i could pretend more then, i could believe more then

[confidenceman]

[ continued from here ]

He shrugged helplessly. "Relatives," he answered, the word flat in tone, leaving no room for elaboration, nor expressing any apparent desire to go further than that. Still, he sifted through his memories, eyes narrowing slightly as he ran over the thought of each aunt, each uncle, each cousin, and relatives further out than that still. "Ain't any of them bad people, but they didn't know how to handle it any better'n I did. Pushed 'round from one to the other. Decided in ninth grade that I could just run and never look the hell back."

And it'd worked, his mind supplied. Countless names given at crucial junctures, but only one handed out for the actual con itself, no matter how much of a risk that ran.

Comments

[notfaking_it]

In a way, Lily's life had been similar. She knew better than to compare the tragedy he'd been through with anything she'd dealt with -- nothing even came close -- but she'd been taking care of herself for a long time, not out of any desire to keep people away, but simply because she knew she was good at it. Better than most people, which was why she still tried to take care of others in her way.

"Was it lonely?" She knew it could be. Connections could be fleeting and some people didn't stick around for longer than a few moments, but they were necessary, too. Lily needed people, she needed to be around people, even if she could take care of herself.