Page 44 of Quiet
“What do I not know?” Briar asked.
Isa tried to curl in on himself, but Briar turned him around and forced the boy to meet his gaze.
“They’ll hurt you, Briar. They aren’t smart enough to understand how special you are.” Fear was the only thing in Isa’s eyes.
“Who?”
“My family. I would be okay if they only hurt me—I’m used to that. But I couldn’t bear it if they hurt you too.”
For a moment there was nothing but static in Briar’s head—sharp, lethal, and bright. Then it settled, and Briar was left with the wordsI’m used to thatbouncing around inside his mind.
If Isa was used to getting hurt, it meant he was being abused. Someone was abusing Isa.
He was only distantly aware of the growl coming from his throat.
“Hey!” Isa shouted in surprise when Briar scooped the boy into his arms and started walking. “Where are we going?”
Briar didn’t answer. He couldn’t answer. He was too busy thinking. Isa’s family was a danger, and the spring semester was ending in only a few days.
He hadn’t thought about it much because he didn’t want to. School ending meant being parted from Isa. It was probably one of the reasons he’d been so pushy. He’d been subconsciously trying to form a more secure bond before distance became an obstacle.
It had been an ignorable problem. Now it wasn’t. If Isa’s family was hurting him . . .
“The protest.” When Briar had first met Isa, he’d been struck with the urge to rescue a pretty boy who looked like he was about to be ganged up on by several larger students. He’d completely forgotten about it. How could he have forgotten? “Your family?”
“My sister and cousins. My entire family is like that, Briar. Now you see why I can’t— Why are we at your car? I don’t need a ride. My building is right over—stop trying to shove me in your car!” Isa protested loudly. He had his hands braced against either side of the passenger door and was refusing to get in.
“You shouldn’t stay at your place. Stay at mine.”
“What?” Isa’s face went so red Briar could see it even by the faint light of a distant streetlamp. “How did you get that from what I just said? Don’t you understand? My family isn’t safe. You need to stay away from me.”
“I understand.” Briar planted a hand between Isa’s shoulder blades and shoved him into the passenger seat.
“Briar? What are you doing?” Isa asked as Briar stretched across him to buckle him into the seat.
“Taking you home.” Briar skirted around the front of the car and got into the driver seat before Isa had a chance to get free.
“My home is right over there. You don’t have to drive me.”
“Humor me.”
“Um. Are you kidnapping me? Because I have a test tomorrow.”
“Not kidnapping,” Briar started the engine and pulled away from the curb. “Relocating.”
Isa was quiet for a moment before asking. “How far is this relocation going to be?” Out of the corner of his eye, Briar saw a tiny, amused smile on Isa’s face.
Good. Amused was better than sad or scared.
“Close enough for you to make it to your test tomorrow.”
“I’ve got to go back and finish the set tonight.”
“Your job is done, Isa. The finishing touches can be done by the sophomores who are actually getting graded for it.”
“But . . .” Isa said weakly. It looked as though he was trying to summon up another excuse but had come up lacking.
“They come here sometimes, don’t they?” Briar didn’t say who they were. He knew Isa would understand.
