( it’s a lot to take in, definitely more than he anticipated. he remains quiet, giving murphy the chance to speak his mind.

as murphy goes on, the pieces start to come together — the earlier guardedness and then the swift jump to assuming he'd be rejected. discarded. it was his pattern.

he exhales slowly, rubs at the bridge of his nose. ) I don't care if she's angry at me, as long as she's alive to be angry. ( this feels important to clarify, and not just because it now extends to murphy. )

But I don’t really enjoy hurting people, even if it’s necessary. And at the time, it was necessary. It wasn't just my life on the line.