Toxic

24 | Rollercoaster

He hummed at that. He looked.... calm? Or like he was trying to be? She knew him better than that.

"Are you angry?"

"I am angry." He said through clenched teeth and fists in tight balls as he tried to suppress his temper. "But unlike everyone else, I don't have the luxury of showing it without being called a monster. Without someone taking it as proof that I need to locked away in a dungeon to rot for the rest of my life."

"But that's human." She replied, timidly. "Everyone gets angry."

"Up until the point when you're not human." He whispered, his gaze falling to the black tv screen. She knew what Loki was. She practically knew everything about him up until now.

They sat in silence for quite some time, somehow the pair found comfort in the other's presence. Finally, she suggested, "How about we go take Siv out somewhere tomorrow? I know everyone's feeling a little stir crazy being trapped in here so long."

He thought about it a moment before he hesitantly nodded his head. "That sounds nice. Thank you, Summer."

She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"For not giving up on me when I want to give up on myself.... I know what I've done is unforgivable, but in time, I hope we can live peacefully."

She grinned softly and stood to her feet. "Me too."

••• a few days later •••

Today, Summer was a rollercoaster of emotions. It was an off day for her, she had them every so often for no particular reason. Well, she did have a nightmare, but she had those almost every night. It was just part of her healing. Sometimes, she just had low days. She was more jumpy today and quiet. It didn't go unnoticed by the others.

"Summer?"

She winced and clutched the counter in front of her to compose herself. "Hmm?"

"Are you alright?" Loki asked, hesitantly.

She released a shaky breath and picked up her glass of water in her hands, gripping it a little tighter. "Yep." That was believable....

He shook his head and came a little closer. He noticed she tensed but didn't voice it. "You sat with me the other day and helped me. Let me help you."

But he's the one that caused her nightmares- a little voice in her head reminded her. "No, I'm fine. Just tired." She brushed him off.

Then she was breathing heavy, like there suddenly wasn't enough oxygen in the room. He noticed the way she trembled, her eyes wide and panicked, her heart beating a million miles an hour. He figured this was an anxiety attack.

He reached out for her, but she wasn't in the right mindset. She recoiled and flinched so hard, the glass fell from her hands and shattered into thousands of little pieces on the floor.

Immediately her eyes met Loki's before they fell back down to the glass. In that moment, she changed. She dropped to her knees and frantically picked up the shards of glass with her bare hands. She didn't even stop when Loki begged her to or when the glass pierced into her skin.

"Hey, it's okay. I'll clean it" He exasperated and tried gently guiding her away from the mess. "Just sit down. It's okay."

No response.