Roscoe still didn’t say anything, and tears welled in my eyes. There was a slight wiggle from below where his tail was, but I was more concerned with the possibility that I’d just destroyed things between us.
“I’m so sorry Roscoe. Please talk to me,” I said through tears. There was that wiggle again. “What can I do to make it up to you? I’ll do whatever you want.”
His ears stuck straight, and I grew suspicious immediately.
“I could go for some barbeque,” he said, sniffling.
“Oh—okay,” I said, pulling away as his tail thudded the mattress. “I’ll go pick some up. Anything else?”
“Could really go fer some snacks, too. We traded all the ones we had in the cupboard.”
“Fine. I’ll stop by the store and get some.”
I shuffled off the bed, and Roscoe still didn’t look back at me.
“Are we good?”
The older werewolf sniffled again.
“I dunno.”
I sighed and stopped at the bedroom door.
“I’m reallyreallysorry, Roscoe.” With that, I shut the door and started toward the living room, but not before I remembered I hadn’t asked him what kind of barbeque he wanted.
When I opened the door, Roscoe was grinning and dancing around like a fool before freezing the moment I walked in. My remorse completely dissolved as I crossed my arms.
“What do you want from the restaurant?” I asked through clenched teeth.
Roscoe’s tail dropped between his legs and his ears fell to the sides of his head.
“Uh… I could really go fer some pulled pork.”
“You were fucking with me, weren’t you?”
Roscoe’s pupils dilated, and he gave me the saddest expression he could muster.
“It was so awful. Can’t believe you did that to me. That was the most bored I’d ever been in my life.”
My eyes narrowed as his tail betrayed him.
“You actually enjoyed it, didn’t you?”
“I did not!” Roscoe snapped. “That was embarrassing, and I couldn’t do nothin’.”
His tail continued to wag, and I was actually thankful werewolves couldn’t control it. It was like a long, furry lie detector, but I decided to let him have this round. Even if he was pretending to be that upset, I still felt awful.
I picked the cuffs, cage, and strap off the floor, tossed them into the bag then zipped it shut. “I’m throwing these away. You’re right. They’re probably too dangerous to mess around with.”
Roscoe grabbed my arm.
“Let’s not get too hasty,” he said, pulling the bag away from me. “There’s no harm in keepin’ the stuff fer a little while longer.”
“But you said—”
“I’m sure it’s fine,” he interrupted, tossing the bag into the closet before pulling the folding doors closed. He turned back and smirked. “Make sure to get sweet sauce.”
“Fine.”
