Assurances did not mean a lot to her. She had seen them broken again and again. Lies used to keep themselves safe or use others. It was true, she didn't know that much about Stephen and as much as she might have wanted to believe this man in Stephen's body, she couldn't. Her past made it impossible. Not without more than just words as proof.
But then the stranger started to talk to someone else and that someone else seemed to answer. She reached out once again. There was another mind present. It felt different. Could it be Stephen? The thought felt wrong.