Phantom Hollow a slab in the morgue

As the boy outlined all the hardships in his life he half expected some smart-ass responses, but through it all the dark girl was surprisingly accommodating to the pace of his tale. She only spoke up when he got to the end and silence spread between them - her choice to break it came in the form of questions that Screech wasn't sure how to answer. He balked at her in the dark for a second, his brow furrowing (and then he winced because fucking hell don't try to move your face muscles when they'd been ripped apart).

I -- am a dumbass, he thought abruptly. She was entirely correct with her commentary and that just made him go on the defensive.

You weren't there. You don't know anything about -- about the packs, or the kind of people they are. His voice hitched in his throat as he fought back the urge to snarl at her (not that it would've been very loud) and he watched her sharply. I didn't know what to do! I panicked, okay? It was stupid but it was just... It was just what I did, and that's... That's all. He could've stuck around but that would've meant facing-off against the trio of sisters on his own, and who knows if they'd have forgiven him then! He would've probably died. It had been a gamble and between losing his life and losing an eye, Screech felt as if he'd come out on the winning side.

Then again, he lost a fucking eye for no reason.