Taiye’s smile in return was much more tentative—feeble, in fact. She was uncharacteristically cautious: keeping to herself at school, keeping off dating apps, keeping away from most of her favourite vices. Yes, she routinely got profoundly stoned alone at home, masturbated to the kind of hentai that made her confident she was a disgusting pervert, and ate copious amounts of meat and pastries. But the point was that she did all this alone. No cocaine with strangers, no shrooms with new lovers, no booze with beloved friends, no sex with anyone but herself. No one to abandon, and no one by whom
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