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For a second, even Bitter almost smiles.

Then he remembers he ruined my life yesterday and this morning.

Good instinct.

Crypt steps back. “I want you sitting down. Water. Clean those scrapes. If the wrist gets worse, we're getting imaging.”

“I don’t need a doctor.”

Every head turns.

I hate that.

I amend, “I need to sit down. I need water. I need somebody to look at my wrist without announcing that I’m in shock every thirty seconds.”

“You’re in shock,” Boogie calls from twenty feet away.

Mercy points at him. “I will feed you to Sheriff.”

Boogie keeps walking.

Bitter takes one careful step closer.

“Sweet.”

My body wants to turn toward him.

Traitor body.

I hold still.

He stops on his own.

“I need to explain.”

I laugh once.

Nothing funny lives in it.

“Not tonight.”

His mouth closes.

Just like that.

No argument. No hear me out. No telling me he needs me to understand.

He swallows.

“Okay.”

That should not matter.

It does.

I hate that too.

I look at him. “You do understand pulling me out of that hole didn’t erase anything, right?”