Maddy managed not to flinch as he brushed her cheek, and she counted that as a victory. There was no backhand coming, and Thomas wasn't hiding a knife in his other hand, because she could see both of them. "After a while, the pain became secondary," she went on, the words bursting behind her teeth trying to get out. "And all I could think of was that stupid line from Game of Thrones: 'Fear cuts deeper than swords'. I just never realized how true it was until right then. It feels like I'd jump at every shadow, if I could get up from this bed for more than 10 minutes."
"I'm just trying to help," Jamie said. "She's only got the one good hand, and Grandma's got to go to work. But yeah, they really are. It's not so bad, usually, but one tried to set me up with her daughter. I mumbled something on the fly and ran off."