"Yeah, it doesn't look super lived-in by much of anyone never mind Thomas, you could give him a pair of socks and come back to find a room piled high, it's kind of a bizarre superpower and I know from those, trust me." Alice leaned against the balcony, half-looking at the view and half at Justine.

"I'm not gonna lie, the stuff you haven't seen on TV wasn't great," she said finally, wondering if there was stuff she should for sure say, stuff she should leave out. It was pretty simple though. All she had to do was think of Jasper. "He's been hurting a lot and it was like punching through a bunker to get him to let me help, but you probably already know that, and you probably know it's getting better. Especially after he talked to you."