Is that supposed to be a f*****g joke?
I scoff. "I'm sure you can imagine why."
"I can imagine a lot of things," Harlan mutters, "But I'd rather hear it from you."
I sigh heavily through slightly flared nostrils, my lips a tightly shut line.
"Because I don't want to see you," I tell him curtly. "I don't want to see you, or speak to you, or listen to your voice. It... it's so tiresome trying to exist under your influence, and I'd like to get my life back under control. And you're leaving, so it finally can. I just want everything to be as it was before."
I've said more than I expected to before I started speaking.
I stand strongly before him, jaw set, eyes wide and honest. I don't falter or back down.
What I want is for him to leave me alone... under the circumstances. That much is t
