Dani's Harem [Reverse Harem]

Nathan - Why cant people just get to the point?

What a fucking idiot! I berate myself. You should know better than anyone not to touch someone when they are recalling traumatic times in their lives. This kid is frying my brain making me notice how much I have been on my own. How out of practice I am being around people. I see the fear enter her eyes and notice the slight shift in direction away from me. Like a back-hander, I figure out I was staring too long at her forehead, even though I am in my own head on the outside my face has shut down. I have spent so much time being that empty face that it is now instinct to fall back on it when in turmoil which is every God-damned day of my miserable existence.

Sighing with guilt and frustration at my own actions I start talking in a soothing tone. "I am sorry Dani, I know better than to startle you like that. I didn't mean to, honest. I made you another cup of tea. I haven't been around anyone in a very long time. I am sorry if I seem closed off and awkward which frankly I am. I don't know what to do or say in this situation. My aunt always made tea when people were sad or in my case it was juice but I thought it might help. Instead, I manage to scare the crap outta you because I am a huge freaking idiot. I am sorry, really sorry". I rush out the words as fast as I can so I don't chicken out.

She looks at me with a frown on her face, opens her mouth to speak but nothing comes out. I hold the cup out to her which she takes, and I go to put more chopped wood on the fire.

"I am sorry too, for everything. Barging into your woods and then forcing you to carry me back here for Gods know how long a distance. Then looking after me without even knowing my name. I really apologize for attacking you when you came into the house and tried to help me again. You need to move."

Shocked I swing round from the fire to stare at this tiny child giving me orders and begin to laugh, hard. She is an adorable kitten trying to prove its fierceness is stronger than its cuteness. I walk to and sit down in my recliner and raise an eyebrow in her direction silently to signal I am listening. I see her eyes narrow in irritation and fight the chuckle rising in my chest.

"I said you need to move home and no I am not joking. When they find us here they are going to torch the cabin and kill you and maybe even kill me, Nathan. I don't want you to be killed when you were only trying to help me." Breathing in deep I see the battle she is having with herself and know that what is coming is going to bad. Is it too late to change my mind and kick her out and drive her to the next town over? I wish I could do that, wish I could be that guy more than ever these days to not give a shit about other people. Even if they are wounded and almost dying of starvation in my forest. Sighing I wait for her to spit it out because I wouldn't have done anything else than what I did do anyway.

"They were beating me around, and asking me questions like who are you, what are you, who made you and what kind of power do you have? I barely had enough time to breathe when the next fist would come at me before I could tell them I didn't know what they were talking about." She stops and gazes at the fireplace chewing her lip and I relate to her blank look as she plays it through her memory. Wearily she turns her face towards me and I see tears gathering in her eyes. Shit, I can't stand tears. Instead, I pick up my coffee and concentrate on keeping my eyes glaring at the dark-colored liquid.

"I was starting to feel sick when there was a commotion somewhere else close by. It was fighting and shouting, now I know it was my mum – my foster mum Claire. I don't even know how she found me and I think she had other people with her because I heard everyone run from the room. I lost a little time listening to the fighting and screams. I think I was numb because I wasn't even flinching although I could hardly move anyway. Maybe I was in shock. I could feel blood running down my face and felt like I had just been driven over by a garbage truck. Next thing I knew, I am looking into my mum's blue eyes and I started to sob and it hurt so much but I couldn't stop. She saved me once and she was saving me again. I didn't care about the screaming and fighting I could still hear going on, I wasn't going to die, and the punching would stop because my mum found me."