"Bruce..." He might have been joking. But she still needed to make something clear. "I don't..." The words stuck in her throat. She couldn't tell him he wasn't welcome back because it was cruel. Even if she wanted to be cruel, she couldn't quite bring herself to it after this. Clearing her throat, she said, "We can't just go back to..."
Carrie wasn't sure they could be friends anymore. They were tied together, almost forcibly, because they were family. "I can't," she said, almost apologetically.