Forbidden ( a BxB Furry Romance )

Chapter 13

The room was quiet, save for the soft rustling of the blanket as Kael shifted slightly. He sat on the couch, his posture stiff as always, but today there was something different—something more withdrawn. His eyes were distant, flicking over the room but never really focusing on anything. The physical scars were mostly healed, but the emotional weight was still there, lingering.

Silas had noticed the subtle change in Kael since he came back from his parents' place. It was hard to pinpoint, but it was there in the way Kael flinched at unexpected touches, the way his smiles didn't quite reach his eyes anymore. It was as if the walls Kael had spent so long building up were starting to crack, and Silas could see it all.

Silas had waited, giving Kael the space he needed. But the silence had grown too heavy, and Silas couldn't keep pretending that he wasn't concerned. Kael's usual guarded demeanor had only gotten more pronounced after the weekend, and Silas had to know what happened. He couldn't just sit by and watch Kael pull further into himself.

Sitting down beside Kael, Silas looked at him for a long moment, trying to gauge the right words. Kael, despite his silence, was still close—his body language still tense, but not pulling away completely. Silas took a breath before speaking.

"I've been thinking," Silas began, his voice quieter than usual, "about what happened over the weekend. You don't have to tell me if you're not ready, but I just want you to know that I'm here. And you don't have to go through this alone."

Kael's head snapped up, eyes meeting Silas's for the first time that day. There was an unreadable expression on his face, a mix of emotions that Silas couldn't fully decipher. He saw Kael's lips part as if he were going to say something, but no words came out. Instead, Kael looked away, his gaze dropping to his hands, tightly folded in his lap.

"I... I don't want to talk about it," Kael muttered after a long pause, his voice tight, defensive.

Silas bit his lip, trying to suppress the feeling of helplessness creeping over him. He knew Kael wasn't ready to share, but Silas couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong—something more than just verbal abuse.

Kael's posture, the way his tail was wrapped around his legs like it was shielding him from the world, spoke volumes. Silas had always respected Kael's boundaries, but today, there was an aching need to understand.

"You don't have to tell me everything, Kael," Silas said softly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "But... you can't keep hiding this from me. I'm not going to leave you, okay? Just—let me in. Please."

There was a long silence, and Silas thought maybe Kael was going to shut him out again. But then Kael's voice broke through, low and barely audible.

"They hit me," Kael said, his voice shaking slightly. "It wasn't just words. I don't... I don't know why I thought I could handle it. But they hit me, and they burned me."

Silas's breath caught in his throat, his heart sinking as the full weight of Kael's words hit him. The pain that had been there, hidden beneath layers of stoicism and pride, was finally surfacing. His fingers tightened on Kael's shoulder, but he didn't speak for a moment, letting the weight of the revelation settle between them.

Kael kept his gaze down, his hands now fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve. He didn't look at Silas, his voice barely a whisper when he spoke again.

"It's not the first time. They've always been like this. It's just that... when they do it, I forget that I'm supposed to matter to someone." Kael paused, his eyes glistening slightly as if the words were costing him more than he wanted to admit. "I thought it would be different this time. But it's never different."