I'm not in love

Dont Say Thank You

The moment Wolfie and the girl left, thunder struck, and the girl winced in fear. Wolfie hugged her, holding her to their chest for comfort as they ran inside. The rain came down harder with every second, thunder sounded even louder, lighting flashed again, lightning striking so fast they could see it from their window.
The girl whimpered again.
"It's ok," Wolfie said. "you're safe here with me." The girl seemed frightened still, and it didn't help that she was soaking wet. Wolfie dragged off their cape and carefully put it around the girl's  shoulders. "There we go... now you'll be dry."
The girl stared at them with wide eyes. Wolfie tried to smile reassuringly, and the girl gave a shaky nod before burying her face into their shirt.
Thunder rolled, lightning flashed again, and there were more thunderclaps so loud their windows rattled in their frames. The girl flinched violently but didn't move or make another sound; Wolfie held her tight until their shaking began to subside.
When it finally stopped completely, they set her on the couch in front of the fireplace and pulled away. "I don't think there will be anymore thunder tonight, so stay put till morning."
The girl nodded.
"So what's your name?" Wolfie asked. Silence. They sighed and hugged the  girl tightly again, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Ok. If you ever need anything just ask me, okay?"
Still silence. The rain continued falling outside.
"Are you hungry?" Wolfie asked again. A shake of the head. "Do you want a blanket? Or something warm to drink? Tea?" Another shake. "Alright then." Wolfie turned around and went back downstairs where they found the teapot on one of the shelves, setting it on the counter. When they turned back, they saw the girl had moved slightly, curled up and resting on her side. They chuckled softly and sat beside her and lifted her gently into a sitting position.
Wolfie took the blanket from the floor and draped it over the both of them, making sure not to touch her with the blankets.
They turned to look out the window. The storm was over, only dark grey clouds remained in the sky. After a moment, Wolfie stood.
"I'm going to grab some food for us, if that is alright with you?" The girl nodded and watched intently as Wolfie went through all the cabinets to find something simple for them to eat. They grabbed some bread and cheese and two slices of toast and returned to the living room with them. When they got back, they put the bread down on the coffee table between them, poured the milk out of the fridge, set the cheese aside, and poured their glass of water.
After eating a small bite, Wolfie took a sip of their water. "Would you like some tea?" Again the nod.
Wolfie went upstairs to get the tea bags while the girl finished eating, and when they came back, she'd already taken the blanket off herself and put it to the side so she could lay down properly on the couch and snuggle under the blanket.
Wolfie smiled, glad it didn't seem likely she would be scared of being alone for much longer. They put down the cups and poured the hot water and placed the mugs next to each other. Then they sat next to the girl and waited for her to finish drinking it.
After she drank enough for Wolfie to see the mug was half empty, she placed it on the table and closed her eyes, breathing deeply. Wolfie stroked the back of her hand.
Eventually, she opened her eyes and looked directly at Wolfie. She hesitated before speaking.
"Thank you," she whispered quietly. Her voice was shaky and scratchy, probably from crying, and Wolfie felt an ache in their chest. "And I'l-"
She stopped short and cleared her throat, closing her mouth quickly. Then she opened her mouth again and spoke more firmly.
"Thank you for letting me sleep here."
Wolfie smiled gently. "You're welcome. And don't worry about thanking me, I wouldn't have let anyone hurt you if I could help it."
Again, silence fell. But this time it wasn't awkward, nor did Wolfie feel uneasy. Instead, it almost made them happy to see how comfortable the girl was, knowing she felt safe with them. It wasn' t like before, when she couldn't talk to anyone without fear. Now, she was able to trust them.
Wolfie shifted slightly closer to the girl, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. This time, it didn' t stop her from flinching violently. Their breath caught, they wanted to apologize immediately but managed to refrain. Instead, they pulled their hand away slowly.
"Sorry, it's just... you startled me."
The girl shook her head.
Wolfie leaned their head against hers. "Do you want me to sing?"
Another head shake.
"Do you want me to hold you?"
She didn' t answer right away, but after several long moments, she raised her hands and wrapped them around Wolfie's middle, leaning against their chest. Wolfie smiled faintly and sang quietly, trying their best not to strain their throat too much.
As they sang, the girl's breathing slowed and deepened. Her grip relaxed and she nestled further into Wolfie's arms.
At some point, she drifted off to sleep. Wolfie didn' t try to wake her, instead choosing to simply continue singing. Slowly, their song grew louder until it became a lullaby. At one point, the girl' s breath became shallow and slow. Wolfie stopped, worried they might scare her awake.
But she didn' t move, instead settling more securely against their chest and sighing contently. Wolfie smiled softly and sang one last note before pulling away. As soon as the girl was free of their arms, she started shaking so hard Wolfie thought it may break. Tears welled up in her eyes and she buried her face into her knees.
Wolfie frowned slightly and picked the cup of tea up from the ground, standing and moving to sit next to the girl. When they reached her, they put a tentative arm around her shoulders. "Honey?"
A shuddering inhale.
"Can I help you with anything?" They asked, hoping to help calm her down.
Slowly, her trembling stopped, and she looked up, nodding. Wolfie smiled reassuringly and offered their hand, which she hesitantly took.
As they walked to the couch, they kept their arm around the girl as she clung to them. After she sat down on the couch, Wolfie settled next to her, holding onto her hand loosely as they sat. The girl leaned against them, her head nestling against their shoulder. Wolfie smiled faintly, running their thumb across the back of the girl' s hand as they focused on singing again.
A couple minutes later, Wolfie heard sniffles coming from the girl and gently pulled away to turn her towards them. Before they knew it, the girl was sobbing into their neck.
"Shhh... shhh....," they murmured, gently rocking her in their lap. The girl clutched at them, shaking uncontrollably.
Wolfie wrapped their arms tightly around the girl.
They stayed there for a few minutes, the girl crying quietly, occasionally sniffling or whimpering in pain, and Wolfie rubbing her back. Eventually, she quieted and stopped crying. Wolfie heard a mumble.
"What did you say?"
The girl didn' t reply.
"I didn't quite catch that," Wolfie replied. "Could you repeat what you said, sweetheart?"
"Mmm... mmmhmmm," the girl muttered.
"Hmm?"
"Mmmmmm... my name is... is... Gwen."
Wolfie paused for a second before replying. "Oh Gwen, it's very nice to meet you. Thank you."
Gwen pulled away and wiped at her red eyes. "Tha-" she hiccuped "-thank yoouuuu." she said with a weak voice.
Wolfie gave Gwen a soft smile. "How about we get you some rest, huh? You must be tired after everything." Gwen nodded, still wiping at her tears. Wolfie stood and stretched before turning to face Gwen.
"Can you do me a favor and stay in bed for now? I'l go make dinner, and when I come back we'll take care of the dishes ok? Sound good?" Gwen nodded silently and held her legs up, wrapping her arms around them. Wolfie smiled and leaned forward, kissing her forehead. "Goodnight, Gwen."
"Night..." Gwen mumbled.
The image of Gwen sleeping so peacefully was stuck in their mind, and they couldn't help but stare at her for a while longer. It reminded them of when they were younger, and they always had nightmares. Gwen looked so adorable, snuggled up in the  blanket, hugging her legs to her chest. She looked so small and innocent.
Finally, they snapped out of their trance and turned to leave the room. As they walked into the kitchen, they grabbed the bag of frozen peas from the freezer and took it over to the sink. After filling it with cold water, they covered it with a towel and went back to where Gwen was sleeping. They carefully cleaned Gwen's wounds, who flinched in  pain every once and awhile, then wrapped up her cuts with gauze.
When they finished, they went over to the coffee table. The tea bags were still sitting on the edge of the table. They sighed and picked them up.
When they were done, they carefully picked Gwen up and carried her down stairs. Once inside the bedroom, they laid her down in bed. Then they removed her shoes and jacket, and covered her with the blanket.
Once they were satisfied that Gwen was asleep, Wolfie laid next to her and slept with her, even if they didn't really need to sleep. Just being near Gwen was calming and warm, especially since Gwen seemed to prefer laying in Wolfie's arms more than her own bed anyway.