little bird // r.keene

xxi. look at me.

No more secrets. No more lies, the same ones that had been eating away at her for months. No more hiding the truth. No more hiding Rue and Will away when all she needed was to tell people, tell her friends.

She told him about her parents too. And Mr James. And where she lived... She told him everything, just as she had Tory and Hawk.

For there was a restlessness in her bones that only caged birds would understand and when Wren talked about Rue, those birds fell quiet as if to listen.

She kept her words steady the whole way through, walking herself through the memories and analysing every last part. Miguel listened and listened, placing bit by bit into the puzzle that was Wren Evans and when she was finished...

Wren was a whole new person to him. He had admired her since they first met at how she protected and protected and protected everyone that she cared about even if it meant getting hurt herself and now he finally knew why.

She tried to be for another people what she so desperately desired as a child, even now. She protected other's so mindlessly because she wished someone had done the same for her.

And here she was, still trying so hard to heal and recover by telling him everything about her, he knew it was hard for her, harder than he ever could imagine. And yet, despite everything, here she was being tortured by the conflict she had tried so hard to prevent.

"I haven't been able to step into a hospital since then, not since that day... I'm sorry." She finished and Miguel just looked and her, she met his eyes and in them there was a moment of understanding. A moment of forgiveness. A moment of sympathy.

"Thank you..." His words surprised her, "For trusting me..." His words were soft and low. "Know that, okay?" She nodded. "And know that none of this, all of this, wasn't, isn't your fault. Robby's the one who kicked me, he's the one who sent me over the railing. He put me here, okay? Not you Wren, you saved my life and I will never be able to thank you enough for that. My mom, she tried to find you... I'm so happy you're here." Wren hadn't been looking at him, there was one more thing she needed to tell Miguel but she didn't know how to. "Wren, look at me," She did as she was told, "This is Robby's fault. Not yours."

Wren felt her hands grow cold, she held her fingers together as she pushed herself up from her chair, Miguel's eyes followed her.

"Miguel..." she said gently, standing about a metre away from the bed. "I'm the reason the police couldn't find Robby." She said bluntly and outright.

"What?" His voice dropped, his brows drew together and he just stared at her.

"I helped him after the fight. He's been staying with me at The Bookshelf. Look, he didn't mean to hurt you. I'm the one that told you to get off of him. It was my fault." Wren pleaded but Miguel's face changed.

"You saved him after he did this to me?"

"Miguel, he's got no one, okay? Only me. I was never going to turn him away and I hate myself for everything we did to you but he needed me. He needed someone. I had to, I never could have lived with myself if you had died but I never could lived with myself if I lost two of my best friends either." Wren told him all at once, doing her best to tell him, justify why she did it.

But nothing helped. Miguel's chest twisted in a way that forced his admiration to dissolve. He shook his head in disbelief.

"What we did was wrong. I'm sorry. We never thought what happened would happen. It was an accident."
"There is no 'we'." Miguel's voice was calm, "You and Robby didn't do this...." He paused, his breaths shallow and quivering, "He did this."

Wren was silent.

"Get out, Wren." He said gently, a thick lining of anger lacing his voice.
"No, no, I need to explain. You have to listen to me!" She pleased but when she met Miguel's eyes once more, any element of understanding, forgiveness and sympathy was gone.

"How can you stand there having saved him again, the same boy who put me here, and look me in the eye and tell me you're sorry?" He raised his voice, tears burning behind his eyes, threatening to choke him. "You have got to stop looking for the fucking good in people Wren and start looking at what they show you! Look at me!" Miguel shouted now, his voice rough. "I may never walk again thanks to him! I'm stuck here and there you two were hiding away knowing I was rotting here!"

"What?" She whispered, warm tears trickling down her cheeks.

"My legs don't fucking work!" He shouted and Wren's chest tightened, almost suffocating her.

"Miguel- I..."

"Get out!"

"Please."

"Go!"

And so she did.

And suddenly, it felt as if her and Miguel were strangers again.

All because she told the truth.