Page 20 of Werewolf Heart

He finds this odd. Wasn’t he going to be charged with unlawful battery?

The young man waits till they arrive home before he asks what the hell happened.

“I talked to Tom,” she says, nonchalantly. “His injuries weren’t as bad as they looked, apparently. I told him I wouldn’t press any charges if he didn’t either.”

Robert is quiet for about three minutes. Then blurts out, “What the fuck, Sara?”

“Rob,” she sighs. “If I hadn’t sprinted down the flat, you would have murdered him!”

“He said he was going to fucking kill you!”

Sara tightens her lips. She’s angry.

“Tom only knows how to bark. If somebody was going to end up killing anybody in that fucking relationship, it was me.”

“Sara—”

“I know we should have left that fucking pub sooner,” her voice drops, and it breaks Robert’s heart. “Why did I insist on staying? I’m so fucking stupid.”

“You’re not stupid,” he tries to comfort. “People like Tom just aren’t satisfied till they ruin everything.”

“Yeah, but I knew that. I dated him for two years, for God’s sake! I know how twisted and persistent he gets! When I saw him, I should’ve put on my big girl pants and told you we needed to leave. If I’d been quick enough, he probably wouldn’t have followed me.”

“Do you listen to yourself?” His voice rises, filled with anger. “The fucker abused you, followed you home—stalked you—and harassed you to open the door! There’s nobody to blame here but him!”

She takes a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have brought you into this.”

He frowns. “What?”

“Look what you did, Rob. You— You’re not stable, right now. You’re still adjusting. And I forgot, okay? I forgot you got bit by a fucking werewolf! And in my temporary amnesia I spur Tom on, knowing what he was capable of, knowing he would do something awful and upsetting… Of course you reacted the way you did! Probably some weird territorial werewolf thing that Tom pushed and you— snapped! Fuck. I should have known better.”

He can’t help himself. Robert bursts out laughing.

“Are you serious?” He says between breaths. “You— You think I did what I did because I’m a fucking werewolf?”

“Well…” And her nose scrunches up in such a cute way he can’t help but find it endearing. “Duh! Why else did you beat someone to a bloody pulp?”

“Sara,” he says, slowly. “He threatened to kill you.”

“And?”

“Do you really not see the correlation?”

“…Rob.”

“I like you, Sara,” he sighs. “And yeah, maybe you’re half right. I was acting on instinct. To protect you. I hate that I lost control. It makes me sick how easily I let my… other side take over. But it was always about protecting you.” For the first time in years, Robert gains courage. He stares at his best friend, focuses on her lovely dark eyes, how they fill up with so much emotion he spots traces of care even while she’s pissed at him. Sara is so wonderful he doesn’t bother lying. “I— I really like you, Sara. I really do.”

She narrows her eyes. “No.”

It’s as if a bucket of ice water falls down his back; his skin burns from the cold. “What?”

“No, you don’t. Like me, anyway.”

He tilts his head. “Come again?”

“Your wolf, or whatever, might find me attractive but you don’t like me— that way, I mean.”

He starts to laugh again, cold and bitter. “Are you seriously telling me how I feel?”

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