ever? It wouldn’t be so much a coming out as a ‘take it or
leave it because I am who I am and I’m not apologizing
because I’m awesome and we all have past shit, things we love
and things we want to cringe over.’ That’s normal. That’s life.
You were just doing life the best you could, but what if that
looks different in the future? Could it look different? Is there
room for that?”
Adalynn was silent for so long that Cassia knew she’d
offended her. It was impossible to believe she hadn’t. She’d
gone off on a huge monologue, giving advice to someone she
knew so little about. It wasn’t polite. She’d probably just come
across as the world’s biggest know-it-all. She normally wasn’t
so walking self-helpish. She shifted in her chair, crossing her
legs. The chair creaked, but it was the only sound in the room
save for Adalynn’s deeper breaths.
“You’d think I’d be tired of playing it safe by now,”
Adalynn whispered. She turned her face away, towards the
computer screen, which was frozen on a shot of the side of the
house. “You think that I’m being, I don’t know, single-
minded? Narrow minded? That I haven’t considered all the
options?”
Cassia uncrossed her legs and planted both feet on the
ground. “No!” she protested. “No, I definitely don’t think that.
I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said so much. It was rude. I’m the
one who hasn’t considered everything. It’s easy for me; I have
nothing to lose. If someone told me that I should live the way I
wanted to live, but it meant maybe doing something to harm
my sisters or something like that, it wouldn’t be easy for me to
make that choice.”
Adalynn turned, angling her face towards Cassia. She