Peter could have argued the semantics. The fact that she shouldn’t apologise for potentially making Peter uncomfortable because it was just a potential, and there was no way that she could have avoided it even if it had made Peter uncomfortable. He could have pointed out that if he were so worried about germs he would never have taken Jacey’s hand to begin with. Which was the truth, honestly. Peter never did anything that he didn’t want to do and he was never ashamed of giving his excuses, either. He was normally pretty damned blunt with them.
Peter didn’t say any of it, however. She had asked him how long he’d been in Harper Rock and his head had bowed, everything else banished from it to focus on the numbers. His eyes screwed shut. August, twenty-thirteen is when he’d come to Harper Rock. August twentieth, twelve-fifteen in the afternoon.
”One year…nine months, ten days and eight… eight hours,” he said. He was again reminded that he didn’t have his watch with him. Otherwise he’d be able to give the exact minutes, too. It disturbed him that he couldn’t. He backtracked. One step, and then two.
”I’ll tell you exactly how long. I just need to get my watch. My watch is inside. Do you mind looking after the dogs? I’ll be back,” he said. He didn’t give any time frames. He was just about to turn around and start walking back toward the Asylum without even waiting for an answer. But he had to stop. One step mid-air, terror crawling through his skin one pin-prickle at a time. The dogs scattered, first; they could sense the change in the atmosphere. The not-rightness of it. The snarled and whimpered, their paws kicking up the dirt as the formed a wide circle around the disruption.
The disruption was a break in the realms between Peter and Jacey. At first just a shimmering shift. But then tendrils of shadows and a glimpse into a darker plane. A hefty monster slipped through the disturbance, far more graceful than it ought to have been. Peter had seen this thing once before. Just once. Its vicious claws had torn a gaping hole in his gut that hadn’t healed for days. It was one of the reasons why he chose never to leave the Asylum—assuming, stupidly, that it couldn’t get him while he was inside.
He was frozen to the spot, mouth agape. There was that one vow that kicked through his head; never go outside again, Peter. Ever.
Peter didn’t say any of it, however. She had asked him how long he’d been in Harper Rock and his head had bowed, everything else banished from it to focus on the numbers. His eyes screwed shut. August, twenty-thirteen is when he’d come to Harper Rock. August twentieth, twelve-fifteen in the afternoon.
”One year…nine months, ten days and eight… eight hours,” he said. He was again reminded that he didn’t have his watch with him. Otherwise he’d be able to give the exact minutes, too. It disturbed him that he couldn’t. He backtracked. One step, and then two.
”I’ll tell you exactly how long. I just need to get my watch. My watch is inside. Do you mind looking after the dogs? I’ll be back,” he said. He didn’t give any time frames. He was just about to turn around and start walking back toward the Asylum without even waiting for an answer. But he had to stop. One step mid-air, terror crawling through his skin one pin-prickle at a time. The dogs scattered, first; they could sense the change in the atmosphere. The not-rightness of it. The snarled and whimpered, their paws kicking up the dirt as the formed a wide circle around the disruption.
The disruption was a break in the realms between Peter and Jacey. At first just a shimmering shift. But then tendrils of shadows and a glimpse into a darker plane. A hefty monster slipped through the disturbance, far more graceful than it ought to have been. Peter had seen this thing once before. Just once. Its vicious claws had torn a gaping hole in his gut that hadn’t healed for days. It was one of the reasons why he chose never to leave the Asylum—assuming, stupidly, that it couldn’t get him while he was inside.
He was frozen to the spot, mouth agape. There was that one vow that kicked through his head; never go outside again, Peter. Ever.
