"Yeah, I know," she said quietly. "I just wish I could have known him back then." She thought about it for a moment, then said, "Yeah, may as well. Especially with mom pregnant right now, no one needs the additional stress in their lives."
"I'm so used to dancing to so many different tunes," she said, a little bitterly. "I just want a little time to myself. Just a few weeks. And then I'll head back into the hurricane." She couldn't help the surreptitious glance around the room. "I can't help but think that'd be a good idea. Gods, Hecate, when I was stumbling down that path back to the street, I was praying for someone, anyone, to be nearby. And it was the most alone I've ever felt, second only to the time I watched Helios drown."
"I won't take it off," she said. "But yeah, anything to make movement a little less stiff would be welcome. They have me on Vicodin, but I have to wait between doses and it's usually worn off by then."