Page 9 of Werewolf Heart

“Didn’t I pay last time?”

“Uh-huh, I’m not falling for that again. I bought our rounds, like, two months ago. Time to pay up.”

Robert shrugs, glad the whole compliment subject was dropped.

“Alright, that’s fair,” he says. “Shall we, your majesty?”

Sara smacks him on the shoulder. It feels lovely.

They take the tube and get off on Canada Water, from there it’s a short walk to a pub by the riverside. Usually, both of them stick to the nearest bar around their neighbourhood, but with all the crazy stuff the universe has thrown at them, they decided to branch out and try somewhere new. By some sort of miracle, it’s not raining cats and dogs in London. So they sit outside on the long benches where they have a clear view of the water that’s still moderately clean. A couple of pints come and go, plus an overpriced plate of chips. The music isn’t too loud. People keep to themselves. Sara laughs at something stupid he said and Robert feels his whole body go lax. All the hard joints loosen, his headache clears. Her smell softens him all up.

The young man grows bold and touches her pinky with his thumb. She doesn’t turn away.

“This is nice, right?” She says, smiles.

“Yeah, it is.” He smiles back. “I didn’t know how much of a cabin fever I was in.”

“If you ever feel too cooked up again, call me.”

Robert chuckles into his drink. “We live in the same flat.”

“Technically, yes.” Sara turns to the water, she watches the flow of the river and the little sparkles of light reflected by the moon. The young woman sighs. “But sometimes it feels like we live at opposite ends.”

He stops his pint mind-sip, puts the drink back down. Robert frowns in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

She glances back at him. Sara doesn’t look upset, but her eyes do look lost. As if she’s not so sure herself.

“Whenever I’m down, you’re always there for me. Without fail. Yet… Sometimes, when I just want to hang out with you, just lay on the couch and talk or watch a stupid show, you’re not there. Not really. It feels hard to reach you, Rob. Like climbing a mountain, but with each jump your foot slips a bit further.”

“I’m sorry,” he says, frowning. “But with this whole… thing, it’s hard. You know.”

Sara sighs again. “You were like this before you got bit.”

He stares at his drink, can’t meet her eyes. “Was I?”

“Yeah, you were.”

He inhales. “I don’t want to come off as a prick, but how come you never mentioned this before?”

“I didn’t want to annoy you.” Ah, there it is. The guilt. It fills Robert up to the brim. “Or push you. Who knows, maybe I should have. If there’s something wrong, you need to speak up. But I didn’t want to make things worse.”

It’s the voice that gets to him. Sara’s words drip with anguish and self-loathing. He shrugs off his cowardice and gazes back at her, eyes glistering and hands fidget. Robert can smell the dread coming off of her. Her distress. He hates that he ever made her feel like she couldn’t be honest with him.

“You wouldn’t have,” he says, softly. “I’m sorry I made you feel like that. I’m sorry I was isolating myself so much… I don’t know why I did that. But it doesn’t matter. It still hurt you.”

“It hurt me because I care about you. I didn’t know if you wanted to be my friend anymore.”

“Of course I do!” He touches her hand, caress gentle. “You have to know how much I care about you, Sara.”

She smiles. And it’s so bright, so warm. Robert is thankful he’s sitting down otherwise he might have lost his balance.

“I care about you, too.” He can hear the quickening of her heartbeat. “Thank you for listening. And saying you’re sorry.”

“If you ever feel like I’m pushing you away, please talk to me. I swear I won’t mind. I feel awful that you were this anxious.”

His fingers touch her skin, and his senses hit him all at once: her expression of joy, her sigh of relief, how her perfume mixes with her ease— His beast growls for more.

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