Page 56 of Brambles and Bellflowers
“I still don’t think you’re anidiot.” Bianca blinked, curling further into herself. “I think you do things without thinking of all the details. There’s a difference.”
Embarrassment spread through my chest, and I ran my hand over my neck.
“That’s what I need you for,” I admitted.
“You do.”
She could have at least hesitated, even briefly…
“I jump to conclusions a lot,” she said, wiping her eyes. “I’m trying to work on it. I don’t understand what you mean by…” Her words trailed off, and she grimaced, guilt radiating from her every pore.
My internal alarms blared; she was hiding something.
What didn’t she understand?
“Never mind.” She glanced away.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“It’s okay,” she said, closing in on herself again.
The fight fled from me. Whatever this was, it was a different battle. One that we could focus on later. This matter needed to be cleared up first.
Icouldn’tlet Bianca run from this. Right now, this was an issue of safety.
“Iamsorry, but I do need to ask again.” And I really was regretful, but I couldn’t just let this one go. “Can we go over what happenedbeforethe argument?”
She sucked in a breath, her eyes refilling with unshed tears.
“I meant it when I said you had nothing to be ashamed of,” I told her, hoping she caught my statement’s honesty. “About anything. However, I don’t understand why you apologized when discussing scars.Arethey self-inflicted?”
I needed to know, because if this was an ongoing issue…
“It’s o-only one,” she replied and shivered. “And I-I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“Tell me.” My breath seized in anticipation, especially as she wrapped her fingers around my wrist.
She didn’t respond right away, and my heart skipped as she suddenly reached for me.
There was my invitation.
I laid in front of her and pulled her against me, but her shivering didn’t subside even after I’d wrapped the blanket around her.
Bianca hiccupped, her fingers curling in the fabric of my shirt.
“It was about a year before I was adopted,” she began.
She’d barely started, and already, the stirrings of anger swelled in me.
“And, one time, I decided to fight back,” she said. “That’s how it happened. So I g-guess, technically, it’s my fault.”
What?
My breath caught as I squeezed her. This was not what I’d expected.
“You… fought back.”
She nodded. My pulse quickened.
