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In the cabin, she sat on the couch, her legs folded up under her He leaned against the wall, hisWhat he wanted and feared and loved She wondered if anyone had ever asked him
I can’t take it anyht Just say I can’t take it anymore
“Are you all right?” she asked
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know,” she said “I worry about you”
“Not so much you wouldn’t betray me,” he said, and that untied the knot Yes, if she lied to hi him, and for all her failures, she’d never done that She could She could do it It wasn’t that she was powerless before the decision; it was that she chose not to
“The warning I sent?”
“I have dedicatedthe Belters And after we did everything we could to keep you safe, you spat in our faces Do you love your Earther boyfriend that much more than your own kind? Is that it?”
Naos Marco was too polished to say out loud There was real feeling behind them in a way she would never hear from Marco Maybe never had He’d soaked up all his father’s lines, only where Marco’s soul was safe and unreachable in its deep self-centered cyst, Filip was still raw The pain that she had not only left him, but left him for aa word
“My own kind,” she said “Let me tell you about my own kind There are two sides in this, but they aren’t inner planets and outer ones Belters and everyone else It’s not like that It’s the people ant more violence and the ones ant less And no matter what other variable you sample out of, you’ll find some of both
“I was harsh to you the day the rocks dropped But II said Your father and I are now and alere on different sides We will never, ever be reconciled But I think despite everything, you can still choose whichever side you’d like Even nohen it see that can’t be redeemed, you can choose what it means to you”
“This is shit,” he said “You’re shit You’re an Earth-fucking whore, and always have been You’re a ca to sleep your way into anybody’s bed who see!”
She folded her hands Everything he said was so wrong it didn’t even sting It was like he was calling her a terrier All she could think of it was, These are the last words you’re going to say to your ret them for the rest of your life
Filip turned, pulled open the door
“You deserved better parents,” she said as he slammed it behind him She didn’t know if he’d heard