“There you go, keep going. You’re doing so well.”

“Ah! I can’t! It’s too much!”

“You’re almost there, just a little bit more. You can do it.”

Roxy grit her teeth, squeezed her eyes shut, and pushed with everything she had. Her muscles were burning, screaming at her, but she didn’t let up. She couldn’t fail, not now, not so close to the finish. With one last burst of energy from her core, she forced her leg out straight, overcoming the resistance Sam was providing by pushing back against her foot. Immediately, her entire body gave out and she collapsed back against the arm of the couch, completely spent. “N-no… no more… I can’t…”

Sam squeezed her calf. “Don’t worry, we’re all done. For today, at least. You’ll have to do it again on Friday, though.”

Roxy groaned, throwing an arm over her face. “God, kill me now.”

“Hey, it’ll get easier the more you do it. You’re already progressing way faster than normal.”

“Still sucks,” she grunted.

It was the homework assigned to her by her physical therapist. She had to perform all of her usual exercises at home, once every other day, to make up for the fact that her number of weekly appointments had been reduced. Sam knew all about her routines, since she was the one primarily taking her to appointments, so she’d been helping Roxy out with it. It was still better than having to drive all the way to Wilbur and back multiple times a week, but not by much.

A sudden weight slammed against her chest and Roxy sputtered as the wind rushed out of her, accompanied by the familiar sound of her cat’s incessant meowing. “Oof! Mr. Slinky!” she whined.

Sam laughed melodically. “Someone wants attention.”

“Nah, he wants food. I think it’s about time for dinner anyway.”

As if attempting to prove her point, Mr. Slinky continued to yell and started gnawing on one of her fingers. “Alright, alright!” She laughed at his playful antics. “Sam, would you mind?”

“I got it.” She stood up and walked into the kitchen. Mr. Slinky immediately seemed to realise what her intention was, and he leapt off of Roxy’s chest to follow her. She was glad that he seemed to trust Sam now, even if he was still cautious of everyone else. Her dad was trying everything he could to get Mr. Slinky to warm up to him, but it seemed ineffective so far. Her mother, on the other hand, couldn’t stand him. She hated having ‘a mangy, scrawny street cat in the house,’ - her words, not Roxy’s - and always shooed him whenever they crossed paths. Not that Mr. Slinky usually needed any encouragement, darting away at the slightest hint of someone that wasn’t Roxy or Sam.

Ultimately, he had been the cause of no less than five arguments between her parents since she’d adopted him. It was happening more and more, ever since the apparent grace period after her kidnapping had ended. Martha was still steering clear of arguing with Roxy, but that just seemed to be causing her to argue more with Damien to make up for it. It was stressing Roxy out in no small way. It made her feel like it was her fault that they were fighting so much. It wasn’t that she wanted her mother to take her anger out on her, but it didn’t seem fair to her dad to have to deal with it all just because they thought she was too ‘emotionally fragile,’ or whatever the reason was. Regardless, she just wished her mother would get her head out of her own ass already and stop picking fights about menial things.

She closed her eyes and let out a breath. Something was going to give sooner or later. The only question was how she was going to deal with it. Having her parents split up would really be the shit cherry on top of a remarkably shit few months. There was no question that she would choose to stay with her dad if that happened, but it would really suck to have to make that choice regardless.

The sound of Mr. Slinky crunching away at his food from the kitchen brought a smile to Roxy’s face in spite of her depressing thoughts. She was a little surprised at the clarity with which she could hear it, considering the distance. She had a theory that her ears and nose were slowly growing sharper as her werewolf side developed, and the fact she could hear him so well supported her hypothesis. It was a little daunting, thinking about how much she was changing, but in the end she supposed it could only really be a positive thing. Pedro theorised that at the rate she was going, she would be able to form her own claws at will within the next few months, regardless of the phase of the moon, which was exciting. The thought of always having a weapon to fall back on was quite comforting, and would no doubt help ease the constant anxiety she felt whenever she left the house, irrationally worried that something was going to jump out and attack her.

She opened her eyes when she heard Sam re-enter the room, only to be greeted by the sight of her holding Mr. Slinky high up in the air as she approached like he was Simba from The Lion King. “Here comes the booooooooooy!” she sang, slowly lowering the cat back onto Roxy as she held the last note. It was kind of funny that he was perfectly okay with Sam manhandling him like that when he’d been terrified of her just a week earlier. He either trusted people completely or wouldn’t even let them near him, and there was no in between.

Mr. Slinky seemed to have no issue with being placed back down onto Roxy, evidenced by the way he immediately settled in and started kneading with his one front paw. It was honestly quite painful, his claws digging into the soft flesh of her chest, but she just couldn’t bring herself to stop him with how happy he looked. She reached up and scratched him behind the ears, prompting a trill. “Little goober.”

The front door opened as Sam settled back down on the couch and Roxy’s dad walked in. “Hey, girls,” he greeted.

“Hey, dad. Good day?” Roxy replied.

“Eh, same old, same old.” He sat down on his usual armchair. “I’m thinking about ordering pizza for dinner, how does that sound?”

“Awesome.”

Her dad flipped on the TV to the nightly news and Roxy immediately tuned out, not intending to pay it any mind. She was scrolling mindlessly through her phone with her legs in Sam’s lap when the ‘breaking news’ symbol flashed across the screen out of the corner of her eye, briefly grabbing her attention.

“We’ve just received word that Ken Harrison, the alleged mastermind behind the Kindley kidnapping and apparent leader of the Black Sun cult, was found dead in his prison cell a few hours ago, along with fifteen other suspects involved in the case. The specific circumstances surrounding their deaths are still unknown, but it’s been reported that several of the suspects were behaving erratically and suffering from paranoia in the days leading up to their deaths. Was this just some big, coincidental accident, or is the cult of the Black Sun bigger than we thought? Until we know more, we can only theorise. Regardless, we will be providing updates of the situation as more information comes to light, so stay tuned.”

“Oh my god,” Roxy muttered, staring at the screen in horror. Her heart started pounding as soon as she heard Harrison’s name and it only got worse the longer the news report went on.

“Do you think it was them?” her dad asked.

“Definitely,” Sam replied.

“What… What does this mean?”

“They were silenced,” Roxy said. “They… The hunters must have heard about the trial coming up and finally decided to tie up their loose ends. Without Harrison there’s no one to prosecute, and the trial won’t happen. None of their secrets get leaked.”

“What about you?” he asked. “Th-they won’t come after you, right?”

The thought somehow hadn’t occurred to her yet, but now that the idea was in her head, she couldn’t shake it. “I… I-I don’t know,” she admitted, her voice shaking slightly. Mr. Slinky seemed to sense her distress and meowed at her, jumping up to bump her chin with his head. It had the intended effect of momentarily distracting her from her anxiety before she could spiral too far.

“No, what reason would they have?” Sam interjected. “They’ve already stopped the trial, there’s no reason to go after you as well and just bring more attention to themselves. Besides, if they were planning to, wouldn’t they have just done it simultaneously with the prisoners?”

“That… makes a lot of sense, actually,” Roxy said.

Sam smiled. “I have my moments.”

“We should probably still call Pedro and ask, though, right?”

“Yeah, we can if you’re still worried. Either way, if they wanted to get to you, they’d have to go through me, and that’s not gonna happen.”

The thought actually brought her a surprising amount of comfort. There was very little that could threaten Sam, at least physically, and the hunters wouldn’t do anything that would give themselves away any more than they already are. At least, she hoped not.

She smiled down at the cat in her lap. “Yeah, you’re right. No one can kill the great Samantha Reed,” she teased.

“Many have tried, and many have failed. Someday they’ll learn their lesson.” Sam smirked mischievously.

“Well, with that out of the way, what kind of pizza do you guys want?” her dad asked.

“Oooh, pepperoni for me, please,” Roxy said.

“Meatlovers!” Sam cried.

—

It was a surprisingly nice day for early October. It was warm, not a cloud in sight, and Drew wanted to take the opportunity to do something, instead of just sitting around the house all day. He asked Leif if she was free, but she was busy, so instead of hanging out with her he was just walking around the woods outside town, familiarising himself with the land and its many scents. Part of him wanted to transform and run around as a wolf, but he couldn’t really be bothered dealing with trying to find a good spot to leave his clothes, so as it was, he was staying in his human form.

He hadn’t really found anything of note so far. There were a few places where he could tell Sam spent a lot of time, but that was about it. He wondered if it was because his theory about her being like him was correct, or if she just enjoyed spending time in the woods. It was really still impossible to know for sure, and it frustrated him. He felt so close to finally getting some real answers about himself, but at the same time he didn’t want to jump the gun and accidentally reveal himself to normal people. Superheroes had secret identities for a reason, and while he didn’t think he’d pissed anyone super dangerous off, there was no telling who he would encounter in the future, when he could really dedicate some time to helping people and stopping crime. He probably needed to get started on a costume.

A sound filtered through the trees towards him; a loud splash, followed by laughter and half-hearted reprimanding. He couldn’t quite make out the actual words, but the tone was clear enough. From the way the voice seemed to crack as it reached a higher pitch, he deduced that it probably belonged to Roxy. Maybe Leif was with her? She didn’t mention what she was actually doing when she said she was busy. Maybe he could go say hi? It’s not like he was doing anything else of any importance, and he was sure they wouldn’t mind. His mind made up, he changed course and started heading towards the source of the sound.

His footsteps were completely silent as he made his way through the undergrowth. The splashing got louder as he approached, along with the sound of running water. They were probably hanging out around the creek that he’d passed by earlier, although clearly a different part of it than the one he’d jumped across. There was another bout of laughter that he could clearly identify as Leif’s, as well as something that sounded like… growling? It didn’t seem aggressive in nature, reminding him more of the sounds his dog would make when they played tug, but it was still certainly unexpected. He didn’t think either Leif nor Roxy had a dog.

He’d fully intended to reveal himself once he arrived, but when he saw what was waiting for him at the creek, he quickly ducked behind a bush before anyone present could notice him. Leif and Roxy were both there, as he’d predicted, sitting on rocks with their feet resting in the shallow water. Roxy was dressed in a t-shirt and bikini bottoms while Leif wore a wrap around her waist and a colourful bikini top that covered most of her chest up to her neck. Obviously, they weren’t what freaked Drew out. No, that honour belonged to the massive golden wolf that was splashing through the water, seemingly intentionally drenching the two girls every time it dipped its snout in the creek before playfully flicking it out towards them. There was also another wolf, smaller with a greying-black coat, that was just resting in the water, letting the creek flow around it as it peacefully laid there.

Roxy laughed as the golden wolf nudged her with its head, knocking her off-balance and forcing her to grab onto it to avoid falling off of the rock. “Ah! Sam! Watch out!” she chided without any actual fire.

Drew paused. Did he hear that right? Did she just call the wolf ‘Sam?’ That… that would mean… No, he couldn’t jump to conclusions. Maybe wolf Sam and human Sam shared the same name for some reason. Perhaps it was a coincidence? Or maybe Roxy named the wolf after Sam? It wasn’t that far-fetched an idea, considering they both bore that golden-white coloured hair…

The breeze changed and the distinct scent of pine hit his nose, a unique one that could only belong to the Sam he knew. From his angle peering out through the bushes - which, yes, he knew was very creepy considering the two girls in swimsuits, even if one was his girlfriend - he could see that human Sam was nowhere to be seen, certainly not close enough for her scent to be this strong in the breeze. He looked closer at the giant wolf, noticing the three hairless patches on the right side of its face, a distinct slash-mark scar. He saw a similar mess of scarring on its left forelimb. Both in the exact same spots where Sam bore her own scars. At this point it was beyond coincidence. Either this wolf was the Sam he knew, and she was like him, or he would eat his own foot. A single glance at the beast's eyes confirmed it. They were the same blood red shade that his own eyes turned whenever he drew his powers out. It was settled.

Alright, that earth-shattering revelation aside, he needed to get out of this bush before someone caught him and assumed the worst, because it really wouldn’t look good for him. He’d been lucky enough that the wind had been blowing his scent away from the creek instead of towards it, but if it were to suddenly blow in the other direction he had no doubt that Sam would notice him in an instant. Honestly, he was a little surprised she hadn’t already, considering that she probably shared his heightened sense of hearing. She was pretty distracted playing in the water though, to be fair.

Drew stood up and walked out of the treeline as casually as he could, doing his best to look like he hadn’t been spying on them like a total creep for the past few minutes. He cleared his throat, announcing his presence, and everything suddenly paused as they all turned to look at him. All except for the smaller black wolf, who got up and shook itself off before calmly walking into the treeline behind him. Was that one a person too, or was it just a regular wolf? It was hard to tell, it didn’t have the blood-red eyes that he and Sam shared.

“Drew,” Leif started, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. “What… what are you doing here?”

He shrugged his shoulders casually. “I dunno, I was just on a hike and I heard some laughter, so I came to check it out. What are you doing?”

“Oh, you know… Just… hanging out.” Her response was carefully measured, like she didn’t know what she could or couldn’t say. Roxy’s expression was distrustful, her hand resting in the fur of Sam’s neck while the wolf herself was completely still, just waiting to strike at the tiniest hint of danger. They were scared of him. He was a threat. Why?

“Most people would have a bit more of a reaction when seeing a giant wolf like this. You’re surprisingly calm,” Roxy said, with no small hint of accusal in her voice.

“It’s just Sam, isn’t it? I heard you say her name before, and she’s got the same scars. Should I be scared?”

Though it didn’t seem possible at the time, the tension in the air skyrocketed after his statement. Roxy and Leif seemed to have some sort of silent conversation with each other before settling on some apparent conclusion and turning back to him. “Okay, and how did you know that?” Leif asked.

“Uhh,” Drew stumbled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Context clues, I guess? Sam seems to have uncannily good hearing, you called the wolf Sam, they’re both blonde, all of her scars are in the same relative anatomical position. It’s kinda just the natural conclusion, ain’t it?”

The three of them just stared at him in silence for a few seconds before the wolf relaxed and a familiar cracking sound filled the air. He immediately threw his hands up to block his view of Sam, knowing what was happening. “Woah! Don’t you know not to transform in front of people?! I do not need to see that!”

“Relax,” Sam’s distinctly human voice said. “You can’t see anything.”

Drew carefully lowered his hands and, sure enough, Sam’s modesty was protected by a thick coat of fur all the way down her front. Yeah, it looked weird, but it was effective in blocking him from seeing anything that might further the creep allegations that existed only in his head. His eyes widened. “Woah, how do you have so much control over it?”

She ignored his question. “How do you know about werewolves?” she asked sternly.

“Werewolves? Is that what we’re call-”

He’d been too caught up in the conversation to notice the presence approaching him from behind until it was far too late. Something cold firmly pressed against the back of his head and his words cut off, a sharp burst of adrenaline surging through his body. A deep, slightly accented voice spoke out from behind him.

“Hands up, kid. I’m not going to ask twice.”

Leif immediately jumped up off of her rock as he slowly did as he was told. “Woah, Pedro! That’s not necessary!”

“He clearly knows more than he’s letting on. He’s probably a hunter, come to spy,” the man - Pedro - said. “I wouldn’t put it past them after the assassinations the other day.”

A nervous chuckle bubbled up from somewhere within him as the reality of the situation set in. “H-hey now, mister, I-I’m not here to hunt anything, and I’m certainly not spying on anyone. I-I’m sorry for watching you guys through the bushes, I was really j-just trying to get a better idea of the situation. Please, if you just let me explain-”

Pedro jabbed the object - which he could only assume was a gun - against the back of his head, prompting a frankly embarrassing whimper of fear to slip out. He’d had guns pulled on him before when things had gone really bad during fights in the past, but he’d never been in such a definitively helpless position. “Keep lying, see what happens.”

“Pedro, stop! Drew’s not a fucking hunter! You’re terrifying him!” Leif yelled.

A growl rumbled from somewhere behind him and he tensed up. “We can’t take any chances, Leif! What happened to Roxy only happened because I wasn’t vigilant enough. Do you want something like that to happen again?!”

“Hey!” Roxy shouted, clearly offended. “While I agree with you, Pedro, don’t you fucking dare weaponise my torture like that.”

The gun jabbed against his head again and Drew held back against every instinct in his body that was screaming at him to run, run, run. That would only make him look guilty and everything would get worse. He brought his powers to the surface just in case they could protect him should Pedro get any more erratic.

“I’m sorry, Roxy, I… I didn’t mean that,” Pedro muttered, subdued. “But my point stands. This is exactly the type of shit the hunters would pull. We can’t trust him.”

“Let him fucking explain himself at least!” Leif yelled. “You’re not even giving him the chance to talk!”

“Pedro, even if he is a hunter, what do you propose we do? It’s not like he’s one of their regular soldiers, we can’t just kill him and forget like you seem to want to. He’s enrolled in school, he has parents, people who would ask questions if he disappeared. What are we supposed to do? Just let him talk, maybe we’re wrong,” Roxy argued. A chill ran down his spine at the ease with which she spoke about such a dark topic and he found himself questioning everything he knew about her. Whoever these ‘hunters’ were, they had to be pretty dangerous if murdering him was an acceptable form of self-defence to take against them. That being said, Leif did admit to killing one of Roxy’s kidnappers. Were these hunters and the cult of the Black Sun one and the same?

“Guys!” Sam interrupted, staring straight at him. “Look at his eyes! He’s not a hunter, he’s a werewolf!”

Everything paused as Sam’s words sunk in. Drew let out a sigh of relief. “Finally. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!”

The gun was removed from the back of his head and he suddenly found himself being spun around to face the man behind him. He was surprised to find that he was only dressed in a white tank-top and boxers, but then it occurred to him that Pedro was probably the black wolf he saw earlier. There wouldn’t have been enough time to dress properly between him leaving the creek and returning to threaten him. Pedro examined his face for a second and his eyes widened. “Oh. That changes things.”

Drew nodded. “See? I’m not a ‘hunter’ or whatever. I’m like you guys. A werewolf, right? That’s what we’re called?”

“Yeah, but… why didn’t you just say that at the start? And when Sam slipped up at the party?” Leif asked.

Drew turned to her. “I didn’t know what it was called. I’ve never met anyone like me before. I… I had my suspicions that Sam was like me, but I wasn’t sure until I found you guys out here. Are you… all werewolves?”

Leif shook her head. “Pedro and Sam are, but I’m not. Roxy is… a little more complicated, but she’s human most of the time.”

“I feel like we’re missing the point here,” Roxy interrupted. “His eyes are red! He’s not just a werewolf, he’s a direwolf! Sam isn’t the only one!”

“But how? Pedro, you said I was the last one left!” Sam said.

“I said you were the only one that we knew about,” Pedro replied. “There was always the possibility of an unregistered one somewhere. Who are your parents, kid?”

“Oh, so you’re not gonna apologise for the whole ‘holding a gun to my head’ thing?” Drew complained.

Pedro let out a huffy growl. “Fine, I’m sorry. You can never be too cautious when it comes to hunters.”

Drew sighed. “Sure, whatever. To answer your question, I don’t know. I never met my parents, I was just left on a doorstep when I was a baby. What the heck is a ‘direwolf,’ anyway?”

Pedro rubbed his face exasperatedly. “Oh boy, this is gonna take a while.”

—

Roxy sighed wearily as she and Sam flopped down onto Sam’s bed. “Hell of a day, huh?” the blonde asked.

“I’ll say,” Roxy replied. “Where do we even start?”

“I’m still reeling over the fact that there’s another direwolf!” She threw her hands up into the air to accentuate her point. “This whole time, I thought I was the last one left. It was honestly really lonely.”

“Imagine how he felt. He didn’t even know werewolves were a thing. I can’t imagine growing up thinking I’m the only person like me in the world.”

Sam hummed. “Yeah.”

“This doesn’t change anything though, does it? The hunters still think you’re the only direwolf left, so it’s not like they’ll change strategies to go after him when they don’t even know about him.”

“Yeah, I guess not.” She let out a long sigh. “I don’t wanna think about them right now. It’s been a nice day, aside from the little scare, and I wanna keep that energy going.”

“What do you wanna do?” Roxy asked. In truth, she did have something in mind, but she wanted to see if Sam was thinking of the same thing.

“Well, Carol’s on the night shift, Tom’s out at a bar, and Ava’s at a party, so we’ve got the house to ourselves,” Sam said, thinking out loud. Roxy felt her hopes rise up in her chest. It was stupid, honestly. She should be able to ask for it herself, but it was important to her to see that Sam wanted it too. “I guess we could watch a movie or something, order some takeout.” She shrugged.

Roxy sighed, her hopes deflating and floating away in the breeze like the Fall leaves on the trees outside. “Oh. Yeah, that sounds nice,” she muttered, doing her best to sound convincing.

Sam frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Roxy turned away, debating whether or not she should tell the truth. With the house to themselves, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to spend an intimate night together, but the thought never even seemed to cross Sam’s mind. It had been months since the last time they did it, before Roxy was kidnapped. Despite Sam’s constant affirmations, it was starting to feel like she just wasn’t interested in her anymore, and Roxy could think of a few raised, discoloured, ugly reasons why. “Are…” Her words faltered, catching in her throat. She turned back to Sam, looking her in the eye and summing up her courage. “Are you still attracted to me? Be honest.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Sam blinked in surprise. “Of course!” she answered without hesitation. She reached out and took Roxy’s hand, their fingers tangling together. Her voice turned soft. “Where is this coming from?”

Roxy swallowed. “Ever since I was kidnapped, we haven’t… been intimate with each other. I know we came close that one time, but we had to stop because of my leg. And since then, you… You used to initiate all the time, but ever since I got out of hospital, you haven’t even asked once. It’s… I know it’s probably just me overthinking, but it’s starting to feel like it’s because you don’t find me attractive anymore.”

“Oh, Roxy…” Sam whispered. “It’s not that at all, I promise. I still find you just as beautiful as ever.”

“Then, what is it? There has to be a reason, Sam. It’s been months.”

“I-I just… I didn’t want to accidentally pressure you into anything before you were ready for it, that’s all. I still… I still don’t know the full extent of what you went through at the outpost, and… I-I was scared that if I came onto you, I might accidentally remind you of something th-that they did to you. I… I decided to just wait until you came to me and told me you were ready, and since you never did, I-I didn’t want to risk pushing you about it, so I tried to just stop thinking about it.”

Roxy paused to consider Sam’s words. Of course she was overthinking it. Her girlfriend was never anything but thoughtful, sometimes to a fault. She let out a long, half-amused sigh. “Of course. This whole time, I was waiting for you to ask, but you were waiting for me to ask. How very lesbian of us.” She laughed. “The worst part is, I can’t even be frustrated at you because, honestly, I… I don’t think you were wrong, at least for a while there. I was definitely not in a good headspace to be doing that sort of thing. But… I feel like I’m getting better now. It’s still a bit up-and-down at times, and I still… I’m still not sure how I feel about the way my body looks now, but… Yeah. I think I’m ready. I-If you want to.”

Sam smiled, shuffling closer on the bed. “I really do.”

—

Roxy blinked up at the ceiling, trying to catch her breath and reacclimate herself with her surroundings. Her heart felt like it was racing a mile a minute, and only just starting to slow down. “Dih… Did I… just pass out?” she asked nobody in particular.

Sam giggled from somewhere further down the bed. “I think so.” She felt a gentle kiss on her stomach before the blonde shifted back up into Roxy’s line of sight. She kissed her again, this time on the lips, before settling down next to her. “You wanna keep going?”

It took Roxy’s mind a few seconds to process the question, which was probably a good sign that continuing was not a good idea. “No, I… I think I’m done. If we keep going I might have a heart attack.” She let out a weak laugh.

Sam smirked. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

She pulled Roxy into an embrace and Roxy eagerly sunk into it. It had been so much better than she ever could’ve hoped. For so long she’d felt like her scars made her ugly, like they ruined her appearance, but Sam seemed to share none of her qualms. She made Roxy feel beautiful again, kissing every single one that she came across, from the thin, white lines of Emmerich’s scalpel to the reddish-purple patches from her skin grafts, loving every single inch of her body. She honestly felt a little stupid for ever thinking that Sam would love her less for the way she looked. Sam only ever felt with her whole heart. Apparently even with a psychic emotional bond, the human brain would still find ways to sow the seeds of doubt. Well, semi-human, anyway.

Roxy took a breath in through her nose and immediately regretted it. Having heightened senses was definitely not turning out to be all sunshine and rainbows. “Whoof, I do not smell good. I need a bath.”

Sam inhaled deeply against her hair. “I think you smell great. Still, I’m down for a bath. Want me to carry you?”

“Mm,” Roxy hummed. “Yes please.”

Sam scooped her up bridal-style and lifted her off the bed, carrying her down the hallway to the bathroom. Roxy kept her eyes closed, too exhausted from the past… well, however long it was to bother trying to stay awake. She felt herself be set down in the tub and shifted around till she was comfortable. Then Sam turned on the water and Roxy let out a squeal as it sprayed across her body, completely ice-cold.

“Sam!” she cried, pulling herself out of the bath. “What the hell?!”

Sam let out a hearty laugh as she helped Roxy up. “What were you expecting? You know the water takes time to warm up!”

Roxy stared back at her. “I… You could’ve… Whatever!”

Sam kept on giggling as Roxy leaned against the wall, her teeth clattering together as she shivered. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for the water to heat up and the bath began filling up. Sam stepped in and Roxy followed suit, settling down with the blonde at her back, her arms wrapped comfortably around Roxy’s torso as warm water slowly filled the tub and surrounded them.

Roxy let out a satisfied groan as the heat of the water melted away the tension in her muscles. Her eyes fluttered shut and her head lolled back against Sam’s shoulder. Sam gently squeezed her as she nuzzled a cheek against the side of her head. Roxy could die right here and be happy.

“What do you want for dinner, bubs?” Sam whispered in her ear, kissing her on the cheek for good measure.

Roxy cracked open an eye with a cheeky grin. “Didn’t I just have dinner? I definitely remember eating out.”

Sam chuckled, the movement bouncing Roxy up and down slightly. “You’re hilarious.”

“Mm, I could go for a burrito. Something heavy and filling.”

Sam let out a loud groan of approval. “God, that sounds incredible right now. Delivery or drive-thru?”

Roxy thought on it for a bit. On one hand, delivery would mean she could just have a nap until the food arrived, though that posed the possibility of her falling asleep, and the thought of being woken up, even for food, was not a pleasant one. A late-night drive through town sounded quite nice, and it would keep her awake long enough to actually enjoy her burrito, the thought of which was now causing her to salivate.

“Drive-thru.”

“Drive-thru it is,” Sam replied.

—

Damien pulled into his driveway, tired from a long day at work. All he wanted was to collapse into his armchair, watch some TV, and maybe have a few beers. Roxy was cooking dinner tonight, so that thankfully wasn’t something he’d have to worry about. He was a little surprised when she asked to, but he certainly wasn’t going to stop her. He missed her cooking while she was recovering from her ordeal, and he was glad to see that she was in high enough spirits to want to start helping out again. The energy surrounding her when she’d returned from Sam’s house on Sunday morning had been brighter than he’d seen in months. He could only guess what the cause of it might’ve been, but either way, it was uplifting to see.

He stepped out of the car and immediately, his mood dropped. He could hear it from here; his wife and daughter loudly arguing with one-another. He couldn’t make out the words, but it was very clear that Martha was the aggressor from the way she seemed to be barely even letting Roxy get a word in. Apparently their unspoken agreement to leave her alone had expired. He stormed towards the door and slammed it open, stepping into the kitchen. The sight before him did not betray his expectations.

“-am so sick of this disrespect, Roxanne! I am your mother and you will listen to me!”

“P-please stop yelling! Just let me speak!”

“No! I want that thing out of this house, right now!”

“What the hell is going on here?!” Damien yelled, breaking up the fight. Roxy had tears in her eyes and was holding her cat against her chest protectively. It looked like she was ready to run at a moment’s notice. Martha, on the other hand, looked ready to blow, her cheeks flushed with anger.

Martha turned to him. “Damien, we need to get rid of that cat. The horrible thing scratched me!”

“Because you kicked him!” Roxy refuted.

“No I didn’t!”

“Yes you did! I saw it!”

“Stop talking back, you ungrateful shit!”

Roxy winced like she was physically hit, and Damien fumed. “Martha! Don’t talk to her like that!”

“No, Damien! I’m done with this! You’re too soft on her! She needs to learn! What she went through is no excuse for her to act like such a child! The world isn’t going to bend over and give her what she wants just because she was hurt!”

“Mom! Please don’t bring that into this!” Roxy yelled, clearly on the verge of tears.

Martha turned to her daughter with an accusatory finger. “Shut up! If you didn’t want me to talk about it, you should stop acting so god-damn full of yourself! Everyone goes through hard times! It doesn’t make you special, and it doesn’t mean you get to act out because you’re ‘sad’ about it!” She made air quotes with her fingers. “You need to get a grip, Roxanne! I know you think it’s ‘cool’ to be all rebellious by cutting your hair and dating a girl, but one of these days you need to grow up! No one will take you seriously if you keep whining like a baby every time someone tells you to act your age! You’re almost an adult for god’s sake! Oh, stop crying! It’s pathetic!”

Damien was floored at the utter lack of empathy on display from his wife as Roxy broke down in front of her. “Martha…”

“F-f-fuck you!” Roxy sobbed.

The next few seconds played out in slow motion as Martha pulled her arm back and struck Roxy across the face with the back of her hand. Roxy stumbled backwards onto her bad leg, collapsing to the floor with a cry as it buckled. She covered her head as Mr. Slinky jumped out of her arms, standing between her and Martha protectively, hissing up at the older woman. Roxy started whimpering and pleading under her breath. Martha’s slap must have triggered a flashback.

“Get out,” Damien muttered, his voice low and hard.

Martha was frozen, seemingly surprised at her own actions. She slowly turned her head to him. “Wh-what?”

“Get. out.”

“Wha- Damien! You can’t be serious!”

“That was the last straw, Martha. We’re done. You can pack your things and sort out the details some other time, but right now, I need you to leave.”

He knew she couldn’t say no, and she knew it, too. The house was under his name, bought with money saved up over many years from both working at his parents’ minimart and doing accounting for whatever business would take him. He didn’t want to be beholden to Martha’s awful, annoyingly rich parents for anything, no matter how much they offered to pay for the house.

“But… where am I supposed to go?”

“I honestly don’t care. Stay at a motel or something. Anywhere but here. I’m not letting you stay in the house with Roxy anymore. She’s not safe around you.”

He could see it in her face, the urge to argue rising. Thankfully, she must’ve gotten it out of her system when she hit Roxy. Instead, she took a deep breath and gave him a levelled stare. “Fine. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”

He didn’t bother reminding her that they both had the same lawyer as she walked around Roxy’s prone form and finally left. He sighed, burying the emotion that was building up in his chest and kneeling down to help his daughter up. She was still shivering and whimpering, but the pleading had stopped, which was a good sign the worst had passed.

“Hey, sweetie. It’s okay, she’s gone,” he said, helping her up off the floor. She gratefully accepted the assistance, leaning against him as she was lifted to her feet.

“I-I-I’m s-sorry,” she sniffled.

He gently shushed her. “It’s okay, it wasn’t your fault.”

“B-but… you and mom…”

“It was a long time coming, I think. She made her choice. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

He felt so stupid, honestly thinking that they could actually make things work after she bought all of the mobility aids around the house for Roxy. It was the bare minimum of what a parent should be expected to do for their kid, and she acted like it was some incredible moment of generosity. Where did it all go so wrong? Had she changed at some point, or was he just too blind to see that she’d been this way from the start? She’d always been especially hard on Roxy, ever since she was little, chastising her for simply acting like a kid. It only got worse when she hit adolescence and started making her own choices instead of blindly listening to her parents. How many times had he overlooked her mistreatment of their daughter for the sake of his marriage? And for what, tax benefits? There certainly hadn’t been any attraction between them to justify it otherwise, not for the past few years at least.

He helped Roxy over to the couch, where they stayed for the rest of the night, watching movies and trying to put what happened behind them. Roxy eventually cried herself out, hugging her cat close to her chest. He couldn’t blame her, he wanted to do the same thing, having been forced to watch the last nineteen odd years of his life walk out the door. Instead, he pushed his emotions down and hugged his daughter tight. He needed to be strong for her right now. All they had left was each other.

—

Roxy stared at the worksheet in front of her blankly. Her head felt like it was filled with a thick fog, not being helped by the loud chatter around the classroom or the constant twinging throb of her back. She should have just listened to her dad this morning, when he told her it was okay if she didn’t want to go to school today after what happened the night before. She thought it would be a helpful distraction, but instead it was just proving to be an overwhelming nightmare. Forget about focusing on her schoolwork, she was just doing her best not to burst out crying in the middle of class. She didn’t even get to see Sam, who was sick at home with a fever.

Another particularly bad twinge of pain across her back made her wince, a hazy memory of the source of the injury flashing through her head along with the imagined crack of a whip. She shook the flashback off and leaned down to her bag, digging through it in search of the painkillers she kept for just this occasion. She found the bottle and emptied a pill out onto her hand, swallowing it dry. It would still take a while to kick in, but the promise of eventual relief was effective in calming her down some.

She picked her pen back up and tried to refocus on the worksheet that she was meant to be doing. Based on the noise around the classroom, not a lot of people were really bothering with it, but she still wanted to get it done. Between her constant doctor’s appointments and frequent need to leave class and calm herself down, she was already further behind than she was comfortable with, and didn’t want to let it get any worse.

It was just her luck, then, that at that moment her left pinky decided it was the perfect time to remind her that it was no longer attached. A jolt of phantom pain shot through her hand and she barely stifled a yelp, dropping her pen and squeezing the spot that hurt the most in an attempt to ease it. It hadn’t been that bad in a while, so of course it would choose today of all days to flare up again. The pain passed quickly, but the dent it had put into her already poor mood stayed.

She stared back at the paper, trying to solve just one stupid question, but her mind completely blanked out. Frustration built up in her gut as she tried harder and harder to come up with an answer, forming a vicious cycle of self-hatred as her anger at her own incompetence made it even more difficult to focus. In the end, she gave up, taking off her glasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose as she tried not to cry. Why did she decide to come today? She should’ve just stayed home.

She could tell that Sam was barely even half-awake, but her concern and comfort still flowed through her in waves. It was nice, but it just wasn’t enough to hold back the torrent of shit that the last 24 hours had presented her with. She needed to let it out before she cracked and made it everyone else’s problem instead of just her own. There was only one good place for that: the girl’s toilets near the back of the school that barely anyone ever used.

She quickly shoved everything important into her bag and got up, grabbing her cane - one recommended by her physical therapist, not the one with the sword in it (she wasn’t allowed to bring that one to school) - and making her way out of the classroom. She did her best to ignore the looks she could feel being sent her way as she did so, stepping out into the hallway and taking a deep breath. She wasn’t worried about getting in trouble, she had permission to do stuff like this, but it never failed to make her feel like she was standing out even more.

She made her way through the hallways towards her destination, doing her best to hold back the emotions that were trying to claw their way out of her throat now that she wasn’t surrounded by other people. Her progress was frustratingly slow due to her handicap, but eventually she made it, bursting into the bathroom and honing in on the far stall after a cursory check to make sure the room was empty.

She locked the stall door behind herself and sat down on the lid of the toilet, cradling her head in her hands and taking deep, measured breaths to keep herself steady. It didn’t take long for her emotions to take over and soon her sobs were echoing through the empty room as she let everything out. Crying was exhausting, but she knew it was better than keeping things bottled up, especially after everything she’d been through. She’d probably cried more in the past few months than in the entire rest of her life combined, but the last thing she wanted was to have a breakdown in public, so it was worth it to strategically release her emotions before they could reach boiling point. She definitely missed being able to let it all out on a punching bag instead, though.

By the time she was finished, it was already a good ten minutes past the start of her next class. She needed to get a move on before she fell even further behind. With a heavy sigh, she picked herself up off of the toilet and limped over to the sink, splashing some water on her face to clean off any residue and hopefully mitigate the puffiness in her red-rimmed eyes. She felt a little bit better, but the heavy cloud of depression that formed last night still hung over her, reminding her that no matter what she did, her parents were still splitting up, and it was still mostly her fault.

The door opened as she was drying her face with a hand towel, startling her. She whirled around towards the entrance and came face to face with none other than Kimberly, because the universe was just determined to make sure she had a bad day today. The room seemed to drop in temperature as the two girls just stared at each other, neither one moving an inch. Warning sirens started going off in Roxy’s head. She was alone, completely isolated, with someone who most likely wanted to hurt her, and while she was confident in her abilities, she wasn’t anywhere near fighting shape right now. If Kimberly wanted to fight, it wasn’t guaranteed that she’d win, but Roxy definitely wouldn’t come away unscathed. She couldn’t run either, Kimberly was between her and the door, and there was no slipping past with her leg the way it was. She had to try and resolve this peacefully, if such a feat was even possible with the burgeoning sociopath.

The shock wore off and Kimberly’s face broke into a wide, menacing grin. “Well, fancy seeing you here, Roxy.”

Roxy swallowed down the panic that was building in her chest. “Kimberly.”

The girl took a step forward and Roxy resisted the urge to back up. “I’ve been wondering when I might run into you next, after that little stunt you pulled in the cafeteria.” She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled something out, though Roxy couldn’t make out what. “I’ve spent a long time thinking about what I can do to get you back. I considered giving you the same treatment that I gave that freak friend of yours, but they changed the locks on the roof stairwell, so the key I found doesn’t work anymore.” She continued to slowly approach, forcing Roxy to hobble backwards as best she could, eyes locked onto the mysterious object in Kimberly’s hand. “I thought about beating the crap out of you again, but that just seems like… not enough, after you humiliated me in front of everyone like that. You don’t just get to do shit like that to me and get away with it, Kindley.”

Roxy’s back hit the wall and Kimberly pinned her against it, face close enough that Roxy could feel her breath on her skin. It was unpleasant. “And then it hit me. All I need to do is finish what your cultist buddies started.” Kimberly flicked her wrist and Roxy’s stomach dropped as a knife flipped out of the object in her hand. She whimpered as the cold metal made contact with her cheek. “I’m going to cut your face up so bad that what they did will look like a paper-cut in comparison.”

Roxy’s heart started pounding as Kimberly’s intention set in. It was all too familiar, all too real. This wasn’t some conjured flashback, this was actually happening. She was going to be hurt again, and there was nothing she could do to stop it now. The knife was already pressed against her skin. Even if she tried to push Kimberly away, she’d still get cut. Her phone started buzzing in her pocket, no doubt Sam calling to see if she was okay, but the sensation was enough to remind her to respond. “Kimberly, wait! Th-think about what you’re doing here,” she pleaded. “How do you think this is going to end? Y-y-you won't get away with this. Everyone will know you did it!”

Kimberly paused for an agonisingly long time before speaking again. “You know what? You’re right! If I cut your face up, everyone will see. But… No one will know if I cut your chest, will they? Not unless you tell them, and you’re not going to do that, are you?” She smiled sweetly, her eyes betraying her sinister intentions. “Because if you do, I’ll come back and finish the job before they can arrest me. And I will be very thorough, Roxy. I’ll make sure that every time you look in the mirror, you think of me. Understand? Now, let’s get this shirt off.”

Kimberly removed the knife from Roxy’s cheek and Roxy took her opportunity, swinging her head forward on a collision course with the brunette’s nose. It collided with a satisfying crunch and she screamed, stumbling backwards. Her path now clear, Roxy limped towards the door as fast as she could. She dropped her cane at some point, so she was just relying on the adrenaline to keep her bad leg going. Adrenaline didn’t stop Kimberly from fighting back, though, which Roxy quickly found out as a kick collided with her right thigh, stopping her escape in its tracks as her leg buckled and she fell sideways. Her head cracked against the edge of a sink and everything went black.

When her vision finally returned, she was on her hands and knees, staring at the tiled floor as blood dripped from a throbbing cut next to her eye. Her ears were ringing from the impact and everything was doubled, the world spinning around drunkenly as she tried to look up and determine her surroundings. Nausea swam around her stomach, threatening to burst up through her throat at any second. Wasn’t there something she was meant to be doing?

All of a sudden she was being pulled up by the back of her shirt and thrown into the stalls, crashing against a door before collapsing back to the floor. She rolled onto her back, suppressing the urge to vomit and desperately trying to figure out what the hell was going on. A figure or three stalked towards her - it was hard to tell with the way everything was spinning - reminding her of the situation just in time for her to see the knife in her attacker’s hand as she crouched down on top of her.

Instincts kicked in and she grabbed Kimberly’s wrist just before she could bring the blade down into her chest, desperately trying to hold it back. Her face was contorted with pure rage, apparently done with the pretence of just hurting her and now actively trying to kill her. Kimberly grunted as she tugged the knife back and forth, trying to shake off Roxy’s grip, but her efforts were futile. Roxy was determined to survive. She didn’t come this far just to get killed in a bathroom by a psychopathic schoolgirl.

Kimberly roared and threw more weight behind the knife, and Roxy just couldn’t match it. The blade sunk closer and closer and she whined desperately, pushing back as hard as she could. She saw Kimberly rearing back for a final blow and, at the very last second, heaved the knife to the side with as much strength as she could muster. It saved her from the worst of it, but the knife still cut across the top of her shoulder as Kimberly forced it down. She cried out at the familiar pain, images of Emmerich and a scalpel flashing across her mind along with a surge of fire spreading out from her chest. The room flashed brighter, the world coming alive with colour and scent and sound. Her whole body fizzled with electricity and power. She managed to get a foot against Kimberly’s chest and her good leg extended out like a piston, sending the brunette flying across the room.

She collided with the opposite wall and shattered a mirror before crumpling to the ground lifelessly. Shocked at her own strength, Roxy stared at her shaking hands, checking for any signs of werewolf features. Sure enough, her nails had grown into small claws. A cursory check of her teeth revealed fangs that were even longer than usual. It wasn’t even anywhere near the full moon, but she’d somehow forced her dormant wolf out anyway. It was just like when she was fighting the stalker during her escape from the outpost. She watched in fascination as the claws began to slowly recede back into her fingers. She couldn’t even feel it. Was this what it was like for Sam?

Kimberly groaned, reminding Roxy of where she was. She needed to get out of there before the other girl recovered and started trying to murder her again. She tried to pick herself up off the ground, but between the dizziness and the pain that was still rocketing through her thigh from the kick earlier, standing was pretty much impossible. She settled for crawling and shuffled her way towards the door as fast as she could, trying not to get thrown too far off-course by the way the room was spinning around her.

She was almost at the door when something slammed right between her legs, stopping her in her tracks as the shock rippled through her body and locked up her muscles. She collapsed back to the floor in a groaning, whining heap, rolling back and forth in a futile attempt to make the pain go away. The urge to puke was back with a vengeance, and this time she wasn’t sure if she could hold back. The decision was made for her as Kimberly kicked her in the stomach, forcing everything out in a spray of bile across the tiled floor.

Too stunned by the twin genital-and-stomach kicks, she was helpless to react as Kimberly flipped her onto her front and straddled her waist, grabbing her left arm and wrenching it painfully behind her back. She let out a cry as the limb was forced upwards, her shoulder joint straining sharply.

“How about I break your arm? See how you like it?” Kimberly grunted, huffing as though she was out of breath. Roxy thrashed around as hard as she could, trying to break the hold, but it was no good. Kimberly was too heavy. She was completely pinned. Her attacker wrenched harder and she started screaming, her shoulder about to give.

All of a sudden, the door slammed open and Kimberly’s weight was gone. Roxy’s whole body untensed as the relief of no longer being sat on set in, her shoulder still thankfully in its socket. There were voices all around her, but she couldn’t make them out, still too dazed from the pain. Familiar hands gently turned her over and she came face-to-face with a very worried Leif. She could hear Kimberly’s enraged screaming from the other side of the room, as well as a certain werewolf’s southern drawl, no doubt keeping her restrained. There were teachers milling around as well, some looking down at Roxy and some keeping an eye on whatever was going on with Kimberly.

Leif brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Hey Roxy, you with me? Can you stand?”

Roxy tried to reply, but another aftershock of pain from her groin made it impossible to do anything but weakly groan. Leif winced.

“Let’s get you out of here, okay?”

—

“Alright, all done. Rest up for a few days and you should be good as new,” the school nurse explained. Roxy was trying her best to listen, but the pounding in her head from what was apparently a concussion was making it difficult. She still didn’t really know what was going on, Leif just dragged her here from the bathroom before being shooed off by the nurse. She had no idea how Leif knew what was happening or where to find her, or why she had so many teachers with her. She wasn’t complaining, of course. If not for her and Drew’s perfectly timed entrance, Kimberly might still be beating the snot out of her. It was a miracle that her glasses had survived the ordeal, having fallen off when she hit her head on the sink.

The nurse handed her a juicebox. “There you go, keep your blood sugar high. You can wait here until your dad comes to pick you up, okay?”

Roxy croaked out an acknowledgement and the nurse thankfully left her alone. She sighed, sinking back into her chair and opening her juicebox with still-shaking hands. The sweetness of the apple juice was grounding, but it did little to relieve the achy pain all around her body, nor the thought that despite her best efforts, she’d still be taking home two new scars today. As if she didn’t have enough already.

There was a knock on the door. The nurse shuffled over and opened it, talking with whoever was outside. Roxy didn’t have the energy or the care to pay attention, so she just stared out the window at the trees outside, picturing herself walking among them, her wolf in tow. It was a nice image, a memory of happier days not sullied by blood and trauma. It felt like so long ago now, even just a few short months later.

“Hey Rox, how’re you feeling?”

Roxy turned to the voice and saw Leif, Drew standing at her side. She hadn’t even noticed their approach. She shrugged, wincing as the action pulled at the stitches in her shoulder. “Sore. How’d you guys even find me? And what was with all of the teachers showing up?”

“Sam spammed me with messages, freaking out about you being in danger,” Leif explained. “I’d already noticed that you didn’t show up for class, so I assumed you went to get some alone time at the usual spot. I ran out of class and tried to grab Drew on the way, but his teacher demanded an explanation, so I had to tell him we were looking for you and he decided to come along. We ran into another group of teachers on the way who also joined us, and… yeah. You know the rest.”

Roxy mentally slapped herself for not realising sooner. “Oh, shit! You just reminded me, I’ve gotta call Sam! she’s probably freaking out!”

Leif shook her head. “It’s cool, I already explained everything to her. She said she’s on her way. Wait, can’t you tell if she’s freaking out through your soul bond thing?” She smirked teasingly.

Roxy stared at her for a few seconds, slowly blinking. Somehow, that had completely slipped her mind. Leif was right though, Sam was still worried, but she wasn’t nearly as freaked as she’d been during the fight itself. “Give me a break, I have a brain injury. Wait, did you say she’s coming?! She’s sick, she should be in bed!”

“Did you seriously think that would stop her?”

Roxy let out a weak laugh. “No, you’re right.” She paused, taking a sip from her juicebox. “So, what’s happening with Kimberly?”

“I heard that they called the police,” Drew said. “Pretty sure they’re gonna arrest her.”

“Woah, really?” Roxy asked.

“Yeah, definitely. I mean, she attacked you with a knife and gave you a frickin’ concussion! The law doesn’t mess around when it comes to brain injuries, not to mention assault with a deadly weapon. Last I heard, she was refusing to speak and demanding a lawyer, so I think she knows how much shit she’s in.”

“She didn’t get arrested last time she attacked Roxy with a knife, though, and there was video evidence of that,” Leif said.

“I don’t think it matters this time, now that the school is involved, and correct me if I’m wrong, but she didn’t manage to injure Roxy with the knife that time, right? In that case, I’m pretty sure it would’ve been up to Roxy to press charges. Because she was actually injured this time, I don’t think it matters if Roxy pressed charges or not, especially with all the witnesses. Even if Roxy wasn’t injured, she’s still in the shit for bringing a weapon onto school grounds regardless.”

“You’re damn right I’m pressing charges, that bitch kicked me in the nuts,” Roxy muttered.

“You really know your law stuff, huh?” Leif asked.

Drew shrugged nonchalantly. “I dabble in crime fighting,” he said, without a hint of humour, as if that wasn’t a completely deranged thing to admit to.

There was another knock on the door and in came Sam and Roxy’s dad. Sam immediately rushed to her side, a panicked look on her flushed, clammy face. “Oh my god, Roxy! Are you okay?!”

Roxy held her hands up in a placating gesture. “I’m fine, Sam. How’d you even get here so fast?”

“I saw her stumbling along on the side of the road and figured giving her a ride would be quicker and easier than convincing her to go home,” her dad answered. He looked tired, and his eyes were bloodshot. Come to think of it, Roxy wasn’t sure if he’d gone to work today. She wouldn’t blame him after last night. …Great, now she was thinking about it again. “Speaking of which, are you ready to go?”

“Actually, Mr. Thura, before you go, I’d like to discuss her treatment plan with you, if that’s alright?” The nurse interjected from the corner.

“Sure,” Damien agreed, walking over to join her.

“Yeesh,” Leif whispered. “What’s up with him? He looks exhausted.”

Roxy let out a long sigh. “L-last night, there was… there was a big fight. And my parents are…” She swallowed, trying to sum up the nerve to say it out loud, to speak it into reality. “M-my parents are splitting up.”

The words hung heavily in the air, echoing in her ears over and over again. Just thinking about it was like a punch to the gut, no matter how many times the thought occurred to her. The last bastion of normalcy in her life was now gone. Apparently her cry break earlier wasn’t good enough, because all of a sudden she burst out into uncontrollable sobbing, the weight of everything truly setting in. She felt herself be pulled into an embrace, but not even the warmth of her partner could stop the torrential downpour after the god-awful day she’d had.

All she wanted was a damn break.