LOREN
Loren saw the tears in Phoebe’s eyes, and his heart ached at the sight. Still, he assumed that it was just ranting and raving from the blight, since he had no idea that the Roses had worked and the afflicted were on the mend. And her tears were black, further evidence that this was a trick, somehow designed to lure him into a false sense of complacency. Still, as she talked about being a monster, he found himself shaking his head. ”It’s not your fault, it’s the blight. Don’t worry, though. The cure will work. Just hold on until then, okay?” Even now, though, he crept carefully backward, even tenser now; every single other blighted hadn’t wanted to hear about the cure, and he figured Phoebe was no exception. Although he knew talking to them had no effect, he couldn’t stand here and do nothing. He just hoped he wouldn’t make the situation worse.
But don’t be weary if it’s broken
Families are like that—
they’re split up and always torn.
