“I didn’t realize I was such a burden,” he’d said. “Well, you are, Hayden. Your entire fucking life, that’s all you’ve been. Now leave me alone. Don’t follow. Do not come looking for me. GO!” I’d screamed at him. It had been out of fear. I’d wanted to hurt him, to make him run, so that he wouldn’t follow me into the horror that I knew awaited me up at the palace, but it was hard to unspeak words sometimes.
