Safe Haven

I Need A Bigger Bat

Blind, red-hot rage caused Bo to both slap and shove at Sage, until she was knocked flat on her back. He heard something crack against the hard wood when her body hit it. Her eyes swam as she stared up at him, utter shock scrawled across her face. There was an angry red mark in the shape of his hand on her face. Her hand flitted to her face, and she winced when her fingers brushed against that mark.

"No," Bo whispered, rubbing his hands across his face. It didn't help that the two of them were outside in the freezing cold, probably catching a cold, getting frostbite, or hypothermia. He couldn't even stand to face her now. Whirling around, he shoved the front door back open and rushed inside, desperate to get away from the mistake he'd just made.

"No! You don't slap me and then think you can just stomp off!" Sage yelled, following him. She literally raised her leg and kicked the door open so it knocked against the wall, rattling the hanging pictures and waking an exhausted Cooper. "Get back over here and face me, you coward!"

"Can we keep the fighting to a minimum?" Cooper groaned, rolling over and tossing a pillow over his head. Needless to say, he was completely ignored by Sage.

"Not until I cool off," Bo hissed, turning into the kitchen and searching for something to beat himself over the head with.

"No! You want a fight? We do it now!" Sage shrieked, throwing a picture frame at him. "Or am I just never good enough for anybody around here? Poor little country girl doing nothing but living with a bunch of large cats that could kill me! Can't even afford a decent wardrobe because she's too busy making sure those cats have what they need? Her life is so pitiful and pathetic that she doesn't deserve to hang out with the likes of a big-time New Yorker? Is that it?"

He grabbed her by the arm, determined to haul her out to the horse stalls. She struggled against him, dragging her feet and twisting in a lame attempt to wrench her arm free. He opted to just toss her over his shoulder, leaving her screaming and kicking against him as he trumped out the backdoor. Once he managed to get her in the barn, he dropped her into a stack of hay, closing the stall door behind him so she was caged in. "Now that we're out here and no one can hear us, yell all you want. But before you do, you know I've never thought that way about you. I don't care what you spend all your money on. It's yours. My opinion doesn't matter. I love how your working with all those cats; we have enough people working with humans. Even animals deserve their share of care. Your life is not pitiful or pathetic. And I love you. Now scream all you want."

She didn't. Didn't even open her mouth. Instead, she blinked up at him, trying to fight back the tears he could clearly see swimming in her purple eyes. Her lip trembled as she whispered, "Why do we keep coming back to this, Bo? Fighting is too tiring."

He shrugged. "Shoot, Sage, I don't know." He punched the wall, aggravated with the both of them. They were still bitter over what had happened. Years hadn't done a thing to help ease out the grudge they'd been holding against each other this whole time. "Maybe we haven't cleared the air well enough for us to get over it."

"What exactly is it that we're trying to get over?" she muttered, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "I know we're both bitter, but I'm not exactly figuring out why."

"Why?" Bo repeated. "Don't you remember anything that happened five years ago? My parents didn't approve of you, you broke it off between us, and now you're hiding things from me."

"I made the final decision, not you," she notified, scratching her forehead. "And I'm only hiding things from you, because I don't want you freaking out over some idiot trying to play some joke. Just let the moron have his fun. It's probably the only form of action he'll ever get."

He shot her a withering look. "Sage, the guy terrified you. He trespassed on your property and obviously tried to do harm to you. How would you keep defending yourself?"