little bird // r.keene

vii. close to his heart.

Sam knocked once more when there was no voice from the other side. She knocked twice and had no answer so she took a long steadying breath before she spoke.

"Wren? I need to talk to you." She said firmly and just like that, Sam heard three heavy strides on the wooden floor and surely enough the door swung open to reveal Wren.

Her hair hung down her back, slightly dishevelled and spilling over her shoulders. She was wearing a baggy t-shirt which hung off her lean frame but none of these things really mattered. What mattered was the clear shadows under her eyes and cheekbones. They were small but they were there.

"I need to talk to you." Sam reiterated and Wren's expression didn't falter, it was one of pure disinterest, boredom, anger, tiredness all wrapped into one. She leaned an elbow in the doorframe, blocking Sam's view of the room.

"You seem familiar, have I threatened you before?" Wren uttered, sarcasm dripping from her tongue like honey. "Go away." Wren snapped and moved to slam the door but Sam caught it instantly. Sam pushed it open firmly and Wren, who hadn't seen it coming, wasn't able to stop her as Sam shut the door behind her.

"No." Sam said, crossing her arms defensively, the door behind her and Wren turned on the girl, there were eye to eye, Wren slightly taller than Sam, about a metre apart.

"You are asking for another fight Sam and I promise you: you'll lose." She said flatly. "Just like last time." Her voice was cold and unwavering, "Now. Get. Out." Wren sneered, her eyes were unforgiving and sharp.

"Do you know where Robby is?" Sam asked, ignoring Wren's dismissal of her and folding her arms, keeping her eyes as steady as Wren's.

The only difference was, where Wren's were filled with hatred, Sam's were filled with determination. A terrible combination when they clashed. "I know you know." Sam stated, trying to match Wren's threatening tone but not quite reaching it. Not by a long shot, making it difficult for Wren to take her seriously. To her, this was comical.

Wren couldn't help but let out a dry laugh, her expression softening, mocking Sam. She shook her head in disbelief and moved away from Sam to the other side of the room, away from the window.

Wren crossed her arms and leaned against her small counter space, still laughing under her breath.

"You can't protect him, you know. Wherever he is, or wherever you've been hiding him, which I know you have- the cops will find him eventually." Sam uttered venomously, clenching her jaw ever so slightly, making Wren chuckle dryly once more- knowing it only annoyed Sam but also at how wrong Sam was and at how little she knew.

"You really don't get it do you?" Wren said gently, the ghost of a smile still playing on her features. She crossed her arms over her chest in a casual manner and for a split moment she forgot about the boy hiding outside the window- listening to their whole conversation. She forgot he could hear her and was suddenly blinded by a wave of undiluted anger towards the brunette in front of her that Wren completely lost her filter.

And because of this, Robby and Sam alike, knew this was the truth.

"You're cruel, Sam." Wren thought out loud, her words as dry as her laugh had been, "You crave affection and attention, wait for people to get attached and then you run from it. You abandon them." Wren straightened up a little, "And that's on you. You can't play with people the way you do, LaRusso. It's pathetic." Wren snapped, her voice turning hard as she went on, her knuckles were white from gripping the counter behind her to steady herself.

"You don't know anything about me." Sam sneered, making Wren half laugh once more before she raised her voice. Before she snapped.

"I know you dumped Miguel, got with Robby then cheated on him, Sam!" Wren stepped forward, pressing her forefinger to Sam's chest and pushing her back, Sam stepped away but Wren kept pushing. "You lure people in by making them feel sorry for you, when you have everything handed to you on a silver plate, and then you twist and manipulate until you get what you want, just like your father! Always jumping to conclusions, pinning the blame on other people so you don't blame yourself!"

Wren knew she was shouting now. She hadn't quite noticed it before but then Sam had flinched, she didn't know if it was because of her voice or her words but it didn't matter. Sam's expression told Wren everything.

"Well, guess what Sam... You kissed Miguel when he was with Tory and you were with Robby! That is on you! I'm fucking blaming you. I blame you for all of it." Wren's voice steadied out in that final stretch, shoulder, jaw, eyes, all of her was tense and focused on Sam, who remained blank and in shock.

"He loved you." That final part was a whisper, Wren's voice quivered, "How could you do that to him?"

Sam's eyes broke from Wren to the wall behind her, Sam felt tears burning in her throat but she ignored them and let her eyes skim back to Wren's. And in that moment, she saw something flicker behind them and then something clicked in her head.

"You love him."

Wren took a step back, tilting her head back and still looking at Sam through hateful eyes, she shook her head. "There are so many things you don't know it's laughable."

Sam's brows drew together inquisitively.

"I want you to know this Sam and I really want you to listen. It's no secret Robby and I have been hanging out for a long time but I want you to understand that when he spoke about you..." Wren's voice grew thin and fragile, recounting every last memory, "...Even when I didn't want to hear it..." She paused, "He couldn't stop smiling, he defended you relentlessly and had so much respect for you. I'm sorry that you could never see the way he admired you. He brought you here the night of the party to keep you safe, he and I weren't talking at that point but he didn't care about himself- he swallowed his pride to take care of you, Sam. You don't deserve him. You don't even deserve to get close to a heart like his..." Wren explained in a soft voice, all sense of hostility faded as she spoke from her own heart and what she believed to be the cold, hard truth and nothing less.

"And you do? Deserve to be near his heart?" Sam asked, her voice also calm and quiet now, both girls on opposite sides of the room.

"No, I don't."