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You fold your arms. "What?"
"After you wore yourself out, kiddo. I'm fully aware of what a drain it—"
"What's <span class="mu-i">it?</span>"
"You know, you used to do this when you were younger, too. The questions. It's not the most grown-up way to..."
If you look at Henry at a certain angle you can kind of pretend that your eyeballs are firing burning beams of light at him, and that his face is melting off, and then he'll stop talking at you.
"I don't know what to do with you, Charlotte." He swings his hands together. "Do you just want it straight?"
What? Did your eyeball beams work? Of course you want it straight. You have only ever wanted it straight, from anybody, everybody, and all anybody ever tells you is vague pronouncements and wink-winks nudge-nudges like you're supposed to know what they mean, but you don't, and they never explain it, and you're just in the dark forever and ever. This is the only thing Richard ever does. Did. Did? Does he remember what he's trying to not tell you anymore? Don't think about Richard. Positive thinking. Henry's offering to tell it to you <span class="mu-i">straight.</span>
Well, he's probably lying. It's congenital, the vague-pronouncements thing, it's rooted deep in his brain. For God's sake, that's all cults <span class="mu-i">do.</span> But what are you going to do, say No, go to hell?
You mean you could. This is a plausible course of action. But the non-Richard on your shoulder, the empty Richard-shaped crevice in your brain, is saying stupid things like "but what happened to Wayne? or Felicia? what happened to <span class="mu-i">me?</span> and what was that eyeball, anyways? and why were you talking about the apocalypse, and have you heard of any big white lizardy-type things before, and by the way do you know how to raise worms from the dead," and on and on, etcetera. Are these the questions Henry is expecting to get? If yes, does that mean he intends to lure you into a cultish trap?
Does it matter? You are so tired of this. You can still blast him with your eye beams if he tries to mince words, you guess. (Positive thinking.) So: "Yeah?" you say, with as much 'isn't it obvious?' as you're able to imply.
"Okay. Alright. You're a grown woman, and that's a fair ask of you. But if that's the case, will you be straight with me? As much as you can be."
If he asks you anything you don't like, you can blast him with your eye beams. Or bite him, or something. "Um, I guess—"
"Excellent." Henry offers out his hand, which you examine suspiciously, but eventually shake. Your crushing grip goes unremarked upon. "Now, kiddo, about earlier."
(3/4)
