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"Alex, listen to irl who chose a path thatrun, what you did wasn’t any different fro to a clinic The end result would have been the same"

"I did it toher chin, I tipped her head up to look me in the eye "You didn’t kill your parents Shit doesn’t work that way Yeah, you killed your baby, but what you did didn’t start sohed in response to ive you so When I was fifteen, I killed ht cause her to run, to cower in fear, or at least gasp in shock, she did none of that She si for me to continue "That doesn’t freak you out?"

"I always knew you were an outlaw, Jesse Jaave a slight nod of her head "But without you telling ine it was justified"

The fucking eerie calm hich she said the words had the sa me with a bucket of ice-cold water "How can you of all people sit there and say that I was justified? Iup in the bed, she pinned e, jury, and executioner? Then don’t just tell me that you murdered him I may not know you that well, but what I do know tellsher chin at me, she said, "Tell h to already know"

"But I need to hear it fro closer to me in the bed, she murmured, "I think you need to say it aloud, too"

Panic pricked its way overat the door, anxious to make an escape No one knew about my old man but me and Preach There was a possibility that Preach had told Case or souys, but I doubted it

"My adopted father, Preacher Man, left his church in the summer That fall, he cae onI thought of each and every day I was fucking blohen he toldeven the cops hadn’t been able to do--and if I wanted to, he’d take ed almost apathetically "We drove to Texas, so I could end hirin, I replied, "But then if I tell you, I’d have to kill you"

"After what I told you, I thought we had established ory details so you can have nightain?"

Lowering her eyes, she replied, "Not really"

"Then don’t fucking ask me questions like that, because you won’t like the answers All you need to know is he’s dead and will never be able to hurt anyone ever again"

"How did he hurt you?" she asked, her dark eyes once again findinghypnotic I could barely look away She had to be doing so hoodoo to make me talk as much as I had