youngerpetrelli | Should have... (for true_writers 27.C.7

[based off this:

27.C.7. Cope

He doesn't confront her with it -- he can tell she wants to deal with it on her own; wants to regain some kind of control over her own life. But it's hard -- he can tell she's different; that something happened.

He can smell it on her; hear it in the way her heartbeat hammers at night when she should be sleeping; feels it in the way she throws herself into each day's preparations for the holidays. He knows something is wrong, and he wants to be there for her, but he can't make himself confront her with it.

It burns at him, makes him want to scream with the unfairness of it all. She shouldn't have to suffer so -- they should have been able to protect her...

They failed her, and it makes him so angry. All those powers, and still he's unable to keep one person safe. One person who means so much to him -- one person who is part of his family. She's barely hanging on with her fingernails, trying to cope with what happened to her, and it should never have happened.

He's furious, and a part of him thinks he shouldn't feel this, while the rest knows he could use it to hurt them; to strike at their very heart. And a part of him is only hanging on by his own fingernails, feeling her nightmares; living her fear. It makes him want to scream; to make them all burn... How can he cope with the fear and the terror, when he feels so helpless against it all?

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Muse: Peter Petrelli
Fandom: Heroes
Word Count: 263 per WordPerfect
Written for

true_writers