How to react?
Part of me wanted to console him and the other found the idea completely absurd. We stood there, facing each other, doing nothing but staring into each other’s eyes for too long.
“Can I help you?” I asked him in an uncertain voice.
He gave a brief mocking grin and then shook his head, looking embarrassed.
“You want to let me bite you a second time?”
“No!”
“So, please, never offer to help again without really being sure to act on it.”
With that, he sank into one of the chairs, his elbows resting on his thighs and his face hidden behind his palms.
I could hear his breathing: he was inhaling deeply, slowly to, probably, blow out all the air in his lungs.
“And if I let you bite me a second time, you promise to take me to see my father as soon as possible?”
I know it’s s
