his face. He’s been drinking. He smells like liquor and fear. His heartbeat is out of control. His pulse is fast, his blood churning. He turns his face away from me. There’s dark stubble on his chin, a small cut at his jawbone. I wonder what it’s from. I wonder if I were to reach out and hook my nail in, how much of his skin I could peel away, how much of his face. I wonder what it would sound like. Smell like. Taste like.

The rage wraps itself around me like vines, like moss swallowing a rock. It’s a natural state. It’s good. It’s symbiotic.

He hurt my sister.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.