no emotion that's worth having

SAMUEL i am the ocean, crawling madly at your moon. and with one wanton whoop — Sam flinched with the kettle as Zeph recounted the letter; he was sure he hadn't said he couldn't be bothered to say goodbye. Sighing and forcing his hand down gently he turned towards Zeph, seeing now that there were perhaps some hurt feelings (which he should have expected, really). "It...it wasn't that, Zeph. Something happened." And there it was; the letter he'd sent Milo. Sam stood still, tea forgotten about for the moment, fiddling with his clothes and staring at the floor. "Yes, well. I got into some trouble...very bad trouble. In Torchline. I had to leave, or..." He thought of the anger, the hate in Amalia's eyes, the way he'd been so certain he was going to be taken to prison, executed before the town. "Things were going to go very wrong. I made a mistake and this is...this is how I have to pay for it." Sam blinked away tears, knowing that Zeph would ask what he had done. The best answer he could give, quietly and shaking in tone, was: "I hurt somebody by accident while I was sick." — i melt into a sycophantic soup, & all that's left to do, is giggle, fawn, and swoon.