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Even though they were naked in there together, that shower
hadn’t been like that. Coralyn had been too numb, and Giana
had taken care of her. She’d been so gentle, helping her change
and putting her to bed. Had any of that been real? Coralyn was
so sure those moments hadn’t been a lie.
“Look at you, all sweet and innocent, thinking it meant
something. Stop, before you make a fool out of yourself by
getting all sentimental.”
It was too much. But Coralyn wouldn’t break down. Not
now. “My dad just died,” she said brokenly. “I just—I made a
mistake, Giana.”
She was so sure Giana wouldn’t listen. She wasn’t the one
in a position to be accommodated and Giana wouldn’t let up
even for a second. “I’m sorry for that,” she said, and it
sounded like she genuinely was. “But what did you think was
going to happen? Of course there was more. An addendum
onto that small reprieve. You grasped onto an ounce of
kindness like a starved puppy and a sly fox.”
She didn’t know how much longer she could defend herself.
What she’d done couldn’t be defended, but there was that
nameless, shapeless emotion that kept pulsing through her, that
made her unable to turn away and give up entirely. It was more
than just the wall or the shower. She’d chosen Giana in her
darkest moment. Is there someone I can call? She’d chosen
her.
“It wasn’t—”
“Yes, it was.” Giana was clearly done. She swallowed hard
and sighed, and that was more mercy than Carolyn expected,
because there was a concession coming. Some form of
instruction. Some sort of agreement. “You’ll say nothing about
