Werewolf's Humanity

Business or Pleasure? Part 6

Sammy's heart leapt into his throat and brought some of the sandwiches up with it. The circuitry of his brain had already been channeling a full current of emotions, and the sight of his ex-girlfriend threatened to blow a fuse.

"Hello, Sam," she said, and he wanted to be offended by that. After all these years, after the way she left him, that was what she was opening with? But then... what else could she say? He realized there was absolutely no way this conversation could play out that would leave him feeling satisfied, because he didn't want to have this conversation.

So... why have it?

"Sammy?" Donnie asked, tapping his arm. "You want me to get rid of 'er?"

Clara's gaze shot down to Donnie, and for a moment she had that same scared-animal-look that he had known far too well.

"No," he said, brushing Donnie off. "No, go on inside. I'll join you in a sec."

Once the camper door closed, Sammy and Clara turned back to look at each other.

"So... I had a very awkward conversation with Rhea," she said.

Sammy snorted. "If you're expectin' me to apologize, I won't. I didn't mean to blow your cover."

She shrugged. "It wasn't a cover. I legally changed my name to Diana before coming here. I didn't want to be Clara any more. You should understand. Werewolves put a lot of stock in names."

He blinked. "Right now, I'm too tired to understand much of anything. Can't we have this conversation tomorrow?"

Clara shook her head. "Rhea understood my reasons when I explained them, but for some reason she thinks I owe you an explanation too. She made me come out here."

That sounded like a typical Alpha thing to do. Rhea was her brother's sister, all right. Odysseus didn't really tell his packmates how to live their lives, but it was rather convenient how everyone wound up doing what he wanted, anyway. And of course, Night Sky was always around to nudge things along with a sage word or a batch of cupcakes, too.

"Well, I'm sure she didn't mean it had to be this very night..."

"Sammy, please. I just want to get this over with."

Despite himself, he growled. He had never growled at Clara--or, Diana--before, not even during their fights. But a dangerous chainsaw noise rose out of his human throat nonetheless.

"I didn't lie to Rhea," she went on, ignoring the sound. "I just.... edited my story when I applied for pack membership here. I just don't like talking about my Argo days. That whole period of my life was humiliating."

Sammy stiffened.

Her face dropped into her palms. "Oh god, no, I didn't mean it that way."

"No, please go on. I love hearing about how you were only with me out of desperation."

And just like that, her embarrassment shifted gears into anger. "God, I forgot how... self-pitying you could be! Not everything's about you, Sam."

"You're right," he snapped. "It's always about you. My feelings never factored into the equation. Even right now. I'm barely standin', but you still gotta get what's bothering you off your chest. Guess neither of us have changed much, huh?"

She lowered her head. "Maybe not," she conceded, and then looked back up at him. "I just want you to know, Sam. You were a... a good boyfriend. You were always kind and patient. I didn't leave because of anything y-"

Sammy shut the door in her face, and halfheartedly returned Donnie's fist-in-the-air display of solidarity on his way to the bed. He wasn't going to give Clara the satisfaction of his forgiveness. At least not tonight--he didn't have it in him. Emotional closure was overrated.

He kicked off his shoes and collapsed on top of the covers, content to sleep that way tonight. But then a realization wriggled out of the fog of exhaustion. He crawled over the bed to the back window and opened it, growling towards the darkness downwind of the trailer.

"Go to bed, Madison!" he called out.

"...Okay," she said.