PAW Patrol: Road to Recovery || Book Two

(C5) Tears in the Snow

Everest stood there, trembling in fear as she watched Marshall silently sobbing in the doorway in obvious shock. She felt terrible for him, realizing if he really did just see her, how much fear and pain she must've forced onto him. She for one had seen him in a similar situation, but even then she knew it had to have been worse for him. His initial trauma was seeing her die after all.

However, even if she usually put him before everything, including herself, her natural fears and worries took control. She was eager to think of some way out, but clearly, he must've seen enough to know what she was going to do. Lying her way out of this one would be anything but easy.

"M-Marshy?! H-how long have you been there?" She asked worriedly. Instead of responding, the Dally walked closer to her and threw his arms around her, holding on to her like if he were to let go, she'd turn to dust and disappear right before his eyes.

"W-why?" He croaked, tightening his grip. Even if it wasn't directly, the Husky's question had been answered, and that only swelled her fear. As much as she wished she could jump back in time and fix this mistake, there was nothing she could do. Only hope and pray she could somehow get out of this mess she had put herself in.

"Uh, i-it wasn't what it looked like. D-don't worry, everything's fine. L-let's go back to bed." She turned to leave the room in a final act of desperation, but of course, Marshall reached out and grabbed her, keeping her from escaping.

"No, I'm not gonna just let you lie like that anymore. Eve, w-what's happening? D-did...I do something? I-is this my fault?" Everest was having trouble keeping herself together by now, but somehow, she managed. She could feel her lip quivering as tears began to blur her vision, but she refused to break down in front of him. That would be weak, wouldn't it? And she couldn't bear Marshall seeing her in that helpless condition any more than he already had.

"N-no, no Marshy you did nothing. But, t-this isn't what it looks like, I-I swear," she insisted, thinking maybe if she pushed it hard enough she could convince him it was true. But of course, she knew he wasn't stupid, and the Dally knew it wasn't true it was as just as much as she did.

"Then what was it?!" He shouted in frustration, refusing to buy anything she was saying. At first, he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume he was overreacting, letting himself buy into her lies. But that wasn't going to slide any more.

Now, the only thing in Everest's head was fear. Of course, he only raised his voice because both of them were stressed in the moment. However, that small mistake only terrified her more, ruining any chance that she would confess, if there even was one to begin with.

Normally, hiding her feelings wasn't hard at all, but with her mate clearly aware of her grim temptations and thoughts, it was becoming near impossible. He wasn't aware, but he was only pushing her buttons more and more.

"Eve, tell me, please. What is happening to you? W-why would you try and do something like this? Don't ignore me, you aren't getting out of it this time." Everest was forcing herself to use every last ounce of her strength to not run and hide, completely possessed the past that always haunted her, and now it was striking harder than ever.

"M-Marshy, I wasn't trying to do what you're thinking, this is just a misunderstanding. Don't worry, I'm fine, really. Just try and calm down, ok?" She pleaded, despite knowing how pointless it would be.

"Calm down? Calm down?! Eve, you just held a knife to your heart! How do you expect me to be calm right now?! Just tell me what's wrong so I can help you!" Tears were streaming down his face, coming from a mixture of emotions, mostly stress. The Husky only stood still, not budging nor saying a word, lost in her own painful world. "Everest, are you even listening to me?!"