I’m shaking my head & locking the gates

For a long time, Loren was silent, arrayed against the women of the family and once again feeling alone among the Launceleyns. Too long, probably, but no matter. They didn't get it, didn't understand how he felt around his relatives, as if at any moment the facade would fall away and they'd start abusing him once more. It had been the Launceleyn way—for him, not for them, and it was laughable to think they could ever imagine the agony and suffering he'd endured, even if they'd had their own share of troubles—to let him get close to what he wanted only to have it cruelly and deliberately snatched away at the last instant. He'd slaved away, nearly killed himself for them more times than he could count, and what did he have to show for it? Just a lot of heartache and wasted time. No more. He couldn't do this anymore, couldn't be around people who were so rigid in their ways that they couldn't accommodate his needs and wants, couldn't see who he really was. It wasn't love, just a blind familial devotion that bound them together. And Loren was done letting his family dictate his life. For too long he'd been willing and content, eager even, to do whatever had been asked for him, happy with whatever scraps they'd thrown his way. But it had never satisfied him, not really, not the way his other friendships and relationships had; it had taken him a long time to realize it, but now that he had he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that staying with them would just cause them all pain down the line. At the very least, getting back into the same self-destructive and harmful relationships they'd had in the past was a bad idea. Besides, they were ganging up on him, and he was tired of being pushed around by them, as if his love and affection could be taken for granted. If he didn't make a stand here, he never would. Backing him into a corner had been a mistake, as was failing to make an effort to listen to him. Sure, he had problems—they all did—but he'd always put family first. Now, the one time he asked for something and it was being denied to him. Now it was impossible to see any reason to stay. He wouldn't bother addressing their individual concerns, since they'd just wear down his resolve if he stayed a moment longer. His eyes met each of theirs, but he lingered longest on Edrei's. Beatrix and Zariah he somehow cared less about, but Edy had seemed to be different. Unfortunately, she'd proven to be as one sided as all the rest. "If you can't even consider compromising, then you don't really love me. Call me cruel, but far crueler is forcing me into something I'm uncomfortable with just to make your own life easier, to pursue your own happiness. That's not how families should work." He knew that now, and he was tired of trying to make himself ignore the dysfunction that never failed to harm him. "And if I'm cruel, then I'm just finally embracing the heritage you all left for me." And with that he turned and walked away. He didn't need this, didn't need them in his life, not like this. {Exit Loren} LOREN Not quite an open book