"No, no." Vincent lifted his hands, halting his fumbling explanation.
"I know why you lied to me and to everyone else. I even get it, to a
certain extent. I just don't understand how you're friends with her.
After everything, knowing what you know. It's like...it's like you
were more scared of her before you found out what she really was.
And now you're..." He stared off into the distance, his eyes
unfocused. "Close."
He said close the same way someone else might have said
diseased or rat-infested —as if it were some filthy thing best left
untouched. Cooper felt shame burn through his gut. Shame and
something else.
Anger.
The truth left a bitter taste on his tongue, but there it was. He was
angry . Angry at the world. Angry at Vincent. And angry at Calla, too.
She'd put him i
