“Why is so that surprising?” she asked laying a hand on Alice’s arm.
Alice flinched her arm away with a sharp intake of breath. She hadn’t thought... hadn’t noticed... “Sorry.” She shook her head to remove the residues of what she’d just endured out of her mind. She couldn’t handle them, couldn’t keep them in her mind when she was in front of others-- especially not in front of Lily. If she thought of them... if she spoke of them... she wouldn’t be able to hold it in, she knew. And she didn’t want to cry. She didn’t understand what crying entailed and how it felt. There was a pit in her stomach she couldn’t identify-- and she was scared of it.
“What was the question? I’m sorry.”












