Chris’ P.O.V

I still don’t know why he visited her. Doc couldn’t have been that stressed. He does get stressed easily, but he couldn’t have been that stressed. Maybe he was stressed. Might even be worried for her. Good old doc; he knows my secret and yet he doesn’t treat me any differently.

At least she ate. That’s good. Very good. Her not eating has slowed her healing, dramatically. A lot of her wounds have only just started to heal. I remember when I thought that she healed faster than I thought possible. Once she got into a fight, tock several blows she and only had a bruise for like a day. And now she’s struggling to heal after five weeks. I don’t know… I don’t know how she can even do that to herself. I don’t know why either. Maybe she wants the pain. Why would she want the pain?

Walking into her room, I don’t see her. But I know she’s her. She must be in the bathroom. I walk closer. She’s leaning on the door. Dot ask me how I know that. I don’t know myself. Knocking on the door. I hear her stand up. Opening the door, she shows me a piece of paper.

‘Is he gone?’ I know that she’s not afraid of him. So, the words on the page bring me a lot of confusion.

“Why?”

‘He’s weird.’ That one phrase from my sister could mean a million things. Anything from her liking the person to hating their guts. So, yea. Doesn’t really narrow it down.

Moving from the bathroom to the bed, she takes her spot in the corner of it. Now that I think of it. I think Shay to be stranger than I thought of werewolves being real, strange. Makes you think, doesn’t it?

“Care to specify.”

‘Not really.’

Shaking my head at her, I sit next to her. She dost move away. Good. Progress is being made. She’s drawing. Looks like she’s been drawing all night. The pen looks low on ink. But if she’s been drawing all night. And she hasn’t left the bathroom since Alx was here. Alx was here around about one. Say their conversation lasted an hour, and that’s generous. That makes it two. It’s now ten in the morning. Tow to twelve is ten. Twelve to ten is ten. Ten plus ten is twenty. She’s been in that bathroom for twenty hours. Why?

‘Perhaps she didn’t like his proximity.’

?

‘Plain and simple. Plain and simple. You know I don’t like fancy words!’ That shut him up quickly.

“Why were you in that bathroom for twenty hours?”

‘I didn’t want to talk right to him anymore.’

“So, you stayed in there for twenty hours? Twenty?”

‘20? Was it really 20?’

“Yes.” Giving her a strange look, I nod my head.

‘I didn’t want to come out with him still be here.’

“Why?”

‘He makes me feel weird.’

I raise my eyebrows at her.

‘You’re not to tell anyone that.’

Right, ok. Wouldn’t have wanted to. Let’s just leave it at that.

“What’d you even do in there for twenty hours?”

‘Draw. Sleep. Dream. Daydream. Wright. Draw some more. Contemplate life. Sleep some more. Shower. Clean my wounds. Rebandage my wounds. Basically, the same if I wasn’t in there for 20 hours.’

Her wounds. For a brief moment, I had forgotten about them.

“Can I please have a look at your back Shay?”

‘No.’

“Come on, Shay.”

‘No.’

“Just let me look at your back.”

‘No.’ underlined several times

“Shay”

‘I do not want you killing your people.’

My people? Well, they are my people. But it’s unlike her to think like that. She normally doesn’t care who or what people are as long as they act decently.

“What do you mean my people?”

‘The people you serve in your beta role.’ Tilting her head at me.

‘Is it not bad for someone of a higher ranking to kill someone of a lower ranking for doing their job?’

“If you knew that it was dangerous, then why come? You could have called me.”

‘I needed/ need to be here. That, and I wasn’t really thinking.’

“What happened?”

‘That I can’t tell you in any format.’ She goes silent. Still as a stone; once again. Eyes glazed over. She’s not here anymore. She’s somewhere far away. I’ve never seen her like this.

“What happened? What happened, that was so bad that you can’t tell me? Me? Your brother? I ran over your dog and you still talked to me that afternoon. You even laughed. You were crying your eyes out, but you still laughed. Why can’t you talk to me? Even if you don’t want to tell me what happened. That’s ok. I just need you to talk to me.”

‘I can’t. I just can’t. I don’t have the strength to. But I also know that once I start talking, I’ll start to cry. I don’t want to cry anymore.’

“Crying doesn’t make you weak Shayla!”

‘Weakness has nothing to do with this. You know dam well I never cared whether or not people thought I was weak. Allowing myself to cry would mean that I have gained some strength. I can’t now because that pain is too much. And I'm too weak.’

“Here you are still healing from being torn apart. And that pain is too much. Do your emotions num all your physical pain? Or are your emotions the only pain you really feel?”

‘Brother, please. Please, change the subject.’ Her eyes beginning to water.

“I’ll tell you what. If you talk, and doc gives you the all-clear. You can come live with me. And I promise not to ask questions. How’s that sound?”

“Good.” her voice dry and harsh. Her face moved to that of pain for a mere second.

I hug her. The fact that she isn’t squirming to get away from me. And she isn’t screaming ‘get off of me you weirdo’, or ‘go away’, or ‘why do you always have to hug me dammit’. Means she really isn’t herself. Sister, you never hid anything from me before. Why hide this?

‘You need to give her time.’

‘I know. But she won’t come clean by herself.’

‘Let her heal completely. When she seems to be back to herself. Then push for answers.’

‘She won’t like that very much.’

‘No, She won’t.’