“Wasn’t going to hurt me my ass,” she grumbled under her breath. That person wanted her to run, one way or another, and he had fully intended to do whatever it took. But she wasn’t going to tell Isaac that.
Not right now.
She tugged and nudged until she could curl up against his side, putting her throbbing, twisted ankle on the couch. Then she looked up at him, and said softly, “I’m listening. I won’t yell.”
Wrapping his arms gently around her, Isaac took a series of deep, calming breaths, trying to find the right place at which to start his story. He hoped that she wouldn’t interrupt, for once he’d started, if he stopped, it would be rather difficult for him to regain momentum.
“Right…” He licked his lips and turned to face her, needing to watch the expressions play out on her face as he talked. “First of all…I asked for the bite. I know you’ll probably not understand that but…for as long as I could remember, I was never good enough. I was always too weak, too scared and I couldn’t fight back. And then, one night, something happened at the cemetery that dad had me work at – I know now that it was probably a wolf, but I fell into an open grave and Derek turned up. He knew, I think, what had been going on, and he turned me because I asked him. That next night…that next night, my dad was murdered…” He shook his head and stopped for the briefest of seconds, eyes locking with hers once again, “And they locked me up for it, but they couldn’t hold me. The rest of the pack busted me out and…I just don’t know what to say now. Are…will you say something, Summer?”
He said ‘don’t interrupt’, but when he stopped, she didn’t know what to say. She just looked at him, eyes searching his face. She wasn’t even sure what she was looking for.
Finally, slowly, she said, “You wanted to be able to protect yourself. And — you didn’t kill him. Your dad.” She wasn’t even sure what he wanted her /to/ say.