Talk About the Direct Approach...

Chapter Fifty-One: Human Values

The next couple of days flew by in a blur of work and avoiding certain subjects a certain man named Cayton didn't want to discuss.

I hadn't been doing much myself, other than resting, healing, talking to Wolfette, and not talking to Cayton about certain subjects.

I only refer to them as such because the last time I mentioned the topic of concern, Warren, he broke a glass in his hand. Not intentionally, of course, but it was enough for me to drop the subject.

I had hoped giving him a few days would allow him to cool off, but it seems it's only making him angrier.

So I resolved to do something about it. I didn't know where to start, but fate gave me my starting point when I heard a soft knock at the front door.

Tami and I were just lounging around in our pajamas, watching TV, when the knocking started. It was soft at first, and we almost missed it, but luckily with my fancy new enhanced eardrums I caught it.

When I opened the door, I saw before me a wreck of a person. Lisa was standing there, disheveled and eyes red. I had to blink a couple times because she looked nothing like the Lisa I knew.

And when she looked at me, her eyes went wide and it wasn't long before she truly lost it.

I mean, she was on her knees, sobbing, on the front porch, clutching her chest like she was in pain. I wasn't sure if she was or not, but her shoulders shook with the intensity of her sobs.

I froze for a moment, unsure what to do before my brain finally got with the program and knelt down, trying to coax her to stand. As I kneeled, she grabbed me tightly and pulled me into a hug.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed.

"It's ok," I say awkwardly. "Sometimes you just have to let it out." I really had no idea what she was apologizing for.

"No, I'm just. So sorry. What happened. What...Warren let happen," she continued as realization dawned on me. I allowed her to ride it out, holding onto me and crying on my shoulder. I turned my head briefly to see Tami watching with confusion on her face.

Do I...tell Cayton? she asks through my mind.

I don't know. Let's get her inside first, I respond. Cayton is on a run right now, and I'm not sure if it should be interuppted or not. As she begins to calm down, Tami and I both usher her inside, shutting the door securely behind us. We lead her to the couch and sit her down, while Tami runs to the bathroom to retrieve tissues.

"You have nothing to apologize for," I finally say. She takes some tissue and dabs around her eyes, sniffling.

"I just wish I would have known. I could have talked some sense into him. I could have done something." She blows her nose. "And now, here you are and Warren is... he's..." She begins to sob again, and I move to sit next to her, wrapping my arms around her and comforting her to the best of my abilities.

"Where is he?" I ask.

When Lisa can't respond, I look to Tami.

"Likely, he's in the pack prison," she says, and I am baffled that yet again, those exist and aren't completely illegal. At least by human law.

"I didn't know we even had one of those," I say, shuddering at the memory of the Midnight Fire pack prison. It seems like only yesterday. "Where's it even at?"

"It's actually pretty close to here. Halfway between town and here. It's really hard to miss," Tami shrugs. "It smells like depression."

I give her a look at the insensitive comment, and she shrugs innocently. I turn my attention back to Lisa.