“How can you do this?” I cry. “You said you were my friend!” “If I walk out of this room right now,” he says through clenched teeth, his voice so low it’s almost a whisper, “your aunt will still be fasting you to someone who, in her exact words, will ‘beat some sense into you.’ I’m here because I am your friend, whether you think I am or not. Believe me, I’m not thrilled about someone fasting to me only because she’s being held down by two armed guards.”
